We established the basis for our study of theology by examining the Bible, how we got it and what the Bible says about itself. Because we believe the Bible is inspired and records reliable information about God and His activity, we now consider what the it says on that topic.
As I said in the Prologue, we use the term "theology" in two ways. In the broad sense, it means the study of religion, as in the title of our series, A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology. In the narrow sense, it means the study of God specifically, and that is how we are using it in this section. Today, we will consider who God is, His nature. Next, we will look at what God does, His work.
The Bible does not set out to prove God's existence; it assumes that He is: "In the beginning, God..." Since we accept the authority of scripture, we too start with that premise and can proceed directly to the next level of inquiry: Who is God?1 [The end notes can be found in the linked pdf]
WWN: "The Footprint of God" (Vann 2012)
WWN: "9 of God's Personality Traits" (Floori 2009f)
How does the Bible's description of God's incorporeal nature square with Mormonism's claim that God has a body? According to Joseph Smith, "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's" (1979a 130:22). Mormonism goes even further, stating that "to deny the materiality of God's person is to deny God [because] an immaterial body cannot exist" (Talmage 1978:48).
In support of their position, Mormons cite passages that refer to God's eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hands, and feet.6 What do such verses teach, if not that God has a physical body? ...They are figures of speech (anthropomorphisms) that help to explain God in ways man can understand. If we insist on taking them literally, then we will have to do the same with passages that speak about God's having wings and feathers or a horn.7
God's righteousness and justice sometimes demand retribution, which appears inconsistent with His goodness and love. Are these attributes incompatible? If not,
why not?
The first group is non-moral; the second is moral.
The Bible does not give these aspects of God's nature equal coverage.26 Some appear in only a handful of passages, while others are common themes in many books (e.g., justice and righteousness in the Prophets). Although we should be aware of them all, we should, as I mentioned before, put the emphasis where scripture puts the emphasis. Which one of God's attributes is the most prominent?
Last time in A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology, we examined who God is, both the essential core of His being and the attributes that manifest His character. One of those attributes is omnipotence—God can do anything He wills (Eph 11:1 b) -and now we will look at what God does. [28]
Vocabulary: Six terms for understanding non-biblical theology.
Before we do that, though, there are six terms you should know that refer to non-biblical world views about theology.
We believe in monotheism, a personal God separate from yet active in the universe, who has communicated to us about Himself. What has He told us about His works?
WWN: "Garden of Eden Found!" (Lake 2012b)
B. The work of God
What to remember: God works through creation, preservation, providence, and miracles. These are ways He manifests His attributes and displays His glory.
As I said in the Prologue, we use the term "theology" in two ways. In the broad sense, it means the study of religion, as in the title of our series, A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology. In the narrow sense, it means the study of God specifically, and that is how we are using it in this section. Today, we will consider who God is, His nature. Next, we will look at what God does, His work.
The Bible does not set out to prove God's existence; it assumes that He is: "In the beginning, God..." Since we accept the authority of scripture, we too start with that premise and can proceed directly to the next level of inquiry: Who is God?1 [The end notes can be found in the linked pdf]
WWN: "The Footprint of God" (Vann 2012)
The giant footprint, discovered in rough granite, is considered by many religious leaders to be The Footprint of God. It is 4 feet long. The location of this footprint has been a deeply sacred, mystical and spiritual place among African knowledge keepers—and a well-guarded secret. A footprint that is 4 feet in length means that who or what left it behind must have been approximately 24 feet tall. Who was this giant? Many faithful across the world know who the being was—God....
[N]ew discoveries in genetic engineering and ancient archaeological finds...overlooked in the past, offer conclusive proof about the origin of this footprint.
Some of the revelations may unravel some of the Bible's more obscure stories by linking these to their original forms in Sumerian clay tablets and other prehistoric writings.
Also discovered near the footprint are giant bones, crystal skulls, strange carvings and sculptures in forms that do not fit into the contemporary view of history and possibly offer evidence of other 15 foot tall giants in [our] prehistory.... Now, in 2012, religious leaders will announce the location of The Footprint of God. It will soon become the most popular religious site on the planet.
GENEVA - A panel of distinguished psychiatrists spent four years reviewing the Bible to uncover what makes God tick. The top shrinks say God's personality is clearly revealed in the written record of His encounters with prophets and biblical characters. Says Dr. Gustav Weberlitz, head of the seven-man panel...Our knowledge of God does not come from man's speculation about Him.2 but from His own self-disclosure. Again, as I mentioned in the Prologue, God has revealed Himself in two ways.
The Lord is strong, loving and generous...but He can be a little bit picky. He tends to be inflexible on occasion and He does have a temper. He has a prodigious memory. He can recall things a person has done years and years later. He keeps score. The good thing is that the Lord is a forgiving entity who treats the faithful very well. But He doesn't like it if they are ungrateful or get seriously out of line, like worshiping a golden calf or something. If that happens He gets mad and then He can be very, very strict.The panel's fascinating report has stirred up controversy and vigorous debate in Europe. A number of religious leaders have spoken out strongly against the work, saying it's blasphemy to try to characterize God in human terms. But defenders of the psychiatrists' work say it may offer unusual insights for Christians who want to delve more deeply into their religion. Among the report's revelations:
- God is extremely intelligent. He knows everything—even the thoughts and feelings of his flock.
- God makes His own rules. He is not influenced by any factors but His own opinions when making decisions and promulgating rules.
- God is a formal entity who likes ceremony. He appreciates folks who worship regularly, sing in choirs, give up something for Lent and so forth.
- God is jealous. He does not want people to turn to other deities—or even to a love of money or sex. He wants to be first in people's lives.
- God is slightly sexist. He almost always relies on men, not women, to do His bidding. He does, however, have a loving and protective attitude toward women and children.
- God loves love. There's nothing He'd rather see among His people than brotherly love. He rewards it.
- God has artistic tendencies. He loves to create beautiful things, which is why He has lavished so much attention on landscape, plants and trees, animals, stars, etc.
- God thrives on praise. He revels in the worship and devotion of millions of followers. He likes to feel loved.
- God is a high-energy deity. He enjoys doing thousands of activities at the same time and keeping track of millions of people and events. When He's not busy, He's bored.
- The first way is through general or natural revelation, which He makes available freely to all people.3
- The second way is through special or supernatural revelation, which He makes available mainly to His people.4
1. The essence of God is the substance that underlies His every manifestation.
- Incorporeal: He is immaterial and invisible.5
Deut 4:15a You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire.
John 1:18a No one has ever seen God....
Col 1:15a He is the image of the invisible God.....
Query: Does God have a body?1 Tim 6:16a who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.
How does the Bible's description of God's incorporeal nature square with Mormonism's claim that God has a body? According to Joseph Smith, "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's" (1979a 130:22). Mormonism goes even further, stating that "to deny the materiality of God's person is to deny God [because] an immaterial body cannot exist" (Talmage 1978:48).
In support of their position, Mormons cite passages that refer to God's eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hands, and feet.6 What do such verses teach, if not that God has a physical body? ...They are figures of speech (anthropomorphisms) that help to explain God in ways man can understand. If we insist on taking them literally, then we will have to do the same with passages that speak about God's having wings and feathers or a horn.7
- Independent: He is self-conscious and self-determined.8
Exod 3:14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
God needs nothing from you. He does not need your love, your fellowship, your worship, or your help. He does not need you at all...but you need Him. In fact, He alone has what you need most.John 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself....
- Infinite: He is immanent (near to creation) and transcendent (far from creation).
Immanent— Jer 23:23 "Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? 24 Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.9
Transcendent— Acts 17:24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.10
- Eternal: He always is, having no beginning or end.11
Gen 21:33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.
Ps 90:2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Isa 40:28a-b Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
God has a different view of time than you have. As a result, He is never late in meeting your needs. He is never in too much of a hurry to help you. He never too busy to hear your prayers. On the contrary, He always has enough time to do whatever He wants, including what He would do for you.121 Tim 6:16a who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.
- Unique: He is the only one of His kind and is without equal.13
Deut 4:35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.... 39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.
Isa 37:16 "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.... 20 Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God."
Isa 43:10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
1 Tim 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- Unified: He is undivided and indivisible.
Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Jms 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
- Tripartite: He is three persons in one essence, co-equal and co-eternal.14
Matt 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
2 Cor 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
1 Pet 1:2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
2. The attributes of God are the qualities that characterize the ways He exists and acts.
- Omnipresent: He is everywhere at once.15
Ps 139:7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
God is always present, whether or not you are aware of Him. You can never go outside His calling area.Isa 66:1 This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?
- Omniscient: He knows everything completely and eternally, things possible and actual.16
• Ps 139:1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. 5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Ps 147:5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.
Isa 46:10a I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.
Nothing takes God by surprise. He always knows when you are in danger. He knows when the enemy will attack even before the enemy knows.1 John 3:20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
- Omnipotent: He can do anything He wills.
Ps 135:6 The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.
Isa 43:13b-c No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?"
Jer 32:17 "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
God will surely be victorious over His enemies. Your weakness is no hindrance to God. With His help, you can overcome any trial and any temptation.Matt 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
- Immutable: He never changes in His essence, attributes, or will.17
1 Sam 15:29 He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.
Ps 33:11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Mal 3:6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
God does not change the rules in the middle of the game.18 The basis for salvation remains the same throughout the ages.19 He also does not revise His moral standards to make them more tolerant. His promises are always reliable. Therefore, your salvation is secure.Jms 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
- Holy: He is separate from and exalted above all creation and all sin.20
Lev 19:2 "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
Hab 1:12 O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish. 13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
Rev 4:8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
- Righteous and just: He treats His creatures with absolute equity.21
Ps 9:8 He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.
Ps 89:14a Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne....
Ps 103:6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
Some who deserve punishment seem to prosper instead, while others who are faithful undergo great hardship. Despite this apparent inequity, God will reward the righteous and punish the wicked.22Rom 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
- Good and loving.23 He treats His creatures with undeserved benevolence.24
Ps 118:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.... 29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Ps 25:7b ...according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.
Mark 10:18b "No one is good—except God alone.
Query: Is God's character contradictory?1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
God's righteousness and justice sometimes demand retribution, which appears inconsistent with His goodness and love. Are these attributes incompatible? If not,
why not?
- Faithful and true: He speaks and acts according to what is or what will be.
Deut 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God: he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
Isa 25:1 O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.
Ps 31:5 Into your hands I commit my spirit: redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
Query: What is the difference in God's attributes between the first group of four and the second group of four, and what would God be like if He had only one set of attributes?Ps I 19:160a All your words are true...
The first group is non-moral; the second is moral.
- If He had only the non-moral attributes, if He were immutable but not righteous and just, we might have a God who is unchangeable but biased and arbitrary in His dealings with us. In that case, when Abraham struggled with God's decision to destroy the entire population of Sodom and asked—"Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?"—God's answer would have been: "Not necessarily."
- If He had only the moral attributes, if He were good and loving but not omnipotent, we would have a God with the best of intentions for us but one who was unable to accomplish them. In that case, when Peter wondered about his own prospects as a poor fisherman after seeing that a rich man could fail to enter the kingdom of heaven and asked—"Who then can be saved?"—Jesus' answer would have been: "With God some things are impossible."
The Bible does not give these aspects of God's nature equal coverage.26 Some appear in only a handful of passages, while others are common themes in many books (e.g., justice and righteousness in the Prophets). Although we should be aware of them all, we should, as I mentioned before, put the emphasis where scripture puts the emphasis. Which one of God's attributes is the most prominent?
Holiness occupies the foremost rank among the attributes of God. It is the attribute by which God wanted to be especially known... (Lev. 11:44f.; Josh. 24:19; 1 Sam. 6:20; Ps. 22:3; Isa. 40:25; Ezek. 39:7; Hab. 1:12). It is emphasized by the bounds set about Mt. Sinai when God came down upon it (Exod. 19:12-25), the division of the tabernacle and temple into the holy and most holy places (Exod. 26:33; 1 Kings 6:16, 19), the prescribed offerings that must be brought if an Israelite would approach God (Lev. 1-7), the special priesthood to mediate between God and the people (Lev. 8-10), the many laws about impurity (Lev. 11-15), the feasts of Israel (Lev. 23), and the special position of Israel in [Canaan] (Num. 23:9; Deut. 44:28f.). The Lord is called "the Holy One" some thirty times in Isaiah alone. (Thiessen 1979:84)27What to remember: God's essence and attributes describe who He is, what lies at the core of His being as well as what is evident of His ability and character. They do not exhaust all that God is, but they are a sample sufficient to inspire wonder and a desire to know Him.
Part II
Last time in A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology, we examined who God is, both the essential core of His being and the attributes that manifest His character. One of those attributes is omnipotence—God can do anything He wills (Eph 11:1 b) -and now we will look at what God does. [28]
Vocabulary: Six terms for understanding non-biblical theology.
Before we do that, though, there are six terms you should know that refer to non-biblical world views about theology.
- Atheism = There is no God; He does not exist.29
Ps 14:1a [= 53: la] The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
- Agnosticism = There is no knowledge of God; His existence is inscrutable, a mystery.
Contra Heb 1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3a The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
- Deism = God is absent from the universe (stresses transcendence).
Contra Ps 139:7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
- Pantheism = God is one with (and inseparable from) the universe; He is everything (i.e., stresses immanence).
Contra Acts 17:24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
- Polytheism = There are many gods.
Contra Isa 44:6 "This is what the LORD says—Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.
- Dualism = There are two equal but opposing forces in the universe: good and evil, God and Satan.
Contra Job 23:13 "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases.Despite their deficiencies, these views all represent common opinions among nonbelievers. What makes them attractive? ...There is a general absence of moral absolutes and moral expectations.
We believe in monotheism, a personal God separate from yet active in the universe, who has communicated to us about Himself. What has He told us about His works?
WWN: "Garden of Eden Found!" (Lake 2012b)
BAGHDAD, Iraq—U.S. military advisors made a startling discovery on the outskirts of this city. They found Eden! ...When the military first entered the sun-bleached desert 5 miles north of Baghdad, they got a strange blip on their radioactive mass spectrometer showing an extremely small dense object 30 feet underground. Colonel Pentine said, "We called in the hazmat team to dig it up."
What they discovered seemed harmless enough: The withered remains of an ancient tree. "The bark looked as if it had been blasted by lightning. Pentine said. "We dug carefully around the trunk and soon unearthed the skeletal remains of a large snake beside the mass we had been reading. The object was red and looked like an apple," she said.
Dr. Sam Isaacs - an archaeologist working with the military to protect ancient sites — was helicoptered to the site. "It was definitely a petrified apple," Dr. Isaacs said. "What's more, it look[ed] as though two bites had been taken from it. ...This was...the very apple Eve had pulled from its branches.... I recommended that it be taken back to the U.S. for study." Weekly World News will keep you informed of the latest developments.
B. The work of God
1. God created the universe.30
- Immediate creation:31 He made32 the raw material out of nothing (ex nihilo).33
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Eph 3:9b ...God, who created all things.
Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
- Mediate creation: He fashioned the raw material into a finished product.34
Gen 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.... 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.... 19a Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air.
People have understood the Gen 1 description of creation in several ways.35Isa 45:18b For this is what the LORD says...he who fashioned and made the earth....
- Fiat creationism: God created everything in six literal days.
- Day-age theory: Each "day" is really a geological age.
- Gap/recreation theory: Satan rebelled between vv. 1 and 2, leaving everything "formless and void"; so God created it over.
- Progressive creationism: God performed several (fiat) creative acts over millions of years.36
- Theistic evolution: God created the raw material and let nature take its course.
2. God sustains the universe.
- Preservation: He maintains what He has made.37
Ps 145:15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. 16 You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
Isa 40:26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Matt 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Heb 1:3a The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
3. God rules the universe.38
- Providence: He controls the general course of events through indirect or natural means.39
Ps 121:5 The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Dan 2:21a He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them.
Acts 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.40
Rom 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
- Miracles: He controls the special course of events through direct or supernatural means.
Exod 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.... 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen - the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. 29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Josh 10:12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
2 Kgs 6:5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh, my lord," he cried out, "it was borrowed!" 6 The man of God asked, 'Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
Query: In addition to the good that miracles accomplish for the people concerned, what is the single purpose of these events?41 ...They all verify the divine authority of a messenger, that Moses, Joshua, Elisha, and Jesus are God's spokesmen, and that what they say from Him or about Him is true. The miracles scripture records usually occur at critical periods in history, when revelation is in question or religion is in jeopardy, and when God wants to make a clear distinction between what is true and what is false.42 Can miracles still happen today? ...Yes, at least according to Jesus and Paul.43Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
What to remember: God works through creation, preservation, providence, and miracles. These are ways He manifests His attributes and displays His glory.
For the extensive Endnotes, see the pdf here.
For the other chapters in "A 'Reader's Digest' Approach to Theology" see the contents here.
For the other chapters in "A 'Reader's Digest' Approach to Theology" see the contents here.
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Jim Skaggs