In this chapter we are reading today, we see some of the fruit of Adam's sin. 

Sin brings death.

Blood of an animal sacrifice was the only way to cover their sin. It didn't remove it but it did cover it and point to the ONE, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would come and shed His blood to remove our sins.

Cain rejected that and brought the fruit of his work. There are many today who are trying the same thing. They are baptized, take communion, do good works, go to church and think all of that makes them right with God, but it doesn't. Those are good things but they will not save. God tells us plainly - Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Jesus Christ did all the work necessary for us to be saved. He took our punishment, died and arose again. He wants to save you if you will let Him. Will you? or will you reject the Truth as Cain did? Acts 16:31b, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" Hebrews 7:25, "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."

Ge 4:1 ¶ And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
 3 ¶ And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
 6 ¶ And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
 8 ¶ And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
 9 ¶ And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
 13 ¶ And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
 15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
 16 ¶ And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
 17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
 19 ¶ And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
 20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
 21 And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
 23 ¶ And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
 25 ¶ And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
 26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.(KJV)

You might enjoy reading this story booklet based on Adam.  "Earthman"

Here in this chapter we see sin enter the world. What is sin? Sin is disobedience to God. It cause a separation from God. (Isaiah 59:2). The good news is God knew that man would sin, but He loved man enough, He made Him anyway and He made a way for every person would would, to be reconciled to Him. He told Adam and Eve He would send a deliver in verse 15 of this chapter and He did. Out of His great love for us, Jesus came took our punishment, died, was buried and arose again, so we could be reconciled to God and not spend eternity separated from Him in the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14-15)

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

So now as you read this chapter, I hope you will see we have sinned just as Adam and Eve did. We also have tried to cover it up with fig leaves of good works, false religion etc. God provided a sacrifice for them and covered them. Jesus is our sacrifice and He is the only one who can reconcile us to God. It is His righteousness that we must be clothed in to enter Heaven. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

I hope you know HIM today!

Ge 3:1 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
 6 ¶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
 9 ¶ And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
 11 ¶ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
 14 ¶ And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
 16 ¶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
 17 ¶ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
 20 ¶ And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
 21 ¶ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
 22 ¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.(KJV)

Ge 2:1 ¶ Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
 4 ¶ These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
 8 ¶ And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
 16 ¶ And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
 18 ¶ And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
 21 ¶ And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (KJV)

I'm thankful I am not just a happenchance - I was planned, created and have a purpose. My purpose in life is to please God, my Lord, my Saviour, my Creator, my God, my Best Friend. You are not a happenchance either - God has a purpose for you also. Are you fulfilling your purpose?

You might enjoy exploring this site: Creation Moments. It has some excellent stories of nature that show how unlikely evolution is and also show the glory of God.

When we started this blog it was for the purpose of encouraging people to read the Bible. I want to get back to that. We have read through the New Testament and now I want to post through the Old Testament. I may not get to post everyday, but I hope you will be reading everyday.  As before I will post the chapter for reading then any comments I have or interesting commentaries I have found on the chapter.

Genesis 1 -

Ge 1:1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
 3 ¶ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
 6 ¶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
 9 ¶ And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
 14 ¶ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
 20 ¶ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
 24 ¶ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
 26 ¶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
 29 ¶ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
 31 ¶ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (KJV)

This chapter sets the base and foudation. There are many people who have a problem with these first few chapters. They will try anything not to believe that God is the Creator. If they acknowledge that God is indeed the Creator, they must admit to being accountable to God, and they don't want to have to account to anyone but themselves. Refusing to believe the truth, doesn't change it.

In the beginning - GOD!

He created all we know plain and simple  and He did it in six literal days.

People want to say but evidence shows evolution, but truth be told much of the so called evidence of evolution is not really evidence - some of it is twisted facts, some of it is just made up.  Like it or not evolution is still just a theory - not a proven fact. 

Either way you decide to believe it will be by faith. You can choose to put your faith in ever changing science or you can put your faith in God. I choose to trust God who loves me. He loved me enough to tell me the truth of how I came to be, of how I came to be a sinner and what the future holds. He loved me enough to make a way I could be forgiven for my sin and delivered so I could KNOW I would live forever with Him in eternity. I choose His way - the Lord Jesus Christ.

I believe that In the Beginning God created and I believe about 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and arose again in victory. I believe when I told the Lord I was sorry for my sin and asked Him to save some 30+ years ago He did and that He is keeping me now. I also believe His Word when it says that Jesus is coming back for those that are His and it could be any minute. I want to be ready and watching, because I love Him and I believe Him.

Who or what do you believe?

In my Bible reading the other day, I was reading the book of Joshua. I read about the walls of Jericho falling and the great victory for Israel, then how they failed at Ai because of sin in the camp because Achan had disobeyed what God said and took of the accursed things and hid them in his tent, bringing that trouble to the camp of Israel. It is a familiar story, one I have read many times, but like often happens with the Word of God, something new jumped out at me this time. 

Thirty-six men died because of the sin Achan brought to the camp and disrupted God's blessings. God had Joshua tell the people that evening that the next morning they would be taking family by family to see who had brought sin into the camp. That means Achan and his family (who had to know the forbidden stuff was hidden in the tent) had ALL night to come and repent, BUT they didn't. Why? I know God is merciful, I can't help but think if they had repented to God, it would have made a difference.   I think the problem was the same that many have today - they didn't believe God.  They didn't really think they would be discovered, but they were and it resulted in death to his whole family.

Do you believe God? God has said there is ONE way of salvation and that if you miss that you will separated forever from Him in a lake of fire. Do you believe Him? Or will you bring distruction to yourself and possibly  your family too if they follow your beliefs?

Achan and his family had warning and time to repent. You who are reading this right now - have warning and time to repent. Jesus said in Luke 13:3b, "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Repentance is believing God about you being a sinner and needing salvation. It is turning from your sin and your way to go HIS Way.

God said in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Jesus said in John 14:6b, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." and in John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The choice is yours whether to believe God or not, but He has told you the penalty ahead of time of not believing Him.  Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

So you can salvation in Jesus Christ or condemnation without Him. Achan chose to not  believe God and ended up destroying not only himself, but his family also. I hope as you read the story of Achan below, you will consider that you have even great opportunity than Achan. Right now you can choose to believe God, repent of your sin, and trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour. You will have peace with God and an eternal home with Him.

What will you choose?

Joshua 7:1 ¶ But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
 2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
 3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.
 4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai.
 5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
 6 ¶ And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
 7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!
 8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies!
 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
 10 ¶ And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
 11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
 13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.
 14 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man.
 15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
 16 ¶ So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken:
 17 And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
 18 And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
 19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
 20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
 21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.
 23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
 24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.
 25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day. (KJV)

If you want to know more about salvation just read this:

Our reading today is about one of my favorite people in the Bible - Josiah.  From a child Josiah did what was right in the Lord's eyes.   From verse three it sounds like he really came to understanding and started following the Lord, seeking His will, when he was 16 then a few years later as he grew in the Lord - he had a desire to reach others for God and lead them to do right.

It should be the same for us, when we get saved, as we grow, the desire to reach out with the good news of the Gospel should be in our heart. We should witness for our Lord by our actions and our words. We need to live a Christian life before people, but that isn't enough. We need to reach out to them and talk with them about their need for the Lord and how they can be saved. We can do it in one on one witnessing, we can reach out through tracts, letters, inviting someone to come to church with us. There are  many ways we can be a witness.  We see Josiah got rid of the things that were wrong in his country and then went on to the other half of Israel, which had split away.

When Josiah found out from the reading of the book that the people had sinned and judgment was coming, Josiah responded immmediately. He humbled himself and prayed, seeking God and what God would say. When he heard what the Huldah said, his desire was for the people to also hear the Words of the book and get right.

God has given us the written Word of God. Some will tell you it is a book written by men, but they are wrong. It is a book written by God, who used men to pen it. Many believe it is important, but only as the "church" interprets it. They place the church above the Bible, but the Bible is the Word of God. It is the guide for the church, not the church for it. 

I hope you enjoy reading about Josiah today and that you see some of the things we can learn from Josiah and how he responded to the Word of God.

2Ch 34:1 ¶ Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.
 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.
 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
 4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
 5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
 6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.
 7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.
 8 ¶ Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
 9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.
 10 And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house:
 11 Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
 12 And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.
 13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.
 14 ¶ And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses.
 15 And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
 16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.
 17 And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.
 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
 19 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.
 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying,
 21 Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book.
 22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college and they spake to her to that effect.
 23 And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,
 24 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah:
 25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.
 26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard;
 27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.
 28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.
 29 ¶ Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
 30 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD.
 31 And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.
 32 And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
 33 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.(KJV)

The Old Testament passage we are looking at today is one of my very favorite Scripture passages, Isaiah 53.

When man sinned it didn't take God by surprise. God knew when he created man that man would sin and that He would need to make a way of salvation for man. God still chose to create mankind though because He loves us.

It was no surprise to Jesus what He would have to go through. He knew coming into the situation, He would lay down His life to provide salvation for us. He told the disciples many times what lay ahead, but they didn't get it.

Jesus knew what Isaiah 53 said. Lets read it :

Isaiah 53:1 ¶ Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
 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.
 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
 10 ¶ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.(KJV)

Those verses are so precious to me - it presents salvation so clearly. It shows plainly we can not save ourselves. There is no mention of any law we can keep or work we can do that will save us. Belonging to a church, being baptized, taking of communion, none of these things save us. Verse 10 is very plain on how we are reconciled to God and become God's child :

Isa 53:10 ¶ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

When we repent of our sin, and going our way and believe God, that only Jesus can save us, and we come to Him confessing our sin and our faith in Jesus alone for salvation, then we are born again, saved; we become the child of God.

Jesus words in John 10 show that He knew what He was doing and why :

John 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Jesus knew He would suffer and die on the cross for our sin. He knew He would shed His blood so our sins could be washed away. He knew He would be beaten, mocked, and that in bearing our sin, He would suffer the wrath of God that our sin brings. He also knew He would rise again.

That is exactly what He did. He took our sins, paid the price, suffered and died. On the 3rd day He got up alive in victory. He went through all He went through for only ONE reason - He loves us. Hebrews 12 tells us in verse 2, "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

What joy is that talking about? - it is talking about us accepting the salvation He is offering, believing Him and becoming His.

Have you accepted the gift Jesus Christ bought with His own blood? Will you insult Him by offering your works?

He loves you. He bore your sin and sorrows and shed His blood that You can be cleansed and saved. He is alive and offering you salvation free and clear - He already paid for all your sin. Will you accept Him.

Read again the words of Isaiah 53:4-6 and put your name in there - Isa 53:4 ¶ Surely he hath borne our (my)griefs, and carried (my) sorrows: yet we (I) did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
 5 But he was wounded for our(my) transgressions, he was bruised for our(my) iniquities: the chastisement of our (my) peace was upon him; and with his stripes we (I am) are healed.
 6 All we (I) like sheep have gone astray; we (I turned)have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of (me) us all.

But just as I can put myself in these verses I can also put myself in verse 10

Isa 53:10 ¶ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (When I make His soul an offering for my sin, he shall see his seed...)

I have done that.

The Bible says in Romans 10:9-10, &13:

Ro 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

If you haven't done that, won't you come to Him today and receive His gift of love?

No one can every accuse God of being unfair or unjust. He is so good to us - He has given us His written word so we can know the truth. He  gave warnings and promises to His people Israel and has done the same for us today.

He chose the people of Israel to be His people and He did marvelous things we can read about through Genesis - Deuteronomy to make them a nation. As their nation was about to go in and settle the land that God gave them, He had Moses give them promises of the blessings there would be if they obeyed and followed Him and warnings of the consequences of disobedience and rebellion. He spelled out exactly what would happen to them and their nation.

They didn't listen. God continued to send warnings to them through their prophets but they still didn't listen, even as the warnings were coming true the people didn't listen.

Here you can read the promises and warnings given Israel. In parentheses ( ) I will place where you can read so of the fulfillments of the warnings. Click them and they will take you to them.  Realize as you read that the warning was given hundreds of years before it came to pass, but it is completely accurate - in other words - exactly what God said would happen - happened!

De 28:1 ¶ And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
 2 And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
 3 Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
 5 Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
 6 Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
 7 The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
 8 The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
 9 The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
 10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
 11 And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
 12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
 13 And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:
 14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
 15 ¶ But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
 16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
 17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
 19 Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
 20 The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
 21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. (Jeremiah 24:10)
 22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
 23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
 24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
 25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. (Jer.15:4; 24:9; Eze 23:46)
 26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. (Jer. 34:20)
 27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
 28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
 29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. (Isaiah 59:10)
 30 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
 31 Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them.
 32 Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand.
 33 The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:  (Jer 5:15,17)
 34 So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
 35 The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
 36 The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. (Jeremiah 39:1-9)
 37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
 38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. (Haggai 1:6)
 39 Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
 40 Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
 41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. (Lam 1:5)
 42 All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
 43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
 44 He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
 45 ¶ Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:
 46 And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever.
 47 Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
 48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. (Jer 28:13-14)
 49 The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; (Jer 5:15; Hosea 8:1)
 50 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:  ( Isaiah 47:6)
 51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
 52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
 53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:   ( 2 Kings 6: 28-29)
 54 So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave:
 55 So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.
 56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
 57 And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
 58 If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD;
 59 Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
 60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
 61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
 62 And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God.
 63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
 64 And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.
 65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:
 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
 67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
 68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you. (Hosea 8:13) (KJV)

As you can see what God warned Israel would happen if they didn't follow Him, came to pass. God has given us warnings - here are some of them :

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death

Hebrews 9:27b it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Revelation 20:11 ¶ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Have you listened to them? Have you heeded?

If you will believe God and trust Him there are also promises that can be yours, but if you refuse to believe and trust Him, know that just as surely as the warnings He gave Israel came to pass, the warnings He is giving you will also come to pass.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
 30 I and my Father are one.

So the choice is yours - will you heed the warnings, come to God, believing and trusting Jesus as your Saviour, believing He died, was buried and arose the 3rd day for you, to pay for your sins and provide you with eternal life or will you reject Him and His warnings and end up in Hell?

Ro 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

I hope you will read part 1 of this post (Part 1) but today lets look at another reason it matters about creation and that is that it matters to God. Creation or aspects of creation are mentioned many times throughout the Bible, not just Gen. 1.  For today I want to just share some of the verses through the Bible where it mentions God creating.

Here are many of the references if you wish to look them up in your Bible and read them ( I recommend a good King James Version if you want what the verses say correctly)  You will find several of these posted here after the sets of references, if you keep scrolling down.

-CREATOR
    Gen 1:1-28,31; 2:1-25; 5:1,2; 9:6; Ex 20:11; 1Sa 2:8; 2Ki 19:15; 1Ch 16:26; Ne 9:6; Job 9:8,9; 10:3,8; 12:7-9; 26:7-13; 28:23-26; 37:16,18; 38:4-38; Ps 8:3; 19:1,4; 24:1,2; 33:6,7,9; 65:6; 74:16,17; 78:69; 89:11,12,47; 90:2; 95:4,5; 96:5; 102:25; 103:22; 104:2,3,5,6,24,30,31; 119:90,91; 121:2; 124:8; 136:5-9; 146:5,6; 148:5,6; Pr 3:19; 8:26-29; 16:4; 22:2; 26:10; 30:4; Ec 3:11; 7:29; 11:5; Isa 17:7; 37:16; 40:12,26,28; 42:5; 44:24; 45:7,12,18; 48:13; 51:13,16; 66:2; Jer 5:22; 10:12,13,16; 27:5; 31:35; 32:17; 33:2; 51:15,16,19; Am 4:13; 5:8; 9:6; Jon 1:9; Zec 12:1; Mr 10:6; 13:19; Ac 4:24; 7:50; 14:15; 17:24-26; Ro 1:20; 11:36; 1Co 8:6; 11:12; 2Co 4:6; 5:5,18; Eph 3:9; 1Ti 6:13; Heb 1:1,2; 2:10; 3:4; 11:3; Re 4:11; 10:6; 14:7
 
-CREATOR OF MAN
    Ge 1:26,27; 2:7; 5:1,2; 9:6; Ex 4:11; Nu 16:22; 27:16; De 4:32; 32:6,15,18; Job 10:8,9,11,12; 12:10; 27:3; 31:15; 33:4; 34:19; 38:36; Ps 33:15; 86:9; 94:9; 95:6; 100:3; 119:73; 139:13; 149:2; Pr 16:4; 20:12; 22:2; Ec 11:5; 12:1; Isa 42:5; 43:1,7,15; 44:2,24; 45:12,18; 51:13; 64:8; Jer 27:5; Da 5:23; Zec 12:1; Mal 2:10; Ac 17:24-26,28,29; 1Co 12:18,24,25; 15:38; Heb 12:9; 1Pe 4:19

Jesus Christ -CREATOR
    Joh 1:3,10; 1Co 8:6; Eph 3:9; Col 1:16,17; Heb 1:2,10; Re 3:14

Re 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

John 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
 2 The same was in the beginning with God.
 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (that means not only did Jesus make everything, but it is by His power it is all held together. He is the one who keeps it all from blowing apart)

Heb 1:1 ¶ God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds

Ex 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (blows apart the idea of theistic evolution of millions of years)

Ne 9:6 Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

Ps 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Ps 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
 7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
 9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Ps 74:12 ¶ For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
 16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
 17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.

Ps 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Ps 100:3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (we didn't make ourselves through evolution - He made us)

Ps 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. (God makes the children who are conceived and keeps a record - there will be an accounting for the abortion industry and those who support it, but if any, whether the doctor who murdered the child or the mother who asked for it, or even the lawmakers who made it legal will repent and turn to God, seeking His forgiveness for the sin, based on what Jesus did for us, then He will forgive and give a clean slate)

Ps 148:1 ¶ Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
 2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
 3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
 4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
 5 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.

Pr 3:19 The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

Ec 11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

Isa 42:5 ¶ Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

Isa 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

Isa 45:5 ¶ I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
 8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
 9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
 10 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
 11 ¶ Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
 12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

Jer 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

Amos 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

Am 5:8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Ac 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
 25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
 26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

Heb 3:4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

Heb 11:1 ¶ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

These are just a portion of the references to God as Creator.  How foolish it would be to discount something that God mentions so much. If you are wise you will believe God!

Maybe you wonder why does it really matter if God created everything or if it just evolved.

It matters a GREAT deal!

One of the lies that satan told Eve to lure her into disobeying God, was that the fruit they were commanded not to eat, would make them like God in their knowledge (Genesis 3:4-6). Satan's sin was that he wanted to rise up and be worshipped (Isaiah 14:12-15). He is still telling man the same lies. Evolution removes God from the picture and makes man the supreme being in his world, after all he is the ultimate result of evolution so far.

Don't be deceived - for that is all it is - a lie from satan.

Do you ever wonder why there is such a rise in the wickedness of this world. I think much of the answer can be found in Romans 1:16-32 -

Romans 1:16 ¶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
 19 ¶ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (KJV)

When man refuses God, there is no where for man to go but down - down in intelligence, down in morals, eventually down to Hell.

We will look at more reasons it matters next post.