"IF YE WILL INQUIRE, INQUIRE YE."
By Editor
This Inquirers' Department is conducted for the purpose of helping those who are studying the Bible. The answers are oftentimes only suggestive. They are never to be considered infallible, only as they agree with the infallible Word. The writer who may answer them does not consider that his opinion is infallible. He will simply give the best that he has, and plead with the inquirer to search the Word. Such questions only will be answered as, to the editors, seem to minister to the good of the readers and to the mission of the paper. We can not answer repeatedly in the same volume questions upon the same scripture. The name and address must accompany question, not for publication, but as an evidence of good faith, and that answer may be made by letter if deemed advisable. No letters are answered which do not contain the name of the writer. It is well always to enclose stamp for reply. Will you please give us some light on Ex. 21:24 as compared with Matt. 5:38, 39? Are the teachings of Moses contrary to Christ? INQUIRER. First, Moses was certainly a prophet of God; all recognize that to be the case. But the prophets of the Old Testament spoke through the Spirit of Christ. 1 Peter 1:10, 11. Again, our Lord gave the strongest possible endorsement to the writings of Moses in using them solely when He was tempted of the devil. Three times the devil came to Him with his temptations, and three times Jesus met these temptations by quoting directly from the books of Moses. See Matt. 4:4, 7, 10 compared with Deut. 8:3; 6:16; 6:13. (3) Our Lord puts it a great deal more emphatic than that by teaching that rejection of Moses means rejection of Himself. See John 5:46, 47; "For if ye believed Moses, ye would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?" Then how are we to harmonize the two passages of Scripture above referred to? Ex. 21:24 reads, "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot," etc. Jesus says, in referring to that, "Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil." All of which is very easily understood if we will but recognize this one fact,—that Moses lived under a theocracy, a direct government of God; that in that theocracy there were moral laws like the Decalogue, and those growing out of it, showing man's moral duty to God; there were laws regulating worship, sacrifices, offerings, etc.; there were laws regulating health and hygiene, sanitary laws; there were also laws which we would now call civil laws, enjoining justice between man and man, just as we find them of necessity in every nation on the earth. The expression above relates to one of these civil laws. If a man did a wilful injury to his fellow he must meet at the State the same thing. If he wilfully gouged out the eye of his fellow, he should lose the sight of his own eye. If he cut off the hand of his fellow man, justice demanded that his own hand should be cut off. Surely we can see nothing but justice in the administration of the State in doing those things. But when Jesus came the theocracy had passed away, and Rome ruled. Jesus was calling out a people who would exist in all the various States of earth, but would not be a part of those States. Strangers and pilgrims in the earth would they be, heralds of a spiritual kingdom, whose sole mission for the Master would be to save souls for whom He died. Consequently civil law would have no part in their régime. They were not to avenge insult; and yet the apostle Paul tells us in the 13th chapter of Romans that in civil government the proper officers would be the avengers of wrath upon them that do evil. Verse 4. We can therefore see in this that there are no differences between our Lord and Moses. Moses' law was for the time being, and the law of our Saviour is for this dispensation. There were other laws, however, given at the time of Moses, which in the very nature of the case could not pass away, and of course Jesus just as emphatically spoke of this in Matt. 5:17-20. 3335.— The Modern Prayer-Wheel
I enclose a prayer which was sent to me. What do you think about it? Is it of God or of Satan? AN INTERESTED READER. There is absolutely no virtue in machine-made prayers. It certainly is proper for persons to pray for themselves or for their friends or for the church of God or for the heathen. At times doubtless every Christian feels thus to pray. The Spirit of God impresses these things upon him, and requests from friends touch his heart. But when a prayer is sent out as this is, accompanied by certain curses if one does not repeat it and send it on to others, or promises of certain blessings if one does repeat it and copy it for others, we may surely make up our mind that God has nothing to do with it in any way. It is wholly a superstition, which ought to be crushed as far as good, stalwart Christian faith can crush it. We may always make up our mind to this: that any such curse pronounced and peddled by the human is what is termed in the Proverbs "the curse causeless," that "shall not come." Then think what it would mean if this were carried through ten series of persons; the first series would reach nine; the tenth series would mean the writing of nearly three and one half billion of letters, more than twice as many as there are people in the whole world; and at three cents a letter it would cost, to write and mail them, more than one hundred and four million of dollars. 3336.— The Wolf, Lamb, Lion, and Ox
Please explain Isa. 65:25: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith Jehovah." Does the curse upon the serpent last through all eternity? H. R. C. If the passage has reference to eternity, and if an entire change in nature is a curse, then the curse upon the serpent will last through all eternity. Among all the prophets of the Bible, perhaps there is no one of them that deals in double prophecy more than does Isaiah—prophecy which to a greater or less extent has application in this earth, and yet is used as typical of the great eternal future. Now it is true that in Isaiah's time God would have restored Palestine and the Jews to a glory that was unsurpassable and inconceivable to them. He promised it under Ezekiel in the sanctuary and division of the land described in chapters 40 to 48. Life would have been lengthened; the character of the people would have taken hold upon the very animals themselves; and in that glorious kingdom, with a true-hearted people, the manifest presence of God would have been constantly seen; and in that holy mountain where the presence of God dwelt there would be no injury, no hurt or destroying in all God's holy mountain. But Israel did not accept God's conditions, and consequently they were not fulfilled then. They will be fulfilled under far greater conditions, with more or less of the former detail eliminated. All that we could gather from this to remind us of the new earth state would be that there will be absolute joy and peace and harmony among all God's creatures. 3337.— Wearing Wedding-Rings
Is it proper for Christians to wear wedding-rings? They are not worn for adornment, but for a sign of the marriage vows, which gives it a sacred meaning. J. B. H. There are countries where it is absolutely necessary for women to wear a wedding-ring, and where it would not be considered proper for a married woman not to wear one. That however is not true in this country, and we opine that there are just as faithful wives in this land who do not wear the wedding-ring. The wearing of it is not a question of faithfulness in any way. The matter of faithfulness to marriage is a matter of heart and principle and not in the wearing of a gold ring. From conversations which we have heard and from incidents which come under our own observation, we think that it is just as often used for adornment as for a symbol of marriage vows; and if used for ornament certainly it comes under the condemnation of the scriptures found in 1 Tim. 2:9, 10; 1 Peter 3:3, 4. 3338.— Will God Bring with Him
Please explain 1 Thess. 4:14, last clause. Does it mean that Jesus will bring the departed with Him from heaven when He comes? J. B. H. It does not so mean. "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." The same thought is expressed in Heb. 13:20: "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus." Also 2 Cor. 4:14: "Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you." Also 1 Cor. 6:14: "And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power." The text in question therefore means that as God has brought Jesus from the dead, so He will bring all those who sleep in Jesus from the dead to be with Christ.