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Ayn Rand, a secular-minded individual of ‘Atlas Shrugged’ fame, wrote that contradictions do not exist; if you think you see one, then check your premises, because at least one of them are wrong.
Similarly, there are no contradictions in the Bible. Along the same line as Rand’s premises, you may think you see a contradiction depending on where you’re coming from. But if you consider the Bible as a whole instead in terms of just some of its parts, you will realize that everything in the Bible is in conformity with the Goodness of God. What may seem contrary to, say, God’s Commandment “Thou shalt not lie,” may seem evil in and of itself; but if you consider the context that leads to God’s Goodness overall, you may realize that the supposed evil can be part of that which turns out to be good. It’s similar to the fact that if you combine hydrogen, which burns and can thus destroy things around it, with oxygen that supports such burning and can also be perceived as destructive, you get water which supports life. The chemical formula is H2O.
There is a passage in the Bible which addresses the idea of things producing goodness, regardless of what those things are. Romans 8:28-30 says as follows: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
There are at least three events in the Bible which may call that Passage to mind. One is Jacob’s deceiving his father Isaac into believing that he was his brother Esau at the behest of his mother, causing Isaac to confer his blessings on Jacob instead of Esau in Genesis 27:1-46. Jacob lies to his father, saying he is Esau. (Their mother, Rebekah, must have realized the possible wrath God may impose on Jacob, when she says in Verse 13, “’Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice...’”) Turns out that Jacob’s deceiving his father, leads to him fathering the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Not too shabby, huh?
A second event involves Joseph’s brothers throwing him in a pit, abandoning him and conspiring to lie to their father Jacob in Genesis 37:18-20, telling him that Joseph was killed by animals. Turns out that passers-by found Joseph in the pit and pulled him out. To make a long story short, Joseph ends up serving the Pharaoh Ramses I, asking him to allow Jacob’s family, which would include the brothers, to live in Egypt during the famine that spread across the land they were in. They flourished in Egypt, and the nation of Israel, with the Twelve Tribes, came into being. Again, things that could be perceived as evil among themselves, leads to the goodness that came about later, and Romans 8:28-30 describes this principle.
And the third event involves Abraham deceiving King Abimelech into believing that his wife Sarah was his sister. It was literally a half-lie, since Sarah was also Abraham’s half-sister, having been born to Abraham’s father. In and of itself, any lie is evil. So why did not Abraham say that Sarah was also his wife? As explained in Genesis 27, Abraham and Sarah was traveling through the province of King Abimelech, knowing that this King and his people had no fear of God. For those who don’t fear God, there is always the possibility that such people could see goodness in what we know to be evil. And Abraham knew that if he were to give the King any inkling that Sarah was his wife, even a half-wife, the King in his lack of fear of God would kill him and take Sarah. On the other hand, if Abraham told the King that Sarah was his SISTER, they would be left alone and allowed to proceed on their way. I guess in those days and in that land, a man who has a sister is left alone and so is his sister.
Some may say Abraham was a liar, but it ends up that Abraham settles in a land with his wife and Isaac his son, and he ends up as the beginning of the Jewish people. If you’re a Jew, or you’re a friend to Jews, you would see this as a good thing. And keep in mind that it was among the Jewish people that Jesus had his start when he came to earth. And Jesus being on earth wasn’t a bad thing either.
Romans 8:28-30...the Closer for many.
Similarly, there are no contradictions in the Bible. Along the same line as Rand’s premises, you may think you see a contradiction depending on where you’re coming from. But if you consider the Bible as a whole instead in terms of just some of its parts, you will realize that everything in the Bible is in conformity with the Goodness of God. What may seem contrary to, say, God’s Commandment “Thou shalt not lie,” may seem evil in and of itself; but if you consider the context that leads to God’s Goodness overall, you may realize that the supposed evil can be part of that which turns out to be good. It’s similar to the fact that if you combine hydrogen, which burns and can thus destroy things around it, with oxygen that supports such burning and can also be perceived as destructive, you get water which supports life. The chemical formula is H2O.
There is a passage in the Bible which addresses the idea of things producing goodness, regardless of what those things are. Romans 8:28-30 says as follows: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
There are at least three events in the Bible which may call that Passage to mind. One is Jacob’s deceiving his father Isaac into believing that he was his brother Esau at the behest of his mother, causing Isaac to confer his blessings on Jacob instead of Esau in Genesis 27:1-46. Jacob lies to his father, saying he is Esau. (Their mother, Rebekah, must have realized the possible wrath God may impose on Jacob, when she says in Verse 13, “’Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice...’”) Turns out that Jacob’s deceiving his father, leads to him fathering the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Not too shabby, huh?
A second event involves Joseph’s brothers throwing him in a pit, abandoning him and conspiring to lie to their father Jacob in Genesis 37:18-20, telling him that Joseph was killed by animals. Turns out that passers-by found Joseph in the pit and pulled him out. To make a long story short, Joseph ends up serving the Pharaoh Ramses I, asking him to allow Jacob’s family, which would include the brothers, to live in Egypt during the famine that spread across the land they were in. They flourished in Egypt, and the nation of Israel, with the Twelve Tribes, came into being. Again, things that could be perceived as evil among themselves, leads to the goodness that came about later, and Romans 8:28-30 describes this principle.
And the third event involves Abraham deceiving King Abimelech into believing that his wife Sarah was his sister. It was literally a half-lie, since Sarah was also Abraham’s half-sister, having been born to Abraham’s father. In and of itself, any lie is evil. So why did not Abraham say that Sarah was also his wife? As explained in Genesis 27, Abraham and Sarah was traveling through the province of King Abimelech, knowing that this King and his people had no fear of God. For those who don’t fear God, there is always the possibility that such people could see goodness in what we know to be evil. And Abraham knew that if he were to give the King any inkling that Sarah was his wife, even a half-wife, the King in his lack of fear of God would kill him and take Sarah. On the other hand, if Abraham told the King that Sarah was his SISTER, they would be left alone and allowed to proceed on their way. I guess in those days and in that land, a man who has a sister is left alone and so is his sister.
Some may say Abraham was a liar, but it ends up that Abraham settles in a land with his wife and Isaac his son, and he ends up as the beginning of the Jewish people. If you’re a Jew, or you’re a friend to Jews, you would see this as a good thing. And keep in mind that it was among the Jewish people that Jesus had his start when he came to earth. And Jesus being on earth wasn’t a bad thing either.
Romans 8:28-30...the Closer for many.
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