Was OT YHWH really SATAN?

Was OT YHWH really SATAN? – Part 3

Posted Oct 26/2018

Next we look at specific examples of where Jesus and the disciples connected their God/Father with the OT YHWH—by quoting or reusing OT language. Surely they would not do this unless they HONORED the OT YHWH…

Next we will look at the ‘controversial’ passages YS mentions and ‘search the scriptures’ to see who Jesus and his apostles thought gave the law, spoke to Moses, did the Exodus plagues, etc. If they connect these controversial events/passages with their NT God/Father, then this further fleshes out the ‘trap’ we are in – that we have to trust Jesus and his students for how God relates to those OT events.

And then we will show the massive alignment of OT ethics and NT ethics (including Jesus and OT YHWH), and then try to ‘listen to the text and facts’ about the passages (or beliefs about those passages—more the case) that disturb people (especially the ones you mention). [Probably have to do this in a later section because there is just too much data to confront us with the realities of God=YHWH, and never is SATAH=YHWH (in the bible, at least).

So, more later—but you have to wrestle with this ‘can I trust Jesus when he tells me to trust the Hebrew Bible He used, taught, submitted to, and interpreted His life/mission by’…

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At this point, you should have a clear understanding that Jesus and his disciples believed that ‘all scripture was God-breathed’ and that all prophecy was produced by the Holy Spirit, and that at least all messianic prophecy was produced also by the Spirit of the (pre-Incarnate) Christ.

In other words, the entire trinity wrote the Old Testament! – The New Testament God (God of Jesus and His students), the Holy Spirit (both author of the OT, and promised by Jesus to guide the NT authors into all truth), and the pre-incarnate “second person of the Trinity”—the Son of God, the Word, the pre-incarnate Jesus.

Before we supplement this clear understanding with an avalanche of NT references and usage of OT passages, let me note one disturbing thing about the YS site.

In one of the videos, the YS speaker draws our attention to the ‘unpardonable sin’, arguing that to confuse the (imaginary) ‘two voices / two YHWHs’ in the OT would be to commit this sin. Therefore—they continue—we MUST ‘test the spirits’ so we don’t make such a horrible mistake.

We have already looked at the ‘test the spirits’ passage and seen that it has NOTHING to do with ‘judging the Word of God’(!), but a closer look at what the ‘unpardonable sin’ passage is about raises a disturbing question about the YS site in general.

In the gospel passage, the works of the Holy Spirit were being ascribed by the religious leaders to the Devil, arguing that Jesus was doing His miracles by the demonic power of Satan. Jesus counters the argument with the ‘house divided cannot stand’ argument, but then makes that statement about the unpardonable sin. [I personally don’t think that sin can be committed today, because of the unique situation of Jesus’ earthly life, but I will not argue that here. Even if it is no longer unpardonable or un-committable, it is still a horrible thing to accuse the precious Holy Spirit of!!]

The ‘bad news’ is that Jesus’ warning seems to condemn the YS position clearly. Jesus said that to claim that the work of the Holy Spirit was in fact the work of Satan was unforgiveable eternally. Since Jesus and the NT disciples believed that ALL of the OT scripture was the work of the Holy Spirit, but YS says that much of it was the work of Satan, it looks disturbingly like YS has done exactly that sin. He/she/they have claimed that the writings of the Holy Spirit were in fact the writings of Satan.

So, that alone would make ME very, very hesitant to accept that position – over against the plain teachings of Jesus and the NT.

But hopefully, you personally are not there—even though it might still seem to you that some of the events of the OT simply could NOT be caused by the God of the NT.

I encourage you to ‘not judge by appearances’ but to let God ‘defend Himself’ by revealing more of the meaning of scripture – by a closer read—to you.

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Okay, back on task….

Jesus and his students only had ONE God – the Father, the God of the New Testament. There were no rivals to God, there were only rebellious subjects (like us humans and sub-divine spirits). They knew of Satan/devil, but all of them talked so much more about their God (our God) that it might be easy to miss how FULLY they saw the OT YHWH as their God.

For example, when they say something like “when God was doing this in the OT…”, they were connecting THEIR GOD with ‘whichever’ YHWH (smile) was doing that in the OT.

You need to be clear on this – Jesus was not ‘confused’ about the God of the OT being the Person He address as “God” or “Father”. Jesus’ disciples were not confused either—because Jesus had taught them about the Father—their writings will show the same identification of the OT YHWH with the NT GOD/FATHER. Jesus was a successful teacher and the promised Holy Spirit ‘sealed the deal’ (“He will bring all things I have said to you into remembrance”).

So let’s start with their writings (where we have so many more practical passages to work with). We will look for ‘pairs’ of an OT passage as a background for an identification with the NT God.

[Note that all the “Lord” words in the OT passages below are “LORD” in the normal bibles, and are the word “YHWH” in the Hebrew. I would change them all to uppercase, but it would take too long…sigh]

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Did the disciples of Jesus believe the YHWH of the OT was the God of Jesus and His disciples?

Acts 02:17–21 ‑“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Joel 2:28–32 ‑ “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.

Hebrews 08:08–12 ‑ For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Jeremiah 31:31–34 ‑“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Hebrews 03:15 ‑As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Psalm 95:7–8 ‑For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

Hebrews 05:05 ‑So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; Hebrews 5:6 ‑as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”

Psalm 2:7 ‑I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Psalm 110:4 ‑The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

John 01:18 ‑ No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Exodus 33:20 ‑But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”

Did Jesus' disciples identify the God (of Jesus and the NT) with OT YHWH, even in imagery or commands?

1 Corinthians 01:19 ‑For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”	Isaiah 29:14 ‑therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”
1 Corinthians 03:20 ‑and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”	Psalm 94:11 ‑the Lord—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.
1 Corinthians 10:26 ‑For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”	Psalm 24:1 ‑The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

Romans 15:09 ‑and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”

2 Samuel 22:50 ‑“For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.

Psalm 18:49 ‑For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name.

Hebrews 10:27 ‑ but a fearful expectation of judgment [from NT God], and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Isaiah 26:11 ‑O Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.

Hebrews 12:29 ‑for our God is a consuming fire.

Isaiah 33:14 ‑The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?” ; Deuteronomy 4:24 ‑For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 9:3 ‑Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you.

2 Corinthians 10:17 ‑“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Jeremiah 9:24 ‑but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Philippians 2:10–11 ‑ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Isaiah 45:23 ‑By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

Acts 07:02 ‑And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’

Genesis 11:31–12:1 ‑. Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

Psalm 29:3 ‑The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters.

Do the Gospels and Epistles show a Theos (GOD) that acted like the OT YHWH?

Matthew 17:05 ‑ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Psalm 2:7 ‑I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

Deuteronomy 18:15 ‑“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

1 Corinthians 14:21 ‑In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”

Isaiah 28:11–12 ‑For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the Lord will speak to this people, to whom he has said, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose”; yet they would not hear.

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What about specific events?

The YS site says that the Father/NT God of Jesus and the disciples:

· did NOT create the world (only Jesus did – even though Satan CLAIMED to As YHWH, acc2 Y),

· did not send the Flood,

· did not speak out of the burning bush to Moses,

· did not give the Law and 10 commandments in the law to Moses,

· did not use force to free the Israelites from suffering in the Exodus

· did not give the Land to Israel by Joshua in the conquest,

· did not authorize/approve of blood sacrifices—just to name a few.

But rather that Satan—masquerading as YHWH – did all those ‘horrible’ things…

Well, let’s see what Jesus and his students seem to think about this. Remember, any time they use the word GOD or LORD, they are referring to the ONLY GOD THEY KNOW – the one Jesus proclaimed and taught to them.

Who created the world according to Jesus and his disciples, their GOD or Satan?

Mark 10:06 ‑ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ [Jesus speaking]

Genesis 1:27 ‑ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 5:2 ‑ Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.

1 Corinthians 08:6 ‑ yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

2 Peter 3:05 ‑ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,

1 Timothy 4:04 ‑For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

Genesis 1:31 ‑ And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2 Corinthians 04:06 ‑ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Genesis 1:3 ‑And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Acts 04:24 ‑And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them … For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus

Psalm 146:6 ‑who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;

Exodus 20:11 ‑ For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.

Hebrews 01:02 ‑ but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

James 3:09 ‑ With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

Romans 01:25 ‑ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Hebrews 01:10–12 ‑And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”

Psalm 102:25–27 ‑ Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.

Who SENT THE FLOOD according to Jesus and his disciples, their GOD or Satan?

1 Peter 3:20 ‑ because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

2 Peter 2:05 ‑ if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

Hebrews 11:07 ‑ By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household

Who SPOKE out of the burning bush according to Jesus and his disciples, their GOD or Satan?

Mark 12:26 ‑And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? [Jesus speaking]

Exodus 3:2 ‑And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

Exodus 3:6 ‑And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Luke 20:37 ‑ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

[Jesus speaking]

Matthew 22:32 ‑ ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” [Jesus speaking]

Exodus 3:15 ‑ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Exodus 3:16 ‑Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,

Acts 07:31–34 ‑When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them.

Exodus 3:4–10 ‑When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land...

Who gave the 10 commandments and the Law ‘out of the fire’—the NT GOD or SATAN—according to Jesus and his disciples?

Matthew 15:04 ‑ For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’

[Jesus speaking]

Exodus 20:12 ‑ “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.; Exodus 21:17 ‑“Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.

Leviticus 20:9 ‑ For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.

2 Corinthians 06:16 ‑ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Ezekiel 37:27 ‑ My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Leviticus 26:12 ‑ And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

Who used force to free the Israelites from suffering in the Exodus event and led them through the events of the Wilderness Wanderings– The NT God or Satan?

Matthew 04:04 ‑ But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

[Jesus speaking]

Deuteronomy 8:3 ‑ And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Acts 07:06ff ‑ And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ --- He [Pharaoh] dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.

Exodus 1:22 ‑Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

Acts 07:34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

Exodus 3:Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land

Deuteronomy 4:20 ‑ But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. ; I Kings 8:51 - for they are Your people and Your inheritance which You have brought forth from Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace), ; Jeremiah 11:3-4 -- Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant which I commanded your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,’

Acts 07:42–43 ‑But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “ ‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

Amos 5:25–27 ‑ “Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

Acts 13:17 ‑ The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.

Exodus 12:51 -- And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

Exodus 6:6 -- Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

Hebrews 08:05 ‑They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”

Exodus 25:31–40 ‑“You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. … . And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.

Matthew 04:07 ‑ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

[Jesus speaking]

Deuteronomy 6:16 ‑“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

Matthew 02:15 ‑ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Hosea 11:1 ‑When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

In fact, the NT students of Jesus taught that it was the pre-incarnate Christ that did the Exodus and wanderings???? Not SATAN???

Jude 5 ‑ Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

Exodus 12:51 ‑And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts. ; Numbers 14:29–30 -- your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Numbers 14:35 ‑ I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

1 Corinthians 10:09 ‑We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,

Numbers 21:5–6 ‑And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.

(We will get to the “Jesus being the image of the Father, but NOT the image of YHWH” argument in a later section. But the two verses above are fairly clear in identifying the two with ‘forceful action’… )

Who drove the nations out before Israel and Joshua at the “Conquest” – SATAN or the NT God?

Acts 13:19 ‑And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 7:1 ‑“When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you--- seven nations more numerous and mightier than you,

Joshua 14:1 ‑These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit.

Acts 07:45–46 ‑ Our fathers in turn brought it [tabernacle] in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers.

Deuteronomy 9:3 ‑ the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

Did Jesus and his students repudiate all blood sacrifices? (as not being from GOD who gave the LAW)? Or did they still use them in the gospels and Acts?

First from Jesus, in the gospels:

Mark 01:44 ‑ and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” Matthew 8:4 ‑ And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

Leviticus 14:2–32 ‑“This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. ... and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop. And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. He shall take the live bird …, and dip them & the live bird in the blood of the dead one

Matthew 05:23f -- Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

Then from Christ, in the Old Testament:

Hebrews 10:05–7 ‑ Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ” Hebrews 9:22 ‑Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Heb9-10 - He offered His own blood, one sacrifice, blood of Christ

Psalm 40:6–8 ‑ In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” Leviticus 17:11 ‑ For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

Ps 51:16-19: For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Notice in this last verse-set, (1) Christ says ‘not desired’ but He still offered himself as a blood sacrifice. And—not to jump ahead—notice that (2) the Ps 51 text says both that God will NOT delight in a sacrifice, but then He WILL Delight in them—when the heart of the offeror is in right relationship with him. Hypocrisy was not a problem Jesus faced BEFORE anyone else!

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See what I mean? All of these references to YHWH in the OT are connected to the New Testament speaker’s or writer’s God—the God/Father that Jesus revealed to them, imaged to them, taught them about, and commanded them to emulate!

Jesus and his students do not seem to be embarrassed in the least by these passages. Many of us are. What do they know about God that we don’t?! How can they TRUST this God? How can the disciples accept that Jesus worshipped and submitted to and approved and even claimed to be SENT by such a one? Was the life He lived in front of them somehow in consistent alignment with the picture of OT YHWH He taught and they knew from the Hebrew Bible? That the image of the Father He showed them, was consistent with the image of the OT YHWH?

YS and others can talk all day about fire and death and lies and cruelty and horrors they want in these passages (never looking for the grace that can be found in ALL OF THEM) – but at the end of the day, our/your judgment had better line up with the EXPLICIT and CLEAR and CONSISTENT teachings of Jesus—from His own lips and from the lips and pens of His trusted Spirit-empowered disciples.

Those that try to turn people away from God by arguing from out-of-context textual items and from vague/ambiguous imagery (fire from heaven, darkness, curses-covenant penalty clauses, etc) to “God is evil” perpetuates the first lie and the first murder of Satan – Genesis 3.

In this passage, the crafty serpent does the corrosive accusation thing.

He only mentions a RESTRICTION of God (“Has God said you cannot …”?)—to raise the possibility that God is not as good as they think. When the woman states the fact that the prohibition IS in place, she mentions though that it is for THEIR GOOD (to avoid holistic death).

The serpent then immediately ACCUSES GOD of (1) outright lying – ‘you will not die like He said!’; and of being ‘afraid of competition’ – ‘He know you will be like God’.

He does an accusation that turns into a slander—and is the FIRST LIE—and provokes the woman into RE-EVALUATING the data, with the ASSUMPTION that GOD is lying and does NOT really want the best for them.

Sound familiar?

Making the assumption that God is lying—because OBVIOUSLY a good-God wouldn’t do XYZ—and then getting us to reinterpret all of the Scripture around this assumption of God’s evil character?

And – as can be seen from digging into the Word with a good and humble heart yourself – the lie of Satan produced the first murder / unwanted death (immediately a spiritual one, then a social one—expulsion, and over time and with increasing force, physical mortality and cosmic ‘wind-down’)—the first murder.

But the God in the story was not malicious or petty or deceptive. The Lord clothed them (requiring a blood victim for skins), placed a hedge around the tree of life so they would not eat of it and then live FOREVER in a state of death, shame, regret over the loss of the Garden and fellowship with their good-hearted maker, and then stayed engaged with them and they offspring—trying to coach Cain back to real life.

These elements of God’s redemptive ‘cleanup’ can be seen in all the troubling passages that are so well known—if you only look closely.

We will DEFINITELY come back to the elements of these texts that trouble our hearts, but we will “allow God to defend His honor and character” from His Word.

And there are some other fairly minor/petty accusations raised against our Lord Jesus’ God (the same one in the OT YHWH) that are easily cleared up by just READING THE TEXT AND CONTEXT carefully [e.g., the ‘unseen face’, the ‘lying spirit’, darkness vs light, fire from heaven, the ‘curses and oaths’, Moses’ supposed “horns’ (because some teacher doesn’t know Hebrew very well…sigh), etc]—these are not even speed bumps once you look more closely at the text itself—and don’t pump assumptions and bias into them!).

[We will have to be sensitive to ‘accusations’ in all our studies—it is the M.O. of Satan. He accuses everybody apparently. For example, in Job 1-2, He accuses God of ‘buying Jobs loyalty through prosperity’ and simultaneously accuses Job of not being loyal at all—only ‘in it for the money’!]

I would show the texts that explain those here, but it's more important (IMO) to drive home how COMPLETELY Jesus accepted/approved/endorsed the life, ethics, and governance of the OT YHWH.

Once you see this clearly, you will either have to REJECT JESUS (and this students) as being DELUDED and therefore worthless as guides to knowing God, or as being IN LEAGUE WITH Satan in trying to deceive us; or have to REJECT sources of teaching that deny what our Lord believed, lived, and taught – the implications of all these passages (and upcoming ones) we bring to your attention in these write-ups.

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Okay, let’s glance at the IMMENSE amount of ‘approval’ and ‘alignment’ Jesus and His disciples had of the OT YHWH—in morals, emotions, messianic expectations, and hopes for the promised future.