Ask Norm! Winter 2019 – 2

Dear N. Koehl

Thanks for all these good questions in a short letter! Let us deal with them one at a time.

Cremation

The Bible nowhere specifically commands us to bury the bodies of everyone who dies—nor does it command us not to burn bodies. Nevertheless, the overwhelming example of scripture is to bury the bodies of the dead. There are quite a few examples.

The entire chapter of Genesis 23 is devoted to the purchase of the Cave of Machpelah by Abraham to bury Sarah. Later, Isaac and Ishmael bury Abraham there (Genesis 25:9). Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob were also buried there. (Genesis 49:30-33; 50:13-14). Even though Joseph was embalmed in the way of the Egyptians, he wanted his bones taken and buried in the promised land (Genesis 50:24-26)—and they were (Exodus 13:19; Joshua 24:32; Hebrews 11:22). The burial place of numerous other Old Testament leaders is also clearly stated.

By contrast, God said of Jehoiakim, an evil king, “He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 22:18-19). The evil queen Jezebel was eaten by dogs and not buried (1 Kings 21:23; 2 Kings 9:10, 35-36).

When large numbers are killed in national calamities, the Bible teaches the necessity of burying the dead— even though it may take months—to “cleanse the land” (Jer. 7:32; 19:11; Ezekiel 39:12-14). These masses of people were not necessarily good or very evil, but caught up in a nation that had ignored God for centuries. In the New Testament, burial is not denied to those that do wrong. Jesus said “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:60). Ananias and Sapphira were both struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit, but were buried at Peter’s command (Acts 5:1-10).

The teaching of the Rabbis during Jesus day was that a person would not have a share in the “world to come” if his body were completely destroyed—such as a complete burning would produce.  There are a dozen negative references to Gehenna (properly translated in the New American Bible and Young’s Literal Translation). Gehenna was the place where bodies of criminals were thrown to be burned, rather than buried. This was clearly something that everyone wanted to avoid. Matthew 18:6-9, gives three sins and things that would be better than committing the sin:

•  Offending a little one: cast in sea with a millstone around neck
•  Enter into life maimed to avoid sin: cast into age-ending (Greek aonian) fire
•  Enter into life with one eye to avoid sin: cast into Gehenna fire

Even with these warnings, there is no clear teaching that a cremated person cannot receive eternal life.  If that were the case, that would allow men to judge people’s eternal destiny rather than Christ (John 5:22-30). Revelation 20 makes it clear beyond doubt that all people from all states can be raised from the dead:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works (Revelation 20:11-13).

Circumcision

Questions about circumcision and Christianity have been with us a very long time:

And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1).

Is there a link between salvation and circumcision “according to the custom of Moses”?  What is circumcision “according to the custom of Moses”? The Old Testament records very little instruction that God gave through Moses about circumcision. Moses taught that a servant and his sons should be circumcised if they want to eat the Passover (Exodus 12:43-49) and he taught that God really wants circumcised hearts yielded to Himself (Deuteronomy 10:16, 30:6). There is nothing linking circumcision in the flesh to salvation, righteousness or accepting the Messiah to come.

Jesus explained His authorization to heal on the Sabbath to the Jewish leaders by reminding them that they circumcised on the Sabbath (John 7:22-23). It was their resolution to the possibly conflicting commands of working Sabbath rest and circumcision of male babies on the eighth day. The leaders allowed circumcision and they should have allowed healing, also. They were claiming the oral tradition from Moses (“oral law”) as their authority and indeed Jesus said, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses” (Matthew 23:2, NASB). Even so, Jesus had to remind them the source of the circumcision teaching: “Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers) …” (John 7:22).

So what is the circumcision covenant about? Who are the fathers Jesus is talking about? Do we want to follow all of the traditions that the scribes and Pharisees attached to circumcision, claiming the authority of Moses? Or do we want to understand what God gave to Abraham and let that govern our decisions? There are 15 verses about God’s circumcision covenant with Abraham, but they are the best way to understand what it is about.

And God said to Abraham: “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant” (Genesis 17:9-14).

This covenant was between Abraham, all his physical descendants and any slaves they might buy with money. Those who were circumcised were considered a part of the promises that were to follow, and those who were not circumcised were to be cut off from their people—they would not receive the promises of the covenant. There is nothing here about salvation or eternal life. Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” (Genesis 17:15-18).

Abraham and Sarah were promised a son who would have nations and kings descend from him. Even Abraham had doubts about God’s ability to deliver on this covenant—though he quickly developed faith that in it (Hebrews 11:11). Does God make or keep any promises based upon a once-in-a- life-time surgical procedure? Yes, He does, even though many people back then—or people today—have trouble believing it. He honored his promise both for Abraham’s son Ishmael and for Isaac.

Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him (Genesis 17:19-23).

God Heard Abraham’s request and also made a great nation out of Ishmael. Today, Arabs, the Koran, most Jews, many Christians and some secular historians recognize Ishmael as the ancestor of the Arabs of today (including the peoples   that they conquered and converted to their religion). The Israelites of today certainly recognize Isaac as their ancestor.

Abraham hesitated little. The same day he went to face his son and all the men of his house. There were probably a lot of men—In Genesis 14:14, Abraham had 318 male servants who were able to go to war with him. There were probably as many more men who were too old or too young to fight. Yet he told them all they were going to be circumcised that day! “Circum-what?” they may have responded—grumbling even more when they heard the explanation. But Abraham obeyed God and he and his large household received the physical blessing of many descendants.

The Wikipedia article on Prevalence of Circumcision cites a lot of medical organization’s data on circumcision by country (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalenceofcircumcision). Circumcision is still very common in middle eastern nations and many African nations. Abraham’s household could have been a very diverse ethnic group people.  His chief servant was Eliezer of Damascus (Genesis 15:2), from rather distant Syria. These servants did not go out with Hagar and Ishmael, but Ishmael got a wife from Egypt and started over to become a great nation (Genesis 21:12-21). After deceiving Esau to get his birthright, Jacob left alone to work for his uncle Laban and obtain a family (Genesis 28:1-7). Esau was given an inheritance in Seir (Joshua 24:4) and Abraham’s children by Keturah were given gifts and sent away “to the country of the East”. Many of the hundreds of men in Abraham’s household may well be the fathers of the many populous African nations that practice circumcision today.

Finally, we might note that circumcision is still common in the USA, but largely no longer practiced in Europe from whence many of our people have descended. Is it a coincidence that the populations of those nations are declining, while those of the USA are still increasing? We must not forget, that those who were brought to the USA as servants, if they keep the covenant as Abraham’s servants did, can also participate in its blessing. These are the promises of God to Abraham, our father in faith (Heb 11:11-13, Gal. 3:7).  If Abraham was considered faithful because he believed God would do these things in advance, can we not be faithful to believe that God did these things after seeing them happen?

Returning to the New Testament meeting in Acts 15, it was clearly about whether circumcision was necessary for salvation (Acts 15:1). God has seen to it that we have the written results of that meeting:

They wrote this letter by them:  The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” — to whom we gave no such commandment—it  seemed  good  to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell (Acts 15:23-29).

Even though the Holy Spirit was given to Cornelius and his household, it was clear to the apostles that all nations were eligible for salvation (Acts 10), the next three verses of the Bible mention a sect of the Christian Church that arose, insisting that circumcision was necessary:

Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!” (Acts 11:1-3).

And so it is today. There are some Christians who still believe that circumcision is necessary for salvation and others who do not. Paul found that those “of the circumcision” were sometimes helpful and sometimes troublesome:

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me (Colossians 4:10-11).

 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain (Titus 1:10- 11).

It is important to note that being “of the circumcision” was not the only problem here, but idle talk, deception and teaching for dishonest gain were the problems that “must be stopped”.

In summary, we must recognize that the greater promise of salvation in Jesus Christ is available to all, whether circumcised or not. The lesser promise of physically large and great nations— as well as kingship—were part of the circumcision covenant with Abraham. One can participate in one, the other, both or neither. It is up to each of us.

Birth Control

After seeing the promise to Abraham of fathering great nations, it seems that birth control is a means of “suppressing the blessings”. But I can already hear the counter-arguments ringing in my ears: “One should not bring unwanted children in to the world!” “Children are expensive and people on modest incomes can only afford a small number!” “The planet is already over-populated!”

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him (Psalm 127:3).

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.  Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD (Psalm 128:3-4).

Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph’s knees. And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Genesis 50:23-24).

And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own (Exodus 1:21, NIV).

Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters…. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations (Job 42:12-13, 16).

“David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s    children forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover, I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed, will be their God, and they shall be My people (Ezekiel 37:24-27).

The planet is not over-populated

The Bible considers children and the many generations that follow to be a blessing. The original purpose of God was for mankind to “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). The notion that the earth is overpopulated is clearly false. Today, 7.6 billion people inhabit the earth, but there is also about 12.8 billion acres of agricultural land— nearly 1.7 acres for every man, woman and child. The reason we have so much hunger today is not the lack of resources, but the failure of our political systems to not divide the land fairly among the people (Numbers 22:52-56; Joshua 13:1-23:4) and then to restore that land every 49 years to families that lost it (Leviticus 25). Studies and statistics vary, but today, the wealthiest 2% to 10% of people own or completely control 80% to 90% of the land. Fortunately, God promises to fairly re-divide the land in the future (Ezekiel 25-48).

Of the few people this writer has met who were once members of Satanist organizations, all of them said it was a goal of their organization to greatly reduce the world’s population—either through war, disease, legal systems or “birth control”. Generally, these goals are not stated for the public to hear, as there would be a great reaction against them. Hence, many “good” people innocently end up supporting various organization’s efforts to reduce the population of the earth to make it a “better place” for mankind and wildlife. But ultimately, the issue is one of God producing children for himself, with Satan opposing, and ultimately losing the battle (Romans 8:20-21; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 John 3:1-2, 10-11).

Family planning never condemned There is nothing in the Bible that forbids a husband and wife from planning their sexual practices to either increase or decrease the chances of becoming pregnant. There are many books written on the subject, and this writer knows many Christian couples who have used them with a large degree of success. Indeed, the apostle Paul specifically mentions couples can refrain from sex by “mutual consent” (1 Corinthians 7:5, NIV). Uriah the Hittite did not accept the opportunity to sleep with his wife when his comrades were still fighting a war in the field (2 Samuel 11:11). In addition, some Bible verses appear to support sexual practices that do not lead to pregnancy (Proverbs 5:15-19; Song of Solomon 2:6 NET; 7:6-10). The Bible is not critical of what people do in a marriage bed, as long as it is with their spouse. Young’s literal translation captures the Greek well:

Honorable is the marriage in all, and the bed undefiled, and whore-mongers and adulterers God shall judge (Hebrews 13:4, YLT).

The Bible emphasizes the need for agreement between spouses when it comes to avoiding conception. In the Old Testament, if a man bought a slave and took her for a wife, he was not allowed to deprive her of “food, clothing, and sexual intimacy” (Exodus 21:10, NLT). God also commanded brothers who live together to raise up children to the other if one of them dies without children (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). That concept was important enough to God that He killed Onan for spilling his sperm on the ground in order to avoid raising up children to his brother (Genesis 38:7-10).

Nearly all Abortion is wrong

While we can see the Bible accepts couples deciding when they will or will not try to become pregnant, the Bible never condones the killing of unborn babies. One who accidentally hits a woman and causes a premature birth must pay a fine for doing that. If the baby dies because of the injury, he must give his life for the life of the baby (Exodus 21:22-23). Babies in the womb are fully people—just as you were you at that age. David said to God: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).

Jacob and Esau, twins, struggled with each other in utero as they were destined to be conflicting nations (Genesis 25:22-23). Yes, it appears that unborn children can sin. On the other hand, they can be filled with the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth’ uterus when Mary, carrying the fetus Jesus, walked in the door! (Luke 1:41).

What about the cases of rape or incest? Should a woman be required to carry and give birth to the child of an attacker or a pervert? Can anybody make that decision other than the woman herself? It is easier to understand this question if we put forth a similar situation that could happen to anybody. Suppose you are backpacking far away from any roads or any emergency services and you find out that a storm, fire or other disaster is coming your way and you must flee the area as quickly as possible to survive. As you flee, you find a baby abandoned there. She will certainly die if you do not take her out with you. Do you slow yourself down and risk your own safety in order to save a helpless life? You do! (Exodus 23:4-5; 1 Corinthians 9:9- 10; John 15:13).

Finally, what about the very rare cases where a pregnancy has been medically diagnosed as likely to kill the mother? Ectopic pregnancies and a few other conditions can create these situations. The principle of Leviticus 19:16 applies: “… Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the LORD” (NLT) Similarly: “If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into a house and is struck and killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty of murder” (Exodus 22:2, NLT). God authorizes the taking of a human life when it is likely to prevent the taking of another innocent human life. If a woman has faith for divine deliverance from a diagnosed “fatal pregnancy”, let her exercise that faith in peace. On the other hand, if a person who wants   an abortion for other reasons goes searching for someone to declare a normal pregnancy “potentially fatal”, know for certain:

God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad (Ecclesiastes 12:14, NLT).