For I know that Yahweh is great. Our Lord is greater than all gods. Yahweh does whatever He pleases in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths. He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings the wind from their storehouses. (Verses 5-7)
"The God of the Old Testament is an angry God." Hmm. I guess one could read of the rebellion of men and women and God's judgment on their sin in a way that makes God an irritable old guy in the sky Who carries a large switch that He can't wait to use on errant humans as they dally in their folly. However, that would mean the seeker reading the Bible would have entirely missed the heart of God evident there on every page. So if God does whatever He pleases on the earth and every other imaginable place, should that make us wary of Him? Should we run in fear because He's essentially after us for our infractions? What is it that pleases Him?
Certainly creation. The beauty that makes us wonder at it. Stars, moon, mountains, oceans, valleys, hills, varied creatures too numerous to mention, sand, forests, sunrise, sunset. It is good in His eyes. Made for us to live in and enjoy. Food for our bellies and a feast for our eyes. A world that makes us write poetry and sing love songs. Pristine in its inception. Marred only by our humanity. And it pleases God when we acknowledge that He made it...all of it. He should be able to expect that from us, shouldn't He?
Obedience. I know this a place of conflict in the hearts of some, that God would demand our obedience. Who does He think He is? Um...God. And this desire on His part to see us do what He wants isn't a wielding of power out of His great hubris. He knows how He created things to work. He knows everything; so, of course, He knows things we don't know. To thumb our noses at Him as we do it "our way" is completely idiotic if we understand how little we really understand. It's like a two-year-old striking out on her own to get a job, a husband and a car. Ridiculous. "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifice as much as obeying the Lord?" The prophet Samuel is speaking with King Saul after the king willingly disobeyed what God told him to do. Look: To obey is better than sacrifice. To pay attention is better than the fat of rams." God's not looking for us to do all the holy things that smack of religion so we feel better about not doing what He asks. The bottom line is, "Do we trust His heart toward us is good?" If we do, we will happily obey, even when we have no clue what's going on...which, by the way, is most of the time, for me.
Giving. To us. It makes God deliriously happy to pour out His blessings on us. Have you ever tried to be sweet to a rebellious kid, neighbor or friend? Giving to someone who always thinks you have ulterior motives? It's beyond frustrating to be completely misunderstood in one's benevolence. How much more God. He knows we are dust (Psalm 103), but we've been made in His image (Genesis 3). We are capable of great wisdom and power when we accept the gift of life given to us by Jesus. Here is the heart of the Old Testament God from Isaiah 41, speaking of the coming Savior: This is what God, Yahweh, says--Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and what comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk on it--"I, Yahweh, have called You (Jesus) for a righteous purpose, and I will hold You by Your hand. I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness from the prison house." (Italics, mine)
His children. Before we knew it, God had a heavenly plan to bring us not only to salvation, but into His family. "Look at how great a love the Father has given to us that we should be called God's children. And we are!" exclaimed the apostle John (I John 3). It pleased God to make us His kids! To lavish His grace on us, cover our rebelliousness with the blood of Christ that paid a heavy, heavy price for our adoption into the family. For you didn't receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by Whom we cry out "Abba, Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children, and if children, then also heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8). We get it all. Just the same as Jesus does. And that gives God joy to offer us a place at His table.
God could, as the preeminent Creator and Sustainer of Everything, be Whoever He wanted to be. Do to us whatever He wanted to do. His heart is now, and always has been, to be near us and love us. From the garden of Eden forward, it's been His number one priority. We have broken His heart over and over again. His response: Come here to Earth, show us what Christ's love looks like, then die a sacrificial death so that we can be eternally His kids. God knew in the Old Testament He'd have to do that as it shows in the Isaiah 41 verse I quoted. So how in the world do we go the other way? There really is no other way. We are quite lost without His guidance; quite deprived without His parenting; quite desiccated without His love. Let God be God, then. Trust the heart that wants to make us His and His alone.
"The God of the Old Testament is an angry God." Hmm. I guess one could read of the rebellion of men and women and God's judgment on their sin in a way that makes God an irritable old guy in the sky Who carries a large switch that He can't wait to use on errant humans as they dally in their folly. However, that would mean the seeker reading the Bible would have entirely missed the heart of God evident there on every page. So if God does whatever He pleases on the earth and every other imaginable place, should that make us wary of Him? Should we run in fear because He's essentially after us for our infractions? What is it that pleases Him?
Certainly creation. The beauty that makes us wonder at it. Stars, moon, mountains, oceans, valleys, hills, varied creatures too numerous to mention, sand, forests, sunrise, sunset. It is good in His eyes. Made for us to live in and enjoy. Food for our bellies and a feast for our eyes. A world that makes us write poetry and sing love songs. Pristine in its inception. Marred only by our humanity. And it pleases God when we acknowledge that He made it...all of it. He should be able to expect that from us, shouldn't He?
Obedience. I know this a place of conflict in the hearts of some, that God would demand our obedience. Who does He think He is? Um...God. And this desire on His part to see us do what He wants isn't a wielding of power out of His great hubris. He knows how He created things to work. He knows everything; so, of course, He knows things we don't know. To thumb our noses at Him as we do it "our way" is completely idiotic if we understand how little we really understand. It's like a two-year-old striking out on her own to get a job, a husband and a car. Ridiculous. "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifice as much as obeying the Lord?" The prophet Samuel is speaking with King Saul after the king willingly disobeyed what God told him to do. Look: To obey is better than sacrifice. To pay attention is better than the fat of rams." God's not looking for us to do all the holy things that smack of religion so we feel better about not doing what He asks. The bottom line is, "Do we trust His heart toward us is good?" If we do, we will happily obey, even when we have no clue what's going on...which, by the way, is most of the time, for me.
Giving. To us. It makes God deliriously happy to pour out His blessings on us. Have you ever tried to be sweet to a rebellious kid, neighbor or friend? Giving to someone who always thinks you have ulterior motives? It's beyond frustrating to be completely misunderstood in one's benevolence. How much more God. He knows we are dust (Psalm 103), but we've been made in His image (Genesis 3). We are capable of great wisdom and power when we accept the gift of life given to us by Jesus. Here is the heart of the Old Testament God from Isaiah 41, speaking of the coming Savior: This is what God, Yahweh, says--Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and what comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk on it--"I, Yahweh, have called You (Jesus) for a righteous purpose, and I will hold You by Your hand. I will keep You and appoint You to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness from the prison house." (Italics, mine)
His children. Before we knew it, God had a heavenly plan to bring us not only to salvation, but into His family. "Look at how great a love the Father has given to us that we should be called God's children. And we are!" exclaimed the apostle John (I John 3). It pleased God to make us His kids! To lavish His grace on us, cover our rebelliousness with the blood of Christ that paid a heavy, heavy price for our adoption into the family. For you didn't receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by Whom we cry out "Abba, Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children, and if children, then also heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8). We get it all. Just the same as Jesus does. And that gives God joy to offer us a place at His table.
God could, as the preeminent Creator and Sustainer of Everything, be Whoever He wanted to be. Do to us whatever He wanted to do. His heart is now, and always has been, to be near us and love us. From the garden of Eden forward, it's been His number one priority. We have broken His heart over and over again. His response: Come here to Earth, show us what Christ's love looks like, then die a sacrificial death so that we can be eternally His kids. God knew in the Old Testament He'd have to do that as it shows in the Isaiah 41 verse I quoted. So how in the world do we go the other way? There really is no other way. We are quite lost without His guidance; quite deprived without His parenting; quite desiccated without His love. Let God be God, then. Trust the heart that wants to make us His and His alone.
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