Is God more favourably disposed to some people than others? Then why do things just fall in place for some people and things go very bad for others, even when we are all believers?

If i read my bible the old testament then i will answer with yes.
he loved David more than Saul and he loved Solomon too.
The other kings were just by the way.

Maybe, cos he favours me above mine enemies!

It has always been like that even from bible days.Some are more favoured than others.I actually don't know why.I guess its one of the things we can't fathom about God.

Rom. 2:11 -

For there is no respect of persons with God. (KJV)

For God shows no partiality. (ESV).

Admittedly, God's ways are past finding out (Rom.11:33) and it's truely a mystery how things happen to folks. However, there'll be nothing mysterious about life as it is here and now when He sits on the throne to judge in that day. "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.__For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (I Cor.13:9 & 12).

[b]"Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. "[/b]Simple.

Never assume that you will be rewarded on earth according to your behavior, it is not so.
I was once told to feel blessed when I am hurting, that Jesus is holding my so close [Jesus hanging on the cross] that I can feel his pain and the pricking of the crown of thorns. I think this is a beautiful way of looking at it. Our hardships are wonderful oppertunities for prayer, and for offerings. I often pray for strength, as God to help you get through the hard times instead of take them away, I have found the prayer for strength is nevery denied.

kaygirl:

Is God more favourably disposed to some people than others? Then why do things just fall in place for some people and things go very bad for others, even when we are all believers?

I do not believe that to be so,and neither did the bible ever supported anything of the such.The most high has no preference as far as his best creations(humans) are concerned.
A lot of people misinterprete the bible by erroneously thinking that the creator is the same deity as Yahweh,the deity of the biblical jewish people.This is erroneous interpretation,because the God of israel is NOT the creator of all things.There is a higher deity than Yahweh mentioned,even,in the bible.This supreme deity is what i really call THE ALMIGHTY,the true GOD,because he/she is the only universal and neutral deity that exists,who loves all races and creeds alike,with no preference for any one people whatsoever.IMO.
Unfortunately,this supreme deity is considered in most cultures of the world to be distant and aloof.Who prefers to observe mankind and it's activities from afar,and hardly interferes directly.

I don't think God favours one over the other but i do think he apprechiates those better who are closest to him. You see God gave us all freewill to do whatever we want in life. So those people who choose strictly God, how can he not apprechiate them better?

This is not to say that God does not love unbelivers or other christians because he does! but the closer, the better.

God is JUST!!!!!!!! he is nt favourable!!!!!!

exactly!!

@jagunlabi,

can you prove that stuff about Yahweh and God? From the bible?
Please do.

I'm glad someone has finally asked - because I've been wondering where in the Bible "there is a higher deity than Yahweh mentioned". Yes, please do, jagunlabi: show us.

I will get back to you larer.

TYPOP:

@jagunlabi,

can you prove that stuff about Yahweh and God? From the bible?
Please do.

syrup:

I'm glad someone has finally asked - because I've been wondering where in the Bible "there is a higher deity than Yahweh mentioned". Yes, please do, jagunlabi: show us.

Read this link,http://mormanity..com/2005/10/deuteronomy-328-9-many-implications.html

jagunlabi:

Read this link,http://mormanity..com/2005/10/deuteronomy-328-9-many-implications.html

And your point is? Yes, I have read the link, thank you. But what does it say about your assertion that -

jagunlabi:

A lot of people misinterprete the bible by erroneously thinking that the creator is the same deity as Yahweh,the deity of the biblical jewish people.This is erroneous interpretation,because the God of israel is NOT the creator of all things.There is a higher deity than Yahweh mentioned,even,in the bible.This supreme deity is what i really call THE ALMIGHTY,the true GOD,because he/she is the only universal and neutral deity that exists,

Two things you've stated there that I'd like you to show me from the Bible -

# the God of Israel is NOT the creator of all things

# There is a higher deity than Yahweh mentioned, even, in the bible.

Yes. Think about Esau & Jacob.

@syrup
All the excerpts below are taken from the same link,making the points that you failed to see.

When the Most High [El Elyon] gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of men, he fixed the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. For the LORD's [Yahweh's] portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.[/b]

The most high sets a portion or the earth to Yahweh.That indicates Yahweh as one of the sons of the most high,and an administrative deity in charge of the people of Israel.

The LXX and Dead Sea Scroll versions of Deuteronomy 32:8-9 portray Yahweh as separate from El and as a member of the divine assembly subordinate to Him. As Niels Lemche says, "the Greek version apparently ranges Yahweh among the sons of the Most High, that is, treats him as a member of the pantheon of gods who are SUBORDINATE to the supreme God, El Elyon"

Yahweh(the admin god of israel).

This verse no doubt preserves early Israel's view of her place within the family of nations. The high god "Elyon" originally apportioned the nations to the members of the divine assembly. . . . Israel was allotted to Yahweh

Each nation of the world were apportioned each,their own admin deity.The israelites were allotted,Yahweh.That is very siginificant.We could say that Allah was allotted to the arabs.

As the RSV puts it, Israel was Yahweh's "allotted inheritance," given (or "allotted" to Him by His Father, El.

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint prove that in the original Hebrew of Deuteronomy 32:8-9, Yahweh was portrayed as a member of the divine council under El. Therefore, those who subsequently tampered with the Hebrew text were probably Yahweh-only editors who wanted to erase the original distinction between El and Yahweh and to depict Yahweh as the one and only God.

This puts everything into perspective,doesn't it?Ofcourse,the central text here is the "ORIGINAL VERSION OF THE DEUTERONOMY".

syrup:

And your point is? Yes, I have read the link, thank you. But what does it say about your assertion that -

Two things you've stated there that I'd like you to show me from the Bible -

# the God of Israel is NOT the creator of all things

# There is a higher deity than Yahweh mentioned, even, in the bible.

What all this shows is that the israelites were not the chosen,numero uno folks of God,simply because there are no such people on this earth!Every single folk is chosen and loved equally by the most high,and that is why each folk has it's own admin deity to take care of it's needs and connection with the most high.

@jagunlabi,

Your website and scholars failed woefully to establish a real sense of balance, and I'm surprised that you'd appeal to their sloppy research to push a false agenda. You're trying to force the idea that Yahweh is a separate "God/god" from the Most High - you're dead wrong. First, let me show you what they failed to see:

1) Deuteronomy 32 is poetic and the whole passage speaks of only one God. The LORD (Yahweh/Jehovah depending on reading), the Most High, the Almighty, are all appellations of the same one and only God. Verse 44 shows that the preceding verses were the lyrics of a Hebraic song; and in typical style of the ancients, people could speak of the same Personage in various appellations or designations.

2) Niels Lemche and scholars like him know nothing about the Hebrew or Greek languages - because the construct of the language in Deut. 32: 8-9 does not range Yahweh among the sons of the Most High. It was simply an emphasis indicating that the same God saw Israel as His special people - the ones to whom He specially revealed Himself and gave the covenants under Moses. Neither do the LXX and Dead Sea Scrolls portray Yahweh as separate from El (God) and as a member of the divine assembly surbodinate to Him.

3) Other examples where this emphatic peotic style of addressing the same divine Being with various appellations abound. Notice in the following that there is only one God spoken of, and not two:

# I went out full, and the LORD (Yahweh) hath brought me home again empty:
why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD (Yahweh) hath testified against me, and the
Almighty (Shaddai) hath afflicted me? - Ruth. 1:21.

# Surely I would speak to the Almighty (Shaddai), and I desire to reason with God (El).
- Job 13:3

# For he stretcheth out his hand against God (El), and strengtheneth himself against
the Almighty (Shaddai). - Job 15:25.

There are loads more of verses that have this poetic style of speaking about the same one God in various appellations. However, you can see as in Job 15:25 that God is not a separate deity from the Almighty.

I'll take time shortly to outline where you've gone wrong and hope that you'll be able to see the difference instead of mixing things up based on just Deut. 32:8-9.

So, here it is. . .

You should also understand that using just Deut. 32:8-9 as the pivotal text for your belief is very weak. As is characteristic with sloppy researchers, your scholars ignored the other various biblical texts that show conclusively that Yahweh is the very same God as the Most High and the Almighty. He is not surbodinate to God, because He is the very same God throughout the Hebrew Old Testament. The following verses point this out:


The LORD (Yahweh, יהוה) = the Most High (Elyon, עליון) = Almighty (Shaddai, שׁדּי) = the very same God!

# The LORD = The Most High God
"And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD,
the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth" - Gen. 14:22.
"But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore." - Psa. 92:8.
"For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth." - Psa. 47:2.

# The LORD = Almighty God
"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram,
and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect."
Gen.17:1.

# Jehovah (Yahweh) = God Almighty
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty,
but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." Exo. 6:3.

# Jehovah = The Most High
"That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over
all the earth." - Psa. 83:18.

If the LORD (Yahweh/Jehovah) is the Most High God and the Almighty, to whom is He surbodinate? You should have read the Bible for yourself before selecting scholars who are so ignorant of the Hebrew language. Niels Lemche and his team have neither read the Tanach nor the Dead Sea Scrolls for themselves before straining at what the LXX does not suppose. There is only one God who is the same Jehovah/Yahweh, the Almighty and the Most High.

Yahweh is not separate from El - Yahweh IS the very same El (God).

If you're interested, this is what Deut. 32:8-9 says in the Tanach (the Hebrew Old Testament)
בהנחל עליון גוים בהפרידו בני אדם יצב גבלת עמים למספר בני ישׂראל׃ כי חלק יהוה עמו יעקב חבל נחלתו׃[color=#000099][/color].

Ask any scholar versed in the Hebrew language to translate that for you and see what cheap game Niels Lemche has played by trying to blow smoke into your eyes. Read the Bible first for yourself, and never assume that what those websites are telling you actually represents scholarship - they do not. The Bible and the Tanach do not teach what those chaps are noising on the net.

The gods of the Arabs and the Europeans likes the Arabs and the Europeans. You stupid Nigerians that call yourselves Christians would make your ancestors roll in their graves. You are the worst of men.

Thank you. First, your needless howling shows how ignorant you are. People you haven't met before merit your angst for nothing, shébi? I'm not Nigerian in the first place, nor am I by default a Yoruba. And if racism is all your own version of god is able to give you and your vexed soul, that says so much about you.

I worship no one. I am not a stupid servant like the Christians or Muslims.

Good then. Did you waste all your efforts just to let us know that?

Just because your not Christian or Muslim doent mean that you have to speak bad of both religions.
You may not like them but I think you should try and respect them.

and Im talking to Afeni

Afeni:

I worship no one. I am not a stupid servant like the Christians or Muslims.

The Christians and Muslims use their population to push for policies that affect the State in the negative way. For instance, the Sharia law that is in the North has cost Nigeria millions of jobs. No one in their right mind would invest in a country of Islamofascist that go around implementing babaric laws. Also, the 5 years jail time for those who pratice homosexuality is total uncalled for. Just because your son of LovePeddler, and tyranical jihadist oppose the practice doesnt mean you have to force the madness onto the entire state.

@syrup
Oh yes,the scholars did not fail woefully in my own opinion.They are spot on in their arguements.But if you don't want to see it their way,that is well understood.But one thing is certain,i can't accept the god of israel as the one and only god.The most high,because he simply is not.
The epithet of "The God Of Israel",is a more than enough proof that Yahweh is an administrative deity and not the most high God,just because of that very simple reason that the most high does not have a "favoured folk" on this planet.All are created equal and of the same status  in the eyes of the most high.Therefore,this epithet cannot be accorded to the most high,simply because it does not apply to him/her.

We cannot be ambivalent about this,
One minute,we're saying that God loves all equally,only to say in the same breath that there is a particular folk that the same God has chosen above others!It is this kind of ambiguity that makes me dislike all these imported religions.They are so confusing.
But if you look more closely and more intelligently,you will see that the clarification is right there;

-To the most high,all mankind's folks are all loved and catered for equally without any special preference to any particular folk within mankind.
-All the other subordinate deities,eg. - Yahweh and Allah cater directly to different folks alloted them by the most high.
The separation of Yahweh and El - Elyon(The most high) supplies the perfect answer to everything.Besides,even the bible hints on the difference in the first chapter of genesis.Look at the difference between the first creation myth and the other one in the garden of Eden.
One is majestic and omnipotent in style(which can only be attributed to the most high),while the other is pretty less majestic(creation style of Yahweh).
-The most high never interferes directly with mankind,but through angels and admin deities.The yoruba mythology/religions acknowledge and accept this as fact,but christianity seems to be struggling with it.

Now,this makes a lot more sense to me,and that is what i accept as the truth of things.Any other kind of explanation that tries to tell me that the jewish people is loved more than my own people(the yorubas) by the most high,is pure crap.That is something that i can never ever believe.It is also the major reason why i stopped reading the bible.If i want to read anything about God,it will be about his wonderful works and miracles in the lives of black africans in africa and anywhere else,atleast and not about jews.
I am not a jew and i can't ever become one,so what's the point?
Sorry,syrup.

BTW,administrative deities are known as ORISHAS in yoruba language.

@jagunlabi,

You don't need to be sorry. We're all reasoning people, yes?

For you, the way people interpret the Bible carries weight only as far as it helps you kick against its message. That's no problem. I'm neither Jewish nor related to one. You may find me a queer person for still reading the Bible - yes, and that's how I found that Niels Lemche and his team did a sloppy job at interpreting Deut. 32:8-9.

If one is objective, the concern will not be to lean towards ideas simply because they feed our prejudices: we should be humble and open minded enough to admit that someone has made erroneous assertions (as with Niels Lemche); but most people would not do this because they are decidedly biased. I'll give you an example: I'm not a Muslim, but I'd be the least to agree to someone misrepresenting the Qur'an (just like someone said recently that it was written in the Qur'an that Muhammad got married to Aisha when she was 9 - would I be credulous enough to believe that when the Qur'an has no verse on that?). If someone was decidedly biased, it is small wonder that he would lean towards anything that misrepresents what he doesn't like, even if the assertions are false. In the same way, the Bible doesn't suppose separate deities between the most high God and Yahweh - He is just the same one God. Only prejudice would make a man ignore what the text in the Bible actually says and polarise towards whatever misrepresents its message.

God's love covers all people - including the Yorubas. That He was called the God of Israel does not mean at all that He is separate from Yahweh: at least, without prejudice you'd see that the Bible does not suppose two separate deities as you've been led to believe. God's love would spread to every nation through the Jews because "Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). The same God rules among all nations (Psa. 22:28 ) and desires that all the nations should know Him (Psa. 67:2). The same God who made all nations will one day bring them together as His own inheritance (Psa. 82:8 ) - and He is not separate, but is the very same Yahweh, the Almighty and the Most High God.

That may sound really preposterous to you. No qualms; but whatever route you take, understand that a genuine concern is not displayed by leaning towards misrepresentations that feed a bias or prejudice. Let's just be objective enough to know that some of those research/articles you're posting have been fermented with the simple agenda to misguide and mislead - Deut. 32 and Niels Lemche et al as examples.

Peace.