The reader should always turn to the Bible and read the passages referred to.

QUES. 1.- Did God write on the tables that Moses hewed? Exodus 34:28 would make it appear that Moses wrote the Law on the second tables, but Deut. 10 :1-4 is in apparent conflict with that conclusion. I have always taught that God never does anything twice. Am I right in that? I am convinced that the second tables were written by the Spirit through Moses.

ANS. – In verse 2 of this chapter to which you refer, God says to Moses, "I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them into the ark;" and in verse 4 Moses repeats it. Should not that be final?

The only possible difficulty in Exod. 34 :28 is to whom does the pronoun "he " in the last sentence refer. This was answered in Help and Food, March, 1919, in which it was pointed out that verses 10-26 of Exod. 34 give the items of what Israel was to observe, when God would bring them into Canaan. Moses was to write these things – not merely tell them to the people. Verse 27 closes the subject. Then, verse 28 reiterates how Moses was with Jehovah on the Mount, and that He (Jehovah) wrote upon the tables the ten commandments, which were then to be kept in the ark (type of Christ) instead of those broken by Moses, in view of the people's sin.

To assert that "God never does anything twice," though in a general way true, is going beyond Scripture, as this about the tables shows. 2 Sam. 22 is, with slight differences, a repetition of Ps. 18; and some of our Lord's miracles and parables are repeated in different Gospels, usually in different connections, with a purpose not always easy to discover.

QUES. 2. – Can an unsaved person lie to the Holy Ghost or tempt the Spirit of the Lord?

ANS.-Lying to the Holy Spirit refers to the circumstance in which such an offence is committed, rather than the person's condition. The presence of the Holy Spirit was manifest by works of power and grace before the eyes of Ananias and Sapphira when they professed what was not true. Dissembling at such a time made their offense exceeding serious and hateful. It was tempting, or provoking, the Spirit of the Lord to His face, and by their sudden cutting off from the earth God impressed upon all the holiness of His presence and character.

In Leviticus 10:1, 2 and 2 Kings 5:20-27 we find similar circumstances. On the inauguration day of the priesthood in Israel, after "fire from before the Lord" had consumed the sacrifice upon the altar, two sons of Aaron presumed to offer what the Lord had not commanded, and fire from the Lord consumed them. Sacrilegious Gehazi falsified the grace of God by lying to the Syrian, and the leprosy from which divine grace had just delivered Naaman was attached to Gehazi. In all this we are not called to judge if the person is saved or lost, but to the fact of God's holiness, who "will be sanctified in them that come nigh, and glorified before all the people."

QUES. 3.-Will you give us your thoughts in Help and Food as to Christmas celebrations-Christmas trees, etc.? Are those things right for Christians?

ANS.-It all depends on the purpose of the heart. Generally speaking the day is used as a public holiday, for feastings and pleasures in which our blessed Lord Jesus has no place. It were far better in such case that Christ's holy name were not associated with it. On the other hand a large number do think of Christmas as a celebration of our Saviour's birth, and associate innocent pleasures with it for the children, such as a green tree hung with lights and little presents, often accompanied with suited hymns. Let us not condemn such, though thankful when the joy takes more spiritual forms.

QUES. 4.-To whom was Paul speaking in Gal. 6:1? -to those who were seeking to be justified by the law, or was it to others?

ANS.-"Ye that are spiritual" (in ver. 1) seems to be used by the apostle somewhat as a challenge to the law-teachers who posed as superior or more advanced Christians. Here was the opportunity to show true spirituality -a true spirit of Christ-in caring for the lame and the sick among His flock. A legal spirit is of necessity self-occupied. To bear one another's burden is the spirit of grace-the ways, the spirit, the law of Christ.
Young Believers' Department