Why There Is Suffering In The World It started in the very beginning of mankind's history: the first sin committed in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit it wasn't just a matter of taking food that didn't belong to them, it was much more than that. Let's review the situation first: God told Adam he could eat from any tree except the Tree of Knowledge; if that rule was broken the eater would die. Genesis 2:15-17 After Eve was created Adam apparently relayed this information to her because she repeated it to the snake that was tempting her to eat. Genesis 3:1-3 What did the snake reply? It claimed that what she was told was untrue - she wouldn't die, but instead would become wise like God, knowing good and bad. Genesis 3:4-5 In effect, the snake was claiming that God had actually lied to them. This snake's false claims evidently appealed to her, so she took some and shared it with Adam. Genesis 3:6-7 Although they did know right from wrong after eating it, they still ended up dying eventually. God spoke true, it was the snake who was the liar. Adam and Eve had God to take care of them, guide and teach them. The snake seems to offer them an opportunity to have God's knowledge within themselves, discarding the need to have God guide and teach them. Therefore, by taking the fruit they weren't simply stealing from God's tree, they were essentially rejecting God as their ruler as well. They wanted the right to rule themselves and this was a direct challenge to God's right to sovereignty. God could have destroyed them for their behaviour and ended it right there. However, that wouldn't have been a permanent fix because Adam and Eve weren't the only two sentient beings alive at this time. There was a heaven full of angels watching. These angels existed as they watched God create the earth (Job 38: 1-7). Therefore, the challenge towards God's right to sovereignty was in front of the entire universe. If God immediately destroyed the sinners, then the question as to whether or not people are capable of ruling themselves would have remained unresolved. This issue needed to be put to rest. God chose to resolve the issue the simplest way possible: Give humans a trial period to prove they could successfully rule themselves as well as God can. God does not reveal in the scriptures how long that period is, but scripture indicates God has a set time period for it. Habakkuk 2:3, Daniel 8:19 In order for God to let humans prove they could rule themselves successfully, He must refrain from interfering, (unless he has a secondary agenda to accomplish) otherwise it isn't proving that we can do it by ourselves. Most of the misery in the world is caused by human thinking: Crime, corruption, selfishness, spread of diseases, etc. And you have to hand it to God, He has given humans an enormous amount of time to prove our worthiness to rule ourselves. We can only assume that is because then no one can then accuse Him of not having given us enough time to prove ourselves. It is painfully apparent that we humans absolutely need God's sovereignty in our lives. So please, before you blame God for the hardships in your lives, remember that He has only given humans what was wanted: the opportunity to prove we could rule ourselves. He has to let us fumble through it in order to establish who has the right to rule humankind. Of course, this doesn't mean God has abandoned us, He is still there for all who call upon Him. Acts 2:21, 1 Peter 3:12 God's Original Purpose for the Earth In the beginning, when God made humankind, He commissioned us to be the caretakers of the earth. To care for the animals and cultivate the plants. Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:15 Now, when God has a plan, He doesn't forget about it. Isaiah 46:10, Isaiah 55: 8-13. His plan is to have the earth firmly established and inhabited. Isaiah 45:18 The scriptures also indicate that God plans to have the earth to last forever, and that goodhearted people will be the ones to populate it. Psalms 37:29, Psalms 104:5, Ecclesiastes 1:4, Matthew 5:5 This harmonizes with His original plan for the earth as outlined in Genesis. Unfortunately, His plan was put on hold for a while due to the sovereignty issue in play at the moment. (see the article in this section titled "Why there is suffering in the world ") However, once this issue is resolved, Yahweh will put everything back into place as he originally wanted it. Psalms 37:34, Daniel 2:44, 1 John 2:16-17. Kinship Of The Biblical Nations ISRAELITES These were descendants from Abraham's grandson, Jacob, who God renamed Israel. The Israelites themselves were divided up into twelve separate tribes descended from Jacob's twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Joseph and Asher. However, when God separated the tribes, he set aside the Levites (from Levi) as a priestly group, and replaced it with the tribe springing from Joseph's firstborn son, Manasseh. By the way, since Abraham is the forefather of this nation, this nation was descended from Noah's son, Shem. (Genesis 11:10-27) Jews consider themselves as descended from the Israelites. This is why Israel is a Jewish nation today. ISHMAELITES The Ishmaelites were an uncle nation to the Israelites because Ishmael was the brother of Isaac (Isaac was the father of Jacob/Israel). God promised Ishmael would also become a numerous people with twelve chieftains: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. Muslims believe they are descended from the Ishmaelites. EDOMITES Edom, a.k.a. Esau, was the twin brother of Jacob/Israel, therefore they were a direct brother tribe to the Israelites. (Genesis 25:24-30) God decreed that the Israelites do not hate the Edomites because of their brotherly ties. (Deuteronomy 23:7) MOABITES Moab was the son of Lot: After Lot and his daughters escaped the destruction of Sodom, they settled in the land of Zoar. There were no men around for the girls to marry and the girls were concerned about carrying on the family, so they got him drunk, made themselves pregnant by him, and bore sons. The firstborn daughter gave birth to Moab, who became the father of the nation of the Moabites. Since Lot was Abraham's nephew (Genesis 11:27), this made Lot a cousin of Isaac, Jacob's father. Therefore the Moabites were a cousin nation to the Israelites. AMMONITES Same story as for the Moabites, except that this was Ben-Ammi, the son of the second daughter of Lot. Therefore, the Ammonites were also a cousin nation to the Israelites. CANAANITES Canaan was the son of Ham, making him the grandson of Noah. (Genesis 9:18) Canaan had sons named Sidon and Heth. It is interesting to note that Esau took wives from the daughters of Heth. (Genesis 26:34-35, 27: 46) Canaan also became father to the following nations: Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and the Hamathites. So all these Canaanite families were descended from Noah's son, Ham. Since Ham was the brother of Shem, and Shem was the ancestor of the Israelites, this makes the Canaanites and the Israelites cousin nations. Biblical Lists The Ten Commandments Written in Exodus 20:1-17. The Twelve Apostles They are identified at Matthew 10:2-4 Fruits Of The Spirit These are listed in Galatians 5:22-23 Paul's Trials Here is the list of the troubles the apostle Paul had to endure at 2 Corinthians 11: 21-28 The Ten Plagues The ten plagues God inflicted upon Egypt can be found at Exodus Chapters 7-12 The Beatitudes These are listed twice in the bible, once at Matthew 5:3-12 and at Luke 6:20-23 Love List This is the list that describes real love as written at 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 Spiritual Armor This can be found at Ephesians 6:14-17 Prophetesses |