Consider the purpose of all creation - from Hosea 2:16.

When considering whether the power that created everything has a person, one proposition inevitably comes in, and that is "purpose."

Creation without a purpose does not exist. Although it is true that something may be produced "unintentionally", this "unintentional" is usually brought out because "there are other purposes", so the purpose itself still exists.

This is a very critical part of creation, and a very fundamental problem in theology - certainly in philosophy and science.

In Christmas 2021, I wrote an article on " The Meaning of Christ's Birth ". At that time, I wrote a lot about this point, but I just happened to read the book of Hosea recently and compared different translations. A little question, so let's talk.

Hosea chapter 2 verse 16:

• KJV: On that day you will call me Ish, and no longer Baal. this is what Jehovah said. ("Ish" means "my husband." "Baal" means "my lord.")
• Modern Taiwanese translation: The Lord said: "On that day, you wanted to call me "Ruan Weng", but Wu Ge called me "Ruan Toujia".
• Modern Chinese translation: At that time, she will once again recognize me—the Lord is her husband, and will no longer regard me as Baal.

In fact, the three translations are basically correct. The only difference is that the original text is transliterated and free translation. Simply put, the original text is Ish, which means husband, and Baal is my lord.

That's what my son asks, isn't Baal the name of a pagan god? Why does God call himself Baal here, not Jehovah.

This is actually a complicated historical story. Let’s talk about a few ancient terms first. First of all, Eli, this is the word that Jesus shouted before his death, and it is also the name of Superman. This vocabulary is not simple, because he is God It means, but it is also the great god in Phoenician mythology (but it is already three generations of gods), he killed his father and robbed his grandfather's kingdom (is it exactly the same as Greek mythology, and his uncle is called Uranus) , and later replaced him with his son Baal...

Eli actually means "God" and Baal means "Master", but later both became specific names of gods. Baal is called Baal in the video games "Bird's Gate" and "Diablo". To put it simply, it was originally just a title, but because of language differences, Baal has changed from "my lord" to a "God's name" in other language circles. Therefore, when the word Baal appears in the Bible, pay attention to what he refers to. What is it, especially in the Old Testament, a large number of place names have Baal in them. The reason why the Israelites continue to use it is because Baal is actually an honorific title for God.

Just as if we call a road the road of God today, does this God refer to the Christian God or the Xuantian God? It is really their own expression, after all, "God" is not a god's name, but an honorary title.

Let’s review the history. First of all, since Adam and Eve, they have only known one God, and they will not admit it wrong, because they also know only one, and that is “my Lord” (the name of God revealed by God - or the essence is Things happened in the time of Moses), the pronunciation is called Baal, so Baal is not a "God's name", but a "honorary title". The problem is that later people began to use idols to replace the God they could not see. This is a very common weakness in the human heart. Just like the golden bulls that the Israelites made after they came out of Egypt, they actually knew exactly who they worshiped, in fact, even if they worshiped gold Ox, they still know very well that they are worshiping Jehovah, and the ox is just an image.

Yes, everyone here needs to be very clear about what idol worship really means, otherwise, you will definitely make a mistake, and then you will be so bored that you will lose your temper with those wooden and stone statues.

In short, the problem is not "worshiping Baal", but "wrong theological understanding", because as long as your theological understanding is wrong, it is useless for you to go to church devoutly for a lifetime.

Going back to Hosea, what is God's ultimate requirement of us? Look, He doesn't even want to be our Baal (my lord, head home) anymore, but a "husband". (Although Hosea is really bad enough for a prophet to be "ordered" to be cuckold...)

Or "spouse", although the description in the Bible seems to be the existence of jurisdiction between husband and wife, it is rather the human social norm in the future, because back to the description in Genesis (in fact, most of the "social" in the Bible The "law" is in conflict with Genesis, symbolizing the staged control required by human weakness, rather than the final will of God), and the spouse means "matcher", a worthy "equivalent" existence.

Now you should know how much God requires of us. It is not enough for you to be his faithful believers, servants, or anything else. You must eventually be promoted to be qualified to be his match.

Therefore, the Bible begins with the marriage of Adam and Eve and ends with the wedding feast of the Lamb.

When we look back and think about the purpose of creation, the picture becomes much clearer.

The purpose of the creation of the creator is to have a companion, because he is a unique existence, so he desires a companion - an equal existence, a match, a helper.

This is His plan, and therefore He loves us, because that is the end of human evolution (or, if there are aliens, they are also part of the plan of the Most High, because God loves them too, God is infinite after all).

As for why it is a plan, not a direct manufacture, this part comes down to "free will", because if it is completely controlled by him, then it is impossible to become a "matcher", so free will is inseparable from God's love, But free will also goes with suffering, because even God himself suffers because of human free will, and love is free in suffering.

Therefore, creation must have a purpose, and the whole period of time with purpose is called a process. So God goes back and forth in the timeline, waiting, pinching here and there, because He sets us free.

This is also a lesson. How do we adjust our attitude to become a true "partnership" that is God's will. Jesus can call it "brothers and sisters", but we must look at the whole world with a completely different eye.

Of course, I'm not saying that this is better, after all, I'm still learning, but since the Holy Spirit has touched me like this, I'm happy to work hard and share it at the same time.

And the Supreme Being is infinite, He can provide hundreds of billions of good ways for intelligent beings in the entire universe to use, and there is no need to repeat it!

In short, it is very important to think about the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything, even if your answer is 42, the point is that you have to think about it carefully!

And you know what? I didn't even need to read the bible to get this answer (because it was the result of my constant research on the setting to write a novel before my baptism), the bible in turn was used to prove that the answer I thought really made sense, and some people agreed oh! It was only before I believed in the Lord that I regarded it as a philosophical theory, and only after I believed in the Lord did I understand that it was the revelation of God.

By the way, this is the same as my spiritual language experience . In fact, I have received these various gifts long before I became a Christian, so the point really depends on whether you can know God more correctly and deeply. Because knowing God itself is the greatest reward, and everything else really comes second.