How to Read the Bible with Feelings

OLD TESTAMENT

SECTION ONE

PENTATEUCH

Genesis 1:1

1 In the beginning, God[a] created the heavens and the earth.

It puzzles me why people still teach about evolution in schools today. Of course, there is always a reason behind everything, but evolution is far from the answer. I recall what the professor in my Physical Anthropology course told me was the main reason behind the evolution theory still being taught to us at the time. He said many scientists do not actually believe in the evolution theory anymore. However, for the sake of earning a living at the university, they still teach it to students as science. In other words, they teach evolution not because it is true, but because it is a means of survival. Later, I also discovered that in scientific research, it is difficult to get funding for a creation project (a project to discover how the Earth was created in 6 days) since most top universities already intend to live with a false theory for another decade or century. It is terrible to know that the truth is being hidden instead of being brought out into the light.

Thankfully, God has already revealed the truth about the existence of our universe in the very first verse of the Bible. There’s no denying it. Every night, when you gaze up at the beautiful moon and starry sky above, the mysteries of the solar system already provide the answer to you: that without a powerful creator, they simply wouldn’t exist. So, do you base your answers on scientific theories or on God’s word? Which one do you prefer to believe when seeking out the truth? I have chosen God’s way. Now, there are a couple of interesting questions that I want to ask you: What purpose do you think God has for you while you are living on Earth? Do you think his plan for you is unique and something special? Have you ever felt you were special in God’s eyes? Perhaps you can take a moment now to meditate on your past and see how God wants to use you in the future. If you already know the answer, then I challenge you to share it with others and encourage them to seek out God’s plan for their lives.

Fig. 2.

Genesis 3:1-3

¹Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’? ²The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, ³but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’"

There is a question that people usually ask: why did God create Satan, or the devil? It seems like humans love to blame God for every single bad thing that happens. Well, firstly, God didn’t create fallen angels—Satan and his 1/3 of angels fell from heaven. For when God created in the first chapter of Genesis, he proclaimed them to be good after every stage of creation, and particularly when he created man and woman, he said they were very good. Everything was good when they were first created. Do you see that? If we take Adam and Eve, for example, you learn that they turned into sinful humans not because God first created them that way. It was their own choice to disobey God’s command and word that led to their fall. God never wanted us to live like robots, and that is the reason he gave us free will; the ability to choose. This capacity for free will also applies to how God created the angelic beings. God first created angels, not Satan and the fallen angels. In the book of Isaiah, we learn that Satan and his followers in heaven were expelled because of their sinful choices and disobedience to God. Jesus also confirmed this as well.

What if your creation turns on you despite your best efforts to treat them with dignity and honor? I don’t think I could put into words how God felt at that moment, since His wisdom is far greater than mine. However, I picture it to be like a scenario in which I had raised children of my own and came to experience a grave moment of betrayal and separation. It would have been a heartbreaking experience for me, especially if I had known that they would make this choice from the beginning.

When Eve started to blame Satan for her sin, Adam did the same. He first blamed God, who made the woman, and then started to blame Eve for causing him to sin. You can immediately see the terrible result of sin and the consequence of disobedience to God’s word. Everything spiraled down very quickly.

So, we are responsible for our own choices, not the ones that gave us the freedom to choose. How often do you blame others when something bad happens? I must admit that I sometimes do it too. That is why we need God to help us see ourselves in the mirror as the people we truly are. For without God’s help, we will keep on blaming God or others around us. Never would we self-willingly view ourselves as being the problem, even though it’s the result of our own free will.

Do you think that it is wise to seek God’s help in this area? I know that it is a must for me whenever I give myself an honest review. It is so easy to blame others rather than admit I am the troublemaker. I pray that God will speak to you when you are willing to humble yourself before Him in your moment of reflection after reading this message. What have you been doing right or wrong in the past few weeks that may influence others now? How do you think God feels about it? Begin your reflection now and talk to God about your feelings in all these aspects.

Fig. 3.

Genesis 3:9

⁹Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you?

Adam and Eve were face -to-face with God before their fall, but now they had to hide. As a result of their sin, they began to live in fear, being afraid of God in a way that was not meant to be. Here, you can see how sin damages our relationship with God through the account of Adam and Eve, our ancestors. We surely will not be any better than our ancestors, who were once perfect, whenever we sin against God. We always feel lost and do not know where to turn when we live in the bondage of sin. When I rebel against God and do not repent right away, I feel lost. There are times I really feel like giving up and hiding myself far away from people, so I will not be disturbed. Sometimes it is good to be quiet and spend time alone with God to deal with our sins. However, if you think you just want to hide from God by not dealing with your sin, trust me, it won’t work.

While we deserve punishment for our sins, I’m thankful we have a good God who is forgiving and shows mercy. He always wants us to deal with our sin and restore our communication with him. It is a painful experience to allow sin to stay in our lives and be disconnected from God. Those can be the darkest nights of your soul. Thus, repentance is so important. Are you in a state of hiding from God? If you are, how do you feel now? I pray that you will make the right decision to return to God as soon as possible, since he is waiting for you out of grace and love.

Fig. 4.

Genesis 6:9, 6:22, 7:5

⁹This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9)

²²Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him. (Genesis 6:22)

⁵Noah did everything that Yahweh commanded him. (Genesis 7:5)

Wouldn't you like to be told, as Noah was, that you are my faithful servant when you stand before God in heaven? For sure, you want to hear those comments from God, and so do I. When we reflect on our lives, we may find many instances where we failed God by disobeying His commands. Making a direct comparison with Noah, you can see the reason why God gave Noah such good comments. The Bible clearly states to us that Noah was a righteous man in his generation (Genesis 7:1) and was blameless among the people in his time as well (Genesis 6:9). When God told him to build an ark, he did, and the Bible says Noah did everything just as God had commanded him to do at the end of Genesis 6. Then in Chapter 7, when God told Noah to enter the ark with all the other animals, he did what God commanded as well (Genesis 7:5). I feel there are at least two things I can learn from Noah during his ark experience.

1. His faith in God was really a simple faith. He did not argue with God when God told him to do something.

2. He just made use of all his abilities and did his best to finish the assignment that he received from God.

Noah’s story causes me to look at my own life and question whether I can resonate with such a deep desire to trust God in my life as he did. If I being honest with myself, I realized I would sometimes respond with a yes and other times with a no. For there are times I can live with God’s command when there seems to be less of a price to pay, such as when God told me to share the gospel with the poor. In situations like that, God will always get a yes from me. However, when God tells me to love someone who hurt me or someone I hate, it becomes exceedingly difficult, even though I know that forgiveness is a command from God. There were so many no, no, no moments that popped up in my mind, as it would cast away my hopes of seeing judgement befall that person if I just forgave them right away. I felt it was unfair to me if I didn’t see the person who cost me pain and suffering endure at least some sort of penalty for their actions.

I share my struggles here as an example of moments of my obedience and disobedience to help guide your own thoughts. You should re-examine your life to find out what your obedience quotient (OQ) to God is, and then determine what you can work on after the self-examination. I hope you can get to know yourself better through Noah and build up your simple faith and obedience to God. If you're not sure where to begin, you could start by recalling times when you felt distant from God and times when you felt strongly drawn to him. Ask and answer yourself what happened in those moments and how you felt. Were any new insights gained in your self-review? Let the Holy Spirit help you to build a new ark and see the rainbow together.

Fig. 5.

Genesis 22:1-8

¹After these things, God tested Abraham, and said to him, Abraham! He said, Here I am. ²He said, Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of. ³Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his donkey; and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place far off. ⁵Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there. We will worship, and come back to you. ⁶Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. He took in his hand the fire and the knife. They both went together. ⁷Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, My father? He said, Here I am, my son. He said, Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? ⁸Abraham said, God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So they both went together.

Can you imagine Abraham’s unshakable faith in God after reading this passage? Frankly speaking, as a normal human being, I fail to understand it rationally. It was a miracle for a 100-year-old man to even have a child during Abraham’s time, so it was even more shocking to learn that he was willing to sacrifice his only son on God’s orders. Although the Bible never states the exact age of Isaac, many have estimated his age to be somewhere between 5 and 37 years old (the age range varies depending on the reasoning behind the estimation). But instead of focusing on Isaac’s age, let us dive deeper into understanding his father, Abraham. He was the one who acted according to God’s command early the next morning as recorded in Genesis 22:1.

Amazingly, Abraham did not even bother to tell Isaac what he was going to do to him. He responded to Isaac only when he asked about the missing sacrificial lamb. In Abraham’s answer to Isaac, we expect he had faith that God would indeed prepare a sacrificial lamb for him. While I do not fully comprehend how Abraham could commit to sacrificing his own son, I do see his great faith and complete obedience to God demonstrated in this case. If Abraham were not a man of great faith with complete obedience to endure through such a major test from God, who else could do it? Was Abraham insane? No, because he knew exactly what he was doing from this passage, given the plan and strategy he had along the way. Who else could stand to pass such a test? Well, it’s certainly not a test for everyone, and Abraham might be the one and only exceptional case. And since he passed the test, it’s no wonder he received a great promise as a reward from God like none other (Genesis 22:15-18). This incident laid a great foundation for Abraham, as he would become the father of faith in the history of Israel and the Christian world.

Yes, Abraham shows us how a faithful servant should respond to God’s word out of obedience and in an extraordinary way. However, one might ask, Did Abraham have any struggles during this testing phase? Although we do not see any signs of hesitation based on the Biblical record, we can still imagine what it would be like if this test were given to us today. My first response to God would probably be to panic, full of shock and with a horrified look on my face. I would probably look at God with sheer hesitation. I would then feel like it would be a disaster for me and not know how to respond to God’s command.

Could I pass the test? I think I will bargain with God with all I have to offer to avoid any participation in such a test, or most likely, I will recommend somebody else to take the test in my place. I think that would be me. But what about you? Would you be another father of faith like Abraham, or someone like me? This is a question I leave open to you to wrestle with in your time of reflection and give your answer to God in prayer. May your answer give you a deeper feeling and appreciation of faith.

Fig. 6.

Genesis 24:10-17

¹⁰The servant took ten of his master’s camels, and departed, having a variety of good things of his master’s with him. He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. ¹¹He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. ¹²He said, "Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. The daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, ‘Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink,’ then she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink,’—let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." ¹⁵Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder. ¹⁶The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin. No man had known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷The servant ran to meet her, and said, Please give me a drink, a little water from your pitcher.

What kind of work attitude do you have at your workplace? Do you chase after financial rewards or your own job satisfaction? Do you consider the benefit of the company or your employer as well? The senior servant of Abraham represents the ideal model of a contemporary work force, someone who I would love to hire as a worker in my own company or organization if I were the boss.

He did not just want to fulfill his duties well, but he completely relied on God for what he needed to do. We can see that he demonstrated a work attitude that many employers look for by observing how he asked God to treat his master well (Genesis 24:12) and how he praised God after he prepared Rebekah to answer his prayer (Genesis 24:26–27). Indeed, his work attitude is what we need to learn from here. There are far too many people today that only set their hearts on seeing their income increase each year or having additional benefits added onto their contracts without a mindset to work with an attitude of loyalty. This lack of a loyal attitude applies to our Christian lives as well. We simply ignore the fact that we do not just need to do a good job in our own career as a witness for the Lord, but also need to seek the benefit of our employer, since he is also paying for our services. The Bible clearly reminds us what our working attitude should be in Colossians 3:22–25:

²² Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God.  ²³ And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,  ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.  ²⁵ But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done, and there is no partiality.

I really appreciated this servant as he prayed for his boss. I think it is not easy for everyone to do so, especially when your boss or manager is a hard-to-please type of person. Likewise, I thank God that I have been able to always ask Him to bless all the churches I used to work for, even when some of those experiences were not so positive for me before I left. I understand that since it is God’s business and God loves each of them, I will keep on praying for them and blessing them even when it is no longer my business (of course, they are still part of God’s kingdom, but the fact being that I am not working in that environment anymore). I would suggest that you start to bless your present employer and pray for your boss on a daily basis. Then you will know that you are a co-partner with God in the work you do. Furthermore, I also remind you to always remember that you are serving God and not man. Do not let unhappiness or even resentment fill your mind. If you have been hurt in your workplace, ask God to help you to practice forgiveness and heal your broken heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. Give it a try and see what happens next. You can start to talk to God about all these things in prayer now.

Fig. 7.

Genesis 32:24-29

²⁴Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day. ²⁵When he saw that he didn’t prevail against him, the man touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was strained as he wrestled. ²⁶The man said, Let me go, for the day breaks. Jacob said, I won’t let you go unless you bless me. ²⁷He said to him, What is your name? He said, Jacob. ²⁸He said, Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed. ²⁹Jacob asked him, Please tell me your name. He said, Why is it that you ask what my name is? So he blessed him there.

Have you ever asked a question such as: Why did God bless someone who appeared to be unworthy of any blessing, while a well-deserved person hadn’t yet received His blessing? Although I have all the model answers from what we always hear during Sunday school class or sermons in the pulpit, I must admit that sometimes I ask such a question as well. And how do I answer myself? My initial response would be, None of your business; it is God’s business! But at the same time, I still try to find the answer not because I want to judge anyone who I think is not deserving of God’s blessing, but rather out of human curiosity.

Take the case of Jacob. He was cunning and sneaky, as he was able to deceive Esau twice. The first time was to steal Esau’s identity in the family, and the second was to steal Esau’s blessing as the elder brother. When Jacob needed to face Esau again after they had not seen each other for many years, he was terrified that Esau would kill him and his family as revenge. When Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord, he knew there was something good about his encounter with the angel (or the Lord Jesus Himself, as many people would see it that way). Thus, Jacob was willing to spend his time wrestling all night long until he received his blessing from the angel of the Lord. One thing that stands out here is how Jacob was always focused on the blessings of God. That is the reason Jacob was so blessed, even though he was deceptive in his own character. However, we also know that God had his own way of dealing with Jacob’s sin, as he was deceived by his uncle Laban for 14 years in the marriage of Leah and Rachel (Genesis 29:18-30). As well, Jacob was not only deceived by his uncle Laban in his marriage, but also in his wages (Genesis 30:25-26). From these events prior to Jacob’s wrestling experience, it is evident he had already learned his lesson of the consequences about deceiving others. Would it be God’s teaching to Jacob? I am not certain, but he did learn his lesson either way. After the experience of wrestling with the angel of the Lord, Jacob was rewarded with a new identity and the blessing of a new name (Israel).

Why would God still bless this deceptive person? It is still a controversial issue. One can argue that it was because Jacob had already won the wrestling match with God and man, as his new name indicates. Although I do not have a perfect answer on this issue, I observed that God looks at our whole life rather than at what we did wrong in each