Sovereign Over All

God rules the universe and all it contains with absolute power and authority. That is the essence of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. He is not only all-knowing (omniscient) but all-powerful (omnipotent), and because God is spirit, His presence is all-pervasive (omnipresent). In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet records God’s words concerning His sovereignty.

“Only I can tell you the future
    before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
    for I do whatever I wish.” – Isaiah 46:10 NLT

The prophet Daniel provides further insight into the incomparable power and authority that marks God’s sovereign reign over all He has made.

His rule is everlasting,
    and his kingdom is eternal.
All the people of the earth
    are nothing compared to him.
He does as he pleases
    among the angels of heaven
    and among the people of the earth.
No one can stop him or say to him,
    “What do you mean by doing these things?” – Daniel 4:34-35 NLT

According to Dictionary.com, sovereignty is “the quality or state of being sovereign, or of having supreme power or authority.” A “sovereign” is “a person who has supreme power or authority.” So, when we talk about the sovereignty of God, we’re referring to His absolute rule, control, and authority over everything He has created, including the affairs of men. A. W. Pink describes it as “the exercise of His supremacy.”

“He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, influence by none, absolutely independent; God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. None can thwart Him, none can hinder Him.” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

The word “sovereignty” is not commonly used today. When we hear it, we tend to think of kings and queens, those royal personages from ancient history who wielded great power and influence over nation-states and the citizens who comprised them. These privileged individuals, most of whom owed their position to the practice of hereditary succession, enjoyed tremendous influence and reigned over vast kingdoms. Unlike Britain’s modern-day royal family, these ancient heads of state were much more than mere figureheads. They were the supreme rulers over their domains, operating under the political doctrine known as the divine right of kings “which asserted that kings derived their authority from God and could not therefore be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority” (Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "divine right of kings". Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Jun. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/divine-right-of-kings. Accessed 2 August 2024).

Under this doctrine, kings and queens wielded absolute power and the authority to demand unwavering allegiance from their subjects. It didn’t matter whether they were a good king or a bad one. Even an evil queen fully expected the citizens of her kingdom to submit to her will and obey her decrees. To fail to do so would be considered a display of insubordination at best or, at worst, an act of outright insurrection.

As the sovereign God of the universe, God does not derive His power or authority from anyone else. He does not operate according to a political doctrine or legal principle derived by men. He does not have a divine cabinet or administrative branch from which He seeks counsel or advice. He is not subject to censure or the threat of removal or replacement. Because God is eternal, His sovereign reign has no beginning or end; it is everlasting in nature.  

One of the names for God in the Scriptures is “God Almighty” or El Shaddai in Hebrew. It most likely means “God, the All-powerful One,” and refers to His ultimate power over anything and everything. In other words, He is all-powerful. And yet, that power is not limited to His physical capacity to accomplish great feats of strength. Yes, He can perform acts of unparalleled might, but His sovereignty includes the authority by which He does so. God has the right to use His power and always does so in a just and righteous way.

The Lord is righteous in everything he does… - Psalm 145:17 NLT

As for God, His way is perfect… – Psalm 18:30 BSB

He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! – Deuteronomy 32:4 NLT

Righteous are You, O LORD, and upright are Your judgments. – Psalm 119:137 NLT

As the sovereign King of the universe, God is in complete control of all things. And that authority has not been granted to Him by some outside or greater force. There is nothing greater than God. In the book of Isaiah, He declares His unchallenged authority in no uncertain terms.

“I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God…” – Isaiah 45:5 ESV

As stated earlier, God answers to no one. He has no board of directors or parliament to whom He must report or from whom He must seek permission or approval.

“Divine sovereignty means that God is God in fact, as well as in name, that He is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things ‘after the counsel of His own will’ (Ephesians 1:11)” – A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God

God does what He pleases. That phrase can either encourage or enrage us. It can create in us a sense of peace and calm as we consider the unstoppable nature of His divine will. Yet, for some, the thought of God’s will going unchallenged creates a sense of fear or infuriation as we consider what we believe to be the loss of our own rights.

“God reigns over all His creation, governing and guiding all things to their divinely appointed end. Although, from a human perspective, it may appear otherwise, He is in charge of the universe, exercising absolute control over all things. As our sovereign Lord, He does always as He pleases, only as He pleases, and all that He pleases.” – Steve, J. Lawson, Made In Our Image: What Shall We Do with a “User-Friendly” God?

For some of us, Steve Lawson’s quote paints a picture of God that we find to be disturbing rather than comforting. And it’s most likely because we want to be the master of our fate and the captain of our soul. We don’t mind God getting His way as long as it doesn’t interfere with our plans.

“The god of American popular culture is an indulgent heavenly spirit who is little threat to our lifestyles and luxuries – a god consistent with a consumer culture and rampant immorality. This god might wish that human beings would behave, but he is powerless when they do not.” – Albert Mohler, Foreward to Made In Our Image: What Shall We Do with a “User-Friendly” God?

We like the idea of God being all-powerful, but only as long as that power is at our disposal to do as we see fit. But that’s not how it works. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, reminding them that we exist for God’s glory, not the other way around. Contrary to popular opinion, God isn’t our personal valet or servant. He created us, not the other way around.

…yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. – 1 Corinthians 8:6 ESV

We exist because God chose it to be so, and we exist for Him. All of creation was intended to bring glory to God as it evidenced “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20 ESV). Even fallen humanity brings glory to God as He exercises His sovereign will over their lives. There is nothing that happens outside His purview or without His permission. And that should bring His children a sense of peace, confidence, and security.

“Toward all this God is moving with infinite wisdom and prefect precision of action. No one can dissuade Him from His purposes; nothing turn Him aside from His plans. Since He is omniscient, there can be no unforeseen circumstances, no accidents. As He is sovereign, there can be no countermanded orders, no breakdown in authority; and as He is omnipotent, there can be no want of power to achieve His chosen ends. God is sufficient unto Himself for all these things.” – A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

The sovereignty of God is a deep subject. but its application is quite simple. We have a God who is all-powerful and in full control, no matter how things may appear. Circumstances may give the impression that all is lost, the future is bleak, and there is nothing anyone can do to mitigate the problem. But the apostle Paul would beg to differ. He boldly claimed, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 ESV). This was not a pride-filled boast or a case of wishful thinking. Paul prefaced this optimistic statement with a very honest disclosure of his own personal life journey.

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. – Philippians 4:11-12 ESV

It didn’t matter what Paul faced, he was content because he knew his God was sovereign over every aspect of his life – the good and the bad. That’s why Paul encouraged the believers in Rome to cling to the sovereignty of God, no matter what they encountered in this life.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39 ESV

The sovereignty of God is meant to encourage us. The fact that our God is holy, just, righteous, and true in all that He does is what makes His sovereign will not only acceptable but preferable.

“There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children ought more earnestly to contend than the doctrine of their Master over all creation—the kingship of God over all the works of His own hands—the throne of God and His right to sit upon that throne.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Sermons Vol. 2, 1856

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Our All-Knowing God

Growing in our knowledge of God can be difficult because it requires us to wrestle with complex and sometimes confusing issues. The God who created the entire universe ex nihilo (out of nothing) is neither simple nor simplistic. He cannot be easily explained or understood, and the complexity of His nature leaves fallen humanity perplexed and prone to create its own finite portrait of the infinite.

In our quest to gain a proper and more well-rounded understanding of God, we begin with one of His many attributes that truly sets Him apart from us: His knowledge. The Scriptures make it clear that God is lacking in nothing, including His understanding and awareness of all things.

He reveals deep and mysterious things
    and knows what lies hidden in darkness,
    though he is surrounded by light. – Daniel 2:22 NLT

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. – Hebrews 4:13 NLT

…for the Lord is a God of knowledge… – 1 Samuel 2:3 ESV

God knows everything. This attribute of God is what the theologians refer to as His omniscience, which simply means “all knowing” (omni = all; science = knowledge). To be omniscient is to have “complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding; to perceive all things” (Dictionary.com).

So, we begin our quest to know God with the mind-blowing concept that He knows everything. Unlike us, He never requires instruction because He has no gaps in His knowledge. There is nothing He does not already know – fully and completely. He has perfect and comprehensive knowledge of the past, present, and, amazingly, the future. God knows what is going to take place before it happens; something theologians refer to as His foreknowledge. But more about that later.

God’s knowledge is so great that He knows the thoughts of every single human being. King David was understandably blown away by this idea. He confessed to God, “…you have examined my heart and know everything about me” (Psalm 139:1 NLT). He knew that God knew. There was nothing about his life that was hidden from God’s all-knowing gaze. In fact, David went on to acknowledge the full extent of God’s knowledge of him.

You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. – Psalm 139:4 NLT

David is not suggesting that God has premonitions about the future. The Almighty doesn’t prognosticate or predict what David might say; He knows the exact words that will flow from David’s mouth before David has even had time to process them in his own brain. This mind-boggling confession of God’s pervasive and invasive knowledge of our thought life might leave us unsettled but, for David, it was comforting.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me! – Psalm 139:17-18 NLT

David was blown away by the idea of being so deeply and intimately known by God. He found comfort in the fact that God’s knowledge could penetrate the thoughts of men and the darkness of night. David went on to admit, “I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (Psalm 139:11-12 NLT).

There is nothing you can hide from God. There is nowhere you can go where His divine gaze cannot find you. According to Jesus, God’s knowledge of you is so complete that “the very hairs on your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30 NLT). He knows each and every detail about you. From the number of hairs on your head to the thoughts of your heart.

The Lord keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever. – Psalm 121:7-8 NLT

One of the amazing things to consider about God’s omniscience is that He can never be surprised or caught off guard. On no occasion has God ever had to say, “How did that happen?” He is never enlightened or informed by news He didn’t already know. Our prayers do not bring God up to speed about our needs or the desires of our hearts. He already knows. We don’t pray to inform God; we pray to hear from God. Prayer is meant to remind us of His greatness and goodness and our complete dependency upon Him for all we need. Prayer has less to do with getting the things we want from God than getting to know God and allowing Him to give us what we truly need.

David alluded to the fact that God knows in advance everything that is going to happen. This is that aspect of His omniscience known as foreknowledge. In Greek, the term for “foreknowledge” is prognōsis. It comes from the Greek word pro, which means “before” and the Greek word ginōskō, which means “know.” The idea is that God has prior knowledge about all events. He “knows before.”  It expresses the idea of knowing reality before it is manifested and events before they occur.

Because God is divine, He is not bound by time and space. Past, present, and future are all the same to Him. He exists outside of time, so He can look into and perceive the future as easily as He does the past. That is why we find so much prophetic content in the Bible. God’s foreknowledge allows Him to see and know all that will happen as if it has already taken place. He told the prophet Isaiah, “I will tell you the future before it happens” (Isaiah 42:9 NLT).

God doesn’t predict the future, He pronounces it beforehand. He isn’t forced to respond to events as they happen. No, He has already predetermined His response to any and every circumstance because He knew in advance. Again, God assured the prophet Isaiah of His unparalleled foreknowledge.

“I am the First and the Last;
    there is no other God.
Who is like me?
    Let him step forward and prove to you his power.
Let him do as I have done since ancient times
    when I established a people and explained its future.” – Isaiah 44:6-7 NLT

“For I alone am God!
    I am God, and there is none like me.
Only I can tell you the future
    before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
    for I do whatever I wish.” – Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT

But God’s foreknowledge is far more than an ability to see into the future and perceive what is going to happen. If this superpower allows God to see future events in advance, it would make sense for Him to prevent some of them from happening. If God could have seen the rise of Nazi Germany, He could have kept it from taking place. But He didn’t. So, we must conclude that God either ordained or allowed the events of WWII to come about. In His foreknowledge, God told Abraham about the future fate of his descendants.

“Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.” – Genesis 15:13 ESV

Hundreds of years later, the Israelites found themselves living as slaves in Egypt, just as God had foreseen and foretold. We may not understand God’s ways. We may not even like how things turn out. But we should find comfort in the fact that God knows all things and He knows what He is doing at all times. His foreknowledge is a true “knowing” of what will come to pass, based on His free choice. He actually decrees what will come to pass. That means that His foreknowledge is far more than an intellectual awareness of future events. It conveys the idea of His sovereign control over all things. Foreknowledge is equivalent to foreordination in that God ordains or orders all that will be.

There is an intimacy to God’s foreknowledge that should bring comfort to His children. Because, according to the New Testament, God’s foreknowledge is always directed at people, not events.

“The fact is that ‘foreknowledge’ is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to ‘foreknow,’ not the actions of those persons.” – A. W. Pink, Attributes of God

The apostle Paul puts it this way: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29 NLT). Peter adds: “God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy” (1 Peter 1:2 NLT).

Paul went on to remind the believers in Ephesus, “…we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance” (Ephesians 1:11 NLT). There is a deliberateness to God’s actions in these passages. He is not responding to things as they happen but is ordaining their occurrence from eternity past. His foreknowledge is tied to His foreordination. He foreknows because He has foreordained. God is not looking through His magic mirror and seeing future events before they take place. He is describing what He already knows because He has already declared it to be so.

There is much about this aspect of God’s nature that makes us uncomfortable. It raises all kinds of issues concerning the sovereignty of God and the free will of men. If misunderstood, it can leave us viewing mankind as nothing more than helpless marionettes being manipulated by the divine puppetmaster. But if we relegate the knowledge of God to some kind of passive cognition of future events, He becomes all-knowing, but not all-powerful. He has intelligence but lacks influence. But “God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be” (A. W. Pink, The Attributes of God).

As difficult as this doctrine is to understand, it is meant to reveal the power and preeminence of God. He is like no other. He is not some distant, disconnected deity, looking down from the lofty heights of heaven and watching as His creation winds down like some kind of cosmic clock. God is not a spectator, viewing events as they transpire and forced to respond in time. He is intellectually informed about every aspect of our lives because He has ordained them. And He is intimately involved in every area of our lives because He has a plan for us that was in place long before we even existed.

And this knowledge of God’s knowledge of us should leave us echoing the words of David:

You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed. – Psalm 139:16 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Most Important Thing About You

 What do you know about God? If someone asked you to describe your understanding of who God is and how He operates in the world, what would you tell them? It was A. W. Tozer who wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us" (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy). But far too often, we think far too little about God. Even when He comes to mind our thoughts about Him can be inaccurate or simply incomplete.

Tozer goes on to say, “It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy).

So, the question before us is “What is the nature of our God?” This is not the kind of question one should take lightly because the answer will reveal much about an individual’s moral well-being. Our view of God is the lens through which we view and understand the world. Once again, Tozer provides insight into this matter.

“…no people has ever risen about its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.” (A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy)

Determining our view of God is a worthy exercise that will pay dividends in the future. It will force us to face our errant ideas about the Almighty and bring them into alignment with what the Scriptures have to say about Him. Interestingly, God’s Word is one of the places where humanity is encouraged to question His identity and character.

To whom then will you liken God,
    or what likeness compare with him? – Isaiah 40:18 ESV

“To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” – Isaiah 46:5 ESV

Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? – Exodus 15:11 ESV

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? – Micah 7:18 ESV

If we’re honest, there is much about God of which we are ignorant or, perhaps, indifferent. Some of us have known Him for decades but, if put to the test, there would be little we could share that could give evidence that we knew Him intimately. So much of what we know about God is academic in nature, a compilation of disconnected bits of information that bear little resemblance to the one true God.

If I asked you if you knew the President of the United States, you would probably respond by telling me his name. If pressed, you could probably tell me the year he was elected, his political party affiliation, his wife’s name, and your personal assessment of his administration’s policies and programs. Your knowledge of him would have been gleaned from news reports, the op-ed section of the local paper, and from the opinions of others. You would have had no personal encounters with him. No one-on-one conversations would have taken place between the two of you. Any claim to truly know him would be a stretch of the imagination.

Sadly, it’s likely that the average Christian has more familiarity with the Commander-in-Chief of our nation than they do with God. Some of us spend far more time keeping up with the Kardashians than we do with the Creator God. We live in the information age, a time when access to knowledge about virtually any topic or individual is at our fingertips. And yet, we suffer from a lack of intimacy with and intelligence about God.

The goal of this series of posts is to help us get to know our God better. To do so, we will explore the attributes of God that He alone possesses. As the verses above so clearly state, our God is without equal and totally incomparable. He is not one among many; He is the solitary and sovereign God of the universe whose power, knowledge, and all-pervading presence are unparalleled and non-reproducible. God can be mimicked but never matched. He is, to put it mildly, one of a kind. Yet, how easy it is to treat Him with a familiarity that borders on contempt.

To know God. That was the divinely ordained objective when God created Adam and Eve in the garden. They were made so that they might enjoy unbroken fellowship and undiminished intimacy with Him. But sin changed all that. Because the first man and woman chose to disobey God, they were banned from His presence. They found themselves cast from the garden and operating in isolation far from the one who had made them. And with each succeeding generation, humanity moved further and further away from the garden and, at the same time, far from the presence of God.

But God still desires for men to know Him, not just cognitively but intimately and personally. As the apostle Paul points out, God has revealed Himself in the universe He created. He has placed signs of His presence and proofs of His character all around us. Yet, most of humanity has remained blind to the evidence and oblivious concerning the God to whom it points.

They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:19-23 NLT

Despite the sobering nature of Paul’s words, the prophet Jeremiah points out that God still longs for mankind to know Him, and he intimates that this relationship with God is not only possible but preferable.

This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,
    or the powerful boast in their power,
    or the rich boast in their riches.
But those who wish to boast
    should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
    who demonstrates unfailing love
    and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Jeremiah 9:23-24 NLT

God is knowable but He is also irreplicable. There is nothing in all creation that remotely resembles Him. Even men, who are made in the image of God, are not mini versions of God. We can reflect His glory but are incapable of sharing it.  Even in His thought processes, God remains distinctly different from humanity.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT

Yet, we tend to view God as little more than a slightly more powerful version of ourselves. Because of the finite nature of our minds, we are incapable of fully grasping the “otherness” of God. Unable to comprehend His transcendence, we try to transform the incomparable God into a new and improved version of ourselves. The psalmist alludes to this common misconception when he quotes God’s assessment of man’s dumbing down of His divine image.

“…you thought that I was one like yourself.” - Psalm 50:21 ESV

The French agnostic, Voltaire is reported to have said, “God created man in His own image, and man returned the favor.” And his rather sarcastic statement supports what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans.

…they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:21-23 NLT

Failure to know and recognize God for who He is creates a vacuum in the soul of man that must be filled. When we neglect a proper understanding of God, we end up with false views of His character. We fabricate our own version of Him, leaving us with an emasculated, impotent deity who looks nothing like the God of the Bible.

Psalm 97:9 describes God as “most high over all the earth” and as “exalted far above all gods.” He is transcendent. That simply means that He is totally distinct from all that He has made. He cannot be reproduced and there is nothing that remotely mirrors His likeness. Psalm 99:2 adds that God “is exalted over all the peoples.” Men are not mini-gods. Being made in His image does not infer that we resemble God. That is why Isaiah 40:18 asks the rhetorical question: “To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?” The answer is “No one and nothing!” God alone is God.

God needs nothing. He has no lack or insufficiencies. He requires no complement or counterpart to complete Himself. He did not create humanity because He was lonely or needed companionship. Nothing was missing in God’s character; His being is whole and holy. The apostle John reminds us, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). Timothy adds, “He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16 BSB).

Yet, God has made Himself known to men. He has displayed His divine attributes through the universe He has made. We are surrounded by the evidence of His power, glory, wisdom, creativity, grace, mercy, and love. Our very existence is proof that He exists. Even man, with his vast knowledge and scientific discoveries, has been unable to explain the universe's existence. Our most educated and well-reasoned theories are little more than shots in the dark.

In the book of Job, we have recorded the words of God as He confronts the arrogance and audacity of mere humans who question His will and His work.

“Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?

“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’” – Job 38:2-11 NLT

Man has no business questioning God or trying to explain the existence of the universe apart from God. Everything, both the invisible and the visible, exists by the expressed will of God. He spoke and it came into being, and all that He made God reveals His glory and greatness. But that points out one of the most important aspects of God’s nature. He must reveal Himself to man to be known by man. Humanity cannot discover God on its own. Left to his own devices, no man would even attempt to find God. According to the apostle Paul, “no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:11 ESV), and his assessment echoes the words of David.

God looks down from heaven
    on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
    if anyone seeks God.
But no, all have turned away;
    all have become corrupt. – Psalm 53:2-3 NLT

Amazingly enough, this transcendent, invisible, and unfathomable God has chosen to reveal Himself to man. And we will see more of His divine attributes on display as we continue our quest to know God better.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Mourning Comes Before Morning

30 But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, barefoot and with his head covered. And all the people who were with him covered their heads, and they went up, weeping as they went. 31 And it was told David, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

32 While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel. 35 Are not Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? So whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 36 Behold, their two sons are with them there, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son, and by them you shall send to me everything you hear.” 37 So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem. – 2 Samuel 15:30-37 ESV

As David made his way out of the city of David, he did so in a state of mourning. He headed east toward the Mount of Olives, barefoot and with his head covered. He led a sizeable retinue of household servants, personal bodyguards, members of his royal administration, and armed soldiers. This scene stands in stark contrast to the one in which David led the Ark of the Covenant in its triumphal entry through the gates of Jerusalem. On that occasion, David was headed in the opposite direction and displayed a markedly different mood. He danced and lept for joy as he led the Ark of God into his capital city. His public display was so over the top that his first wife, Michal, was embarrassed by his unceremonious and unkingly behavior.

Now, years later, the Ark resided in Jerusalem, but David was on his way out. There was no music, dancing, or joy on this occasion. The king was abandoning his capital and abdicating his throne and his kingdom to his son, Absalom. Tears flowed and hearts broke as David and his entourage vacated the palace and passed through the gates of the city that had come to be known as “The City of David.” 

To make matters worse, David received the disappointing news that Ahithophel, one of his own counselors had chosen to remain behind and serve Absalom. Not only that, it ends up that Ahithophel had been a co-conspirator with Absalom in the whole affair. He was not just switching sides at the end; he had played a role in the entire enterprise, providing Absalom with counsel and advice along the way.

David’s response was simple and came in the form of a prayer: “O Lord, let Ahithophel give Absalom foolish advice!” (2 Samuel 15:31 NLT). He didn’t rant, rave, or hurl invectives against Ahithophel. He simply asked God to thwart the plans of Absalom by divinely disrupting the counsel of Ahithophel. Then, David took steps to counter the betrayal of Ahithophel. He asked his good friend, Hushai, to return to the city and act as his eyes and ears, serving as an inside source and providing Absalom with advice that directly opposed that of Ahithophel.

“Return to Jerusalem and tell Absalom, ‘I will now be your adviser, O king, just as I was your father’s adviser in the past.’ Then you can frustrate and counter Ahithophel’s advice.” – 2 Samuel 15:34 NLT

David was down, but not out. He may have been in mourning, but he was not giving up. His exit from the capital appears to be an attempt to avoid a potential bloodbath. The last thing David wanted was a protracted war within the gates of Jerusalem that could destroy the lives of innocent people. By willingly relinquishing control of the capital to his son, David was protecting its citizens and providing himself with time to plan his response to Absalom’s coup.

He set up his own network of spies to provide him with inside information regarding Absalom’s plans. He had evidently prearranged with his priests, Abiathar and Zadok, to use their sons as messengers, providing him with much-needed intel about all that transpired in the kingdom while he was in exile. As bleak and bad as things looked, David still had friends. Even in one of the darkest moments of his life, there were still those who were willing to stand beside him and assist him as he fought to preserve his kingdom and crown.

While David’s actions and demeanor portray a man who has all but given up, it would appear that he was just being realistic. He knew that, for the time being, he had lost his kingdom to his son. There was much he didn’t know, including whether this was going to be a permanent situation or simply another detour in God’s plan for his life. Rather than risk a pitched battle with Absalom and subject the city of Jerusalem to destruction and its inhabitants to death, David left of his own free will. He was sad, but still expectant. He was heartbroken but remained hopeful. Even as he exited the city, he put measures in place that would provide him with vital intelligence and allow him to influence the actions of Absalom from the inside.

The days ahead were going to be difficult and, at times, very dark. The worst had not yet come. There was going to be more devastating news and difficult circumstances in David’s future. He would be ridiculed, reviled, and rejected as king. He would find himself living in exile from his own kingdom. During this devastating change of fortunes, David would have to wrestle with the seeming incongruity of his meteoric fall from grace. He had been anointed by God to be the king of Israel and now he was on the outside looking in. For years, he had been forced to wait for the fulfillment of God’s promise. He lived in exile, trying to stay one step ahead of the fearful and vengeance-filled Saul. He had survived repeated attempts on his life. He had been forced to seek refuge among the enemies of Israel. But then, one day, God orchestrated his ascent to the throne of Israel. In short order, David was able to consolidate the 12 tribes of Israel. His kingdom thrived, his fame spread, his power increased, his family grew, and with that, his problems began. 

Over the next days, weeks, and months, David would have plenty of time to ponder the dramatic reversal of his fortunes. He would have ample opportunity to question what was God doing. He likely spent countless hours revisiting his past actions and regretting his failure to deal with Absalom’s murder of Amnon. David must have wondered whether his fall was a form of punishment for past sins. Was God disciplining him? Did all of this tie back to his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah? One can only guess what went through David’s mind during those difficult days.

There will be days in the life of every God-follower that seem to make no sense. Every child of God will inevitably battle the dark nights of the soul that make us question what we have done to offend God. Sometimes, God will be slow in giving us answers to our questions or explanations for the seemingly confusing events surrounding our lives. At times, we will find ourselves suffering the ramifications of our own poor decision-making. At other times, the consequences of past sins will catch up with us, leaving us confused and conflicted as to what God may be doing and why.

For David, the days ahead would be dark and difficult. Things would get worse before they got better. He would have more questions than answers. And all along the way he would be tempted to either give up in despair or lash out in anger. He would find himself struggling to balance waiting on God with working things out on his own. His flesh would attempt to take control and he considered the injustice of his plight. His mind would race as he schemed his next steps. Should he fight or flee? Should he give up or faithfully wait for God to show up? Would he allow anger to control his actions or would he choose to rest in the sovereign will of God?

It is in the trials of life that we find our faith in God tested. Difficulties tend to expose the insufficiency of our knowledge of God. Unexpected and unwanted trials can reveal that our view of God is flawed and one-dimensional. David’s circumstances had changed dramatically, but he would soon discover that God remained consistently the same. David’s power had greatly diminished, but God remained omnipotent and fully capable of accomplishing His will. David was no longer on his throne, but God was. From David’s limited, earth-bound perspective, his circumstances appeared bleak and hopeless, but God had a different view on things. Not only could God see the future but He held it in His hands. He was not done with David. While Absalom loomed large in David’s life, he was insignificant to God. David was about to learn that his darkest days could provide the perfect backdrop for the light of God’s goodness, love, power, and deliverance to shine.

This moment in David’s life reminds me of the old hymn, “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less” by Robert Critchley. Its words provide a powerful reminder of the hope we have in Christ. Despite all that may happen to us in this life, we can rest confidently in the finished work of Christ.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

When darkness veils his lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

His oath, his covenant, his blood
Supports me in the 'whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Learning to Trust God

1 And Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;
    my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
    because I rejoice in your salvation.

2 “There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
    let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
    but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life;
    he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
    he brings low and he exalts.
8 He raises up the poor from the dust;
    he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
    and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
    and on them he has set the world.

9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
    but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
    for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
    against them he will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
    he will give strength to his king
    and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

11 Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest. – 1 Samuel 2:1-11 ESV

Hannah had suffered from and struggled with barrenness. There must have been times when she wondered where God was as she endured this embarrassing and debilitating condition. She had to have had moments of doubt as she questioned God's care for her. But ultimately, she took her concern to God, because she knew He was the only one who could do anything about it, and, in time, she learned that God was in control. He controls everything from the barren womb to the one who reigns in the throne room. He lifts up and He brings down. He humbles and He exalts. He gives life and He takes it away.

While this view of God may make us uncomfortable and raise all kinds of ethical and theological questions, it is the key to understanding the world in which we live. Some find this view distasteful and unsatisfactory. It paints God as some kind of an evil ogre who sits in heaven wreaking havoc on mankind, indiscriminately taking life and allowing injustice to take place. Their conclusion seems to be that if God is responsible for all those who rule, then He must be held responsible for all the tyrants, dictators, and corrupt despots who bring pain and suffering to so many.

The question is whether God causes evil, and the answer is no. All that God does is just and right. He is holy and righteous. He can do no wrong. He can commit no evil. But evil exists because sin entered into the world He had made. Man rebelled against God and the result has been a steady increase in sin, to the point where all looks lost and the world seems to be spinning out of control. But despite what we see, we must remember that God is still in control; He works behind the scenes to fulfill His divine plan in ways we cannot see or comprehend. What we see with our eyes may not make sense to us. It may seem unfair and unjust but we must always remember that our God is loving, just, merciful, gracious, and sovereignly working His plan – for our good and His own glory.

This chapter begins with a second and much longer prayer of Hannah. This time, she expresses joy rather than despair. Rather than begging God to show mercy and provide her with a son, she declares her gratitude for His miraculous answer to her previous prayer. She had made a request and God responded.

One would think this was a sad day in Hannah's life. After all, she had waited so many years and suffered so much ridicule, and now that she had been blessed with a son, she had to give the most precious thing in her life to God. Because of her vow, she was required to leave her small child in the hands of others and simply walk away. While there is little doubt that Hannah’s heart was full of sadness, what she expressed to God reveals no regret, remorse, or unhappiness. Instead, she states, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:1 ESV).

Having just placed her young son in Eli’s care, she rejoiced. She expressed joy in the Lord, thanking Him for what He had done. Not only had He given her a son, but God had “exalted her horn.” That unique expression doesn't mean much to us in our modern cultural context but in an agrarian culture, the horn of an animal was a symbol of strength. An animal lifting up its horn was synonymous with power and virility. Hannah's strength had been renewed by God. She was confident and content with her lot in life because God had blessed her. She had once been childless, but now she could rejoice because God had shown her favor. She was more than willing to keep her vow to God because He had saved her from her humiliation and allowed her to experience the joy of giving birth to a son.

In all of this, Hannah's main takeaway was the uniqueness of her God. He was incomparable. Her God was not distant or disinterested in her problems. He cared for her greatly and took a personal interest in her life. He had taken her barrenness and turned it into a blessing. He had replaced her humiliation with hope. Yes, she had just given her son to God, but she did so because God had given her son to her. It was the least she could do.

Hannah viewed the Giver as greater than the gift, and she could do all this because she recognized the greatness of God. She knew Him to be holy, set apart, and without peer or comparison. Her God was her rock. The Hebrew word she uses is tsuwr and it refers to a rocky cliff where one can find shelter. For Hannah, God was a refuge and protector from her enemies. No more would she have to suffer ridicule and endure the shame of her barrenness. God had done the impossible for her. So, she shouts his praises.

“There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is no rock like our God.” – 1 Samuel 2:2 ESV

While she had just handed over her son to Eli,the priest, Hannah didn't wallow in regret and sadness; instead, she rejoiced. She praised God and was more than willing to give back to the one who had given to her. God hadn't just given her a son, He had given her hope, joy, strength, and a new capacity to face the future confidently because God was with her. He heard her and answered her when she called. As far as Hannah was concerned, her life and her son were both in good hands.

Hannah declares that “The Lord is a God of knowledge” (1 Samuel 2:3 ESV). What an interesting statement for Hannah to make, but it came from her own experience with Him. He had seen her distress, heard her cry for help, and had answered. Now Hannah expressed praise for all He had done, but also for who He was. Her God was all-knowing. Nothing escaped His notice. He saw all that was going on. He knew of Hannah's plight. He was fully aware of her barrenness. He also knew of her ill-treatment at the hands of her husband's second wife. The God to whom Hannah prayed was wise, caring, compassionate, and just. He cared for the humble and the hurting. He came alongside the hungry and the hopeless. How did Hannah know this? She had experienced it.

She was the recipient of God's grace, mercy, and love. She had been downcast and He had lifted her up. She had been barren, but God had given her a son. She had cried out and God had answered.

This prayer is not a promise that God will right every wrong in our lifetime. It is not a guarantee that God will eliminate every problem we face. It is certainly not telling us that every barren woman who cries out to God will bear a child. But it is a sobering reminder that our God is sovereign; He knows all. He is fully aware of all that is going on in our lives.

If we are facing injustice or ill-treatment, God knows. If we are suffering from hunger or facing unemployment, God knows. If our spouse treats us with contempt, God knows. If our child is living in open rebellion against us and God, He knows. And while God's answer may not come in the same way as it did for Hannah, He will answer us when we call out to Him. We can cry out and know He hears, sees, and cares for us. He has a plan in mind for us.

Hannah had no idea what role her son, Samuel, would play in the future affairs of the nation of Israel. She was clueless as to what was going to happen as a result of her dedication of Samuel to God. But she knew that God knew. God had told the people of Israel living in exile in Babylon, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV). Things looked bleak but God was in full control of their circumstances. In the same way, Hannah had learned to trust God for the less-than-ideal circumstances of her own life. She had discovered that He was a sovereign, just, all-powerful, merciful, and loving God. He can exalt the lowly, humble the prideful, bless the barren, knock the arrogant down to size, protect the weak, defeat the strong, and right wrongs.

The key to faith is believing these truths without necessarily having seen them or experienced them. It is to pray expectantly to God, hopefully waiting on His answer because we trust in His character. It is why Hannah cried out to God in the first place.

“O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” – 1 Samuel 1:11 ESV

She was appealing to God based on what she believed about Him. He looks on the affliction of His servants. He remembers and does not forget. He knows. He sees. He answers. He is just, righteous, good, and gracious.

It is interesting to note that this prayer contains NO petition. Hannah doesn’t ask for anything; she simply praises God for who He is. It is a prayer of thanksgiving for what He has done. It is an acknowledgment of His sovereignty and a statement of His character. While Hannah was grateful for the son God had so graciously given her, she would be going home without him. He belonged to God now. And yet, her prayer is one of joy, gratitude, and worship. Because the real gift she had received was the knowledge that God loved her and cared about her.

Rather than make her son the object of her worship, she focused her attention on the one who had made his birth possible. Too often we worship the gift rather than the Giver. We end up focusing on what we hope to get from God rather than on God Himself. Our desire for blessings from God can overshadow our worship of God. When faced with a difficulty or trial, it is enough to know that God knows. We can share our requests. We can make known our desires. But our faith grows as we learn to trust Him for the outcome. He knows what is best. He will do what is right. We can trust Him.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

He Knows, He Sees, He Cares

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “Today also my complaint is bitter;
    my hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
    that I might come even to his seat!
4 I would lay my case before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know what he would answer me
    and understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
    No; he would pay attention to me.
7 There an upright man could argue with him,
    and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.

8 “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,
    and backward, but I do not perceive him;
9 on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
    he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
    when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to his steps;
    I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
13 But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?
    What he desires, that he does.
14 For he will complete what he appoints for me,
    and many such things are in his mind.
15 Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
    when I consider, I am in dread of him.
16 God has made my heart faint;
    the Almighty has terrified me;
17 yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
    nor because thick darkness covers my face.” – Job 23:1-17 ESV

Let's face it. We can't always understand what God is doing. His ways are sometimes mysterious and even frustrating. Like Job, we look for Him, but can't seem to find Him anywhere. It’s as if He is hidden from our sight. But Job makes a profound statement that should bring us assurance and comfort: "But he knows the way that I take” (Job 23:10 ESV). In other words, Job was confident that God knew exactly where he was and where he was going. That phrase could be translated, "He knows where to look for me."

Amid all his troubles, Job still believed that God was fully aware of all that was going on in his life. Despite the assumptions of his friends, Job was confident that had not lost sight of him, even for a moment. God had not gotten distracted or turned His back on His beleaguered servant. At no point in this sad story was God caught off guard or shocked by some unexpected change in Job’s circumstances. No, God was right with Job every step of the way.

Of course, there were times when Job felt a growing distance between himself and God. It was only natural for him to question God’s presence when everything was caving in around him. And yet, Job seemed to know that God was always near.

“I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find him. But he knows where I am going. And when he has tested me like gold in a fire, he will pronounce me innocent. For I have stayed in God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside."– Job 23:9-11 NLT

Job found encouragement in the knowledge that God was faithful, if not always visible. He was watching and, for some inexplicable reason, waiting to step in and rescue Job. Despite the test in which he found himself, Job knew that God would eventually vindicate him and pronounce him innocent. While Job’s three friends were convinced of his guilt, he knew that God would come to his defense and set the record straight. Job inherently knew that God had a plan for his life, and that plan included all that was happening at the moment. He didn’t fully understand or like his circumstances, but Job knew there was a divine purpose behind it all.

So, Job continues to claim his innocence. He declares that he has remained faithful to God and has treasured His words. But then he states, "Nevertheless, his mind concerning me remains unchanged, and who can turn him from his purposes? Whatever he wants to do, he does. So he will do for me all he has planned. He controls my destiny" (Job 23:13-14 NLT).

Job seems to understand that this is not all about his guilt or innocence. It is about the sovereign will of God for his life. God controls his destiny. What He has set out to do, He will do. Nothing Job does will change that. You can detect a little frustration in Job's statement, and I don't blame him. I have been there more often than I would care to admit. I have found myself frustrated by God's plan for my life. Like Job, I know God is in control, and so I get frustrated that He can't come up with a better scenario for my life than the one He has chosen. Sure, I know I contribute to my own problems by bad decisions and outright sin, but sometimes it just seems like things take a turn for the worse and I didn't particularly do anything to "deserve" it. But that's when I have to remind myself that God's ways are perfect. And His love for me is flawless. He has the best in store for me. I am His child. He is my Father, And I can trust Him.

There are going to be days of darkness. Difficulties will come. Job knew that. In fact, he was in the middle of it.

"Darkness is all around me; thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere." – Job 23:17 NLT).

Emotionally speaking, Job couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He couldn't see his God either but he knew that God was in control. That was his hope in the midst of his hopelessness. And it should be ours as well. Our God is both powerful and merciful. He sees us. Not only that, He loves us, and we are safely ensconced in the plan He has for us – no matter how the circumstances may appear.

When I find myself in a difficult situation with questions running through my mind and doubts racing through my heart, may the following prayer come to my lips:

Father, Your plan for me is perfect, but sometimes it is so hard to see, let alone understand. I feel like you are not there sometimes. I feel like I can't find you. But You remind me that You can always see me. You never take Your eyes off of me. You hold me in the palm of Your hand. You love me and are looking out for me. Help me see You in the midst of my trials. Help me trust You in the middle of my scariest moments. I know you don't have to explain Your ways to me, but help me to trust them. Amen.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Our Know-It-All God

22 He reveals deep and mysterious things
    and knows what lies hidden in darkness,
    though he is surrounded by light. – Daniel 2:22 NLT

13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. – Hebrews 4:13 NLT

3 …for the Lord is a God of knowledge… – 1 Samuel 2:3 ESV

God knows everything. This attribute of God is what the theologians refer to as His omniscience, which simply means “all knowing” (omni = all; science = knowledge). To be omniscient is to have “complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding; to perceive all things” (Dictionary.com).

So, as we begin our task of getting to know God, we will begin with the mind-blowing concept that God knows everything. He never requires instruction because He has no gaps in His knowledge. There is nothing He does not know. He has perfect and complete knowledge of the past, the present and, amazingly, the future. God knows what is going to take place long before it happens. Something the theologians refer to as His foreknowledge. But more about that later.

God’s knowledge is so great that He knows the thoughts of every single human being. King David was understandably blown away by this idea. He confessed to God, “you have examined my heart and know everything about me” (Psalm 139:1 NLT). He knew that God knew. There was nothing about his life that was hidden from God’s all-knowing gaze. In fact, David went on to acknowledge the full extent of God’s knowledge of him.

You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. – Psalm 139:4 NLT

But God’s intimate and somewhat invasive knowledge of him was not unsettling to David. It was comforting.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me! – Psalm 139:17-18 NLT

God’s knowledge is all-pervasive, penetrating the thoughts of men and the darkness of night. David went to admit, “I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (Psalm 139:11-12 NLT).

There is nothing you can hide from God. There is nowhere you can go where His divine gaze cannot find you. And, according to Jesus, God’s knowledge of you is so complete that “the very hairs on your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30 NLT). He knows each and every detail about you. From the number of the hairs on your head to the thoughts of your heart. You can’t fool God.

One of the amazing things to consider about God’s omniscience is that He can never be surprised or caught off guard. There is never an occasion when God has to say, “How did that happen?” Because He knew in advance that it was going to happen. This is that aspect of His omniscience known as foreknowledge. In Greek, the term for “foreknowledge” is prognōsis. It comes from the Greek word pro, which means “before” and the Greek word ginōskō, which means “know.” The idea is that God has prior knowledge about all events. He “knows before.”  It expresses the idea of knowing reality before it is real and events before they occur.

Because God is divine, He is not bound by time and space. Past, present, and future are all the same to Him. He exists outside of time, so He is able to look into and perceive the future just as easily as He does the past. That is why we find so much prophetic content in the Bible. God’s foreknowledge allows Him to see and know all that will happen as if it has already taken place. That is why He told the prophet Isaiah, “I will tell you the future before it happens” (Isaiah 42:9 NLT).

God doesn’t predict the future, He pronounces it beforehand. He isn’t forced to respond to events as they happen. No, He has already predetermined His response to any and every circumstance because He knew in advance. Again, God assured the prophet Isaiah of His unparalleled foreknowledge.

“I am the First and the Last;
    there is no other God.
Who is like me?
    Let him step forward and prove to you his power.
Let him do as I have done since ancient times
    when I established a people and explained its future.” – Isaiah 44:6-7 NLT

“For I alone am God!
    I am God, and there is none like me.
Only I can tell you the future
    before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
    for I do whatever I wish.” – Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT

But God’s foreknowledge is far more than an ability to see into the future and perceive what is going to happen. If this superpower allows God to see future events in advance, it would make sense that He would prevent some of them from happening. If God could have seen the rise of Nazi Germany, He could have kept it from taking place. But it did. So, we must conclude that God either ordained or allowed the events of WWII to come about for a reason. God’s foreknowledge is a true “knowing” of what will come to pass, based on His free choice. He actually decrees what will come to pass. That means that His foreknowledge is far more than an intellectual awareness of future events. It conveys the idea of His sovereign control over all things. Foreknowledge is equivalent to foreordination in that God ordains, or orders, all that will be.

There is an intimacy to God’s foreknowledge that should bring comfort to His children. Because, according to the New Testament, God’s foreknowledge is always directed at people, not events.

The fact is that “foreknowledge” is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to “foreknow,” not the actions of those persons. – A. W. Pink, Attributes of God

The apostle Paul puts it this way: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29 NLT). And Peter adds: “God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy” (1 Peter 1:2 NLT).

Paul went on to remind the believers in Ephesus, “we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance” (Ephesians 1:11 NLT). There is a deliberateness about God’s actions in these passages. He is not responding to things as they happen but is ordaining their occurrence from eternity past. His foreknowledge is tied to His foreordination. He foreknows because He has foreordained. God is not looking through His magic mirror and seeing future events before they take place. He is describing what He already knows because He has already declared it to be so.

There is much about this aspect of God’s nature that makes us uncomfortable. It raises all kinds of issues concerning the sovereignty of God and the free will of men. If misunderstood, it can leave us viewing mankind as helpless marionettes on strings, being manipulated by the divine puppetmaster. But if we relegate the knowledge of God as some kind of passive cognition of future events, He becomes all-knowing, but not all-powerful. He has intelligence but lacks influence. But “God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be” (A. W. Pink, Attributes of God).

As difficult as this doctrine is to understand, it is meant to reveal the power and preeminence of God. He is like no other. He is not some distant, disconnected deity, looking down from the lofty heights of heaven and watching as His creation winds down like some kind of cosmic clock. God is not a spectator, viewing the events of our lives as they transpire and forced to respond in time. He is intellectually informed of every aspect of our lives because He has ordained them. And He is intimately involved in every area of our lives because He has had a plan for us that was in place long before we even existed.

And this knowledge of God’s knowledge of us should leave us echoing the words of David:

You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed. – Psalm 139:16 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

I Am Doing A New Thing

14 Thus says the Lord,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I send to Babylon
    and bring them all down as fugitives,
    even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    the Creator of Israel, your King.”

16 Thus says the Lord,
    who makes a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings forth chariot and horse,
    army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
    they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
18 “Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild beasts will honor me,
    the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21     the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.

22 “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
    but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
23 You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
    or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
    or wearied you with frankincense.
24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
    or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
    you have wearied me with your iniquities.

25 “I, I am he
    who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
    and I will not remember your sins.
26 Put me in remembrance; let us argue together;
    set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
27 Your first father sinned,
    and your mediators transgressed against me.
28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,
    and deliver Jacob to utter destruction
    and Israel to reviling. – Isaiah 43:14-28 ESV

The people of Judah were plagued by near-sightedness. They couldn’t see things that were far away. So, they tended to live in the here-and-now, focusing their sights on the circumstances right in front of them. When God had broken the news to King Hezekiah that the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem would eventually fall to the Babylonians, the king had responded positively, because he realized it would happen long after he was gone.

“This message you have given me from the Lord is good.” For the king was thinking, “At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.” – Isaiah 39:8 NLT

For Hezekiah, the threat of Babylonian invasion was out of sight, out of mind. He didn’t care, as long as his immediate circumstances remained unchanged. As the psalmist says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1 ESV). He does care about our current condition and willingly steps into our circumstances, providing help and hope. But there are times when it may appear that He is nowhere to be found or that He is indifferent to our pain and suffering. Our prayers seem to go unanswered and our pleas for help appear to land on deaf ears.

But God is always at work. He operates behind the scenes in ways we cannot see or comprehend. He never sleeps. He never gets distracted. He never loses interest or finds Himself surprised by the conditions surrounding our lives. He has a plan and He is always working that plan to perfect. And He confirmed that reality through the prophet Jeremiah.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

And God’s plans include the present and the future. They are all-encompassing, reaching far into the distant past and well into eternity. And in this chapter, God is attempting to convince the people of Judah that He has a preferred future in store for them. But they are going to have to look beyond the immediate conditions in which they find themselves and trust God for their future redemption.

The Babylonians were coming. They would destroy the city of Jerusalem and demolish the temple of God. They would take captive thousands of the citizens of Judah. But God declares that He will one day do to Babylon what He did to Egypt. The day was coming when He would turn the tables and “send an army against Babylon, forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud of” (Isaiah 43:14 NLT). And just in case the people of Judah can’t fathom that happening, God reminds them what He did in Egypt when He provided the Israelites with passage through the Red Sea on dry ground, and then destroyed the army of Egypt in the waters.

“I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
    with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
    their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.” – Isaiah 43:15 NLT

But then, God tells them to forget all about that, because it was ancient history. They needed to prepare themselves for what God was about to do in their day.

“For I am about to do something new.
    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” – Isaiah 43:19 NLT

The truth was, they couldn’t see it. They were oblivious to it. God was revealing aspects of His future plans for the nation of Judah and they had no way of knowing that any of this was going to happen. But that seems to be the point of this passage. God knows things we don’t know know. He sees things that are imperceptible to our human eyes. He has plans in store for us of which we are unaware. But while they were blind to God’s future plans, they should have trusted Him. Two times in this chapter God describes Himself as their creator.

“But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel.” – Isaiah 43:1 ESV

“I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    the Creator of Israel, your King.” – Isiah 43:15 ESV

He made them and He had plans for them. And those plans included their future redemption.

“For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” – Isaiah 43:3 ESV

“I, I am the Lord,
    and besides me there is no savior.” – Isaiah 43:7 ESV

“Thus says the Lord,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” – Isaiah 43:14 ESV

He was their creator, Savior, and redeemer. He had made them for a reason and had redeemed them out of slavery in Egypt because He had a purpose for them. His entire relationship with them had been marked by repeated acts of salvation and redemption. And He was not yet done. There was more to come and it would be like nothing they had ever seen before. Just as God had made a pathway through the Red Sea so the people of Israel could cross over on dry ground and escape their captivity in Egypt, He would one day create a pathway through the wilderness, allowing the people of Judah to return from their captivity in Babylon. And He reveals why He will do this new thing.

“I have made Israel for myself,
    and they will someday honor me before the whole world.” – Isaiah 43:21 NLT

This is another one of those passages that has a now-not-yet aspect to it. The people of Judah would eventually return from their captivity in Babylon. The Persian king, Cyrus, would issue a decree making possible the return of a remnant of the people to the land of Judah. But notice was verse 21 says. God declares that the day is coming when the people of Judah will honor Him before the whole world. This is a statement describing their future obedience and unwavering faithfulness to God. That has not yet happened. But it will. The prophet Jeremiah describes this coming day.

“For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Jeremiah 30:3 NLT

And Jeremiah goes on to record some significant aspects of God’s promise regarding this future day.

“I will establish them as a nation before me,
    and I will punish anyone who hurts them.
They will have their own ruler again,
    and he will come from their own people.
I will invite him to approach me,” says the Lord,
    “for who would dare to come unless invited?
You will be my people,
    and I will be your God.” – Jeremiah 30:20-22 NLT

Ever since their return from captivity in Babylon, the Jews have had no king. To this day, Israel, while a nation, has no king. But the day is coming when God will place His own Son on the throne of David and He will rule from the city of Jerusalem over the entire world. And as Isaiah records, in that day, God promises to do for the people of Israel and Judah something truly remarkable.

“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
    and will never think of them again.” – Isaiah 43:25 NLT

And as God makes clear in the closing verses of this chapter. this will be in spite of them, not because of them. He will forgive them, not because they deserve it, but because He is a covenant-keeping God who will fulfill His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He will do a new thing.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The Potter and the Clay.

9 Astonish yourselves and be astonished;
    blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk, but not with wine;
    stagger, but not with strong drink!
10 For the Lord has poured out upon you
    a spirit of deep sleep,
and has closed your eyes (the prophets),
    and covered your heads (the seers).

11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”

13 And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
14 therefore, behold, I will again
    do wonderful things with this people,
    with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
    and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

15 Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
    whose deeds are in the dark,
    and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
16 You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
    “He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
    “He has no understanding”? – Isaiah 29:9-16 ESV

The people of Judah were spiritually dull and complacent. Isaiah compares them to a man stumbling around under the influence of alcohol. But he makes it clear that their stupor and instability is spiritual in nature, and it has been brought on them by God.

For the Lord has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep.
    He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries. – Isaiah 29:10 NLT

Part of the punishment He has brought against them is their inability to discern the right thing to do. In spite of all their pride and arrogance, they were incapable of understanding what it was that God was doing. The signs were obvious, but their eyes were blinded to the reality of what was going on around them and to them.

All the future events in this vision are like a sealed book to them. When you give it to those who can read, they will say, “We can’t read it because it is sealed.” When you give it to those who cannot read, they will say, “We don’t know how to read.” – Isaiah 29:11-12 NLT

Isaiah, as the prophet of God, had been pleading with them to trust God. He had exposed their misplaced trust in Egypt and other pagan nations. He had warned them of God’s pending judgment. And he had made it clear that repentance was the solution to their problem. But they had remained stubbornly unwilling to listen to a word he said. And he delivers a stinging indictment from God.

“These people say they are loyal to me;
they say wonderful things about me,
but they are not really loyal to me.
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual.” – Isaiah 29:13 NET

There were guilty of giving God lip-service. They claimed to be His loyal subjects, but they were simply going through the motions. Their words were not backed by appropriate actions. And what they alleged to be worship was nothing more than a set of man-made rules and rituals they performed by rote. Their hearts were not in it.

Not only that, they suffered from the mistaken impression that God Almighty was unable to see what it was that they were doing. In their warped and twisted minds, they fully believed that they could hide what it was they were doing from the penetrating gaze of God. And Isaiah gave verbal expression to their thoughts.

“The Lord can’t see us,” they say.
    “He doesn’t know what’s going on!” – Isaiah 29:15 NLT

And why did they have this remarkably naive outlook? Because they somehow believed that they had done a good job of hiding their actions from Yahweh. But Isaiah delivered the sobering news that their impressions were wrong. Deadly wrong.

What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord,
    who do their evil deeds in the dark! – Isaiah 29:15 NLT

Of all people, the Jews should have known that their God was omniscient. Nothing was hidden from His sight. And their own Scriptures were filled with reminders of this very fact.

For the Lord sees clearly what a man does,
    examining every path he takes. – Proverbs 5:21 NLT

“Doesn’t he see everything I do
    and every step I take?” – Job 31:4 NLT

The Lord is watching everywhere,
    keeping his eye on both the evil and the good. – Proverbs 15:3 NLT

“I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me.” – Jeremiah 16:17 NLT

And that same understanding of God’s all-knowing, all-seeing capacity is carried over into the New Testament. The author of Hebrews states:

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. – Hebrews 4:13 NLT

And yet, we seem to believe that we can hide our actions from God. Not only thought, we sometimes have the false impression that we can keep God from knowing what we are thinking. But David, the great king of Israel, throws a wet blanket on that perception.

O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord. – Psalm 139:1-4 NLT

Think closely about that last line. God knows what you are going to say even before you say it. A thought, unexpressed, is not hidden from God. He knows our inner thoughts. He even knows the motivations that flow from the condition of our hearts. He can tell the difference between an act of charity done out of selflessness and kindness and one done for the self-centered reward of recognition.

But Isaiah exposes the lunacy behind their false perception of God.

“Your thinking is perverse!” – Isaiah 29:16 NET

The Hebrew word Isaiah used is hophek, and it literally means “to turn things upside down.” The people of God were guilty of twisting the truth and perverting the reality of God’s omniscience. In a sense, they were guilty of wishful thinking. They could only hope that God was blind to what they were doing. But He wasn’t. And to press home his point, Isaiah uses a metaphor that compares God to a potter and Judah to clay.

He is the Potter, and he is certainly greater than you, the clay!
Should the created thing say of the one who made it,
“He didn’t make me”?
Does a jar ever say,
“The potter who made me is stupid”? – Isaiah 29:16 NLT

God wasn’t like a lifeless lump of clay. They were. The Creator-God who made each and every one of the people of Judah was not the one who was ignorant, blind and clueless. They were. And they had no right to question what God was doing around them or to them. They were like clay in the hands of the Potter, and He would do with them as He wished. Their compliance was not needed. Their submission was not necessary. And their denial of God’s omniscience or omnipotence did not diminish His knowledge or power one iota.

God had sent His prophet, Jeremiah, with a similar word of warning to the people of Israel. He too used the metaphor of the potter and the clay.

“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would.

“Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’” – Jeremiah 18:6-11 NLT

But the people of Israel suffered from the same problem as the people of Judah. They were too stubborn and incapable of grasping the significance of the prophet’s words. So, they responded:

“Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.” – Jeremiah 18:12 NLT

How ridiculous their words sound. How arrogant and ignorant can they be? And yet, as the people of God, we far too often exhibit the same characteristics. We boldly reject the words of God, demanding that we be allowed to live our lives the way we want to. We stubbornly determine to do things our way, rather than obeying God’s will for our lives. And we ignorantly assume we can hide our thoughts and actions from God. But He knows. He sees. And, as the Potter, He does what He has to do to mold His children into the vessels of glory.

Centuries later, the apostle Paul picked up on Isaiah’s metaphor of the potter and the clay and used it to address to believers in Rome.

But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use? – Romans 9:20-21 Berean Bible

God will do what He has to do to bring about the transformation He has planned. His will is never thwarted. His design is never altered. In our arrogance and pride, we may believe that are the ones in control. But Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Paul would have us understand that God alone controls our destinies. And it is far better to submit to His will than to resist it.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

The End of the Edomites.

Concerning Edom.

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Is wisdom no more in Teman?
    Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    Has their wisdom vanished?
Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
    O inhabitants of Dedan!
For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
    the time when I punish him.
If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
    would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
But I have stripped Esau bare;
    I have uncovered his hiding places,
    and he is not able to conceal himself.
His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
    and his neighbors; and he is no more.
Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
    and let your widows trust in me.”

For thus says the Lord: “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.” – Jeremiah 49:7-13 ESV

Now, God turns His attention to the Edomites, descendants of Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, and the son of Isaac. Just before the boys were to be born, God spoke to Rebekah and told her:

“Two nations are in your womb,
    and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
    the older shall serve the younger.” – Genesis 25:23 ESV

The two babies, we are told in Genesis, “struggled together within her” and when they were born, Esau came out first, but Jacob was clutching his brother’s heal. This was a premonition of what the relationship between these two boys would be like. The story goes on to describe Jacob’s eventual deception of his brother, in order to get him to give up his birthright. Then Rebekah and Jacob concocted a plan to deceive Isaac into giving to Jacob the blessing reserved for the firstborn. While their plan worked, it resulted in Jacob having to go into exile to escape the wrath of Esau. While the brothers eventually mended their personal grudge, the descendants of Esau would prove to be a constant source of trouble for the people of Israel. In fact, when they eventually made it back to Canaan after their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt, they were not given a warm welcome by the Edomites.

Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King's Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him. – Numbers 20:14-21 ESV

In the prophesies of Obadiah, we are given further insights into the reasons for God’s coming judgment on the Edomites.

“You have been deceived by your own pride
    because you live in a rock fortress
    and make your home high in the mountains.
‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’
    you ask boastfully.” – Obadiah 1:3 NLT

“Because of the violence you did
    to your close relatives in Israel,
you will be filled with shame
    and destroyed forever.
When they were invaded,
    you stood aloof, refusing to help them.
Foreign invaders carried off their wealth
    and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem,
    but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies.” – Obadiah 1:10-11 NLT

The Edomites were prideful and arrogant, convinced that they were invincible in their mountain fortress. But there would be no place they could hide from the wrath of God. They had made the mistake of turning against the people of God, their very own relatives. When Israel had been attacked, they looked the other way, refusing to come to their aid. And God was going to repay them for their cold-hearted abandonment of Israel. His destruction would be complete. Nothing and no one would be spared. While grape gatherers might leave some gleanings in the field for the poor, God would leave nothing behind for the survivors in Edom. While a thief might be willing to leave a few things untouched, God was going to completely wipe Edom out. There would be nothing left when the judgment of God was complete.

“But I will strip bare the land of Edom,
    and there will be no place left to hide.
Its children, its brothers, and its neighbors
    will all be destroyed,
    and Edom itself will be no more.” – Jeremiah 49:10 NLT

But in the midst of all the devastation, notice the words of the Lord:

“But I will protect the orphans who remain among you.
    Your widows, too, can depend on me for help.” – Jeremiah 49:11 NLT

Even in His wrath, God will show mercy on the helpless, those who have no advocate and who are seen as outcasts within the community. God assures the widows and orphans that they will have Him as their protector and provider. Even in the midst of all the devastation, they will somehow be preserved by the merciful hand of God.

These pronouncements of doom are difficult for us to read and even harder for us to comprehend. They seem to paint God in a very negative light, portraying Him as a hateful, vengeful deity who uses His omnipotence to wreak havoc on mankind. We view His judgments from our limited human perspective and deem them as little more than the actions of some kind of divine playground bully. But there are things we cannot see. There are behind-the-scenes plots to which we are oblivious. And there is a plan that God has devised from before the foundation of the world that He is implementing and of which we are not privy. And while we might find it easy to question God’s motives or wonder about His methodologies, we must always remember that He is God and we are not. His ways are not our ways. His judgments are always right and good. His actions in regards to mankind are always righteous and beyond reproach. And as difficult as it may be for us to comprehend His ways, we have no right to question His integrity or doubt His goodness.

He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! – Deuteronomy 32:4 NLT

The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness. – Psalm 145:17 NLT

“Listen to me, you who have understanding. Everyone knows that God doesn’t sin! The Almighty can do no wrong.” – Job 34:10 NLT

One of the problems we face as human beings is our inability to see past the here-and-now. We are not omniscient. We lack the ability to see into the future and view how everything will turn out. So, we are left to deal with what we can see. But looks can always be deceiving. What may appear as unjust and unfair may actually be the righteous and fully just actions of God. We simply can’t see the ultimate outcome. But it always pays to give God the benefit of the doubt. It is wise to trust that He knows best and that His ways are perfect. In time, we will see the method behind His seeming madness. We will one day have the ability to look back and see how the gracious, merciful and loving hand of God was working all things together for our good and His glory.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
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The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

A Risky Request.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. – Psalm 139:23-24 ESV Psalm 139

David closes out his prayer with a powerful petition. It is an apt summation of all that he has prayed up to this point. Fully aware that God knows everything about him and that there is nothing he can hide from God, David requests that God reveal what's going on in the inside of his own heart. This simply prayer reveals so much of what David knew about God, but ultimately, it lets us know that David knew God loved him. David trusted God. He was asking God to reveal things in his life to which he was either blind or simply oblivious. Rather than fear God's omniscience, David wanted to take advantage of it. He wanted the all-knowing, ever-present God to search inside the recesses of his heart and “point out anything in me that offends you.” That's a risky proposition. Not because God is going to discover something He didn't already know. That's been David's point all along. God already knows. But it's risky, because it means that God is going to reveal to David what he doesn't know, and then David is going to be faced with the choice of agreeing with it and confessing it, or disagreeing with it and denying it. The former results in God's forgiveness. The latter will result in His discipline.

But this prayer of David's should be that of every individual who calls Christ his or her Savior. Our relationship with Jesus Christ has provided us with an intimate relationship with God the Father. We are able to come into His presence and enjoy His love, grace and forgiveness. He has created us, redeemed us, and knows everything about us. He loves us deeply and sent His Son not only to die for us, but to make it possible for us to be progressively transformed into His image. To do that, He is constantly exposing the sin in our life so that we might confess it and enjoy His forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV). The truth is, we are incapable of seeing so much of the darkness that lies within our own hearts. Jeremiah the prophet wrote, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV). The answer is God. He knows our hearts and He can reveal what is hidden from our view. God alone can reveal what is behind our “anxious thoughts.” The Hebrew word David uses is sar`aph and it refers to “disquieting thoughts.” God can tell us why we're so anxious and worried. He can tell us what is driving our fear. We may think it is a past-due bill, but God may show us that it really our lack of trust in His provision. We may think our anxiety is due to a damaged relationship, but God may reveal that it is really a fear of man or our own lack of love. God has the innate ability to get to the root issue. And so often, it is the result of sin. There was a time in David's life when he was having trouble sleeping. He could have written it off to his high-pressure job as king of Israel. But God reveals that it was the result of his affair with Bathsheba. David had internalized and rationalized his sin. But God saw it all and made sure David saw it as He did. That's where the risk comes in. But David knew that it was better to have his sins exposed by God than to try and live with them hidden. He knew he could fool others, but he could never fool God. He knows everything. And God was the key to David's spiritual transformation. He needed God to help him live righteously. He was a man after God's own heart, but he desperately needed God to constantly renew his heart. Refusing to let God reveal what is going on inside our hearts is like going to the doctor and refusing to let him tell us what is wrong with us. Not knowing will not make us better. Ignorance is not bliss. Unrevealed sin, like unseen cancer, does not mean it does not exist. It is there, wreaking havoc on our spiritual lives and doing damage to all those around us. We should want to know what God knows. When God had revealed to David the depth of the sin he had committed with Bathsheba, David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10 ESV). God had convicted him. Now David wanted God to cleanse him. He knew that God alone was capable of cleaning up the mess he had made with his life. God doesn't just give us the prognosis, He provides the cure. He doesn't just point out our sin, He makes possible the prescription for renewed spiritual health and vitality.

We can't confess what we don't know. That's why we need God. We tend to see only the symptoms of our sin. God sees the source. He knows the root cause of all our thoughts, words and actions. We are blind to our pride, envy, idolatry, lust and more. But God sees it all. So David wanted the all-knowing God, who made Him and knew everything about him, to shine His divine flashlight into the recesses of his heart and point out anything and everything that offended Him. That's a risky, yet rewarding prayer to pray, because it will show us things we don't want to see, but it will also allow God to make us who He desires us to be.

Too Heavy Too Handle.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. – Psalm 139:17-18 ESV Psalm 139.

David is blown away with God. The very fact that God created him and knows everything about him was just too much for him. He uses a Hebrew word, yaqar to describe his feelings. It can mean to “be valuable, be precious, be costly”. But it can also be used metaphorically to mean “be heavy” or “hard to understand”. It is the same word used in the book of Daniel when the king asked his magicians to tell him his dream and his meaning. Their response was, “The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh” (Daniel 2:11 ESV). Given the context, it would seem that David is saying that God's thoughts regarding him are too heavy or difficult for him to comprehend. Remember, David has been speaking of God's creation of him, how He knew David before he was even formed in the womb. God already knew the day of his birth and the length of his life – long before his conception. God was aware of David's thoughts – even before they came out of his mouth as words. All of this was too much for David to get his head around. He said, “How vast is the sum of them!” He could have gone on forever, recounting even more amazing facts regarding God and His intimate involvement in his life.

David seems to say that when he goes to bed, he falls asleep thinking about about it and when he wakes up, there's still more. The word translated, “I am still with you” is `owd  and it means “a going round, continuance” (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). It can simply mean “more”. In other words, David says he wakes up in the morning and there is even more to be amazed about regarding God's thoughts for him. It reminds me of another psalm of David where he writes, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4 ESV). Even Job, in his suffering, said to God, “What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning and test him every moment?” (Job 7:17-18 ESV). The very idea that God takes notice of us, created us, cares for us, never takes His eyes off of us, and loves us, should astound us. To think that the God of the universe gives me a second thought at all should blow me away as it did David. As David has already acknowledged, “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar” (Psalm 139:2 ESV). God is not some distant, disconnected deity who has no knowledge about or interest in His creation. He cares. In fact, He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. He knows our weaknesses. He fully understands our inability to live up to His righteous standards. He is fully aware that we are incapable of not sinning. So He provided a way for us to be made right with Him that is not based on our own human effort, but on the death of His own Son. God knows us. And in spite of that, He still loves us. He knows our thoughts, even when we think we have kept them hidden. And yet, He is still willing to forgive us of those thoughts, if we will simply confess them to Him. He sees everything we do – the good, the bad, the ugly – and is still willing to show us mercy and extend to us His grace. That truly is amazing.

To think that God even gives me a second thought should leave me astounded. How easy it is for me to live my life thinking that all I say, think and do is done is obscurity. I am just one among billions. I am virtually unknown and little more than a blip on the radar screen of life. I can easily conclude that my contribution to life is inconsequential and of little value. But God, the one who created me, knows me, cares for me, watches over me, thinks about me, loves me enough to discipline me, and gave His Son to die for me. That's heavy. That's mind-boggling. But what a great reminder from the pen of David. I need to constantly consider the fact that I am known and loved by God. I must never forget that He made me – just as I am. As David said, He “formed my inward parts” and “knitted me together in my mother's womb”. He made me for a reason. He saved me, not because of anything I had done to deserve it, but simply because He loved me. He is constantly transforming me into the likeness of His Son. He never takes His eyes off of me. He holds me in His hands. He protects me, provides for me, guides me and disciplines me. And He always knows what is best for me. Hard to believe? No doubt about it. But my disbelief won't do anything but rob me of the joy of knowing just how much my God loves me. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV).

Our Inescapable God.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. – Psalm 139:8-12 ESV

Psalm 139

God had David surrounded. Because God is omnipresent, there was no place David could go to escape His presence – even if he wanted to. David used terms that expressed the full extent of his awareness of distance when He referred to God's pervasive presence. Heaven was about as high as it got in David's day. He had no real knowledge of the scope of the universe. He knew nothing about what might lie beyond what his eyes could see. When it came to depth, sheol was about as far down as it got for David. This was the Old Testament designation for the abode of the dead. David seems to be saying that from heaven to hell and everywhere in between, God is there. Even if David could jump on a ship and sail across the seas, God would still be there to lead him and protect him. There is no place man can go that God is not there. But David is not espousing some form of pantheism, a doctrine that identifies God with the universe and denies His personal existence. In other words, pantheism simply equates God as present in everything. He is in the trees, water, air, rocks, and within every animal and human being. David believed in a personal, individual God who was spirit and was unlimited by space and time. David saw God as deeply involved in His life, holding him in His hands and guiding him lovingly. He was not some impersonal all-pervasive force.

One of the most comforting concepts David held about God was His existence in his life at all times. David used a real-life example of feeling as if the darkness of life would overwhelm and consume him. “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night” (Psalm 139:11 ESV). For David, the darkness was a metaphor for misery, destruction, sorrow, and even wickedness. He is expressing the all-too-familiar feeling we all get when we feel as if the dark times of life will overwhelm and crush us under their weight. It is at those times that the light of life appears to be going out. Despair and depression set in. Even the light of life begins to fade. But at those times, David would have us remember that darkness is no problem for God – “even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” There is no event in our lives that God does not see. There are no dark, despairing circumstances that lie hidden from His view. He sees all and He knows all. Nothing happen to us that escapes His awareness. He is never surprised by the situations in which we find ourselves. But God is not just aware, He cares – “even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

Paul shared David's view of God. He wrote, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV). There may come times when you wish God was not there to see you in your sin, but He will be. You may experience moments when it feels like God has abandoned you, but He hasn't. You might even feel like your circumstances are proof that God has fallen out of love you, but He never will. He will never leave you or forsake you. You can't run or hide from Him, disappear from His sight, drop off His radar, fall from His grace, or lose His love. Our God is inescapable and His love is unavoidable – in the good times and the bad times, in the light and the dark, on the heights and in the valleys, in our moments of delight and despair. Life can be very inconsistent, but our God can always be counted on.

Surrounded by God.

Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? – Psalm 139:4-7 ESV

Psalm 139

As far as David was concerned, God knew everything about him. He was acquainted with all his ways. God knew when he was lying down, sitting up, walking around, and even what he was thinking about. Not only that, according to David, “You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord” (Psalm 139:4 NLT). Now, that's a scary thought. God not only knows what we're thinking, He knows what we're going to think. He not only knows what we say, He knows what we're going to say before we do. That is the incredible nature of God's omniscience. He is truly all-knowing. And David's response to this fact is rather unique. He tells God, “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5 ESV). The word David uses is an unusual one, because it has a predominately negative connotation. It is the Hebrew word, tsuwr and its primary meaning is to “bind, besiege, confine, cramp” (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance). It can also mean “to show hostility to, be an adversary, treat as foe.” It is the same word God used when He spoke the following promise to the people of Israel: “But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries” (Exodus 23:22 ESV). Even modern translators have wrestled with what David meant. The NET Bible (NET) translated verse 5 this way: “You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me.” The Bible In Basic English (BBE) translates it as, “I am shut in by you on every side.” Other translations take a more positive tone. The New Living Translation (NLT) reads, “You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.” The New American Standard Bible (NASB) says, “You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.” One of the reasons for the more positive nature of some of these translations is the less common meaning of the word used by David. It can sometimes be used to mean, “to form, fashion, delineate.”

So the question becomes, is David feeling hemmed in by God, a little bit hampered and hindered by the thought that God has him surrounded? Or does he find this idea comforting and reassuring? In a way, I think it is both. There are times when we feel like we can't escape the gaze of God, that no matter what we do or where we go, He is there. When we are living in a way that is displeasing to Him, that awareness manifests itself in guilt and regret. It has a negative connotation. When David sinned with Bathsheba, he knew that God knew. David fully realized that God was aware of every sordid and intimate second of his affair and every thought that went through his mind – all the way up to the plan for her husband's murder. It is at those times that God's omniscience and omnipresence feel overwhelming and less-than-encouraging. But there are also those moments when we feel all alone and in great need. It is on those occasions that we need to remember that God is there. He knows and He cares. He has us hemmed in “before and behind.” His hand is on us. He is watching over us. He has us surrounded.

My conclusion is that David was using this word to convey the undeniable nature of God's presence in his life. There were times when it felt overwhelming and probably a bit oppressive. But those times were related to David's sin. But when David was in trouble, he found great comfort in knowing that his God was all around him. The Old Testament refers to the hand of God often. “The Lord’s right hand gives victory, the Lord’s right hand conquers” (Psalm 118:16 NET). “Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy” (Exodus 15:6 ESV). “Let your hand be ready to help me,for I have chosen your precepts” (Psalm 119:173 ESV). Overall, I think David found the nature of God's pervading, inescapable presence reassuring. That's why he said, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” It was all too much for him to take in and comprehend. A bit overwhelming and intimidating at times? Yes. But also reassuring and incredibly comforting. There had been times David had wanted to run away and hide from God. But he knew he couldn't. There were other times when he felt like God had abandoned him. But He hadn't. God was always there. He had David surrounded at all times. And that is as true for us as Christ-followers as it was for David. Our God is everywhere. He knows and sees everything. When we are sinning, that is an intimidating thing to consider. But when we are in trouble or need, it should bring us great hope and comfort. You are never out of God's sight, apart from His presence, out of His thoughts, or devoid of His love. He is always there. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!” (Psalm 139:6 NLT).

O Lord, You Know.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. – Psalm 139:1-3 ESV Psalm 139

This prayer of David is an interesting and informative one. In it, he focuses the majority of his attention on God Himself. I have a hard time remembering the last time (possibly only) that I did that. My prayers tend to be about me. My needs, my wants, my desires, my agenda, my suggested solutions to God for my problems. Rarely do I take the time in my prayers to focus all my attention on Him. But when I read a prayer like this one, I am reminded that my understanding of God will dictate so much of what I think about the world. My view of God will alter my view of life and my circumstances. And it will radically change the way I pray. David starts out his prayer with an acknowledgement that God (Jehovah, the Existing One) has already thoroughly searched him and knew him well. Nothing in David's life was news to God. He knew David from the inside-out. In fact, David admitted the somewhat disconcerting, bu also comforting fact that God knew when David sat down and when he stood up. He knew all of his thoughts, even from a distance. The phrase, “from afar” probably refers to time, not space. It most likely refers to David's motives. So God knows what we are going to do before we even do it, just when we're thinking about doing it. That should change the way we look at God and sin. He really is omniscient – all knowing. David was fully aware that God was watching his every step, even when he traveled or when he was rest at home. And God was well acquainted with ALL his ways. For David, there was no thought of trying to pull one over on God. He knew he couldn't sneak anything past a God who kept him constantly in His sights. God knew his most intimate thoughts before they ever became action. He watched David every moment of every day, and He knew his most inner thoughts. Now that reality could produce in us either fear and dread, or it could result in comfort and a sense of God's love and sovereign watchfulness over our lives. David doesn't seem to be recounting all this about God as a complaint. He was quite content to have a God who was that powerful, yet intimately involved in his life. The God of the universe knew him and was watching over him. What an amazing thought. But that amazing thought escapes most of us who claim to be followers of Christ and sons and daughters of God. We somehow think that God doesn't see us, fails to watch over us, is oblivious to what is happening to us, and far too busy to give much thought to us. But David would argue against that strongly. He would tell us that our God is omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipresent (present in all places at all times). But David was not alone in this regard. Jeremiah the prophet recorded these words directly from God. “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:24 ESV). Even Jesus spoke of God's ability to see the unseen. “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6 ESV). God sees all. He knows all. He is never surprised or caught off guard. I like to say that God is never up in heaven, wringing His hands in worry, wondering how something happened to one of His children without His knowledge. He is never shocked by our actions or surprised by our words. He knew what we were going to say or do beforehand. He knows the thoughts of our hearts and the expression those thoughts will take. So our prayer lives should be far less about informing God of our faults, failings, and sins. He already knows. Confession is not us telling God something He doesn't already know. It is us agreeing with God that what He knows about us is true. If anyone has been living in in denial or in a state of ignorance, it has been us. God uses His Word and His Spirit to convict us of sin. He reveals our heart to us. Then He invites us to confess that sin and allow Him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Knowing that God knows – everything – should come as a relief, not some form of bad news. There is nothing we can hide. While we can spend years attempting to hide our sin from others, we can come to God openly and honestly, because we are not going to tell Him anything He doesn't already know. He is fully aware that we have a sin problem. We are the ones who tend to live in a state of denial. God isn't appalled by our sin as much as He is by our lack of confession and repentance. He convicts and we justify our actions. He points out our sin and we make excuses or pass blame. In another one of his prayers, David said, “You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:17 NLT). The question isn't whether God knows our sin. It's whether we do. And if we do, are we willing to agree with God about it and admit it to Him? At the close of this same prayer, David prays, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT). God knows things about us that we don't know. We need to tap into His knowledge and allow Him to reveal secret sins, hidden motives, and anything that might keep us from living the life He has called us to. God knows and He stands ready to forgive. What a relief.

He Knows.

Isaiah 37-38, Revelation 2

…but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. – Isaiah 38:17 ESV

The Assyrians had Judah surrounded. The fate of the people of God seemed assured. There appeared to be no way that they could withstand the coming onslaught of one of the most powerful armies on earth. But God knew something they didn't know. He knew the outcome. And He had known it from before the foundations of the world. He had known it before Assyrian was even a nation or Sennacharib the king had even been born. Even as Sennacharib boasted and bragged about his power and the invincibility of his army, God had his fate predetermined. God warned him, “Have you not heardthat I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass” (Isaiah 37:26 ESV). Sennacharib's success had been God's doing. This pagan king and his powerful army had been pawns in the hand of God to accomplish His will. God made it clear to Sennacharib, “I know you sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me” (Isaiah 37:28 ESV). Nothing escaped God's notice. Nothing happened without God's sovereign consent. And it was God's predetermined will that Sennacharib would not conquer Jerusalem. For all his boasting and bluster, Sennacharib would find himself unsuccessful, losing 185,000 soldiers by the hand of God and losing his life at the hands of his own sons. God told Isaiah, “By the way he came, by the same way he shall return, and he shall not come into this city” (Isaiah 37:34 ESV). God knew something Sennacharib, Hezekiah, and even Isaiah didn't know. He knew the plan.

What does this passage reveal about God?

There is never a moment when God is up in heaven, wringing His hands in worry or disbelief. He is never caught off guard, surprised by circumstances, or left scratching His head and wondering how something happened. God is always fully aware and completely in control at all times. It is only from our limited perspective that things sometimes appear to be out of His control. When Hezekiah became ill, God was not surprised. In fact, He told Hezekiah, “Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover” (Isaiah 38:1 ESV). But Hezekiah's response to God's announcement was to call out to Him in prayer. He asked God to remember his faithfulness and his effort to serve Him with a whole heart. And God heard Hezekiah's prayer and answered. He gave him 15 more years of life. But even that miraculous answer to prayer was part of God's sovereign plan. He knew what He was going to do all along. And while that thought might give us cause for concern and raise the question of whether it is even necessary or worthwhile to pray; the truth is, we should find comfort in the fact that God is always in control. Hezekiah didn't ask for 15 more years of life. He simply asked God to “remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight” (Isaiah 38:3 ESV). He was simply trusting God to treat him with kindness, grace and mercy as he faced his death. But God had something in store that Hezekiah didn't know. God had planned to extend his life an additional 15 years. But God also had a plan to get Hezekiah's undivided attention so that those last years of his life might be better focused that the years that had preceded them.

What does this passage reveal about man?

There is so much we don't know. There is so much we don't understand. We look around us and see what we believe to be good, only to find out that it ends in trouble. We experience what we believe to be evil, only to learn that it somehow brought us good. Our sorrows end up producing joy. Our successes sometimes bring heartache. We tend to run from trouble and pursue peace and prosperity. But when we do so, we fail to remember that God knows something we don't know. He sees what we can't see. He is in control at all times and His sovereignty extends to all areas of our lives. How presumptuous for us to think that we can know what is best for us? How arrogant for us to believe that we can tell God what He needs to do for us? I am reminded of the words of Isaiah found later in his book: “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, 'Stop, you're doing it wrong!' Does the pot exclaim, 'How clumsy can you be?'” (Isaiah 45:9 NLT). The immediate context of this verse is God's announcement that He will use King Cyrus as His chosen instrument to accomplish His divine plan. He would use this pagan king to restore the people of God to the land of promise after 70 years in exile. And while God's decision to use a godless king would seem to make no sense to us, God knew best. “I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will guide his actions. He will restore my city and free my captive people—without seeking a reward! I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!” (Isaiah 45:13 ESV). No one would prayed for that to happen. No man alive at that time would have dreamed that the king of Persia would allow the people of God to return to their own land and pay for the entire trip out of his royal treasury. But God knew.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Over in the book of Revelation, Jesus speaks to the seven churches. He has words of exhortation and warning. He repeatedly says, “I know.” He is fully aware of their circumstances, the nature of their faith, the struggles and trials with which they are dealing, and the ultimate outcome of their situation. Jesus told the church at Ephesus, “I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance” (Revelation 2:2 ESV). He assured them that He knew they were “enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake” (Revelation 2:3 ESV). But He also knew they had abandoned their first love. They had turned their relationship with Him into religion, going through the motions without the proper motivation of love for Him. Jesus told the church in Smyrna, “I know your tribulation and your poverty” (Revelation 2:9 ESV). He knew their circumstances and the difficulties that surrounded them daily. He also knew they were going to face increasing persecution, but it would be followed by the crown of life. Jesus knew the outcome of their faith as well as their fate. To the church at Pergamum, Jesus said, “I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is” (Revelation 2:13 ESV). He knew how bad things were in their city. He knew how influential Satan was in their home town. He also knew that while many had remained faithful in spite of their difficult circumstances, some had compromised their faith and convictions. In all of this, Jesus does not act surprised, caught off guard, or left shaking His head in disbelief. He knows how hard it is for us to live Christ-like lives on this earth. He knows we face a real enemy who hates us and is out to destroy us. He knows that we will falter and sometimes fail. But He also knows the outcome of our perseverance and persistent faith in Him. “I will grant you to eat of the tree of life” (Revelation 2:7 ESV). “I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10 ESV). “I will give him some of the hidden manna” (Revelation 2:17 ESV). “I will give authority over the nations” (Revelation 2:26 ESV). “I will give him the morning star” (Revelation 2:28 ESV). He knows. He understands. He has a plan. He can be trusted. He is in complete control and we can trust our lives into His fully capable hands.

Father, I want to trust You more. I want to rest in the reality of Your sovereignty – even when I don't fully understand it. I want to learn to see my circumstances through the lens of Your sovereign will. You are always in control. You always know what is going and exactly why it is happening. You always have a plan for each and every circumstance in life. I may not get it. I probably won't like it. But I need to learn to trust You with it. Amen

God Sees.

Proverbs 5

"For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes." – Proverbs 5:21 NLT

Have you ever stopped to think just how silly it is to attempt to try and and hide anything from God? After all, He is all-knowing and is not limited by space and time. He is everywhere at once and does not have to deal with the limitations of past, present and future as we do. He sees everything equally well, regardless of whether it has already happened or has yet to take place. David put it this way in Psalm 139:

O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

You see me when I travel

and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

You know what I am going to say

even before I say it, Lord.

You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

He knows it all, including what I am going to say before I even say it. God sees everything I do. He examines every path I take. He literally weighs out our actions, putting them in a scale and determining their value or worth. And He measures them against His own righteous standard, not the flawed and fickle standards of this world. The context for this verse is a serious warning from a father to his son regarding the dangers of sexual immorality and promiscuity. He is trying to get his son to realize the deadly ramifications of being unfaithful to his wife and allowing himself to fall for the temptations of adultery. He gives him all the dire outcomes, but then wraps it up by reminding his son that God sees ALL our actions, and He measures and examines them against His own righteous requirements. We can't hide what we do from God. We may fool our spouses and our friends, but God sees all and knows all. And He knows exactly what is going on in our hearts even if we choose not to act out our adulterous desires. He knows every time we lust and every time an immoral thought goes through our brain. That realization should sober us and cause us to seriously consider our ways.

The fact that God sees all and knows all should only scare us if we are guilty of doing things of which He might disapprove. The existence of traffic cameras should not strike fear into the hearts of those who are obeying the traffic signs. The presence of a policeman on the side of the road should not make our palms sweat and our hearts race unless we happen to be breaking the speed limit. If we are living in obedience to God's Word and in reliance upon His Spirit, His all-seeing eye should bring us comfort, not fear. We should rejoice in the fact that God is always looking out for us and never takes His eyes off us. And if He does happen to see us do something contrary to His will, He makes it known to us so that we can confess it and receive His forgiveness. We live under His watchful eyes at all times. There is no time when He is unaware of us or cannot see us. That realization should bring us peace and cause us to consider our ways more seriously. "For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes."

Father, thank You for never taking your eyes off of me. What a comfort to know You are always there and you are always fully aware. Never let me forget that I am living under your loving, watchful eye at all times. May that realization influence my behavior and my thoughts. Amen

Someone's Watching.

Proverbs 15

“The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.” – Proverbs 15:3 NLT

It's amazing what we will do when we think no one is watching. Anonymity can be anesthetizing. It can lull us into a sense of false security, making us believe we are free to do what we want to do just because nobody can see us. But as believers, the reality is that we're always being watched. Even if no one else is around, we always have an audience of One. God is never unaware or disinterested in what we are doing or how we are behaving. He never sleeps or takes a break. He is constantly watching us and assessing not only our actions, but the motives behind them. He sees all and knows all. The Psalmist put it this way: "O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!" (Psalms 139:1-7 NLT).

That's an amazing and somewhat intimidating thought, isn't it? God knows our hearts, our thoughts, our actions, our attitudes – in short, everything about us. He hears every word that comes out of our mouths. He knows every thought that enters our minds. He knows our fears, hurts, heartaches, longings, disappointments, and dreams. "Even death and destruction hold no secrets from the Lord. How much more does he know the human heart" (Proverbs 15:11 NLT). There is nothing we can keep hidden or secret from God. So why do we try? Why do we mistakenly believe that just because we can fool our friends and family members, we can somehow fool God? There should be a certain comfort that comes from knowing that God knows. We don't have to pretend. We don't have to live in pretense, trying to trick God into believing we're something we're not. There is a freedom that comes from knowing you are known. There is nothing to hide. Instead, there is only confession and an acceptance of God's grace and forgiveness. A big part of learning to fear God is understanding that He is all-knowing. It is an awareness that He is incapable of being deceived or hoodwinked. That awareness brings about an honest assessment of who we really are and an admission that we don't measure up. It creates an increasing dependence on Him and an increasing transparency regarding our true spiritual condition. God sees our pride. He knows about the idols in our lives. He is fully aware of our fears and faults. He looks past our plastic facades and sees into our hearts. He is not impressed with our attempts at self-righteousness or swayed by our efforts at behavior modification.

He is watching, and He is waiting. He is waiting for us to give up the cover up. Stop the pretense. Quit the pretending. Instead, He wants us to remember that all we do is for His glory. It is all to be done in His power. His strength is to be made evident in our weakness. God wants to produce in us what we cannot produce in ourselves. He is watching and He is waiting.

Father, thanks for the reminder that you are watching me every day of my life. That's a scary and comforting thought. But it is reassuring to know that I don't have to try and hide from You. I can admit my mistakes, confess my sins, acknowledge my weaknesses, and ask You to show me what I don't even know about myself yet. Amen.