Bible Questions Answered:
“...what then is more valuable child or cow?”
Satyen/ Patna, India
Bible Answer:
Child.
It was never said, by the living God, that animals were created in the image of God.
Genesis 1:27 KJV
So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
Genesis 9:6 KJV
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man.
To say that things of the earth, rocks hills, streams, animals, etc. are God, is to embrace pantheism.
Pantheism: The doctrine that God is “not,” a personality, but that all laws, forces, manifestations, etc. of the self-existing universe are God.
(New World Dictionary)
Our Living God:
Omnipotent: All Powerful.
Job 42:1,2 KJV
1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withheld from thee.
Psalm 115:3 KJV
But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.
Isaiah 43:13 NLT
“From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”
Matthew 19:26 KJV
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Luke 1:37 KJV
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Omnipresent: Everywhere present.
Deuteronomy 4:39 KJV
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
Psalm 139:7-13 KJV
7 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
Proverbs 15:3 KJV
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Isaiah 66:1 KJV
Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest?
Jeremiah 23:24 KJV
Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
Acts 17:27 KJV
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us:
Omniscient: All Knowing.
Job 26:6 KJV
Hell is naked before Him, and destruction hath no covering.
Job 31:4 KJV
Doth not He see my ways, and count all my steps?
Job 34:21 KJV
For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings.
Psalm 147:5 KJV
Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.
Hebrews 4:13 KJV
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
I John 3:20 KJV
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Idolatry:
Our Gods' first two commandments at Sinai were....
Exodus 20:3-6 KJV
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.
It does not matter the country, or people, all who bow to the things of nature, or of idols and statues, all are in the anger of Almighty God. And why is this....
Exodus 20:5 KJV “....for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,...”
God, will “not,” allow others to receive the glory and honor, due to God alone.
Psalm 115:1-18 NLT
1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
2 Why let the nations say, “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens, and He does as He wishes.
4 Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
5 They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.
6 They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell.
7 They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound.
8 And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust the Lord! He is your Helper and your Shield.
10 O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the Lord! He is your Helper and your Shield.
11 All you who fear the Lord, trust the Lord! He is your Helper and your Shield.
12 The Lord remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord, both great and lowly.
14 May the Lord richly bless both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord, but He has given the earth to all humanity.
17 The dead cannot sing praises to the Lord, for they have gone into the silence of the grave.
18 But we can praise the Lord both now and forever!
Praise the Lord!
Acts 17:16-34 NLT
Paul Preaches in Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.
17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.
18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and His resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”
19 Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said.
20 “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”
21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)
22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,
23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He doesn’t live in man-made temples,
25 and human hands can’t serve His needs—for He has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need.
26 From one Man (Jesus Christ, His Son.) He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and He determined their boundaries.
27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him—though He is not far from any one of us.
28 For in Him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.
30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now He commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to Him.
31 For He has set a day for judging the world with justice by the Man He has appointed, and He proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead.”
32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.”
33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them,
34 but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
