Rib Misogyny

(Gen 2:21 KJV)  And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

(Proverbs 16 also read)

I recently gave in to some click-bait that was giving a theory that woman was not made from the rib.  That was presented as a mistranslation based on misogyny.  He then goes on to say the real translation is “side” which implies being equal instead of inferior.  This is a perfect example of people taking their personal agenda and twisting the Bible to fit.  If you do a little thinking you can see how false his teaching is.  

First take the verse being quoted.  However you want to translate this, God took one of something from Adam and closed up the flesh.  Then if you look at verse 23 it talks about “bone of my bone.”  Rib (H6763) seems a good choice.

Then he says there is a perfectly good Hebrew word for rib and mentions a verse in Daniel 7:5 where it talks about the ribs in the mouth of a bear.  This is wrong in two ways.  Daniel is mainly written in Aramaic, not Hebrew, and the word there is the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew word used in Genesis.  In reality it is the same word.  The one he uses as proof of an anatomical word for “rib” (G5967) is in a bears mouth and is only used once.  This is not much to build an alternate understanding of the Bible.

So?  Beware of people who talk like they know what they are talking about.  I guess that would include me.  Do your own reading, research and thinking.  There is a lot of ego on the line for them and possible eternal consequences for us. 

Need to Know

(Gen 2:2 KJV)  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

(Proverbs 5 also read)

This verse tells us that God finished His work and “rested” (7673a) on the seventh day.  That much is obvious.  My mind is never satisfied with the obvious.  Questions seem to be lurking beneath the surface all the time.  I want to know, “When did God stop resting?”  Or I guess we could wonder if He stopped.  

Interesting, at least to me.

But this brings up a lesson that is of importance.  To my knowledge the Bible does not tell us when or if God stopped resting.  That gives us a choice.  We could consider it a point that is of no importance.  Don’t get worked up over it.  If God thought you needed to know, He would have told you.  You can ask Him during celestial choir practice breaks.  Or it means you are free to speculate as long as you don’t violate other things that are clearly taught.  Or you can write a book.

So?  The Bible does not tells us everything, only what we need to know.  Think about that a little.

Stop

(Gen 2:3 KJV)  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

(Proverbs 4 also read)

Since the law of Moses gets such a bad rap it is sometimes necessary for us to do an end run and go back to God’s original plans for us.  One of His key bits of scheduling was for the Sabbath.  That is the idea that one day in seven is to be set aside for rest.  You find it in the Ten Commandments, the beginning of the law, part of that “oppressive” regime given by the mean old man of the OT.

Except He isn’t and it isn’t.  The idea of a day off a week was planted in the character of God.  Did God really need a rest?  Was it anywhere near as difficult for me to pick up my granddaughter as I acted like for her benefit?  God took a rest to show us that we need to take a rest.

So?  We are not “under” the law.  God’s plan now is grace.  We still need to rest.  We need to take time off from the goals and schedules of life.  He said so.  He set the example.  Who am I to argue? 

Don’t Embrace Your Inner Vegetable

(Proverbs 16:26 KJV)  He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

There are times when I wish I had the ability to go back in time and take a different path.  Sometimes it is simply because I wasn’t paying attention and had an accident.  I want to avoid the pain of my carelessness.  Other times I want to have 40 years of experience in delving into Greek and Hebrew so I could understand the word.  My software tells me that the “he” (5315) of the KJV is the same as the “appetite” of the NASB.  Neither one gives us the meaning of the Hebrew word, which is nephesh. 

Nephesh is the word for soul.  38 times the KJV uses the word “soul” in Proverbs and each time it is this word.  It is used to describe the creation of man.

(Genesis 2:7 KJV)  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (5315).

You can see it is a bit deeper than “he” or “appetite”. 

There is a life force within us.  There is a desire to live.  It applies to the animal world as well. 

So?  I don’t know about you but there are days when my higher thinking skills don’t want to kick in.  Today was one of them.  I was content to lay in bed like a vegetable.  It took awhile but eventually the battle was settled for a day of life.  I rejoice in another victory and pray that you would also experience that again today. 

Universal Breath of Life

(Proverbs 20:27 KJV)  The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

As I work through the usage of the word “spirit” (5397) in the Bible, the first thing I notice is that it is used to refer to the breath of God that imparted life into Adam. 

(Genesis 2:7 KJV)  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (5397) of life; and man became a living soul.

It is used this way many times. 

As an extension of that it is used as the quality of being alive.  When someone dies, this is what leaves them. 

I could not find a time it was used to refer to animals.  It could be the Imago Dei, the image of God, that each human being is given.  Each and every living human being has a quality like this that says, “I am not a rock.  I am not an animal.”

So?  You have a quality in you that makes you uniquely human.  Everyone has it.  It is designed by God and for God.  If you are a computer geek, think of it as a backdoor into your human software that enables God to do a search. 

Beyond Valentine’s Day

(Pro 18:22 KJV)  Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

Marriage is on the way out in our pagan culture.  The decline is not being led by the elites but by the lower classes.  More and more children are being born out of wedlock in all demographic groups outside the wealthy.  I think in the lowest classes it is the majority.  Marriage has been abandoned.  That is not a Christian stance.

Here Solomon reinforces that standard.  He does not come up with it.  It is not original with him.  It has been God’s standard from the beginning. 

(Gen 2:24 KJV)  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

That is in the second chapter of the first book. 

Although Paul does endorse the righteous single life, the standard is clear.  Marriage is a good thing.

So?  If you are single, don’t rush out and get married, just understand that in God’s eyes marriage is not a jail sentence.  It is God’s plan and He awards “favor” (7522) in it.  If you are already married allow God to make it a blessing.

Deadly Love

(Proverbs 8:36 KJV)  But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

Believers have no problem with the statement that there are those who sin against God.  After all, that is the reason Jesus needed to face the cross.  What many have trouble with is the idea that they “love” (157) “death” (4194).

I would understand this love to be part of the rebellious nature of sin.  I don’t think of it as being a literal meaning here.  They are not seeking death or we would have suicides on the level of genocide.  I think this is the figurative meaning of being separated from God.  If you look back at the promise of God for eating of the tree of knowledge you see the verb form.

(Genesis 2:17 KJV)  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

When they ate from the tree they did not fall dead on the ground but were ejected from the garden.

We are surrounded by people who do not want to be in the presence of God.

So?  Don’t feel you are rejected for living righteously, know it.  As the world wants nothing to do with a holy God they also want nothing to do with you.  You are a reminder of the One whom they want nothing to do with.