Death is the departure of the soul and spirit from the body, but where does each part of man end up after a man dies? The Bible answers this question and more.
The Bible offers two circumstances to truly define death: the departure of the soul (Genesis 35:18) and the departure of the spirit (Genesis 25:8).
When innocent blood is shed, God’s anger is kindled. If the shedder of blood is not rightly judged, God’s wrath could turn on an entire people group.
The Old Testament Law declares and expresses the mind of God. It demonstrates God’s hatred for sin and His desire for just judgment.
Elijah was a good man who loved the Lord. He could not bear the thought of the people of God rebelling against the Lord. Although misguided into thinking that he was the only remaining person who cared about the things of God, he certainly did care. Elijah took things personally when the people forsook the Lord’s covenant, threw down His altars, and killed His prophets. Elijah constantly pleaded with them to make things right. The apostle Paul felt the same way, but his feelings even extended to a jealousy over the people of God (2 Corinthians 11:2). Unfortunately, few people today seem to take such a personal interest in the Lord or His people.
The Bible consistently identifies the Lord as a jealous God. As the Creator, He deserves man’s undivided allegiance. As the most High God, He is worthy of man’s unadulterated worship. It is often in this vein that the Bible speaks of God’s jealousy. He warned Israel not to make or bow down to any graven images (Exodus 20:4-5; Deuteronomy 5:8-9; Psalm 78:58) because He was a jealous God and would have no choice but to judge such infidelity. The same was true of any false god (Deuteronomy 32:16) or sin (1 Kings 14:22) which man allowed to come between him and his Creator. God is perfectly just in His jealousy since man was created for God’s pleasure (Revelation 4:11).
Mankind’s list of rules for pleasing God has become increasingly invasive upon the lives of those affected by such man-made decrees. Yet, the reality is that God most desires for man to trust Him in the present (through faith) as well as in the future (through hope). The Lord is well pleased when an individual chooses to place all of his hopes solely upon the Lord and upon His word. Simply put, man was created for only one purpose—to please the One who brought him into this world in the first place (Revelation 4:11). This single purpose is impossible to fulfil without faith (Hebrews 11:6) and hope in the Lord (Psalm 147:11). The Lord promised that He would one day return for His church. Placing all of one’s faith and hope upon that promise (of the Lord’s return) demonstrates an unfailing love for the Lord!
God especially cares for all those that the world frequently disregards. For instance, the Bible points out that the Lord is “the helper of the fatherless,” and the poor commit themselves unto His care (Psalm 10:14). Why is it important for the poor to look up for their help? Because the Lord regards “the oppression of the poor” (Ecclesiastes 5:8) and delivers the poor “from him that is strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him” (Psalm 35:10). Jeremiah confirmed this truth when he said, “the LORD . . . hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers” (Jeremiah 20:13). The world may regard the poor as a burden, but the Lord sees them as one of His highest priorities.
The Bible mentions true riches thus indicating the existence of false riches. Much of what the world considers riches simply serves as a veil for true poverty. While on earth, the Lord appeared to be the poorest of the poor (Matthew 8:20), all the while being the One who owned all things. The believers at Smyrna appeared to be poor, but the Lord unflinchingly stated that they were in fact rich (Revelation 2:8-9). The opposite was said of those in Laodicea. Although they claimed to be rich, the Bible states the reality: they were poor (Revelation 3:14-17). This truth is confirmed in Proverbs 13:7 when the Bible says, “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.”
Once confronted by the presence of the Holy One, man’s personal viewpoint always becomes increasingly realistic. By all standards, Job was a good man, yet the presence of God caused him to abhor himself “and repent in dust and ashes.” Conviction always magnifies the greatness of God and reminds man of his own vile nature. Ezra’s conviction was described as heaviness (Ezra 9:5) which caused him to rend his garment. That conviction humbled Ezra to the point where he said, “I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens” (Ezra 9:6).
