kjw47
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- #61
God didn't come to earth? Are you 100% sure about that?
The story of God speaking to Moses out of the burning bush is found in Exodus 3:1—4:23. Through this remarkable event, Moses encounters God on Mount Horeb, and God reveals Himself (Deuteronomy 33:16; Mark 12:26). The burning bush as described in Exodus 3:2 is a theophany, the appearance of God in a form that is visible to man. The bush itself was most likely some kind of bramble or thorn bush, and the fire burning the bush was in the form of the angel of the Lord who “appeared to him [Moses] in flames of fire” (Exodus 3:2).
This is the first time the Bible uses the word “holy” with reference to God (verse 5). At the burning bush God revealed His holiness in a way it had never been revealed before. Moses was so awed by this experience that later when he wrote his famous victory hymn, he made sure to mention this divine attribute of God’s holiness: “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)
There are several reasons why God revealed Himself to Moses out of the burning bush. First, God reveals Himself as a fire in that it is an image of His holiness. All through the Bible, fire is used as a picture of the purifying and refining quality of God’s holiness. This is further evidenced when God commands Moses to remove his sandals “for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Here God was emphasizing to Moses the gap between the divine and the human. God is transcendent in His holiness, so Moses was not allowed to come close to Him.
Not only did God make the earth, God also came to earth when he created Adam in his image out of earth's dust, and took one of adam's lower ribs and fashioned him a helpmate named Eve. God came back to earth when Adam and Eve partook of the apple and got hustled out of Eden, never to return to in their lifetime on account of their disobedience, then their trying to hide their disobedience for eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I'm sure God wept when Cain slew Abel, and he ordered the people of the earth to lay off Cain who was banished from Adam and Eve's dwelling after Cain murdered his bro. I thought that was kind of strange, but God is who he is, and he still loved Cain in spite of his wicked act that made his family the first disfunctional human family. Only God knows how sorry Cain was after he lost his temper in a jealous rage and killed his only brother. Cain must have been terribly horrified at his one moment of anger in which he took away Abel's life. I bet he never had a day for the rest of his life when he regretted killing his brother and breaking his parents' hearts.Somehow, that makes God's order making sense for people to not harm Cain no matter what for the rest of his life. I can't imagine a worse punishment than regretting such a sin as murder day after day, without getting to see his brother for the rest of his miserable life. While God loved both Cain and Abel, Cain lived on, but Abel was safe in Heaven with God rather than on the cruelties of the earth, which do not make humanity safer. Only God's love for his creation forgiving Cain more than Cain forgave himself, which likely never ended for his 730-year lifespan. I don't mean to be unduly speculative, I just know what I remember from reading the story of Cain and Abel, and I've not reviewed it for the past 2 or 3 years when I last reread the story.
God bless us every one, and may he have mercy on all who love him. So be it.
You know God didnt come if you believe Jesus--John 17:3--This means eternal life, their knowing you(Father) THE ONLY TRUE GOD, and the one whom you sent forth Christ Jesus---see Jesus teaches the Father is the only true God, and the only true God sent another named Jesus as a mortal.