Welcome to Day 1546 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to WisdomRules of Engagement – Worldview WednesdayWelcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. Our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, seek out discernment and insights, and boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend; this is Gramps; thanks for coming along on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy. Today is Day 1545 of our Trek, and it is Worldview Wednesday. Creating a Biblical Worldview is essential to have a proper perspective on today’s current events. To establish a Biblical Worldview, you must have a proper understanding of God and His Word. This week, we will expand on the past course work as we continue reviewing the book from Dr. Michael S Heiser titled “Supernatural.” The book is an abbreviated version of his more comprehensive book, “The Unseen Realm.” I highly recommend both of these books. Creating a Biblical Worldview based on how the Old and New Testaments connect with God’s overall plan for humanity is essential. This book review will help us understand what the Bible teaches about the unseen world, and why it matters.
Rules of Engagement
So far, we have covered the first six chapters and Supernatural. Here is what we covered during the past six Worldview Wednesdays: God cast aside the nations and their peoples at Babel. The lesser gods assigned to them took dominion (Deuteronomy 32:8–9). When God started over with Abraham, it was clear that he planned to one day reclaim the nations through the influence of Israel (Genesis 12:3). But the gods of the nations would have to be forced to surrender their power and worship (Psalm 82:6–8). That meant conflict—in both the seen and unseen realms. As soon as there was an Israel, she was in the crosshairs of the lesser gods.
Who Is Yahweh?It doesn’t take long in the biblical story for Israel to wind up in a precarious position. The story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50) explains why Israel went to Egypt. God’s providence turned the harm intended Joseph by his brothers to the salvation of Israel from famine (Genesis 46:3–4; 50:20). That God didn’t tell Israel to leave Egypt right away was also intentional. God knew the Pharaoh who honored Joseph would die and be replaced by an enemy (Exodus 1). He had foreseen that Egypt would put the Israelites into forced labor (Genesis 15:13–16). He also knew he would rescue Israel when the time was right (Genesis 46:4).
But why wait? God always has a good reason for suffering. We just can’t always see it. In this case, though, Scripture makes it clear. After Moses had fled Egypt and taken up residence in the wilderness, God called him at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1–14) to send him back to Egypt. His orders were simple: tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go” (Exodus 5:1). Pharaoh had other ideas. He was god in the flesh in Egypt, the emblem of all its glory and power. He wasn’t going to let some invisible God of Hebrew shepherds tell him what to do. He didn’t even know whether the God of Moses was real. He mockingly replied, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?” (Exodus 5:2).
He was about to get an answer—one that would hurt. God had set him up. God had told Moses, “I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” (Exodus 4:21). God had a fight to pick. After they had oppressed the Israelites for centuries, it was time for Egypt and its gods to be punished. Pharaoh’s hardening was part of that plot. The Bible tells us the plagues were aimed at Egypt’s gods—especially the last one, the death of the firstborn. (Exodus 12:12; Numbers 33:4), This final plague turned out to be a direct assault on Pharaoh’s house. Here is the description in Exodus 12:29, “At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the...