• Turning the Nile to Blood
• Frogs
• Gnats
• Wild Beasts
• Pestilence
• Boils
• Hail
• Locusts
• Darkness

one thought continued to run through my head:

Why did it take so much?  Why didn’t Pharaoh get it earlier and avoid the later plagues?  Why did he not listen to God and avoid the tenth plague – death of the the firstborns? It seems so obvious.  God wasn’t going to relent.  Surely there would be more coming if the their first couple of plagues didn’t work.  How many times was it going to take before Pharaoh “got it?”

Then I started to realize something.  I am no different than Pharaoh!  I have a heart which can be just as cold and stubborn as his.  I spent thirty years of my life denying the God who created me despite all of the “signs” God had put in my life.  To this day, I am not the obedient son that I want to be.  I still turn from him in times of trouble.  I still resist those things that He would have me do.  In the end, I am not that different from Pharaoh.

It is easy to look at characters in the ancient stories of the Bible and think, “I’m not like that.  I would make a better choice.”  I wouldn’t have sold my brother into slavery!  I would have fought the giant!  I wouldn’t have lied about who I was.  I wouldn’t have bowed down to that cow.  I would have taken the promised land no matter what the spies said.  I wouldn’t have denied my Lord, or I wouldn’t have sold him for thirty pieces of silver.  It is easy to read those stories and neglect one very important point – we are those people.  Pray today that God would speak to you through these stories to show you how you are denying him.  Seek his hands and his face.  Draw near to him and he will draw near to you!

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Here’s the background on the situation.  These days I find myself struggling through some pain.  Late last year, I woke up one morning with some lower back pain.  Within a couple of weeks, that pain had spread into my leg and hip.  I went to a chiropractor a couple of times, and it seemed to be getting a little better.  Then, over the Christmas vacation, including a trip in a mini-van to and from North Carolina, the pain increased substantially.  Over the last couple of weeks that we have been back, I have continued to see a doctor regularly and do some physical therapy to try to alleviate the pain.  Following a session with the physical therapist this past Thursday, my pain level increased significantly (hopefully that is actually a sign that it is getting better).  Well, Saturday was a particularly bad day.  In addition to everything else, I came down with a bad cold and sore throat to boot.  At times the pain in my back and leg was so severe that it bordered on excruciating, and I’ve been told I have a high threshold for pain.  Whether I sat, or stood or laid down, the pain would not get any better.

At one point in the afternoon, Jacob (my 8 year old) told me:

“Dad, I hope your leg gets better soon.  Remember, God has a reason for everything.”

There is was again.  Words from God in the mouth of an 8-yr-old that shifted my focus in an instant.  I had been concentrating on me, and frankly starting to feel sorry for myself.  Anytime my focus shifts in that direction – towards me and away from God – things just seem to get out of whack.  So, I am left with two things to do and think about out of this whole experience:

1. Pray about, and try to figure out, what God is trying to teach me in this situation.  Given that a lot of my focus over the last couple of weeks has been on how frustrating it is not to be able to do normal things that I want to do, I imagine what he is trying to teach me has something to do with total reliance on him; and
2. Marvel and praise him for how he continues to work through my kids to make me a better child of his.

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Thank you Jesus for this day.  Amen. You Rock. Amen.

I don’t specifically remember teaching it to him.  I may have at some point, but he has adopted it as his standard way of ending prayers.  And, when he says it, it is always with a smile and a giggle.  “You Rock, Amen!”  We were saying prayers last night, I was struck by how simple and profound those three words are!  How often in our prayers as adults do we focus on the problems of our lives and our day to the exclusion of the glory of God?  How often do we plead with God for those things we want in our lives without stopping to reflect on hoe great the God is that we serve?  How often do we pray just because we feel like we should rather and not realize that prayer is a gift given to us by the grace of God?  How often do we miss out on the joy of prayer because of our misperception of God?

Yes, God – YOU DO ROCK!  And, I pray that we would never forget it!

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Why Did God Make Us?

This question has been asked over and over throughout history.  In fact, King David asked essentially the same question in Psalm 8:

“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?”  [Psalms 8:3-4]

The fact of the matter is that the Bible does not give us explicit details about why God chose to make us as opposed to not making us.  Genesis 1:1 clearly tells us that God created the world, and Genesis 1:27 tells us that he created man (and woman) in his own image.  Beyond that, it does not talk much about the why of creation.  Accordingly, this question rightly falls under the umbrella of the “secret things” discussed in Deuteronomy 29:29:

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” [Deuteronomy 29:29]

Fortunately, the Bible does give some insight even if it doesn’t come right out and directly answer the question.  Let’s start with some of the mistaken theories that are often offered for why God created us.  Let’s look at some of those notions and see why they are not true.

Some people contend that God created man because he needed an object for his love.  Not true!  From infinity past, God has existed in the trinity in perfect communion with perfect love amongst the members of the trinity.  God loved us before he ever created us (Jeremiah 31:3), but he did not require man as an object of his love.

Some hold that God created man because he needed us.  Again, not true!  God needs nothing.  Indeed, there is nothing that we, as his creation, can offer to him.  Acts 17:24-25 explains:

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”  [Acts 17:24-25]

God, in the trinity, never felt any loneliness.  God loves us, to be sure, but he does not need us either as a companion or as an object of his love.

Fortunately, the Bible does reveal some things about why God actually made the world and made us.  The short answer to the question “why did God make us” is that he made us for him.  Colossians 1:16 tell us:

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him.” [Colossians 1:16]

We were created for God’s pleasure.  So, what does that pleasure look like?  Revelation 4:11 gives us some insight in the worship of God in heaven:

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”  [Revelation 4:11]

Ultimately, God created us to give him glory.  We are commanded to live for the glory of God in 1 Corinthians 10:

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. “ [1 Corinthians 10:31]

It is important to understand that we were not created to add to God’s glory (that would be impossible).  Rather, we were created to reveal God’s glory.  Given that we were created to bring God glory, it makes sense to ask the question “How do we bring God glory?”  There are several ways:

1. By loving the lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5)
2. By loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39)
3. By sharing God’s gospel with unbelievers (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20)
4. By doing the good works which God created us to do (Ephesians 2:10)
5. By serving faithfully in God’s army (Ephesians 6:10-18)
6. By worshipping God and giving him thanks (Psalm 50:23)

This is just a short list of the many ways we can glorify God.  In short, we are God’s light to the world, and everything we do should be done with the purpose of bringing him glory.

The best explanation I have heard which provides some insight into why God would choose to create us draws on the frequent analogy found in scripture between our relationship with our earthly parents and our relationship with God.  Imagine for a moment why a man and his wife might make the decision to have kids.  They anticipate the joy of having a child, they desire to replicate themselves and they desire a relationship with a child.   Although the Bible is not explicit, and the analogy is not perfect (for example a husband and wife may feel their family is incomplete without kids – God would never feel such incompleteness), but it does offer some insight into why God may have chosen to create us.  We were not created because God needed us, but we certainly need him and should desire to live our life in accordance with his will.

Return to the Questions Kids Ask index page.

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2. #22 – Invite Questions From the Kids (Tips For Large Group Teaching)
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I decided to start this series with a question kids, and most adults, usually ask at some point either in investigating Christianity or in their walk with God.  I know it was one of the questions I had when I was investigating Christianity.  That question is:

Who Made God?

This question was posed to me recently by a fifteen year old boy struggling with his faith.  He lives in a Christian home and has been exposed to Christian thinking for years.  This is the one thing that he is really still struggling with.  The way he posed the question was, “if everything is created, who created God?”

The answer to this question is both simple and complex.  The simple answer is, no one created God.  He has always existed!  That is easy to say, but not so easy to comprehend.  The concept of anything being eternal is beyond our ability to truly understand as finite human beings.  God is so much bigger than we are as human beings that we can never fully comprehend him.  As human beings, we live in both time and space.  Time passes and we get older.  Things happened in the past, are happening now, or will happen in the future.  Furthermore, we operate in space.  As the old adage goes, we can only be in one place at a time.  As an eternal being, God existed before space and time.  Indeed, God created the space and time in which we live (Genesis 1:1).  God always had existed and always will exist.  Revelation 1:8 says:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” [Revelation 1:8]

Alpha and Omega are the beginning and end of the Greek alphabet.  Greek is the original language that Revelation was written in.  The point is clear.  God always has been and always will be – from the beginning to end and beyond.  Other verses also tell us that God existed before time.  1 Corinthians 2:7 tells us:

“But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.” [1 Corinthians 2:7]

Other verses also testify to God’s existence before time including 2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2 and Jude 1:25.

God has always existed and always will.  He has also always been the same and always will be.  This concept is referred to as the immutability of God.  God does not change like man does.  He is the same today as he was 4,000 years ago as he will be 4,000 years from now.  [Hebrews 13:8]

The Bible is clear that God existed before time and space were created.  Genesis 1:1 tells us that “In the beginning, God created…”  The implication is clear!  God existed before both space and time!  He spoke both into existence.

The problem with the question as posed is that it assumes that everything that exists must have a creator.  Indeed, anything that comes into existence does need a creator.  However, since God has always existed, he does not need a creator.

The Bible is clear that God is not a created being.  However, there are also other lines of reasoning to show that no one made God.

There is a definitional issue which must be addressed.  That is, the way in which God is defined impacts the question.  God is defined as the ultimate creator of everything, and indeed the God of the Bible is that creator God.  If there were some sort of force or being that created the God we know of (let’s call him a “super-God”), that “super-God” would be the superior being and the one deserving of our worship.  In other words, if something created or made God, that thing would then be the real God on and on until you get to the creator who has always existed.

Secondly, there is a logical issue which must be addressed.  Logically, if there was ever a time that nothing existed, than nothing would still exist.  Common sense tells us that it is impossible to get something out of nothing.  In order for something to exist now, something must have always existed.  That something is God!

One common object to the infinite nature of God is the question, if it is possible that no one created God and he has always existed, why isn’t it equally possible that time and space have always existed and therefore need no creator?  First of all, let’s establish that it is impossible for both the time/space/the universe and God to be infinite.  By definition, there is only room for one infinite thing.  If something else is infinite it automatically limits the second thing making it finite.  Accordingly, given these two options either God must be infinite or the universe (and therefore time) must be infinite.  It cannot be the case that both are infinite.

So, why then can’t the universe be infinite?  Many scientists will argue that it is.  However, most scientists agree that both time and the universe had to have some beginning.  That beginning is frequently referred to as the “Big Bang.”  Scientists have discovered that the universe is unwinding and moving from a state of order to a state of disorder.  All of this points back to a beginning both for the universe and for time and demonstrates that they are not infinite – something the Bible reveals in its very first verse!

To recap, no one made God.  He has always existed and always will exist both before and after the time and space in which we live.  God did enter our time and space once about 2,000 years ago.  He took on human form as the man Jesus Christ and died on the cross for our sins.  When we accept God’s offer of forgiveness, he gives us the privilege to live with him in eternity.

Return to the Questions Kids Ask index page.

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“Their foot shall slide in due time.”

In a day and age when one wells known preacher refuses to talk about hell because he doesn’t want to offend people, Edwards’ sermon seems particularly relevant.  As you read the sermon, replete with wonderfully written prose and the conviction of the Word of God, you can feel Edwards’ love for the people he was preaching to.  You sense that he is, with a great deal of urgency, pleading with his audience to embrace Jesus Christ as savior.  Perhaps we need more sermons like this in our day and age when so many people:

“…will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” [2 Timothy 4:3]

I will not post the entire text of the sermon here (I have included a link to it at the bottom of this post), but I will provide an outline along with some of the more memorable quotes from the sermon beginning with Edwards’ introduction:

“In this verse is threatened the vengeance of God on the wicked unbelieving Israelites, who were God’s visible people, and who lived under the means of grace; but who, notwithstanding all God’s wonderful works towards them, remained (as vers 28.) void of counsel, having no understanding in them.”

Edwards explains that this implies the following related to the punishment and destruction of the unsaved:

1. They are always exposed to destruction.
2. They are always exposed to sudden and unexpected destruction.
3. They are liable to fall themselves without needing to be pushed.
4. The only reason they haven’t fallen yet is because God’s appointed time has not yet come.

Edwards summarizes as follows:

“There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God.”

He provides the following ten points as proof for that contention:

1. God has the requisite power to cast men into hell.

He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it…There is no fortress that is any defense from the power of God…What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?

2. They deserve to go to hell.

The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and it is nothing but the hand of arbitrary mercy, and God’s mere will, that holds it back.

3. They live under the sentence of condemnation to hell.

…every unconverted man properly belongs to hell…

4. They are the objects of the same anger and wrath of God that is expressed in the torment of hell.

God is not altogether such an one as themselves, though they may imagine him to be so. The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whet, and held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them.

5. The Devil stands ready to claim them.

The old serpent is gaping for them; hell opens its mouth wide to receive them; and if God should permit it, they would be hastily swallowed up and lost.

6. The wickedness and sin that lives in men would lead to hell if not restrained by God.

There are in the souls of wicked men those hellish principles reigning, that would presently kindle and flame out into hell fire, if it were not for God’s restraints…For the present, God restrains their wickedness by his mighty power, as he does the raging waves of the troubled sea…Sin is the ruin and misery of the soul; it is destructive in its nature; and if God should leave it without restraint, there would need nothing else to make the soul perfectly miserable.

7. Men should find no solace in the fact that death does not appear imminent.

It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. It is no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances…The unseen, unthought-of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noon-day; the sharpest sight cannot discern them. God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending them to hell, that there is nothing to make it appear, that God had need to be at the expense of a miracle, or go out of the ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked man, at any moment.

8. There is no security in human efforts to preserve life.

Natural men’s prudence and care to preserve their own lives, or the care of others to preserve them, do not secure them a moment. To this, divine providence and universal experience do also bear testimony.

9. Man’s conviction that he is not going to hell despite rejecting Christ will not keep him out of hell.

All wicked men’s pains and contrivance which they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject Christ, and so remain wicked men, do not secure them from hell one moment. Almost every natural man that hears of hell, flatters himself that he shall escape it; he depends upon himself for his own security; he flatters himself in what he has done, in what he is now doing, or what he intends to do. Every one lays out matters in his own mind how he shall avoid damnation, and flatters himself that he contrives well for himself, and that his schemes will not fail. They hear indeed that there are but few saved, and that the greater part of men that have died heretofore are gone to hell; but each one imagines that he lays out matters better for his own escape than others have done. He does not intend to come to that place of torment; he says within himself, that he intends to take effectual care, and to order matters so for himself as not to fail.

But the foolish children of men miserably delude themselves in their own schemes, and in confidence in their own strength and wisdom; they trust to nothing but a shadow. The greater part of those who heretofore have lived under the same means of grace, and are now dead, are undoubtedly gone to hell; and it was not because they were not as wise as those who are now alive: it was not because they did not lay out matters as well for themselves to secure their own escape. If we could speak with them, and inquire of them, one by one, whether they expected, when alive, and when they used to hear about hell, ever to be the subjects of misery: we doubtless, should hear one and another reply, “No, I never intended to come here: I had laid out matters otherwise in my mind; I thought I should contrive well for myself — I thought my scheme good. I intended to take effectual care; but it came upon me unexpected; I did not look for it at that time, and in that manner; it came as a thief — Death outwitted me: God’s wrath was too quick for me. Oh, my cursed foolishness! I was flattering myself, and pleasing myself with vain dreams of what I would do hereafter; and when I was saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction came upon me.”

10. God has no obligation to keep men out of hell.

God certainly has made no promises either of eternal life, or of any deliverance or preservation from eternal death, but what are contained in the covenant of grace, the promises that are given in Christ, in whom all the promises are yea and amen.

Edwards summarizes his point with a vivid picture of unrepentant man:

So that, thus it is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them as to those that are actually suffering the executions of the fierceness of his wrath in hell, and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that anger, neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment; the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up; the fire pent up in their own hearts is struggling to break out: and they have no interest in any Mediator, there are no means within reach that can be any security to them. In short, they have no refuge, nothing to take hold of; all that preserves them every moment is the mere arbitrary will, and uncovenanted, unobliged forbearance of an incensed God.

Edwards moves into the application of this information first with a sober reminder of the pending wrath of God.

There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell’s wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.

The sovereign pleasure of God, for the present, stays his rough wind; otherwise it would come with fury, and your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and you would be like the chaff on the summer threshing floor.

The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God.

And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God’s hand has held you up.

O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment.

Edwards calls his listeners to consider the following regarding the wrath that they face:

1. It is the wrath of an infinite God that they face.

But the greatest earthly potentates in their greatest majesty and strength, and when clothed in their greatest terrors, are but feeble, despicable worms of the dust, in comparison of the great and almighty Creator and King of heaven and earth.

2. The fierceness of the wrath.

Consider this, you that are here present, that yet remain in an unregenerate state. That God will execute the fierceness of his anger, implies, that he will inflict wrath without any pity. When God beholds the ineffable extremity of your case, and sees your torment to be so vastly disproportioned to your strength, and sees how your poor soul is crushed, and sinks down, as it were, into an infinite gloom; he will have no compassion upon you, he will not forbear the executions of his wrath, or in the least lighten his hand; there shall be no moderation or mercy, nor will God then at all stay his rough wind; he will have no regard to your welfare, nor be at all careful lest you should suffer too much in any other sense, than only that you shall not suffer beyond what strict justice requires. Nothing shall be withheld, because it is so hard for you to bear.

3. That God will use them as a demonstration of this wrath.

God hath had it on his heart to show to angels and men, both how excellent his love is, and also how terrible his wrath is.

4. It is everlasting wrath.

It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery.

Edwards concludes his sermon with a sobering reminder to his listeners and a call to believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved from wrath:

How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in the danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious, they may otherwise be…And it would be a wonder, if some that are now present should not be in hell in a very short time, even before this year is out. And it would be no wonder if some persons, that now sit here, in some seats of this meeting-house, in health, quiet and secure, should be there before tomorrow morning.

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God….And let every one that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the pit of hell, whether they be old men and women, or middle aged, or young people, or little children, now hearken to the loud calls of God’s word and providence…Therefore, let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let every one fly out of Sodom: “Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.”

I ended up including more of the original text of the sermon than I had planned, but if you still want to read the entire sermon (and I would advise it), you can find it in the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

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Michelangelo's Finger of God

In the beginning…God.  The first four words of the Bible sum up the rest of divine revelation.  In the beginning, God created.  In the end, God recreates.  In the middle, God redeems and God saves.  The Bible is a book about God.  It is a book about how he created man who rebelled against him, and how God in his infinite grace and mercy sent his son to redeem and justify man so that they may be reconciled to him.

Much has been written about Genesis 1:1, and I have included excerpts from some better know commentaries below.  In these first ten words of our English Bibles are many of the foundations of the Christian faith.  Take note of the following:

1. It presupposes the existence of God.  Genesis 1:1 leaves no room for atheism or even agnosticism.  We exist because an eternal and gracious God made us.
2. It testifies to the doctrine of the trinity – one God in three distinct persons.  The Hebrew word used for God (Elohim) is plural while the verb form is singular.  Later in the book, God says “let us create man in our image.”  The testimony is clear, there is one God manifested in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  John 1:1 further tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”  The world was created by the power of the Father, through the Son and by the agency of the Holy Spirit.  All three members of the Trinity were therefore vital to the process of creation.
3. It tells us when God created the earth – in the beginning.  The world is not eternal.  Only God is eternal.  Everything prior to creation was eternity past.  There was no world, and therefore no time, before God created it.
4. It tells us that the world was created out of nothing.  God did not create the world out of preexisting material.  There was no eternal matter prior to the creation that God formed into the heavens and the earth.  God spoke the world into existence.  He created the world “ex nihilo” – out of nothing.   All the debate today over creationism and intelligent design versus Darwinism is silly.  Romans 1:19-20 tells us “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”  The evidence is clear that the world was created and designed and therefore had a creator and a designer.

So the Bible tells us, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” and “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:20-21).   Everything in between in a demonstration of the love and grace of our Almighty Father.

Historical Commentaries

Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown offer the following on the meaning of God in this verse:

“God – the name of the Supreme Being, signifying in Hebrew, “Strong,” “Mighty.” It is expressive of omnipotent power; and by its use here in the plural form, is obscurely taught at the opening of the Bible, a doctrine clearly revealed in other parts of it, namely, that though God is one, there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead – Father, Son, and Spirit, who were engaged in the creative work (Pro_8:27; Joh_1:3, Joh_1:10; Eph_3:9; Heb_1:2; Job_26:13).”

John Calvin writes on the heresy that taught that God created the world out of preexisting material,

“Therefore his meaning is, that the world was made out of nothing. Hence the folly of those is refuted who imagine that unformed matter existed from eternity; and who gather nothing else from the narration of Moses than that the world was furnished with new ornaments, and received a form of which it was before destitute. This indeed was formerly a common fable among heathens, who had received only an obscure report of the creation, and who, according to custom, adulterated the truth of God with strange figments; but for Christian men to labor (as Steuchus does) in maintaining this gross error is absurd and intolerable.”

One of the things appreciate about Calvin is his willingness to “call out” the false teachers of this day.  He certainly does not pull any punches when it comes to this fallacy.

Adam Clarke provides the following description of the God described in Genesis 1:1

“A general definition of this great First Cause, as far as human words dare attempt one, may be thus given: The eternal, independent, and self-existent Being: the Being whose purposes and actions spring from himself, without foreign motive or influence: he who is absolute in dominion; the most pure, the most simple, and most spiritual of all essences; infinitely benevolent, beneficent, true, and holy: the cause of all being, the upholder of all things; infinitely happy, because infinitely perfect; and eternally self-sufficient, needing nothing that he has made: illimitable in his immensity, inconceivable in his mode of existence, and indescribable in his essence; known fully only to himself, because an infinite mind can be fully apprehended only by itself. In a word, a Being who, from his infinite wisdom, cannot err or be deceived; and who, from his infinite goodness, can do nothing but what is eternally just, right, and kind. Reader, such is the God of the Bible; but how widely different from the God of most human creeds and apprehensions!”

He also points to a Jewish rabbi in arguing that the use of the plural Elohim with a singular verb points to the Trinity in the very first verse of the Bible,

“Nor are the Christians singular in receiving this doctrine, and in deriving it from the first words of Divine revelation. An eminent Jewish rabbi, Simeon ben Joachi, in his comment on the sixth section of Leviticus, has these remarkable words: “Come and see the mystery of the word Elohim; there are three degrees, and each degree by itself alone, and yet notwithstanding they are all one, and joined together in one, and are not divided from each other.” See Ainsworth. He must be strangely prejudiced indeed who cannot see that the doctrine of a Trinity, and of a Trinity in unity, is expressed in the above words.”

Albert Barnes addresses the limitation of science in looking at Genesis 1:1,

“This creating is the omnipotent act of giving existence to things which before had no existence. This is the first great mystery of things; as the end is the second. Natural science observes things as they are, when they have already laid hold of existence. It ascends into the past as far as observation will reach, and penetrates into the future as far as experience will guide. But it does not touch the beginning or the end. This first sentence of revelation, however, records the beginning. At the same time it involves the progressive development of what is begun, and so contains within its bosom the whole of what is revealed in the Book of God. It is thus historical of the beginning, and prophetical of the whole of time. It is, therefore, equivalent to all the rest of revelation taken together, which merely records the evolutions of one sphere of creation, and nearly and more nearly anticipates the end of present things.

This sentence assumes the being of God, and asserts the beginning of things. Hence, it intimates that the existence of God is more immediately patent to the reason of man than the creation of the universe. And this is agreeable to the philosophy of things, for the existence of God is a necessary and eternal truth, more and more self-evident to the intellect as it rises to maturity. But the beginning of things is, by its very nature, a contingent event, which once was not and then came to be contingent on the free will of the Eternal, and, therefore, not evident to reason itself, but made known to the understanding by testimony and the reality of things. This sentence is the testimony, and the actual world in us and around us is the reality. Faith takes account of the one, observation of the other.”

I particularly enjoyed the observation that “the existence of God is a necessary and eternal truth, more and more self-evident to the intellect as it rises to maturity.”  Finally, Barnes looks at what Genesis 1:1 precludes:

“This simple sentence denies atheism, for it assumes the being of God. It denies polytheism, and, among its various forms, the doctrine of two eternal principles, the one good and the other evil, for it confesses the one Eternal Creator. It denies materialism, for it asserts the creation of matter. It denies pantheism, for it assumes the existence of God before all things, and apart from them. It denies fatalism, for it involves the freedom of the Eternal Being.

It indicates the relative superiority, in point of magnitude, of the heavens to the earth, by giving the former the first place in the order of words. It is thus in accordance with the first elements of astronomical science.

It is therefore pregnant with physical and metaphysical, with ethical and theological instruction for the first man, for the predecessors and contemporaries of Moses, and for all the succeeding generations of mankind.”

In Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary he offers the following on how Christians should respond to this verse,

“The first verse of the Bible gives us a satisfying and useful account of the origin of the earth and the heavens. The faith of humble Christians understands this better than the fancy of the most learned men. From what we see of heaven and earth, we learn the power of the great Creator. And let our make and place as men, remind us of our duty as Christians, always to keep heaven in our eye, and the earth under our feet. The Son of God, one with the Father, was with him when he made the world; nay, we are often told that the world was made by him, and nothing was made without him. Oh, what high thoughts should there be in our minds, of that great God whom we worship, and of that great Mediator in whose name we pray! And here, at the beginning of the sacred volume, we read of that Divine Spirit, whose work upon the heart of man is so often mentioned in other parts of the Bible.”

John Wesley also offers his poetic take on man’s place in this creation:

“Observe here. 1. The effect produced, The heaven and the earth – That is, the world, including the whole frame and furniture of the universe. But ’tis only the visible part of the creation that Moses designs to give an account of. Yet even in this there are secrets which cannot be fathomed, nor accounted for. But from what we see of heaven and earth, we may infer the eternal power and godhead of the great Creator. And let our make and place, as men, mind us of our duty, as Christians, which is always to keep heaven in our eye, and the earth under our feet.”

Finally, I enjoyed Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary on this verse so much that I have reproduced it in it’s entirety below:

“In these verses we have the work of creation in its epitome and in its embryo.

I. In its epitome, Gen_1:1, where we find, to our comfort, the first article of our creed, that God the Father Almighty is the Maker of heaven and earth, and as such we believe in him.

1. Observe, in this verse, four things: -

(1.) The effect produced – the heaven and the earth, that is, the world, including the whole frame and furniture of the universe, the world and all things therein, Act_17:24. The world is a great house, consisting of upper and lower stories, the structure stately and magnificent, uniform and convenient, and every room well and wisely furnished. It is the visible part of the creation that Moses here designs to account for; therefore he mentions not the creation of angels. But as the earth has not only its surface adorned with grass and flowers, but also its bowels enriched with metals and precious stones (which partake more of its solid nature and more valuable, though the creation of them is not mentioned here), so the heavens are not only beautified to our eye with glorious lamps which garnish its outside, of whose creation we here read, but they are within replenished with glorious beings, out of our sight, more celestial, and more surpassing them in worth and excellency than the gold or sapphires surpass the lilies of the field. In the visible world it is easy to observe, [1.] Great variety, several sorts of beings vastly differing in their nature and constitution from each other. Lord, how manifold are thy works, and all good! [2.] Great beauty. The azure sky and verdant earth are charming to the eye of the curious spectator, much more the ornaments of both. How transcendent then must the beauty of the Creator be! [3.] Great exactness and accuracy. To those that, with the help of microscopes, narrowly look into the works of nature, they appear far more fine than any of the works of art. [4.] Great power. It is not a lump of dead and inactive matter, but there is virtue, more or less, in every creature: the earth itself has a magnetic power. [5.] Great order, a mutual dependence of beings, an exact harmony of motions, and an admirable chain and connection of causes. [6.] Great mystery. There are phenomena in nature which cannot be solved, secrets which cannot be fathomed nor accounted for. But from what we see of heaven and earth we may easily enough infer the eternal power and Godhead of the great Creator, and may furnish ourselves with abundant matter for his praises. And let our make and place, as men, remind us of our duty as Christians, which is always to keep heaven in our eye and the earth under our feet.

(2.) The author and cause of this great work – God. The Hebrew word is Elohim, which bespeaks, [1.] The power of God the Creator. El signifies the strong God; and what less than almighty strength could bring all things out of nothing? [2.] The plurality of persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This plural name of God, in Hebrew, which speaks of him as many though he is one, was to the Gentiles perhaps a savour of death unto death, hardening them in their idolatry; but it is to us a savour of life unto life, confirming our faith in the doctrine of the Trinity, which, though but darkly intimated in the Old Testament, is clearly revealed in the New. The Son of God, the eternal Word and Wisdom of the Father, was with him when he made the world (Pro_8:30), nay, we are often told that the world was made by him, and nothing made without him, Joh_1:3, Joh_1:10; Eph_3:9; Col_1:16; Heb_1:2. O what high thoughts should this form in our minds of that great God whom we draw nigh to in religious worship, and that great Mediator in whose name we draw nigh!

(3.) The manner in which this work was effected: God created it, that is, made it out of nothing. There was not any pre-existent matter out of which the world was produced. The fish and fowl were indeed produced out of the waters and the beasts and man out of the earth; but that earth and those waters were made out of nothing. By the ordinary power of nature, it is impossible that any thing should be made out of nothing; no artificer can work, unless he has something to work on. But by the almighty power of God it is not only possible that something should be made of nothing (the God of nature is not subject to the laws of nature), but in the creation it is impossible it should be otherwise, for nothing is more injurious to the honour of the Eternal Mind than the supposition of eternal matter. Thus the excellency of the power is of God and all the glory is to him.

(4.) When this work was produced: In the beginning, that is, in the beginning of time, when that clock was first set a going: time began with the production of those beings that are measured by time. Before the beginning of time there was none but that Infinite Being that inhabits eternity. Should we ask why God made the world no sooner, we should but darken counsel by words without knowledge; for how could there be sooner or later in eternity? And he did make it in the beginning of time, according to his eternal counsels before all time. The Jewish Rabbies have a saying, that there were seven things which God created before the world, by which they only mean to express the excellency of these things: – The law, repentance, paradise, hell, the throne of glory, the house of the sanctuary, and the name of the Messiah. But to us it is enough to say, In the beginning was the Word, Joh_1:1.

2. Let us learn hence, (1.) That atheism is folly, and atheists are the greatest fools in nature; for they see there is a world that could not make itself, and yet they will not own there is a God that made it. Doubtless, they are without excuse, but the god of this world has blinded their minds. (2.) That God is sovereign Lord of all by an incontestable right. If he is the Creator, no doubt he is the owner and possessor of heaven and earth. (3.) That with God all things are possible, and therefore happy are the people that have him for their God, and whose help and hope stand in his name, Psa_121:2; Psa_124:8. (4.) That the God we serve is worthy of, and yet is exalted far above, all blessing and praise, Neh_9:5, Neh_9:6. If he made the world, he needs not our services, nor can be benefite d by them (Act_17:24, Act_17:25), and yet he justly requires them, and deserves our praise, Rev_4:11. If all is of him, all must be to him.”

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God is:

• My God (v. 2, 6, 21, 28)
• My Strength (v. 1)
• My Rock (v. 2, 31, 46)
• My Fortress (v. 2)
• My Deliverer (v. 2)
• My Shield (v. 2)
• The Horn of My Salvation (v. 2)
• My Stronghold (v. 2)
• Worthy to be praised (v.  3)
• The Most High (v. 13)
• My Support (v. 18)
• A shield for all those who take refuge in him (v. 30)
• The God of My Salvation (v. 46)

God does:

• Saves us (v. 3)
• Hears us (v. 6)
• Takes us (v. 16)
• Draws us out of many waters (v. 16)
• Rescues us from enemies and those who hate us (v. 17, 19, 48)
• Supports us (v. 18, 35)
• Deals with us according to our righteousness (v. 20)
• Rewards with us according to our righteousness (v. 24)
• Shows himself merciful with the merciful (v. 25)
• Shows himself blameless with the blameless (v. 25)
• Shows himself pure with the purified (v. 26)
• Makes himself seem tortuous with the crooked (v. 26)
• Saves a humble people (v. 27)
• Brings down haughty eyes (v. 27)
• Lights our lamp (v. 28)
• Lights our darkness (v. 28)
• Enables us to engage in battle (v. 29)
• Equips us with strength (v. 32)
• Makes our way blameless (v. 32)
• Makes us secure (v. 33)
• Trains us (v. 34)
• Gives us the shield of salvation (v. 35)
• Keeps us from slipping (v. 36)
• Equips us with strength (v. 39)
• Defeats our enemies (v. 39, 40)
• Delivers us (v. 43, 48)
• Lives (v. 46)
• Exacts vengeance (v. 47)
• Brings salvation (v. 50)
• Shows steadfast love (v. 50)

Our God is an awesome God worthy of our praise!

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Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here am I.

However, it was while I was reading the New English Translation (NET) of the Bible and keeping track of the different ways that God is referred to that this verse really jumped off the page at me.  That translation renders it:

For this reason my people will know my name, for this reason they will know at that time that I am the one who says, ‘Here I am.’

The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is similar,

Therefore My people will know My name;
therefore [they will know] on that day
that I am He who says:
Here I am.”

What an awesome statement from God, “I am the one who says, ‘Here I am.’”  The verse is presented in the Old Testament in the context of God’s redemption of Israel (his chosen people).  But at a very fundamental level, it speaks to the relational aspect of God.  Here is the God who created us, spoke the world into existence and holds the universe together, and he says “Here I Am.”  God does not require that we search for him or reach some higher plateau before we can find him.  He is right there the whole time whispering to us, “Here I Am.”  He provides us the proof of his existence that we need, and he calls out to us, “Here I am!”

The Bible tells us that God provides plenty of proof of his existence.  God’s word affirms his existence, but we don’t even need the Bible to know that he exists.  Consider:

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20)

The evidence around us is overwhelming, and it is only by hardening our hearts and ignoring the miracle that surrounds us each and every day that we can deny his existence. Numerous verses in the bible speak to the majesty of God’s work in creation.  Here are just a few:

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. [Psalm 19:1]

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm. [Psalm 33:6-9]

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. [Isaiah 40:12-15]

To suppose that all that happened merely by chance and that there is no God ignores the obvious.  It is the height of human arrogance that we ignore the obvious in favor of man made ideas and theories which we use to rationalize our failure to honor the God who created us.

It is foolishness to deny the existence of God.  Indeed Psalm 14:1 tells us that:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

It may seem harsh, but against the background of the overwhelming proof of God, it is ultimately true.  The existence of God seems unquestionable when faced with the overwhelming evidence of creation.  God clearly gives us plenty of evidence of his existence.  Both in his creation and is his Word, he is constantly proclaiming, “Here I Am!”  What is harder to wrap our heads around in the other implication of Isaiah 52:6.  Not only does God proclaim his existence, he exclaims his presence…”Here I Am!”  No matter what we do, or where we are, or what we’ve done, God is always near to us proclaiming, “Here I Am.”

Consider Acts 17:24-27:

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us. [Acts 17:24-27]

We are like little children in a pitch black room during a thunderstorm, we fumble our way around and call out, and our heavenly father calls to us, “Here I am!”  Like a 12 year old hopelessly loss in a crowd of humanity and drawn along by the whims of the masses, we call out, and he answers “Here I am!”  Like an adult at a low point in our lives, and we call out “What am I doing here?!?” and God answers, “Here I am!”  Like sinners eternally separated from a loving God, we cry out “What must I do?” And, from beyond a bloody cross and an empty tomb, God calls out “HERE I AM!”

He is, after all, the God of all comfort who does not hide himself from us, but draws near to us.  It is never to late for us to respond to the call of God.  In the words of James, the brother of Jesus:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. [James 4:8]

Our God, the God who created us and created the world with everything in it, is never far from us.  In times of despair, he encourages us, “Here I am.”  In times of great joy, he proclaims to us, “Here I am.”  In times of trepidation, he reassures us, “Here I am.”  In times of peace, he affirms to us, “Here I am.”  In times of loneliness, he comforts us, “Here I am.”  In times of need, he provides for us, “Here I am.”   In times of contentment, he confirms for us, “Here I am.”  In times of trouble, he soothes us, “Here I am.”

It is time that we heard God and humbly responded, “Here I am God…and I am yours!”  Amen.

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So, I was reading Proverbs the other day, and I came accross Proverbs 6:16-19. It says

16 There are six things that the LORD hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.

These aren’t things that just bother God – he HATES them! How hard should we try to avoid those things God hates?

1. Haughty eyes – Resolve to avoid the pride that convinces us that we can run our own lives and don’t need the living God to guide our lives.
2. A Lying Tongue – From little white lies that seem perfectly harmless to the big coverup, God calls us to transparency.
3. Hands that shed innocent blood – It is easy for us to proclaim “I’ve never murdered anyone.” But, is it any different if we allow other innocent people to die so that we can live a lavish lifestyle. God help us!
4. A Heart that Devises Wicked Plan – We should love and pray for those who persecute us. Instead we spend our time planning for or wishing for their demise. When we focus on devising wicked plans if keeps us away from the heart of God.
5. Feet That Make Haste to Run to Evil – How drawn is our fallen flesh to things which God hates? We must resist the call of the flesh and focus on the things of God. We will stumble, but we must allow God to pick us back up a keep us from falling.
6. A False Witness Who Breathes Out Lies – We dealt with dishonesty earlier, and it is interesting that God includes it twice. I think this encompasses falsehoods told about other people either in the form of gossip or malicious speech. Why is it that when people are successful in our eyes, we want to tear them down rather than rejoice with them!
7. One Who Sows Discord Amoung Brothers – Speaking of gossip! God hates the one who does not start a fight with someone, but rather pits two people against one another then sits back and enjoys the carnage. God give us the courage to be peace makers rather than people who cause strife!

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