Thru the Bible - Questions & Answers

Steve Schwetz: Joshua was on the march, ordered by God to destroy all who lived in the promised land. But why did God show mercy to Rahab the harlot and not to the Gibeonites? Well, stay tuned and find out.

This is Steve Schwetz for the Thru the Bible Radio Network, and you're listening to the Question and Answer Program with our Bible teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, who for over 30 years answered the many questions of his listeners. We begin today's program with this question from a listener in San Diego, California, who asks, "Where did idol worship begin?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Well, may I say to you, it might be a little difficult to pinpoint it and to recognize it as such. Cain and Abel brought an offering to the Lord. Cain brought the fruit of the ground. That was the first, I suppose, effort on the part of man to offer his works and his own labor and himself to God instead of a sacrifice, but the works of his hand.

In other words, that is the first inkling we have of humanism, which actually is a worship of man himself. That is the thing today that's taught by philosophy, by most of the sciences, and by psychology, and by all liberalism. It's known as humanism. It's a projection of man and what man can do or man's potential, and it worships that.

That is the god today, actually, of the world. It's very heinous and a very subtle and a very deadly form of worship. Psychology has made a backflip. In the sense I studied psychology in school, almost majored in it and one time thought of going into that field. Well, at that time, psychology didn't have too much to say about man that was favorable at all—that man should recognize his weaknesses and that sort of thing and attempt to make corrections.

But today the thinking is just the opposite. You're to think well of yourself. And I tell you very frankly, to give that to the man here in Southern California that was convicted of killing at least 11 or 12 little boys, and he'd killed others but they didn't convict him of those—didn't have maybe enough evidence, but he apparently was guilty of those crimes too. And this man killed all those little boys.

Now I can't imagine that psychology even would go and say to him, "We want you to think well of yourself, and that's the way that you're going to overcome this." Well, very frankly, that's a deadly sort of thing. Now that's a form of idolatry. It's like standing in front of the mirror and worshiping what you see in the mirror. And friends, that's not a very attractive god. But the idols of the heathen have never been very attractive. They always have a bad notion of God.

Now we find a little later on at the tower of Babel, actually what the tower of Babel was, it was not a tower to get man out of water, to keep his feet from getting wet. Actually, it was a tower which was a rallying place for those against God. They now are apparently going to worship the sun. That seems to have been the thought in the heart of man then.

Getting away from the living and true God, and after all, the living and true God is the one that sent the flood and the storm and destroyed all those people, and they're afraid of him. And so now they're going to worship the sun because the sun is nice to them and shines on them, makes them feel good.

May I say to you, that is the beginning of man's departure, of course, from God and has been. So that we have probably the beginnings at that time. But to pinpoint it and say that the first day that a man made an idol and worshiped it would be very difficult to pinpoint that day.

Paul, you remember, talked about that in the epistle to the Romans, that man actually was worshiping really when you get down to it, man was really worshiping himself. Maybe I ought to turn to that. That's in Romans the first chapter, verse 21.

"Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things."

Now that is the history of it. The date I could not pinpoint, but it was somewhere between Cain and Abel and the flood that came upon the earth. Or better still, probably we should say the tower of Babel. And I hope that's close enough to date it for you.

Steve Schwetz: We turn our attention now to a question from a listener in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She writes, "What is meant by the use of Rahab's name in Psalm 87? Also, what is meant by 'this one was born there'?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now that takes us back to the 87th Psalm, which is one of the great Messianic Psalms. The subject is the Zion, the city of God. This is a Psalm that makes it very clear that the day will come when those who march up to Jerusalem will be able to sing, "We're marching to Zion, the wonderful city of God." This is the Psalm of marching up to Zion.

It concerns the city of Jerusalem, the earthly city of Jerusalem, and the hope that God has given to the world that that city will become the capital of the world during the millennium. It will be the great religious center, and the Lord Jesus is to come there. His feet will touch down at the Mount of Olives.

Now the psalmist here, and it's called a Psalm or song of the sons of Korah, and it's a Psalm I suppose by the sons of Korah here, and it reveals God's attitude now toward this. So I'm taking that entire Psalm that we might get at the meaning for this individual that asks the question.

"The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God." And then he says, "I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me; behold Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia; this man was born there."

You see, Rahab here is not speaking of Rahab the harlot. It represents actually Egypt. And if you'd turn to Isaiah 51:9, which we are not turned to today, but you'd find out that it has that kind of a meaning, that kind of a reference. Fact of the matter is, I may just turn over here to the Psalm and pick up something that I think that probably I ought to bring out since we are going to look at most of the Psalm.

And I'll go to Psalm 89, verse 10, where it says, "Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm." And here he speaks of Egypt. And so in this Psalm, he's speaking of Egypt. Now Egypt represents or Rahab represents the southern power, and Babylon represents the northern power.

Now Rahab means tumult, and Babylon means confusion. And so here all of the tumult and confusion that is in the world is going to be brought to an end. And right now the world that you and I live in is filled with tumult and confusion. And when the Lord Jesus comes, why the tumult and the confusion will all be done away with. It'd be dissipated, and that sort of thing will not exist anymore.

You remember Kipling wrote a poem. In it, he speaks of the nations of the world: "The tumult and the shouting dies; the captains and the kings depart; still stands thine ancient sacrifice." And so that even Kipling could speak of this city and the future that it holds and that the confusion in the world is to be done away with.

Now at that time, the enemy will have come up against Jerusalem. And the enemy will have with them a great many people that actually are not in sympathy with them. I don't think they understand it at all. And where it says here, the thing that you've mentioned is that "this man was born here," it says, "And of Zion it shall be said, this and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her."

Well, it simply means this: that those that are coming up as enemies, that some of them—and Ethiopia is one of them that's mentioned here—it says, "Behold Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia; this man was born there." Well, what does it mean? Well, he was born again. I think that these that have come against Jerusalem have come under someone else's banner, Antichrist's banner, and they actually were not in sympathy with the attack on Jerusalem.

They were caught up in it. And the minute that they have Christ, they are going to be born again. And I think that's exactly what it's going to say. But the verse you're referring to is Zion. They can say, "Well, this has been our city all along, and we've been born again here also." I think that is the thought there. That is a great Messianic Psalm and one that is very seldom used, by the way.

Steve Schwetz: This Grand Rapids, Michigan listener wrote in asking, "Would you please explain what Jesus was illustrating in the parables found in Mark chapter 2 where he speaks about a new patch on an old garment and new wine in an old wineskin?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: The basis for this in the second chapter of Mark, it began with the Lord Jesus coming to Capernaum, where he made it his headquarters, and he healed a man with the palsy. And then immediately after that he called Matthew. And then the enemies began to question him and rebuke him—that he was not following along after the scribes and Pharisees at all, and that he actually was not like really John the Baptist.

And so the Lord Jesus then gave them these two parables, and I think that probably I should read them. They're in Mark the second chapter, verse 21. "No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment; else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse."

In other words, you sew a new patch on an old garment. And as a boy, my mother used to sew patches on my pants. And today it's sort of in style. In that day, I was greatly humiliated by those patches. But the thing of it is, it's bad enough to have a patch, but that patch, the new part of it, would be stronger than the old, and it would pull the old out. You see, the old part of the garment would be pulled out, and then you'd have to put a patch over a patch in order to be able to wear your pants.

And so that is what the Lord is saying here and merely stating that which is very obvious, but he'll make application. He says, "No man putteth new wine into old bottles," that is, old wineskins, "else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled." In other words, that which is to be permitted to ferment, why it would expand, and the bottles will be marred; but new wine must be put into new bottles.

Now what the Lord is saying to these people: "I didn't come to follow the scribes and Pharisees. I didn't come to continue trying to put a patch on an old garment, trying to patch up the old garment of the law, of the Mosaic system, a God-given system, but it had gone to seed."

And now the Lord Jesus said, "I have not come to sew a patch on this old garment of the law. I have come to present you with a new garment." And that new garment is actually the righteousness of Christ, which is provided for every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's come not to patch up the old garment but to give you one brand new. And that is the interpretation of the parable as he gave it and the interpretation which he made of it.

Steve Schwetz: A listener in Glendale, California writes this simple but important question, "Would you please explain the meaning of Daniel chapter 8, verse 14?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: May I say to you that I have written a book on the book of Daniel. The title of the book I've written is *Delving Through Daniel*. And I have a note on every verse in the book of Daniel, and I have a note on Daniel 8:14. I would like to read you the verse and the note that I have in my book on Daniel. Will you listen to it, for it is my explanation naturally?

This is the verse: "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Now here is my note on it. The time was limited to 2300 days. It's well to note that there has been disagreement as to the interpretation of the 2300 days.

Seventh-day Adventism grew out of the great second advent awakening in which this verse was given the day-year interpretation, and the date for Christ's coming was set for the year 1843. William Miller and his followers, among whom was Ellen G. White, understood the sanctuary to be the earth which would be cleansed at his coming, that is, the coming of Christ.

Miller was a sincere but badly mistaken Baptist preacher. The day-year interpretation was a fragile and insecure foundation for any theory of prophecy, and history has demonstrated it to be false. If the 2300 days are taken as being literal 24-hour days, the period would be between six and seven years, which approximates the time of Antiochus Epiphanes.

In 170 BC he began to perpetrate his atrocities. The priest Judas Maccabeus, 'the Hammer,' drove out the Syrian army in 165 BC, at which time the temple was cleansed and rededicated after its pollution. The cleansing is celebrated in the Feast of Lights. And that feast, by the way, is mentioned in the New Testament; for instance, in John 10:22, "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication," that is, rededication or lights, "and it was winter."

May I say to you, that's the note I have in my book on *Delving Through Daniel*, and that is my explanation of it. It is something that was prophesied back in the eighth chapter concerning Antiochus Epiphanes, who has a historical character now, and this has already been literally fulfilled concerning him. And the attempt to bring it up and make it fit into the day-year has already failed. That rules it out, of course, and therefore we can dismiss it as not being acceptable at all.

Steve Schwetz: Unfortunately, Dr. McGee's book *Delving Through Daniel* is no longer available, but we do have a number of resources that are available which deal with the book of Daniel. We'll give you our contact information at the close of today's broadcast. Our final question comes from a listener in Fremont, Michigan. He writes, "According to Joshua chapter 9, the Gibeonites received Joshua in order to be spared their lives. Most commentators say that Joshua's complaisance allowed him to be deceived. Could it not have been God's mercy that allowed Joshua to be deceived? Didn't the Gibeonites do the same thing that Rahab the harlot did in Joshua chapter 2?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now the scripture that you refer me to, I shall turn to in order to answer your question. Joshua 9:24 reads, "And they answered Joshua and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing."

Now the whole point here with the Gibeonites is this: that they acted out of fear and deceived Joshua. And the question of whether Joshua was lax at this point actually hasn't anything to do with the incident at all that relates to your question. The important thing to note is that the Gibeonites did this for self-preservation. They did not interpret this as being the hand of the Lord in the way that Rahab did.

Rahab recognized that God had done this, and she needed to exercise faith, and she believed God. Actually, the Gibeonites did not. To them, it was just a matter of self-preservation. But now let's go back and look at Rahab, and it says concerning her in the second chapter, and you give verses 9 and 10. I'll probably read a little farther.

"And she said unto the men," that is, it's now Rahab speaking to the spies that have come into Jericho, "I know that the Lord hath given you the land." Now there's a little difference in her language and the language of the Gibeonites. They didn't know it, and she did. "And that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you."

You see, all of Jericho believed that they were going to take Jericho and that God had said that they would. But there was only one woman who really believed God. "For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath."

But the interesting thing is that they were frightened by all this, but none of them believed God except that one woman. And therefore, the writer to the Hebrews, at the time of the destruction of Jericho, says, "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not." They didn't believe God. They were afraid this could happen. They were afraid, but they really didn't believe God at all.

In other words, they really didn't have any faith at all. They were just frightened. This was an emotional sort of thing for them. But this woman believed God. "By faith the harlot Rahab believe God." That is the important thing and that's the difference between this woman and the Gibeonites, and it's between this woman, actually, and the other people in Jericho.

They went through the same process that the Gibeonites went through. They were afraid. You know a mob, a crowd can be moved like that and not exercise faith. That's a reason that I have wondered and now have come to a conclusion of why radio is so much more effective than my pulpit ministry was. I'm confident that in a great audience as we had at the Church of the Open Door, that many people were moved because of the crowd. It was an emotional sort of thing.

And therefore, we never could count all that would come forward or go to our prayer room. We never could count all of them as converts. And I don't think in any public meeting that you could do that; you couldn't count them 100%. If you get 10%, you're doing well. And in many, it wouldn't even be 10%. But we're finding out when you're dealing with one individual, why they're not moved by any crowd emotion.

You see that a crowd can be motivated today. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to be in that crowd on anything because of the fact it's just nothing in the world but an emotional upheaval. And that's exactly what you have here. There was a big crowd in Jericho. They were all scared to death. "This man has crossed the Jordan River miraculously, we've heard about the miracles," but they didn't believe God.

This woman Rahab, she believed God. And the Gibeonites, they didn't believe God. They wanted to work a ruse or some clever stratagem whereby they could fool Joshua and that they would save their own skin because they were there in the land and they were afraid. But I can't find where one Gibeonite believed God. You see, there's quite a difference.

And today, you see, since we as a nation have gotten so far away from God, we are frightened when anybody says 'boo' to us today. And we are frightened as a nation. And may I say to you, that is just about the position that these people were in that day. They didn't believe in God. The Gibeonites didn't.

Steve Schwetz: Well, with that answer, we come to the close of another excellent Question and Answer Program. If any of these answers have sparked your mind to come up with more questions, then we suggest you contact us for our resource catalog, where you'll find many materials by Dr. McGee.

And then we'd also like to encourage you to join us for the Thru the Bible Radio Program, heard every Monday through Friday on this station. Dr. McGee's five-year study through the whole word of God will give you a well-rounded understanding of what God is saying in his word. To be added to our mailing list for notes and outlines or to receive our catalog, you can call us at 1-800-65-BIBLE anytime.

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