Correct. Keep up the good work!
"Then
the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not
strive with
man forever, because he also is flesh (or "in his
going astray he is flesh); nevertheless his days
shall be one hundred and twenty years*." Genesis 6:3
(NAS)
If you look at the original Hebrew text (the Old
Testament was written in the Hebrew language), the
Hebrew word #1777 "diyn" is translated into
the English word "strive" or "contend."
According to Strong's Hebrew Dictionary,
the word "diyn" or "duwn" is a primitive root
word meaning "to rule," "to judge," or
to "strive or contend as at law."
The Spirit Strives With Men...Convicting Them of
Righteousness, Sin and Judgment:
Although it may be difficult to understand the
exact ways in which the Holy Spirit strives with
man, we get additional insight from the following
scriptures:
Those
who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who
keep the law strive with them. Evil men do not
understand justice, but those who seek the LORD
understand all things. Proverbs 28:4-5 (NAS)
There are those who
praise the wicked (and thus forsake the laws of God)
and then there are those who strive or contend with
the wicked and by doing so, keep the law of God.
When you make a proper judgment based on God's
law...you are striving or contending.
"And
He (the Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict
the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and
judgment..." John 16:8 (NAS)
Shortly before the days of
Noah, Enoch (Noah's great grandfather) spoke about
the Lord coming with His holy ones to execute
judgment on all and to convict the ungodly.
The language about convicting the world of sin is
very similar to that used in reference to the Holy
Spirit in John 16 above:
And about these
also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam,
prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many
thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon
all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their
ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly
way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly
sinners have spoken against Him." Jude 1:14-15 (NAS)
Striving is Not
Always a Negative
Although the
related words "strife"
and "contention"
are usually used today in a negative sense; they
were not always used as a negative in Bible times.
The word "strive"
does not always refer to someone (e.g., the Holy
Spirit) just being against the wicked. For
example, in Romans 15:30, Paul asks the Christian
brethren to strive together with him in prayer on
his behalf:
Now
I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and
by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with
me in your prayers to God for me, 31 that
I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in
Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove
acceptable to the saints; 32 so that I
may come to you in joy by the will of God and find
refreshing rest in your company. Romans 15:30-32
(NAS)
As we continue through this
lesson, we will see how the Spirit strives with both
the righteous and the unrighteous.
* Note: In Genesis 6:3, the
reference to 120 years is either 1) the approximate
number of years until the flood; or 2) a reference
to man's lifespan to come (e.g., today people rarely,
if ever, live more than 120 years).
Click on the next question to
continue... |