...and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

I have heard many people say that they are permitted to command the Almighty! Honestly, I did not for a fraction of a second feel comfortable with such an assertion. How can a creature command the Creator of all? I decided to conduct my research into this and soon discovered that the protagonists of this thought relied on Isaiah 45.11 where it is written: Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands? 

To me, the riddle has been solved. This quotation did not say that one can command the Almighty but on the contrary posed a question which was to make a point that man cannot question the Lord at all! I then shared my findings with a friend who is a protagonist. He listened carefully but was not persuaded. He later showed me the same passage which reads:  Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

I was surprised. This quote supports the protagonists! I subsequently realised that I have relied on the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible whilst my friend was working with the King James Version (KJV).  Be that as it may, what is written still needs to be properly understood. So I decided we needed to examine the statements before the verse 11 to understand its context. This exercise revealed that such rhetorical questions have been asked earlier on in the passage. For example:   "Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who fashions it, 'What are you making'? or 'Your work has no handles'? 

Given this context we see clearly that a creature cannot begin to issue orders to his Maker. Man should stop all arrogance and presumptions when thinking of God. We need to bow down in humility before the Omnipotence and Omniscience of the Most High!

And He rested on the seventh day!

In Scripture we read that by the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

Some have explained that this does not mean that the Omnipotent Lord of all needed to rest, but simply ceased creating on the seventh day as He will never be tired. Others link it to the Sabbath day: we also need to rest on one day of the week.

But we also see that many scriptural writings ascribe human characteristics to the Almighty! The Lord is portrayed as jealous, repenting of His deeds, angry with the wicked, and even walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and from whom the human couple could attempt to hide.

While all these might be able to bring partially to the level of human understanding the unfathomable Majesty of the Most High, the fact remains that human words and expressions remain inadequate to explain the Creator. The danger also remains that these attempts could form in man a totally incorrect concept of God.

The Lord can be seen in His Work of Creation in which we have our existence. He speaks to us through His Creation and thereby shows us His Will clearly. To recognize this Will is our duty. And before now, the Son of God in His Holy Word showed the right way to do so.

Remember that Christ Jesus did not concern Himself with creeds. Let us therefore wake up, look around us, and in listening to our inner voice, move away from shackling dogmas and wrong concepts! Only this can open the way to pure understanding!

Man shall not live by bread alone!

In this well-known statement of Jesus we are guided on how to resist the temptation of living a one-sided life. It admonishes one and all that we have to balance the pursuit for our earthly goals and pleasures with high spiritual aims as well.

After all, man is spirit when stripped of all his material coverings and it will be of little gain to give all attention to the body and starve the inner core of attention. Of what benefit will it be for a man to gain the earth (material benefits) and lose his inner core – the spirit?

A whole lot of us live the one sided life blindly. We have even confused our earthly pursuits with the spiritual to the extent that all our religious activities are geared towards achieving one purely material earthly goal or the other. When majority talk of seeking the face of the Lord in prayer and when fasting, it is all about the next promotion, making money, exam success, finding a viable spouse and so on.

While these are desirable, they are like earthly bread and we are not to live by these alone but by the Living Word, the spiritual bread which refreshes, enlightens and revitalizes our spirit. We should grasp the Holy Word aright, resolve to do only that which is good, and give purity to our thoughts so that all the rest can be added unto us! We shall become sound in body and soul and we shall be able to soar upwards and find our way back to the Eternal gardens of the Most High!

Can a loving God create hell?

The answer already lies in this question.

The Almighty is Love! All that emanates from Him is therefore pure and good. Since no evil can proceed from the Creator, then He did not create hell which is the dwelling place of evil men and their abominations!

The power of the Lord flows through all that exist. It flows through what we call nature and all creatures. In the case of man, in addition to his ability to receive this power, he is especially endowed with the ability to also direct the power and use it in any direction of his choice. Man has the free will to press the power which is neutral to good or evil purpose. He uses this same power when he is thinking, when speaking and for all his deeds.

A very important aspect of the activity of man is his ability to think and also use his intuition. The products of his thinking and that of his intuition have real forms! These can be beautiful and benevolent forms or evil forms. The propensity of the majority of mankind for evil made such obnoxious forms to mushroom and gather in huge centres that is now known as hell. Thus hell is the handiwork of men alone and is not a Divine institution!

Man is responsible for using the power of his Creator in such a wanton way and is therefore compelled to live in his self-created hell after his departure from this earth as he cannot escape from the consequences of putting the pure power of God into wrong use.

How about a 30 day Sabbath?

What can one give to the Lord in thanksgiving?

He is our Maker and King!

Can we give ourselves and our paths?

How about a 30 day Sabbath?

30 days of doing only the Will of the Lord!

No sin in thought and word

30 days of the Lord

30 days of pure accord

30 days of prayers and thanksgiving

Welfare of all we keep seeking.

Unyielding to base desires

Lustful desires cast in fires

Looking up to God for strength to fulfill

Pleasing Him in thought, word and deed

Watching and praying

In gardens of God alone serving

The 30 days shall become a lesson of songs!

A rehearsal of heavenly songs

Then the Sabbath shall outlive 30 days-

And become Sabbath till the end of days!

Sola Adeyegbe

Abuja, 4.55 p.m. 29^th June 2006.