Inspiration Chapter 3

DIFFICULTIES IN THE BIBLE

John 10:3 and the scripture cannot be broken;

This lesson makes no claim of answering EVERY question which might arise but rather to simply point out some of the methods to be used as these difficulties are confronted.

Many are more prone to accept an absurd lie than to believe a simple truth. Evolutionists have given the earth an age ranging from a few million to several billion years, and many accept the discrepancy without batting an eye, and yet shout in derision if they ‘perceive’ a difference in the Bible, of 30 years concerning Israel's time of slavery in Egypt.

An elephant supposedly evolved from a small, rat-like animal while the little wild pig descended from a huge hippopotamus-like creature. All of this by some blind, unguided process, and it seems completely believable by the mind that hates God; while the idea of an intelligent creator is ridiculed as illogical.
Personally, the dialogues of the evolutionist always remind me of the ‘mad hatters tea party’!

I. The importance of the ‘Infallibility of the Word.’ Psa 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
The Bible is not a scientific textbook and was not written for scientists, nor was it written in scientific language. Yet, if we believe the Creator is the author, we must accept the challenge and affirm that it speaks with authority and accuracy when it touches upon ANY subject.

II. When ‘science’ and the Bible disagree, either;
A. Science has presented an hypothesis that is wrong and will soon be proven so and discarded, or;

B. There is an error in what men THINK the Bible teaches. i.e. For years, men scoffed that the Bible taught a ‘flat earth’ while science knew better. The truth? The Bible taught the truth long before man made the discovery! Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

III. A few of the alleged errors and contradictions.
A. These fall, generally, into four categories;
1. The same thing?
Acts 12:2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Acts 15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Believe it or not, this has actually been cited as an error or contradiction by some! One of these was the son of Zebedee and the other the son of Alphaeus.

2. A difference in time. In Genesis 1, God declared everything was good, while in Genesis 6:11-12 He said it was evil.

3. In the same sense? Was John the Baptist Elias?
Mat 11:14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
John 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
Luke gives us the answer. Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

4. Problems with contrary attributes. Do we have a God who is love, or one who is a stern judge? Picture the judge as he faces a criminal, and as he looks down at the face of his sleeping child. Which is the real person?

B. A few difficulties examined.
1. Was there one angel or two?
John 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
Mark 16:5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
Mark tells of four women who saw one angel before they went to tell Peter and the others.
John tells us the other disciples have left, and Mary is alone at the tomb. This squares with Mark's account which tells us Mary was the first to see the risen Christ. Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

2. The length of the sojourn in Egypt.
Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Exo 12:40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.
Acts 7:6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
The total time in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years while the slavery was four hundred.

3. Did Absalom have sons?
2 Sam 14:27 And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
2 Sam 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.
These refer to different times in his life.

4. Three passages harmonized.
a. Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
b. Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. c. James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Which is correct? All are! Faith is the instrument of our justification, The blood of Christ is the merit of our justification and works is the declaration of our justification.

5. The price paid for the threshing floor of Ornan.
2 Sam 24:24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
1 Chr 21:25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.
Here are clearly two different transactions. David first bought the threshing floor and later bought the entire farm.

6. Did Matthew mistake one prophet for another?
Mat 27:9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
The only WRITTEN prophecy concerning this is Zec 11:13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. Jeremiah SAID IT and Zechariah wrote of it.
Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, Did Jude err when he quoted Enoch?

7. the manner of the death of Judas.
Mat 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Acts 1:18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
There is no mystery or discrepancy here. If a man ties a rope around his neck and jumps from a sufficient height it might well result in a hanging such as Luke describes in Acts.

These are but a small selection of the charges critics have made against the Bible but they are examples of the whole, and all can be answered with a little close reading and study and a little common sense.

Practice on this one. How many souls went into Egypt?
Gen 46:26 All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six;
Gen 46:27 And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.
Acts 7:14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

Next; The Bible Proven By Prophecy