Hey Jim and Jaqui, thanks for your comments the other day. Jaqui, I did read "The Shack" awhile back. it I know you will probably want to reach through your computer and slap me, but just didn't work for me. It was kind of a sweet story I suppose, but I personally found a lot of things that I thought weren't quite right. Sorry, I hope that doesn't offend you. A have appreciated all your comments though.

Jim, I appreciate your comments too. I know that none of us has a correct or complete knowledge of who God is and we can only kind of guess, but what if we are way off in our concept. Again in today's OT passage it is very obvious that God is flat out speaking very clearly, in great detail, and is there in some kind of physical form. Today he is not. There are so many other weird little observations I've made, I literally can't count them all, but none of them make a lot of sense compared to what I've been taught. One example is during the creation God appears to speak everything into existence, yet it took him 6 days to do it. Why 6 days? Did he have to speak for 6 days strait? And when it comes to Adam and Eve, he doesn't say "Adam be" or "Eve be," instead he forms Adam out of dirt, then anesthetizes him, opens him up, pulls out a rib and appears to fashion Eve out of Adams rib. It almost sounds like he cloned her. So, why the change of method? (continued...)

Some time ago I tried to do a study to determine who God is. As it turned out, it required much more time than I had and there were a lot of things that were way over my head. However, I did turn up a few things. I've always assumed that God was one guy... one of the trinity, the creator, an unseen spirit, all wise, all-powerful, omnipresent, omnipotent, etc., etc. However, the way I started out in that study, "God" seems way different then that. I can't remember everything and I lost my notes, but first off, it seems to me that there are a bunch of "gods". (I just did a quick word search and found the term "gods" mentioned 454 times in the bible.) Again, I can't remember everything real well, but I ended up with the impression that "God" almost more of a family of supreme beings that went by the name of Elohiym. It kind of seemed like they are headed by a Supreme Being in the universe that is named El, but I'm not totally sure about that. All power, love, and substance in the universe was created and controlled by these guys and all the power possessed by them comes from this El dude I think. Then, it seems like there was the God, who created life on this planet... Yhovah, who appears to be the most powerful and senior family member of the Elohiym. By the time my brain was full, everything was confusing. Yahweh, El, Elohiym, Adonay, Elahh, Shadday, Yahh... I couldn't keep it all strait in my head. But it did seem to me there is more than just "God. (continued...)

Take for example, Psalm 82:1 where it says " God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods." I mean, doesn't that seem obvious that he heads up a bunch of these beings? I just went back through the last few passages in Exodus we've been studying and found a few more verses that seem to support this thought of mine. Exodus 15:11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Exodus 18:11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. Exodus 22:28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. Exodus 23:32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. I obviously don't have the time to document everything in the bible that suggests God is a family of bdings, but the bible is chalked full of verses that just don't ad up to the concept of a single entity we call God.

OK, I'm done with my rant and I'm still confused as much now as I was then. I should say here that while I find all this quite fascinating, I also kind of think it's somewhat moot. The concept of God is a matter of each of our individual belief based on our own study as well as what we've been taught, and there are probably no two alike, not much unlike any individual's opinions about any given subject. So regardless if God is a single supreme being or a bunch of beings doesn't really matter compared to the atoning death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus. I guess we'll find, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of the story," later.

...rich

Great thoughts Rich. Don't worry, I'm not a "slapper". I have found that people either love the Shack or really don't. It was something that inspired me. I know there are things that inspire you as well! That's the beauty of life. We are all unique and different one from another. It makes things much more interesting!

Life has been a painful journey for me the past couple of weeks. Some things have surfaced that have been very difficult for me to face. Please be praying over the next weeks as this process unfolds for my heart. I will share with you when I am able.