Differences that Make a Difference

About five years ago now, I was continuing to consider what Paul said.  I came upon something that I had wondered about, but never really dug into it.  Paul refers to Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus.  I am convinced that the right word in the King James Bible is in exactly the right place.  So I think once again to myself, "Things that are different are not the same."  So I dug into it - for WEEKS.  I'll share the differences in a later post.

That study led me to look at all the different names to see if there was a difference that made a difference.  I started with God, which is first used in Genesis 1:1.  In Genesis 2, the name LORD God is first used.  This was the next study.  I resolved to dig into the difference between these two names.  The result was that basically turned the card table over and few pieces were left in-place, and it took my at least six months to recover my composure, and I have been putting pieces back since then.  In about 1-2 years, I recovered my composure.  In short, what follows is shattering.

If you can clearly disprove it, then I'd happily go back.  In fact, I set out to disprove it myself.  The evidence just keeps piling up to confirm what I found.  Let me share just exactly what I was studying and what I found.  This is how it happened for me.

One more piece of foundation:


For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.  -  Romans 15:4

In looking at the highlighted portion of this verse I often wondered what I was supposed to learn from the Old Testament (OT).  Finally, just before undertaking the study of God and LORD God, I asked God for wisdom in this matter of learning from the OT.  I did this because God gives wisdom liberally to those that ask for it.  I was not prepared for this answer.

God and LORD God - The Start

I started in Genesis with the first occurrence of each.  I glossed over chapters one and two not seeing anything new, and I get to Noah in Genesis 6.  In verse 13, where it says, "And God said unto Noah..."  Down in verse 19:


And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.  -  Genesis 6:19

Got that?  Two of every sort.

Now in Genesis 7:1, "And the LORD said unto Noah..."


Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.  -  Genesis 7:2

God says two of every sort, and the LORD says seven of the clean ones.  My first thought is that Paul said, "I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself." (Romans 14:14)  At this point if nothing else is clear, I concluded that God and LORD didn't agree on the number of animals, and LORD and the Lord Jesus do not agree about the cleanliness of all animals.  The potential elephant in the room is that God and LORD are not one and the same, and it looks like Noah has two masters to serve.

The last verse of Genesis 6:


Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.  -  Genesis 6:22

and after Noah listens to LORD:


And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.  -  Genesis 7:5

Noah is between a rock and a hard place, but Noah didn't just fall off Cain's vegetable cart.  He realized that if he took seven of one kind that he'd have at least two of every sort.  After all, God didn't say he couldn't take more than two.

At this point, my head was swimming with the possible conclusion that LORD and God are not the same.

It certainly looks like the difference between God and LORD is more than spelling.  Next stop - Genesis 17.