Second Kings 9:6-10 relates how a prophet sent by Elisha anointed Jehu to be God’s anointed king over His people at that time for a specific task:

He poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, ‘I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel: And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah: And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.'”

God chose Jehu to be His judicial agent to avenge the blood of His servants (9:6-7). At the hands of Jehu, Ahab and Jezebel would reap fierce judgment from God (9:8-10) because they failed to repent of their wickedness.

Throughout human history, wicked people have shed the blood of millions of God’s servants. The same God who avenged on Ahab and Jezebel the blood of His servants that they had slain will one day avenge on unrepentant evil people the blood of all His servants that they have shed (Rev. 6:10; 18:20; 19:2). God will do so through His ultimate anointed King, Jesus of Nazareth.

Let all hear and fear the wrath of God to come upon those who will not repent of the blood that they have shed. The God who delights in mercy will forgive all those who will repent toward Him and believe in His Son.

God’s people who have suffered the loss of loved ones at the hands of evil people must be assured that He will avenge their blood on any people who have shed their blood and refused to repent. Such bereaved saints must rest in God, pray for the repentance of these murderers, and leave it to the God-appointed King to render vengeance on murderers who refuse to repent (cf. Rom. 12:19-21).

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In the account of Abraham’s intercession for Sodom (Gen. 18:16-33) and the subsequent judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (19:1-29), God’s work of judgment through agents is clear. Genesis 18:1-15 shows that the Lord appeared to Abraham with two other men. After two of the group departed (18:22), Abraham interceded with the Third (18:23-32), the Lord, “the One who is judging all the earth” (18:25, my translation).

The two who left were angels (19:1). Later in Sodom, they supernaturally turned away the attempt of the men of the city to molest Lot (19:9-11). They made clear their mission as emissaries of the Lord both explicitly (“the Lord has sent us to destroy it,” 19:13) and by stating that the Lord was the One who was about to destroy the city.

The subsequent account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, however, makes no mention of the activity of the angels in destroying those cities (19:24-29). It states that the Lord who appeared to Abraham destroyed them by raining “brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven” (19:24). This verse shows that the One who destroyed those cities was the preincarnate Christ, and that He did so as the agent of Another, the Lord who was in heaven.

Verse 24 also shows that the righteous Judge of all the earth with whom Abraham interceded (18:25) was the preincarnate Christ. Genesis 18-19, therefore, presents that His divine working as the Lord, the righteous Judge who spares and destroys (18:23-32), was yet as the minister of God’s judgment. This passage that presents the deity of the preincarnate Christ and presents Him as the Lord, the righteous judicial agent of Yahweh, testifies, therefore, to the importance of His judicial agency with reference to His being the Lord. Moreover, in view of the abundant use of κύριος in Genesis (in the LXX) to present God as the Judge,[1] its use in Genesis 18-19 in explicit connection with an emphatic use of the verb κρίνω to speak of work of the preincarnate Christ establishes an important judicial significance for its subsequent reference to Him as κύριος.[2]

Many later Old Testament references to this account further support viewing this passage as an important one.[3] In addition, the New Testament writers’ extensive use of Genesis 18 and 19 (three quotations, twenty-nine allusions and verbal parallels, UBS3) further validates the assessment of these chapters as important to the teaching of the New Testament. Of particular significance are the several New Testament references to the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah that show that this is an important account for understanding apostolic teaching concerning Christ as God’s judicial agent.[4]

Genesis 18-19 shows Christ’s rendering judgment for God. Because Genesis 3:15 prophesied of His future work of judgment, Scripture begins with testimony about Christ’s judging for God both in history and in the future.

 


[1] Genesis in the LXX repeatedly speaks of κύριος or κύριος ὁ θεός as the One who warned of judgment or rendered judgment (2:16-17; 3:1, 8-24; 4:4-16; 5:29; 6:3, 5, 8, 12, 22; 7:1, 4-5, 16; 8:21; 9:12; 11:5-6, 8-9; 12:3; 15:14; 18:17, 19-20, 22, 25-26, 33; 19:13, 14-16, 20, 24-27, 29; 20:18; 38:7).

[2]ὁ κρίνων πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν (“the one who is judging all the earth,” my translation); the present participle here stresses the ongoing nature of His judging. For data showing the nearly universal use of κύριος in the LXX to speak of God as the Judge, see my article, Interpreting the Word “Lord” in the NT.

[3] Deuteronomy 29:23; Isaiah 1:9; 13:19; Jeremiah 23:14-15; 49:18; 50:40; Lamentations 4:6; Ezekiel 16:49-50; Amos 4:11; Zephaniah 2:9.

[4] Matthew 10:15; 11:24; Luke 10:12; 17:29, 32; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 1:7.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Over the years, I have studied a lot of information about health and fitness. I have generally been skeptical of what I have read about supplements that tout themselves as “miracle” cures for all kinds of different problems.

I have benefited from using the following supplements:

Flaxseed oil – helped me overcome digestive system problems that I was having a number of years ago

Vitamin B-12 – after doing a vast amount of research when I came down with Bell’s palsy, I used very high amounts of Vitamin B-12 to help treat my condition. God granted me a speedy recovery with minimal lasting damage.

Vitamin C + E + Antioxidants – I came across information several years ago that suggested increasing antioxidant intake shortly after hard exercise to decrease the soreness. I have been using this protocol for some time now and have found a dramatic decrease in the soreness that I experience after hard exercise or other strenuous physical activity.

Vitamin D – I read quite extensively about the benefits of increased intake of this vitamin before trying it to help me recover from upper respiratory conditions. I have found increased vitamin D intake to be of great value in dealing with colds, sore throats, etc.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

I first began weight training in my late teens. Because I wanted to be an ice hockey player, I trained intensely for some time and received some encouraging benefits as a result.

Over the years, I have continued to weight train. I do not remember, however, ever quite attaining fully the same levels of strength that I had in my early 20s.

This year, I have been weight training consistently once or twice a week for much of the year. It has been very encouraging to see my strength levels on many exercises increase.

I praise God that He has given me renewed strength at such a high level that I am now approaching strength levels that I had in my early 20s in some exercises! The added strength has made some of my daily tasks easier, and I hope to add more strength still.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

I have been using stretching exercises for more than 30 years now. Over those years, I can attest to having benefited greatly from those exercises.

I have used a series of stretching exercises numerous times after long car and plane trips and other activities that have caused stiffness in much of my body. The relief and lessening of fatigue has often been dramatic after taking just 10 or so minutes to stretch out.

I once stepped off a curb unexpectedly because I was not paying attention to what I was doing. Although my back was twisted awkwardly, good flexibility in my hips, back, and trunk saved me from experiencing a potentially serious injury.

Similarly, I have stretched my back out carefully a number of times when it has been sore and received quick and lasting relief.

By regularly stretching my calves a few years ago, I recovered from an injury to my heel that had troubled me for some time.

Through a series of stretching exercises that I have done regularly for many years after hard exercise, I have been able to limit soreness after such activity.

Regular stretching is an inexpensive and highly effective way to better your health. I highly recommend such a program.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Over the years of my being a Christian, I have probably prayed Psalm 43:3-4 (with varying slight modifications) many hundreds of times before studying the Bible:

O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.

I can attest to God’s having answered that prayer numerous times by granting me insight into many passages, even passages that I had previously studied many times in the past. Because I believe that the Bible is an infinite book, I believe that we should expect God, as He sees fit, to show us wondrous things that we have not seen before, even from familiar passages.

I encourage you to believe in a similar manner and expect God to answer such prayers for you as well.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

I began this year with the intention of reading through the entire Bible in Greek this year. I had hoped also to finish reading again through the KJV this year, but it looks as if that will not happen.

Here is the progress (chapters read/total chapters) that God has allowed me to make so far after 190 days!


Section Greek English
OT 539/920 284/920
NT 8/269 269/269
Bible 547/1189 553/1189


With 175 days left in 2011, my goal is to finish reading the LXX by day 320 and finish reading the Greek NT in the remaining 45 days.

To do that, I will have to average reading three chapters in the LXX for the next 130 days and six chapters in the Greek NT for the final 45 days.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

I was first exposed to techniques of progressive relaxation in a required class for my undergraduate major in Fitness Instruction. Though I tried and tried to learn how to relax my muscles thoroughly, I did not quite become proficient enough in the class to earn an A for the class (I got a B+).

In the more than two decades since I took that class, my ability to relax muscles in various places of my body has increased immensely. Through intensive study and practice, I have acquired valuable proficiency in progressive relaxation that I am confident has helped me to be healthier than I would have been otherwise.

I used to have many colds when I was younger. Many years ago, I got bronchitis, and my doctor said that it would probably take weeks for me to get over the illness. In part through the relaxation techniques that I had learned, I was able to get over that illness in a week or so!

When I took voice lessons a number of years ago, I used what I had learned about relaxing muscles (and some other techniques) to attain a fair amount of ability to relax my jaw and throat muscles. As a result, I was able to improve my singing ability noticeably, especially my range.

Through learning to identify unnecessary tension in my eye muscles, I have seen a fair amount of improvement in my vision over the past couple years. Although my unaided vision is not such that I can do without my glasses completely, I am thankful for being able to do without them for greater periods.

Many years ago, I injured my right shoulder and neck by falling asleep with my right arm extended overhead. Apparently, the injury was caused, ironically, by some muscles relaxing in that position in such a manner that it damaged my shoulder and neck. I had to keep my arm in a sling for a few days after that happened.

I have tried for years to get the muscles in my neck and shoulders to relax properly with the hope that I might yet recover fully from the damage from that injury. Recently, praise God, I have experienced vast improvement in my ability to relax my neck, head, and shoulders, and that improvement has decreased the damage from that injury in a noticeable way!

I suffered a bout of Bell’s palsy a few years ago that caused some minor but lasting damage to the left side of my face, including my left eye. I am certain that the limited lasting damage to my face that I have had resulted in part through my being able to learn to relax muscles in my face that were affected by the palsy.

I thank God that in the past year or so, He has granted me more recovery from some of the damage from the Bell’s palsy by allowing me to relax some affected areas more thoroughly than I have ever been able to before. I hope that there may yet be more healing in the future.

Although learning progressive relaxation techniques is certainly not a cure-all, I can attest to much benefit that I have received from the skills that I have acquired over the years at relaxing many of the muscles of my body. I think that many people would experience similar improvements in their health through their learning and using progressive relaxation techniques.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Interestingly, unless I missed something in my research, every explicit statement in Scripture about those who made or caused others to sin concerns either a king of Israel or a king of Judah.

Four kings of Israel are said to have made or caused Israel to sin: Jereboam (1 Kings 14:16; 15:26, 30, 34; 16:19, 26; 22:52; 2 Kings 3:3; 10:29, 31; 13:2, 6, 11; 14:24; 15:9, 18, 24, 28; 17:21; 23:15); Baasha (1Kings 16:2, 13); Elah (1 Kings 16:13); and Ahab (1 Kings 21:22).

Manasseh is the only king of Judah whom Scripture explicitly says made Judah to sin (2 Kings 21:11, 16).

Besides the kings who made people to sin, Scripture records that outlandish women caused Solomon to sin (Neh. 13:26).

Undoubtedly, many other people in human history have made or caused others to sin in a manner similar to the people mentioned above. Scripture, however, speaks explicitly only of these people as making or causing other people to sin. I wonder why we do not have many more statements that are explicit in Scripture about those who made or caused others to sin.

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

Bridges on Fearing God

July 6, 2011

     Great thoughts about God will lead naturally to realistic thoughts about ourselves. We begin to realize how little we know, how uncertain and unpredictable life is, and consequently how little we’re actually in control of anything. We begin to see that we’re physically and spiritually frail and vulnerable, and that every second of our lives is lived at the good pleasure of God. As John Calvin wrote, “Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.”
     Such an awareness of ourselves is spiritually healthy. Few things block out our growth of fearing God as do feelings of self-righteousness and self-sufficiency. When we’re pleased with our goodness and confident of our abilities, we tend not to stand in awe of God. But when we’re shorn of our self-righteousness and stripped of sinful self-sufficiency, we’re in a position to fear Him.

—Jerry Bridges, The Joy of Fearing God, 131

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.