Apparent Contradictions - and how they vanish ...

Michael Hardt

Why is it that the Lord says ‘eat what is set before you’, whereas Leviticus contains meticulously specified mandatory dietary requirements? Why does the Bible in one place command that anyone who dares to work on a Sabbath day should be killed, while Paul teaches that we hold no day as special? And how am I to understand (as a Christian who has been taught to love his enemy) David’s prayer, ‘let his sons be fatherless, and his wife a widow’? And what about worship? In the Pentateuch, entire chapters are taken up with instructions about how to go about choosing, slaughtering and offering animals, whereas Peter simply declares that it is spiritual sacrifices we bring: no word about animal sacrifices any more. Many such seemingly difficult questions may occur to a Bible reader — but all of them can be answered easily.

The first thing to realise is that God’s Word, and every part of it, is inspired and useful for instruction. But the second thing to notice is equally important: in order to understand the Bible as a whole and to see how everything fits together, one needs to examine every statement in its own context. In different passages God speaks to different people who lived in completely different epochs. 

Once you understand the unfolding of God’s ways with man, all becomes harmonious and beautiful. The first-sight contradictions vanish like the morning mist in the sunshine. You no longer need to cross out verses on the basis that they don’t seem appropriate any more (a very subjective measure to go by) — rather, you see to whom the verse primarily relates. In this way, a golden thread emerges and you begin to see the glory of God and how it unfolds throughout the ages.

The fact that there are different ‘chapters’ in God’s dealings with man should not come as a surprise. Every Bible reader knows that the Bible consists of two parts, the Old and New Testaments. The immediate question as to why this is so is the beginning of dispensational study, which is extremely rewarding and very enlightening. 

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For more information see: “Understanding the Bible as a Whole Dispensations are the Key” by M Hardt, available as pdf here: 

www.gbv-dillenburg.de/pdf/1036490%20Buch%20Haushaltungen%20Englisch%202024%20www.pdf