|If Joseph Owned a Gun . . . !Lorraine Day, M.D.
Christians LOVE their guns. They believe that God approves of Self-Defense. They quote many texts from the Bible – out of context – to support their incorrect stance. But all they reveal by doing so is their lack of understanding of God’s character – and their total lack of trust in God. They are not willing to study in-depth to see who God really is, and to understand God’s relationship to His children - ALL His children, including those who are not the least bit interested in obeying Him.
All Christians know the story of Joseph, the son of Jacob by Rachel, the next to the youngest of the 12 sons of Joseph, who was hated by his brothers because he was the favorite son of his father. One day while his brothers were tending the flock in fields far from their home, Jacob sent Joseph to check on their whereabouts and their safety.
But when Joseph found his brothers, instead of being welcomed with gladness, they plotted how to kill him. After lowering him into a pit to die a horrible death of slow starvation, they decided instead to sell him as a slave, for 20 pieces of silver, to a passing caravan of Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s captain of the executioners.
Because of Joseph’s Godly character, Potiphar gave him complete charge over all his household. When Joseph properly refused the sexual advances of Potiphar’s wife, she falsely accused Joseph of attempted rape and he was put in prison.
Again, because of Joseph’s integrity, the warden put him in charge of all the prisoners. There were two other notable prisoners, Pharaoh’s former butler and baker, both of whom – one night – had a dream. Joseph was able to interpret their dreams and his interpretations, in both cases were true.
Several years after the butler had been restored to his position in Pharaoh’s court, Pharaoh had a dream. He called all his wise men but none of them could interpret the dream. Suddenly, the butler remembered Joseph, still languishing in prison, and recommended Joseph to Pharaoh, who successfully interpreted Pharaoh’s dream regarding the soon to come 7 years of plenty that would be followed by 7 years of famine.
Pharaoh was so appreciative that he made Joseph second, only to Pharaoh, in the kingdom, and placed him in charge of all food production and food storage for the coming famine.
How different the Old Testament would have been if Joseph had a gun.
Joseph would not have allowed his brothers to drop him in a pit and leave him to slowly starve to death.
Joseph would not have allowed his brothers to sell him as a slave to the Ishmaelite caravan.
Joseph would not have been sold as a slave to Potiphar in Egypt.
Joseph would not have been put in prison where he interpreted dreams of the baker and the butler.
Joseph would not been recommended to Pharaoh to interpret Pharaoh’s dream.
Joseph would not have been appointed by Pharaoh to over see all of Egypt for the coming famine.
Joseph would not have been in charge of the food supply when his brothers came down from Canaan into Egypt to buy food for their family.
Joseph would not have been in a position to provide food for his father and brothers and their families.
Joseph would not have been in a position to move his brothers and father and the 70 members of their collective families to the land of Goshen in Egypt.
Joseph would not have been in a position to protect and nurture the beginning of the Israelite nation.
Joseph, without all this trouble, would not have learned to trust God with everything in his life, nor would his brothers hearts have been changed.
If the Israelites in Goshen had guns
They would not have remained slaves of the Egyptians. They would have shot their way out of Egypt
There would have been no Exodus with God leading them through the wilderness.
The Israelites would not have learned, through the 40 years in the wilderness to trust God for everything, including food (manna from heaven), water (from a rock), clothing (it never wore out for 40 years), heat at night (from the pillar of fire), cool in the day (from the cloud cover), and protection from their enemies.
There would have been no Israelite nation in the land of Canaan/Palestine.
And we would have none of these wonderful examples of God’s miraculous deliverance of His people from physical slavery in Egypt that are expressed spiritually in the New Testament as God’s spiritual deliverance of ALL His children from the bondage (slavery) of sin.
If Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego had guns
They wouldn’t have allowed themselves to be thrown in the fiery furnace.
Those who threw them into the furnace would not have died – demonstrating how hot the fire was.
Nebuchadnezzar would not have witnessed Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the fire, walking around with Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego.
Nebuchadnezzar would not have been persuaded of God’s power and thus, declared that the God of heaven is the One and Only True God!
God couldn’t have shown His miraculous power and deliverance of the three young men by allowing the fire not to touch them, nor even cause their clothes to smell of fire.
Never deliver yourself from your trouble
God is the Deliverer – not us. If we are having trouble, even if we are the ones who brought it on ourselves, God is teaching us lessons through the trouble. The trouble is meant to turn us to Him – to trust in Him – not to trust in ourselves. God will deliver you in HIS time – not yours.
The Bible is full of passages about the need for us to go through the “fire” of trouble:
We are saved, not lost, through fire
“If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; ye so as by fire.” 1 Cor 3:15
God’s fiery law burns the sin out of our life
“The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them: He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints: from His right hand went a fiery law for them.
Fiery trials
“Beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice to the extent that ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
“If ye are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you: on their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. . .
“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed: but let him glorify God on this matter.” 1 Peter 4:12-16
God came down on Mt. Sinai in fire
“And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.” Ex 24:17
Indeed, God IS a “consuming fire.” His “fiery law” consumes the sin out of our life. This was the lesson God was trying to teach us through the Old Testament sacrifice system. The Israelite brought a lamb to the temple court as a sacrifice for sin. The “lamb” represented Jesus Christ who would die for our sins.
The Israelite symbolically transferred his sin to the lamb by placing his hands on the head of the lamb. Then the LAMB – the “sins” – was sacrificed and burned up – NOT the Israelite!
It is Molech/Baal/Satan – not God - who demands human burning sacrifice (“hellfire”)
In the Old Testament, God sharply rebuked the Israelites for appeasing their false Satanic gods by human burning sacrifices: offering their children through the fire.
God also tells us that Hellfire (human burning sacrifices) is not even a concept “that has entered God’s mind.” It is a Satanic man-made doctrine of the “Christian” church.
“And thou shalt not let any of thy seed (children) pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.” Lev 18:21
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
“Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed (children) unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
“And I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile My sanctuary, and to profane My holy name.
And if the people of the land do hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his children unto Molech, and do not kill him:
Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech (Satan), from among their people.” Leviticus 20:1-5
“Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh (a pagan god), the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon, , , And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice.
“And commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. 1 Kings 11 7-10
“And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them NOT, neither came it into My mind, that they should do this abomination. . .” Jeremiah 32:35
God tells us that He never has endorsed human burning sacrifices to appease Himself. The thought has “never come into His mind.”
Obviously, God does not require the human burning sacrifices of the false doctrine of “hellfire” promoted by all Christian churches. God is NOT going to throw anyone into hellfire – nor are the unbelievers going to “spontaneously catch themselves on fire.”
That is a ludicrous, heinous, Satanic false doctrine that virtually ALL “Christian” churches embrace – because they don’t understand the character of God.
Fire in the Old Testament is literal. But Fire in the New Testament is spiritual fire. It has been “transformed” by the life of Jesus Christ. God’s “fiery law” burns the sin out of our life through the “fiery trials” we encounter. But the “fire” will not burn us physically.
As shown above, we are saved – not lost – through fire!
Even Abraham made the same mistake of not understanding God’s character. When God asked Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as an ascent offering (mistranslated as a “burnt” offering in every Bible), Abraham thought God wanted him to murder and burn up his son just like they offered animal sacrifices.
But God stopped Abraham from doing such a heinous thing, and God provided a ram in the thicket instead for an offering.
God wanted Abraham to “dedicate” Isaac’s life to Him – not to murder Isaac and burn him on an altar.
God asks each one of us to:
“I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a LIVING sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1
Conclusion: the Lesson to be Learned:
As soon as you take a gun in your hand, you are demonstrating that you are willing to kill. Yet God says, “Thou shalt NOT kill.” (Exodus 20:13)
As soon as you take a gun in your hand, you have demonstrated that you are not willing to obey God’s commandments. And Jesus said,
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (tJohn 14:15)
As soon as you take a gun in your hand, you are demonstrating that you do NOT trust God with your life. Instead, you trust yourself. (How foolish you are!)
As soon as you take a gun in your hand, you have declared yourself to be a “god” – above the God of heaven, and thus you have broken the first Commandment:
“Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)
As soon as you take a gun in your hand, you have made the decision to protect yourself, and you are no longer under God’s protection. You are now under the “protection” of Satan – the arch enemy of Jesus Christ!
As soon as you take a gun in your hand, you have robbed God of His desire and sovereign power to work miracles in your life. What a shame!
As soon as you take a gun in your hand, you have demonstrated that your allegiance is to “man” (yourself) rather than to God, because the Bible says:
“We ought to obey God – rather than man.” Acts 5:29
When will Christians EVER learn to trust God?
That’s why Jesus said,’’
“When the Son of man cometh, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8
Stop trusting in yourself – and Start trusting in God!