Where Did Understanding and Wisdom Come From?

Job 38:36 [NET] "Who has put wisdom in the heart, or has imparted understanding to the mind?"

Universe as seen by Hubble

Basically I do not have a problem with many secular theories today, for instance the Big Bang theory does not bother me a bit; Dinosaurs do not cause me any heart burn at all. The scriptures simply say God created the heavens and the earth by His Word and in Genesis, Proverbs and in the latter chapters of Job we have some renderings of the activity of creation but not specifics on how He executed it.  As far as Dinosaurs are concerned,  I can accept for the sake of argument that there was another creation before us (Investigate Genesis gap theory). Sticking with the Big Bang theory for a moment suppose we accept this as a possible hypothesis (albeit for it to be true one of the principle laws of physics must be violated, namely, particles exceeding the speed of light; a feat that nothing in the universe currently can do). The problem I have with secular theories are not so much how the things we see today came to be but rather two critical and I believe fatal points that refute secular theories: 1) Where did the very first particle and its energy come from? and 2) Where did wisdom and understanding come from and who put them into the heart of man?

Where did the first particle come from? Scientists are very proud of their explanation that everything came forth from one single astronomically compressed dense particle bursting with energy which exploded causing particles to exceed the speed of light for some period of time (better be careful with this one; under special relativity doesn't exceeding the speed of light cause an event to go back in time or reverse?) producing dust and other elements that filled the universe with matter and eventually formed into galaxies and into the known universe. My question is simple; where did the first particle which contained all these sophisticated and complex particles and gases come from? 

In my faith I can answer this question; I believe that the worlds were framed by the Word of God and so God comes before the particle and is responsible for the elements contained in the first particle. In the scientists theory nothing existed before the particle and so the particle is all powerful and created itself; therefore, they believe the particle is God since this little particle created everything we know and see today. Ask yourself this question, does this make sense and answer all the questions of light and all darkness, water, skies, outer space, atmospheres and planets, sun moon and starts. Were all of these created from one little particle of dust and energy? What about intangible things such as wisdom and understanding, good and evil were these all created from a particle of dust too. This does not make any sense at all; the answer is, of course, they had to be created. 

Where did all the immense energy in the very first particle come from? There can only be two possible answers; it was either created or it created itself. It was either created by God or it is God. This theory is folly; don't waste my time explaining to me what happened when the energy was released explain to me where the energy came from in the first place. What is created is not nearly as important as what created it. This next point is the most fatal to secular theorists. Where did the intangible things such as wisdom and understanding in the heart of man come from? The Lord in the book of Job (Chapter 38:36) asked Job, a man who was in the midst of a trial and accusing God, this very question. And to the modern theorists I would like to ask the same. If man formed from the organic composition of the primordial ooze, a strictly organic activity then where did his intelligence come from and who told him he needed it? He could not have developed it because he sensed he needed it because not having intelligence how could he sense he needed it? The answer is, of course, obvious; it was God who put wisdom and understanding in the heart of man.

Here is the issue. Modern man is committed to discounting God because of the accountability issue; if he accepts that God exists then he is accountable for all his ambitions and works. He wants to cast God away because he wants the liberty and freedom to be his own man, not accountable to anyone. Unfortunately, he will find out too late that mankind is created and as such is accountable, everyone is accountable, it is the one unbending rule of the universe. Man was not created, as he accuses, by a cruel taskmaster but rather a loving and kind God whose only issue with man is against that which is evil (sin). If man walks contrary to laws God has given then he is subject to the penalties of the law (this is the same principle we govern ourselves with; if one breaks a law he is subject to the penalty - no difference!). 

What exactly is the commandments of God that we are judged by? Love, plain and simple. Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Hardly the mandates of a wild dictator bent on forcing worship. So motivated to man's success in this command is God that He offered His only begotten Son on the cross for those who have rebelled against Him, the very one who gave them life and breath. He did this to provide a covering for mans sin and to impart to us the power to walk in His commandments and thereby avoid the penalty of the law. 

In conclusion, the fatal flaw to modern theories is that although they try to explain the origins of the universe and the origins of man they can only take you to a point in time where something already existed and they cannot go beyond that point! My faith can easily make that leap to the other side bridging the gap and explaining the real origins, the origin of the very first particle and the energy contained and where wisdom and understanding came from.

Numbers Six - The Secret to Strength and Power for the Church

This was a prayer that God commanded when He established the Tabernacle and priesthood. Numbers 6:22-27 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, 24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them." We have an example of this blessing being performed by Aaron in Lev 9:22 "And Aaron lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the burnt offering, and peace offerings." So powerful was this blessing that we have an example of Balaam trying to curse the children of Israel but he could not violate this command to bless (Number 22). Every time he raised his hand to curse Israel he pronounced blessing (This blessing was in force because God testified in Numbers 22 that Israel was not walking in sin; this is the one thing that will break that blessing).Balaam could not break the blessing so he wickedly advised Balak, the king, to cause Israel to sin and thus remove this profound blessing; and so the men of Israel sinned with the women Balak sent into the camp and broke Gods commands causing God to bring judgment. I want to focus on the blessing itself and what it means for a people to have it so let's consider the different aspects of this blessing:

The Lord Bless Thee - Prosperity, in a very real sense we depend on His blessing for everything; whoever has His blessing prospers, whoever does not have His blessing wains. This is a simple basic fact of the kingdom. Prov 10:22 - blessing of the Lord maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it; Prov 28:20 - a faithful man abounds with blessing! Our prosperity (naturally and spiritually) depends on His favor and blessing.

The Lord Keep Thee - The keeping power of God. This would be best understood by Psalm 91: - why is it that one's stands the test of time throughout the years of good and evil; it is because of the keeping power of God. He upholds them in trials and tribulations. One who sets their love upon Him, as demonstrated by keeping His commands (John 14:15),  He upholds and preserves.

The Lord Make His Face to Shine Upon Thee - This is the thought of a father who looks upon the son in whom he is pleased; when he looks at him his heart is filled with pleasure and joy and the smile on his face belies the joy in his heart. We understand this through Jeremiah 29:13

The Lord be Gracious Unto Thee - Amos 5:15 - To the man or woman who loves good and hates evil the Lord will be gracious. Graciousness is the aspect of overlooking one's faults, they have blundered and yet one is gracious to overlook their faults. What a treasure this is, to have God be gracious to us even though we may stumble. But this is applied to ones who love good an hate evil because God knows their heart and does not get them with "Technicalities"; rather He is gracious and forgiving, He is pleased to give them leeway and time to mature.

The Lord Lift Up His Countenance - This has the sense of Gods acknowledgment, it is like king Ahasuerus in the book of Esther, this is only given to those who have found favor and grace in His sight. Esther 5:1-2 He extended his scepter to her...more to the point, he recognized and acknowledged her (she could have perished because she had not been called). Mark my words, there are those who God doe not acknowledge because of the way they are walking, this is not a given; the ones He acknowledges are ones who have character.

The Lord Give Thee Peace - "Shalom" - completeness, soundness, welfare, peace. The peace of God keeps our hearts and minds; it is not easily shaken or moved when things seem to turn against us, the peace of God holds us on course. This is a blessing indeed!

What is it that brings this blessing from God? It is a little bit more than just calling ones self after His name; it is walking uprightly and doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord! In Rom 8 we have listed for us "17 things" that cannot separate us from the love of God but in Gal 5 we have "17 things" (works of the flesh) that can displease the Lord and cause Him remove His blessing if we do not put them in check (as was the case listed above in Numbers 22) . What is the point we re making here? In summary it is this; the blessing of God is what gives the church its strength and makes it the head instead of the tail; in His favor is life and blessing. If we walk in His ways and endeavor by His grace to keep His judgments and statutes we will be preserved by these very blessings. However, I have seen over the years the church walking away from His commands and as a result I have observed  the blessing of God dissolve and the church losing its strength and sanctity; they have become weak spiritually and carnal because they have lost His blessing. They have been given over to carnality and error. It is time to return to the Lord, seek His face and walk in His ways. Let us once again ask Him to show His favor. It will mean for many brokenness and repentance but in the end it will restore His hand of favor to the Church and He will uphold us.

A Testimony of Romans 6:6 and the Desire for a Deeper Experience

Isaiah 53:3-5 - "3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

On a flight to Chicago recently the Lord made me understand in the most painful way how that the innocent (Christ) was punished, not for the sins of the world but...for me, for my sins and my guilt! He was beaten and crucified because of my sin and my transgression; this was both a wonderful and horrible experience but it produced within me a fresh cry for a much fuller experience of Romans 6:6 – “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin”.

On this flight He came from behind and stood by me, when He reached my row He leaned in towards me laid His hand upon me and without a thought I was compelled of the Holy Ghost to say: "punish Him for my sin". I could not believe I was saying this; here was my beautiful friend, the one who came to visit me and yet the words could not be restrained. I had to turn my head towards the window because I could not refrain from weeping. In a profound way I understood that He, the innocent one, was punished for me the guilty. I reasoned within myself if this was the right thing to do and yet I knew it was the only way, if He was not punished for me I would be lost. He had to be punished for my guilt. This is how real His offering became to me. My elder brother whom I love, this very elder brother who cares for me, even Jesus, I knew He had to be punished for my sin and it broke me. He was treated like the criminal and I, the guilty, went free. How can I describe what this produced in me, it produced within me a cry of: "No More! Lord let me sin no more so that I no longer contribute to your punishment, enough O' Lord, no more. Bring me like Isaiah to a place where my iniquity shall pass from me!"

I have to confess that when I first came to Jesus Christ 35 years ago it was not because of an awareness of my sin; it was more like a drowning man who clung to the life saver to keep from perishing. But throughout the years I have come into the revelation of what I did to Him and why He needed to die for my sins. The knowledge of this affects me in a most profound way; it produces such a desire to have a very real meeting with him so that the power of sin and the old Adam can be broken for good. The knowledge that the innocent was punished for your sin helps but it is not the complete solution. The full solution is that iniquity must be purged for a real breakthrough. There is something that takes place in a person’s life when they meet face to face with the power of God; not simply a casual meeting or sighting of Him but a life changing transformation where He puts something in you that was not there and you are so different or perhaps He removes something from you that was there and you are free indeed.

I recall Isaiah 6 where the prophet see’s the Lord and is made aware of his own uncleanness; the angel of the Lord touches his lips with the coals form off the altar and says “I have caused thy iniquity to pass from thee”. This is where the real crippling effects of Adam are broken. I am writing this little testimony to encourage us all to get before the Lord and ask Him to give us the faith that will produce this same kind of experience in each one of us; where we have such a meeting with God that the old man is rendered inactive and we no longer are servants to sin.