What should I call God in prayer?

Question from Edmond:

Brother Bob...I was just recently doing some research into just what the significance of baal worship is into the old testament when I came across Hosea 2:16-17. It reads:
"In that day," declares the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my master' (or baal in Hebrew)....
I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;
no longer will their names be invoked."

My question is: Does God dislike it when we refer to him as "God" and "Lord" and "Master"? B/c that's how I usually do it. I always call Him Lord in prayer and when I am speaking to Him. Should I stop and adopt a more...equal word, like say Father? What are your thoughts? It seems contradict the New Testament usage...

Answer from Pastor Bob:

The context of Hosea 2 is that Israel was unfaithful to the Lord their God and the Israelites were following after other gods, like Baal. Hosea the prophet had this illustrated this in his own marriage, as his wife Gomer was unfaithful to him. So this was a pun on the name "Baal" because the word "baal" had a double meaning, as the word meant "master" and could be used by a wife to refer to her husband and could also be used as the name of the pagan Canaanite god. God considered Israel to be unfaithful to Him the way an adulterous wife is unfaithful to her husband. Thus the main point of Hosea 2:16-17 is that God was saying he wanted Israel's complete loyalty.
A similar analogy to Hosea 2:16-17 would be if an Arabic-speaking Muslim became a Christian. The word for "God" in Arabic is allah. However, Allah is used by Muslims for their God, and so the Arabic-speaking Christian might prefer to use another term, such as "Lord," to avoid sounding like he is still worshiping the God of Islam.
Regarding what you and I should call God in prayer, Jesus taught us in the Lord's Prayer to call Him "Father." He is also addressed as "Lord," "Master" and "God" in many passages. Any of these terms are appropriate for the Christian to pray. The key is that we address God with respect and love.

Who is the man measuring in Ezekiel 43?

Question from Greg:

I have a question about Ezekiel, chapter 43.

Who is the man measuring and standing beside Ezekiel? v.6

Answer from Pastor Bob:

In the early chapters of Ezekiel, the glory of the Lord departed, because of the sin of the people, committed even in the temple (Ezekiel chapters 8-10).
Apparently the "measurement" of the new temple in Ezekiel 43 represents a prophecy of a coming perfection in the last days, when God's glory will return and worship will be pure and pleasing to God. "Measurement" is a symbolic way of saying that God measures them spiritually to see if they "measure up." The man beside Ezekiel seems to be a heavenly guide, perhaps an angel. Verses 10-12 may refer to the first coming and/or Second Coming of Christ. Revelation 11:1-2 tells of another heavenly being who is given a rod to measure the temple.

What does the Bible teach on stewardship?

Question from Sherri:

My dad was in church ... made some strong points on tithing... Would you be willing to share some points with me/him on tithing...? My dad leads their parish for the Bishop's Annual Appeal each year. He was very impressed with so many things you brought to his attention.

Answer from Pastor Bob:

Thanks! I appreciate your encouraging words. I don't remember which message your father heard, but here are several points that I made that month as a part of our stewardship emphasis, which he is welcome to use:
Malachi 3:8-10 teaches that the tithe belongs to God, and if we don't give it, we are robbing God. It also teaches to bring the tithe into the "storehouse," which referred to the storage warehouses at the temple itself. This means they did not have the option of giving the tithe to whatever they wanted, but they were to bring it to God's house. The application is that the tithe should come to the local church where we worship. If a person gives to another charity, that's fine, but he or she should give the tithe to the local church.
2 Corinthians 9:7 teaches that God loves a cheerful giver. The Greek word is hilarion, from which we get the word "hilarious." Imagine the offering plate coming by and the husband saying to the wife, "Go ahead honey, put it in!" as he laughs out loud for joy. God loves that attitude. If we think about all of the wonderful ministries the church is doing because of our giving, we should give cheerfully.
2 Corinthians 9:15 says, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" This is a reminder that whatever money we give to God's work can never equal what God has already given to us through the sacrificial death of His Son Jesus Christ. So we can never outgive God.
1 Corinthians 16:2 teaches two principles of giving. This text comes from when the apostle Paul was taking a love offering from the Gentile churches to send to the Jerusalem church, which was suffering. He tells them to give regularly and proportionally. He says to set aside money on the first day of the week. That's regular giving. He says to do it "to the extend that you prosper." That's proportional. The great thing about tithing is that it is proportional. If you earn $100 a week, then a tithe is $10, and if you earn $1000 a week, then a tithe is $100. God does not ask for equal gifts, but equal sacrifice.
1 Chronicles 21:24 teaches sacrificial giving. When King David wanted to buy property from Ornan the Jebusite, to build an altar to the Lord at the place where the plague ended, Ornan told him to take it for free. David replied that he insisted on paying full price, "for I will not take for the Lord what belongs to you or offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing." Wow! What a statement. He's not going to make an offering to God that cost him nothing. He wants to make a gift to God that actually involves sacrifice. A similar point is made in Malachi 1:13 when God rejects the offering of those who bring stolen, lame or sick animals to the Lord. It is an insult to God to give Him our leftovers. God deserves our very best.
1 Chronicles 29:3 says that David gladly gave "over and above." There is nothing wrong with giving beyond the tithe, as God has prospered you. Notice in verse 9 that the people rejoiced because their leaders were willing to give. When the leaders of the church set the pace, others in the church will give more faithfully

Girding up your loins

Question from Tim:

Brother Bob, what does it mean in the Bible when it says to "gird up your loins"?

Answer from Pastor Bob:

This is an expression similar to our English saying, "roll up your sleeves." It comes from the ancients who wore robes, but needed to pull them above their knees and tuck them in their belt (girdle) to have freedom of movement. Thus "gird up your loins" mean to pull up your robe and tuck it into your belt for action.
That is why 1 Peter 1:13 says in the King James Version, "Gird up the loins of your mind..." and in New International Version the same verse says, "Therefore, prepare your minds for action..."

How old is the earth?

Question from Bryan:

I was wondering what your personal opinion is on the age of both the earth and the age of the universe (in general)?

Answer from Pastor Bob:

I take the days of creation in Genesis 1 as symbolic of long periods of time. I am not a scientist, but I don't see the need to insist on a young earth. The Hebrew word yom (day) is used in Genesis 2:4 as a period of time ("In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens"), so why must it be limited to 24 hours in Genesis 1? What's more, the sun and moon were not made until the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19), so how would 24 hours be determined on the previous days? I see no conflict between Genesis 1 and the theory that the earth is millions of years old.
I recommend the following books on the subject: Philip Johnson's Darwin on Trial and Lee Strobel's The Case for the Creator and William Demski's The Design Revolution. I would also recommend the website of the Discovery Institute: www.discovery.org.
If people prefer to believe a literal 6 days of creation, I'm not interesting in arguing with them, as long as we can agree that God created and we do not believe in Darwinian macro-evolution.

Does Exodus contradict itself about saying Moses talked to God "face to face"?

Question from Keri's Bible class:

It says that Moses sat down and talked to God face to face, yet it later says that God put Moses in a cleft so that he couldn't see God's face because nobody had ever seen God's face. Don't these accounts seem to contradict themselves?

Answer from Pastor Bob:

Exodus 33:11 says Moses spoke with God "face to face" but Exodus 33:20 says nobody can see God's face and live, and Exodus 33:23 says God allowed Moses to see His back, but not his face. Apparently when the scripture says Moses spoke "face to face" this expression was not meant to be taken literally, but was a way of saying that they spoke personally.

Did the high priest wear a rope into the Holy of Holies so he could be pulled out?

Question from Keri's Bible class:

Is it true that the high priests had to wear a rope around their waist when they entered the Holy of Holies in case they fainted or died while they were in there...so someone outside the curtain could pull them out?

Answer from Pastor Bob:

This is a late Jewish tradition, but I cannot find a specific reference to it in the Bible. Exodus 28:35 says he is to wear a bell that will be heard when he enters the Holy of Holies, "so that he does not die." God knows everything, and so the noise of the bell wasn't because God couldn't hear them coming it, but it was a way of showing reverence to greet God, so the priest would not enter the Holy of Holies flippantly. However, there is nothing in the Bible that says the priest wore a rope or cord to be pulled out. This is in some Jewish traditions, but not in the Bible.

If jealousy is one of the Ten Commandments, why is God jealous?

Question from Keri's Bible class:

If envy/jealousy is one of the Ten Commandments, why does God say his name is Jealous in Exodus?

Answer from Pastor Bob:

Read Exodus 20:1-17 again. Jealousy is not one of the Ten Commandments. When Exodus 20:5 stresses in the Second Commandment against idolatry that God is a "jealous" God, the Hebrew word used is a word only used of God. There is a different word for jealousy used in Hebrew for jealousy among people. God's "jealousy" refers to his unwillingness to share second place with anything or anyone else, because He is God and deserves to be Number One.

Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart?

Question from Keri:

We were studying Exodus when the following question came up in my Bible class:

Why does God harden Pharoah's heart (or so the Bible words it) if he wanted the Israelites to go free? The way that's worded is confusing to the students and me.

Answer from Pastor Bob:

Strange as it sounds to us, nine times in Exodus it says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart (4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1; 10:20; 10:27: 11:10; 14:4; 14:8) and another nine times it says Pharaoh hardened his own heart (7:13-14; 7:22; 8:15; 8:19; 8:32; 9:7: 9:34-35). So Pharaoh was responsible for his own actions, but the Lord was ultimately in control of events. It's like the issue of predestination; man has a free choice, but God already knows what that choice will be, so God can speak of it as predestined because of His foreknowledge. The bottom line is that God knew how Pharaoh would resist, but God was going to have His will done, yet without violating Pharaoh's free will. God's purpose through it all was to bring glory to His name. Notice Exodus 6:7: "Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians."

Who are Daniel's kings of the South and North?

Question from Joseph:
Brother Bob, I was reading Daniel 11, and I don't understand who it is talking about when it describes the "king of the South" and the "king of the North." Who does this mean?

Answer from Pastor Bob:
Although it may bring to the mind of some Americans the Civil War, it does not refer to Confederates and Yankees!
This passage is a prophecy about Alexander the Great ("a mighty king" from Greece mentioned in Daniel 11:2-3), whose "empire will be broken up" (11:4). We know from history that Alexander's empire was divided after his death. "The king of the South" refers to Ptolemaic rulers in Egypt, and "the king of the North" refers to Seleucid rulers whose empire stretched from Syria to part of India. A good study Bible can list the specific rulers and dates of the battles described in the chapter.
The king who exalts himself described in Daniel 11:36 and following seems to shift from kings known in history to the future Antichrist.