When was Moses circumcised?

Sincerely,
Medical Records

Dear Medical Records,

In his infancy, Moses was cared for wholly by his biological Jewish parents (Ex 2:2).  It was only when he got big enough that they could no longer hide Moses from the Egyptians that Moses was put amongst the reeds to be found and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter (Ex 2:3-5).  Moses’ parents were faithful Jews (Heb 11:23) and would have had Moses circumcised at the appropriate time.  All male children were supposed to be circumcised when they were eight days old (Gen 17:10-12).  Therefore, Moses was circumcised when he was eight days old.

The fourth commandment clearly states to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy.  Why do so many churches not keep this command?

Sincerely,
For The Fourth

Dear For The Fourth,

The Sabbath was a holy day for the Jews, not for Christians.  The Old Testament has a myriad of laws that are no longer binding in the New Testament: animal sacrifice, clean and unclean foods, and various festivals… just to name a few.  2 Cor 3 is an entire chapter devoted to explaining how the Old Law has been surpassed by the New Law.  2 Cor 3:3 especially clarifies the issue when it states that our law is “not in tables of stone”, a direct reference to the Ten Commandments that were written on stone tablets.

Gal 3:24-25 makes it clear that the Old Law was a tutor to bring mankind to Christ, but now that Christ has come, we are no longer under that tutor.  The Sabbath is a part of that Old Law.  In the New Testament, christians meet on the first day of the week to worship, take the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7), and take up a collection (1 Cor 16:1-2).  In short: different covenants, different days.

The Old Testament law given by Moses was a covenant with the Jews (Deut 5:1-5).  The New Testament law given in Christ is for all of mankind (Acts 2:38-39).

Who changed the law?  God did.

When did it change?  When the church began.

Why does the Bible list all the names of the sons and daughters at some point?  Is it important?  How should we take it?

Sincerely,
Kid Counter

Dear Kid Counter,

The section of the Bible that lists the names of the sons descended from Adam is found in Genesis chapter five; we are assuming this is the list of names that you are referring to.  This particular chapter is given as an overview of the time between Adam and Noah.  After the early events with Adam and Eve (the sin in the Garden of Eden, Cain killing Abel, etc.), the next big event in Bible history was the worldwide flood and the ark that Noah built.  Genesis chapter five sums up all the generations in between, so we have an idea about what happened during that time period, but in the end, the details of that section of history weren’t important for us so an overview was all God deemed necessary for us to be given.

Men (and a woman, Deborah) like Ehud, Samuel, Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Othniel served as judges.  Then men (whether good or bad) like Jehu, Omri, Solomon, Pekah, David, Josiah, Amon, Saul, and Uzziah served as kings.  A king and a judge ruled over Israel, but Jehovah was still supreme over them, so in biblical terms, what's the difference between a judge and a king?

Sincerely,
Don’t Judge Me

Dear Don’t Judge Me,

Kings ruled the nation; judges delivered the nation.  When the kings were instituted, it was because the people wanted a king to guide them in place of God (1 Sam 8:4-7).  Kings were in total control of the laws, military, and executive powers of the nation.

On the other hand, the judges were sent by God to deliver the nation but didn’t necessarily rule the nation.  Take Samson for example.  Samson never functioned as a legal guardian or lawgiver for Israel, but he was sent by God to deliver the nation from Philistine oppression (Judg 13:5).  We often get confused because when we think of the word ‘judge’, we think of someone presiding over a courtroom, but that wasn’t what the Old Testament judges were.  The judges of the Old Testament were sent to bring judgment upon the nations that were oppressing Israel.  When Israel was suffering and cried to God, God sent them judges to deliver them from suffering (Judg 2:16).

Are emotions in the heart or mind?  God reads the heart, but man says emotions are in the mind.  I am somewhat confused.

Sincerely,
The Thinker

Dear The Thinker,

The Bible uses the terms 'heart' and 'mind' as synonyms.  Mk 7:21 talks about thoughts proceeding from the heart, and 2 Pet 3:1 says that your mind is what thinks and remembers.  The term 'heart' is most often used when referring to the emotional aspects of the human thought process, and the word 'mind' is typically used to refer to the analytical thinking process... but that isn't always the case.  Truthfully, the two terms mean basically the same thing.