Originally posted by @sonshipI think we can put Eve's apparent ease with a talking snake down to her innocence. (She had no reason to accept it as strange).
I think you brought out a significant point in that the other example of an animal speaking is of one of speaking truthfully.
The miracles of the Bible often come in pairs of two.
An astounding miracle is often matched with another one like it.
It is almost as if you can hear God say "That's right. You read it right."
You brought that out. But I ...[text shortened]... eems to take it as run of the mill and Balaam seemed not shocked either.
Any thought on that?
With Balaam it is not so apparent but is probably the case that his acceptance was the complete opposite of Eve's, namely his self-assured arrogance, seen it all before mentality. "Talking donkey? Bah!"
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
I think we can put Eve's apparent ease with a talking snake down to her innocence. (She had no reason to accept it as strange).
At the moment I can think of no other reason except something like this.
With Balaam it is not so apparent but is probably the case that his acceptance was the complete opposite of Eve's, namely his self-assured arrogance, seen it all before mentality. "Talking donkey? Bah!"
Either that or he was so blinded by the crooked prospect of wealth that he was too crazed to be distracted by anything.
He has crushed his own conscience. The speaking donkey being ignored shows how mad in his mind he had become.
This was a genuine Gentile prophet of God, yet taken over obsessively by sinful covetousness, greed, and hypocrisy.
He had become mad.
There may be a lesson in this. If in very ancient times God had prophets in the non-Jewish nations, they might have started good. But because they were particularly targeted by Satan for corruption, they developed systems which end up being just so insane.
A true gift of divine prophecy devolving into insane irrational madness.
I don't know about anyone else. But when I first read Genesis, and even a few times after the first, the question that arises first in me is -
"Why in a paradise is there an evil subtle being?"
If this is suppose to be the garden of Eden paradise, the first thing out of place there is a voice contrary to the will of God,
God saw everything that He had made and behold it was very good. This almost ends chapter 2.
Then
" Now the serpent was more crafty than every other animals of the field which Jehovah God had made..." (Gen 3:1a)
This must be perhaps the first thing peculiar about Genesis.
In a very good creation there is a subtle adversary to God - a lying life that should not be either existing or speaking.
God has His own way to tell His creation man - in the universe there is something that should not be. That is an intelligence not God, but higher than man. This mind is contrary to God, causing man to doubt the heart of God and believe that God is not truthful.
The talking serpent is God's way to communicate a super intelligence challenging the authority of the Creator.
I could not figure all this out just be reading Genesis.
The revelation of the whole Bible eventually unveils this.
Originally posted by @secondsonWait until Divegeester takes the time to write something substantial. Let him put down a substantial paragraph of his thoughts.
Good question.
I think we can exclude Michael and Gabriel as Michael's service is to Israel, and Gabriel is in charge of birth announcements.
The chit chat style will just wear you out.
He likes to chit chat you with one liners to keep you on the perpetual defensive. Let the guy write something contributory and substantial of his own thoughts on a matter.
Although Genesis is arranged as the first book in the Hebrew Bible, probably Job is the oldest book.
So by starting to read the Bible from Genesis, you're limited in what you can comprehend. In the wisdom books Job reveals a contest between God and an adversary of God roaming around in God's creation.
Just like the triangle situation between God, Satan, and Job in Job we see a triangular contest in Genesis.
We have God the subtle creature in God's creation and man in-between the two. This too is a triangle and a great cosmic contest.
You also have the same triangle situation with Adam and the two trees - "the tree of life" and "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.".
You have on one side [God, life, the tree of life].
You have on the opposite side [ the subtle lying serpent, death, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil]
You have a man in the middle - a man created neutral in-between two sources. And the man has the power to choose.
Now this picture is pretty accurate as to the dichotomy.
Yet there is something that it doesn't speak to yet.
I won't say too much about it now. But it is this.
The knowledge of good and evil is something God has.
" And Jehovah God said, Behold the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, and now lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and live forever - " (Gen. 3:22)
This puzzled me for years. That is "the knowledge of good and evil" is something of one of the attributes that God has. So it must be godly and good.
Cont. latter
