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We invite you, our readers, to
send in your questions on bib–
lically oriented prophetic,
doctrinal , historical and
Christian-living topics. While
we cannot promise that al/
questions wi/1 be answered in
print, we wi/1 try to cover al/
those that are of general inter–
est as space permits. Send
your questions to the appro–
priate address listed on the
in–
side front cover, care of The
Plain Truth.
Q
"Concerning
11
Kings
17,
verse
18,
where it states that 'there
was none left but the tribe
ot
Judah
only,' why do we read in Luke
2:36
ot
the prophetess Anna
trom
the 'tribe
ot
Aser'? This tribe was supposedly
taken captive with the rest
ot
Israel
as
11
Kings states."
Robert H.,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
A
. lt is quite true that the tribe of
Asher, along with the other
tribes of the northern house of
Israel, was taken captive by the As–
syrians; this occurred in the eighth
century B.C. These lsraelites were
removed from their native country
and were placed in the territories of
the surrounding Gentile nations.
Many of the people lost their tribal
identity. Sorne, however, retained it
and later filtered back into the area
of Palestine. This is not to say that
al/
of the northern house ever re–
turned-there is no evidence of this;
it merely means that a representa–
tive few returned. Anna was such a
person. We know from the Restora–
tion books (Ezra and Nehemiah)
34
that about 50,000 from the tribes of
Judah, Benjamín and Levi did re–
turn in the fifth and fourth centuries.
B.C. Together these tribes were
known as "the house of Judah" or
"the Jews." Paul called himself a
Jew, yet he was of the house of
Benjamín (Phil. 3:5). Modern Israel,
however, is basically composed of
the descendants of the southern
house of Judah rather than the
northern house of Israel. For further
information about the ten-tri be
northern nation of Israel , please
write for the free booklet entitled
The United States and British Com–
monwealth in Prophecy.
Q
"Did Abraham torbid Isaac to
marry a Canaanite woman be–
cause the Canaanites were
ot
a dit-
terent race?"
J.C.,
Houston, Texas
A
Although the lsraelites in–
vaded the land of Canaan
and lived side by side with Canaan–
ites for many years. there is no
statement in the Bible that the Ca–
naanites were racially different from
Israel, though this has often been
assumed. The Bible does not spe–
cifically tell us why Abraham did not
wish his son Isaac to marry a Ca–
naanite, but the most likely reason
was because of religious differ–
ences. (The Pentáteuch later for–
bade such marriages because
those of non-lsraelite stock would
introduce Israel to false religions.
See Deuteronomy 7:3-4.) In other
words, Abraham did not want Isaac
to marry a woman who would be a
worshiper of Canaanite gods. With
such practices going on among
lsaac 's Canaanite neighbors, it
seems likely that his children would
be influenced to become involved
in pagan religious practices. Thus
Abraham was seeking to ensure
that his descendants would con–
tinue to worship the one true God.
Q
" 1 read your booklet entitled
'Does God Exist?' and
1
tail to
see any detinite proot
ot
God's exis–
tence.
1
have completed many long,
hard Bible study courses and applied
what
1
learned to my Jite but gained
no contact with God whatsoever.
1
used Bible reterences in prayer, but
1
might as well have been talking to the
wall.
1
now believe anyone who wants
a good lite has to torget about God
and the Bible and go ahead and get it
through his own efforts.
lt
1
did sur–
render to God according to Romans
12:1
and depend on Him to supply all
my needs,
1
would go around naked
and tinally starve to death. There is
nothing to gain in reading the Bible
but unnecessary eyestrain and disap–
pointment.' '
TyH .,
Guin, Alabama
A
Perhaps your disillusionment
stems from the fact that you
have not understood the nature
of
God's dealings with men in this
age. Just what kind of manifestation
of God have you been searching
for? What do you mean by " contact
with God"? Have you expected Him
to SP-eak audibly to you? Have you
hoped to see Him? Did you expect
obvious miracles to occur in your
lite, or did you want God to provide
for you in the literal sense by rain–
ing a new suit out of the sky or
causing food
to
suddenly appear
on your dinner plate? Of course,
you would probably answer these
questions in the negative.
Then
how
can we expect God to
deal with us in this day and age?
Understanding the nature of God
can help us comprehend why He
apparently is not dealing with us in
quite the same way the God of the
Old Testament dealt with the nation
of ancient Israel. God is all-know–
ing, all-powerful and omnipresent.
He is also invisible (Col. 1:15). God
the Father has never been seen by
human eyes (John 1:18; 5:37;
1
John 4:12). Christ carne to
reveaf
the Father (Luke 10:22). He said:
" He who has seen me has seen the
The
PLAIN TRUTH July 1977