It’s so simple isn’t it? If only God made himself clear then of course we would believe in him! Why wouldn’t we? So it must be his fault in hiding away from us. It’s like he’s playing mind games with us – expecting us to figure it all out.
The words in our text are spoken by a friend of Job called Zophar. You know the story of Job? How he lost everything – his wealth, his family, his status and his health – and now his friend is telling him not to question God – how can you figure it out? Job understandably does not appreciate friends who keep twisting his words and trying to say that he really must be to blame. ‘Job, you are suffering because you must have 44 A.S.K. sinned. Job, do you think that by searching you can find God?’ But Job reacts by saying, ‘Don’t you think that I know God is beyond finding out? I know that!’ ‘To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his’ (Job 12:13).
The trouble is, can we know God? Is he too far beyond us? Is he what the theologians call so ‘transcendent’ that we cannot find him or know him? That is certainly what Muslim theology teaches. Allah is unknowable.
The atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell was once asked what would he say if he died and appeared before the God he did not believe in? He replied, ‘Sir, why did you take such pains to hide yourself?’
Friedrich Nietzsche likewise stated, ‘It is a duty of God to be truthful towards mankind and clear in the manner of his communications.’
These might seem clear and obvious statements, but there is one major flaw in them. Can you spot it? What if God has made himself clear? What if, instead of hiding, he has revealed himself? What if the problem is with us, not him? In question 8, we saw that God has clearly revealed himself in what he has made – his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen. Hebrews 1:1-3 says, ‘In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.’
So God has shown himself. First of all in what he has made. Then he has ‘set eternity in the human heart’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11), so we have an awareness of him. Then, over hundreds of years, he sent his prophets to give us his Word. Finally, as the last revelation of himself, he sent his Son, Jesus who is ‘the exact representation of his being’.
Ah – but you say, that is no use to me because Jesus has gone and I can’t find him. Except that Jesus sent the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit inspired the apostles to write the rest of the Bible and make it crystal clear who God is and what he wants. Even more than that, the Spirit works in our hearts and gives us the light of the knowledge of Christ.
We are without excuse. Even if we ‘just’ had the creation we would be without excuse. But we have so much more. Jesus often said about his teaching, ‘If you’ve got ears, then listen!’ Everyone Jesus spoke to had ears, so what did he mean by this saying? He is asking if they have ears to hear, and are they prepared to listen?
God has made himself clear … so maybe the problem lies elsewhere? Maybe the problem is not with God being unclear, but us not being willing to open our eyes and see, or open our ears and hear, or open our minds and understand.
Let’s think about it another way. Maybe it’s God who is doing the searching? Maybe it’s Jesus who came to seek and save the lost? That is the beautiful picture being presented in the gospel. The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. We seek him, because he is seeking us.
CONSIDER: How do you think that God could show himself more clearly? What obstacles get in the way of our seeing, hearing and understanding?
RECOMMENDED FURTHER READING: Crazy Love – Francis Chan
PRAYER: Father God, you promise that those who seek you will find you. Lord, I want to know you. Surely you have put this desire in my heart? Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths, and lead me in the everlasting way. Let me know Jesus. For to know him, is to know you. In his name. Amen.
Isa. 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
Isa. 45:19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Poor Bertrand Russell; he could seize upon the abstract, but not the obvious.
Amen! I am re-blogging your post to help others who have questions about their faith.
Your paragraph on ‘If you’ve got ears, then listen!’ makes a powerful point. If one refuses to listen then they can’t complain that God isn’t talking; indeed if they refuse to listen then how would they even know whether He was talking or not?
I wonder whether for most it is a case of ‘God isn’t revealing Himself to *me* on *my* terms’?
I was lost and Jesus found me. Was blind and now I see. Was deaf and now I hear?
YBH. Yes but how?
If we don’t want God, how can we complain if he gives us what we want?
Who awakens, gives us a desire for Him? He gives us Himself.
The problem with quoting Romans 1/18-32 is that Paul is describing the historical (spiritual) degeneration and demise of man – together with the resultant, dire consequences of his fallen, sinful state.
Unregenerate man will not desire to see, and therefore won’t acknowledge God’s nature as displayed in and throughout creation. Fallen, intellectual man is like a fish swimming the oceans of the world seeking oxygen without realising that he has been swimming in and sustained by it – throughout all his (re)searching.
And, again with Hebrews 1/1-3, it must always be remembered that the author of Hebrews was addressing believers. The unconverted will not be (spiritually) touched by these verses
The New King James rendition of Ecclesiastes 3/10-11 is very misleading – The King James Bible gives the accurate translation:
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. [underlining mine}
This seems to be far more consistent with the scriptural view that mankind languishes in inescapable bondage to the (self-centred and selfish) god of this world – and, apart from Christ’s Godward and selfless initiative (as enacted at Calvary) there is absolutely no escape for any man.
Sadly, the problem with presenting gospels which are intellectually persuasive but not founded scripturally on ‘Christ crucified’ (I Cor 1/17 to 2/16) is that such presentations can produce ‘broad road’ Christians who have been ‘called’ (intellectually) on their own self-seeking, carnal terms – but not ‘chosen’ (spiritually) by Christ on His narrow, self-sacrificial, eternal terms.
What is it that Jesus said?
‘For many are called, but few are chosen.’ Matthew 22/14.
And, on the subject of those who are chosen – Jesus makes it quite clear in Luke 8/4-12 that only the chosen have been given ears to hear….
@Jack:
“Sadly, the problem with presenting gospels which are intellectually persuasive but not founded scripturally on ‘Christ crucified’ (I Cor 1/17 to 2/16) is that such presentations can produce ‘broad road’ Christians who have been ‘called’ (intellectually) on their own self-seeking, carnal terms – but not ‘chosen’ (spiritually) by Christ on His narrow, self-sacrificial, eternal terms.”
Alas, this error is frequently recurrent in this blog. The error stems from not ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’ (2Ti. 2:15).
‘Rightly dividing the word of truth’ is imperative to applying the Word correctly as parts of it applies only to unbelievers and the other parts of it only to believers.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones grasped this imperative only after realising that he was not Christian, viz.: “For many years I thought I was a Christian when in fact I was not. It was only later that I came to see that I had never been a Christian and became one. . . .What I needed was preaching that would convict me of sin. . . .But I never heard this. The preaching we had was always based on the assumption that we were all Christians.” [Iain H. Murray, ‘D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years, 1899–1939’, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1982, p. 58].
I may be wrong, but my impression is that Pastor David Robertson very often forgets the status and understanding of nominal, self-made, Christians is not the status and understanding of Christians made by God.
Thinking the status and understanding of self-made Christians is the same as the status and understanding of Christians made by God may very well be intellectually quite pleasing, but invariably and inexorably it leads to utter confusion, just as thinking the status and understanding of pre-adolescent children is the same as the status and understanding of adults does.
I appreciate the sincerity of this write-up of yours. Can’t wait to see more!
In a state of wandering, a prayer will help you see the direct path towards God. Prayer will make you see God better. Check my blog Powerful Steps to Finding God Hope this will help. Thank you.
Cheers
Aura