Hath God Said?*

Over and over in scripture, we see the people of God fall because they ignored the Word of God. This was so from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden. The serpent began to question Eve regarding the commandments of the LORD to them, saying to her, "Hath God said...?" (Gen. 3:1). The Word of God seems to be so easily questioned, but it is that very Word that formed the substance of all creation. In Gen. 1:1-3, in the beginning God, Elohim aleph-tav in Hebrew, spoke light into being, and light then existed in obedience to His Word. God then spoke all other things into existence. The aleph-tav written after the name of God indicates the Person of Jesus Christ, who said "I am the Alpha and the Omega, which is the same expression translated into Greek. It is confirmed in scripture that Jesus was not only present in the Genesis creation, as the name of God indicates, but was the Word of creative power spoken by God: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (Jn. 1:1-4). Not only was the Word the power behind creation, but the Word is a person, which is Jesus (Jn. 1:14). The Word is light and life for all who live. Not only does the Word create, but it sets apart and sanctifies because it is truth. Jesus prayed to the Father regarding His disciples: "...they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but...keep them from the evil...Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (Jn. 17:14-17). Regardless of what men choose to think, the Word of God is not changed: "For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." (Rom. 3:3-4). God's Word is backed up by His faith, and His faith in Himself is without any doubt. This guarantees us that, unlike the case with men, what God says, He will do! God said from the beginning of His creation of man, that He created them in His image: "...male and female created he them." (Gen. 1:27). Regardless of what man believes, or what changes they make to their bodies, their DNA will clearly identify them without exception as either male or female. This is the challenge to all of us. What makes us disregard what we know is the truth? Why do we choose to believe what men say more than what God says? Jeremiah wrote: "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is...The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately (anas - incurable, desperate, sick) wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jer. 17:7-10). We all have a date with God. There is only One who can cure these incurably wicked hearts - the One who voluntarily died in order to do it, Jesus, the Word, light and life of creation. There is another factor that causes men to ignore truth and choose the lie - financial gain. The LORD anticipated the effect of gain upon truth and justice: "And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous." (Ex. 23:8). We have seen in current headlines how the reputation of a Supreme Court judge has been placed into question because he, as one of the highest judges in the land, accepted many expensive gifts over the years from the wealthy, claiming that he didn't see it as wrong. Scripture, however, will not let us deny the truth: "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates...and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." (Deut. 16:18-20). A great deal of harm and wickedness has been committed for the sake of a gift, or financial gain of some kind. Even God's people in scripture were condemned for their greed. God condemned the watchmen of Israel, calling them "greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter." (Isa. 56:10-11). Of Jerusalem, the LORD said, "In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the LORD God." (Ezek. 22:12). The LORD says again of His people: "The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, is not the LORD among us? No evil can come upon us." (Micah 3:9). There was total corruption, yet they thought the LORD was still with them! Paul wrote to Timothy to be content with what we have: "But godliness with contentment is great gain...And having food and raiment let us be therewith content." (1 Tim. 6:6-8). We see very little of this kind of contentment. Paul warned that those who desire to be rich, "...fall into temptation and a snare, and into foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (v. 9-10). Paul wrote for us to flee these things, and "...follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." (v. 11). Another way that men have twisted God's Word to please and satisfy themselves is in regard to a sign of God's everlasting covenant, which He made with all flesh. The LORD promised Noah, that He would set His (rain)bow in the sky, to assure all living, and to remind Himself of His promise never to flood the earth with water again: And God said unto Noah, This (rainbow) is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth (Gen. 9:12-17). What have we done though to the rainbow, this powerful token of an everlasting promise from God? Isaiah wrote that the earth was defiled because its inhabitants broke the everlasting covenant of God (Isa. 24:5-6). They transgress the laws, and change the ordinances of God, as well as breaking the everlasting covenant: "Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." This sounds like the kind of devastation that would occur from nuclear warfare. We also ignore the law of God clearly recorded in Deut. 22:5 and Lev. 18:22 regarding sexual unrighteousness that we see among us today. When we do so, we are saying loudly and clearly, "Hath God said?". The LORD has forbidden us to sacrifice our children to idols, a form of which we see in our society today (Lev. 18:21). From this has come a money-driven industry, which was founded in eugenics and racism as history records. Paul wrote that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." (see Rom. 1:18-32). The prophet Isaiah wrote of "the woes" which would fall upon men "that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" (see Isa. 5:8-23). Of His own people, the LORD declared: "For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of His glory. The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! For they have rewarded evil unto themselves." (see Isa. 3:4-12). This is not God's intentions for man. He wants to restore the relationship He had with man in the Garden, but not by compromising with the world. This country is being destroyed from within, and we must each decide which side of the fence we're on. It's time to choose whom we will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 5/7/23 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. 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