God Is Not Man
Good Morning,
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
1 Samuel 15:29 “And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.”
Many people struggle with the evil in the world, as well as with the national conquests that have taken place. People try to logic actions in the mind of man, forgetting that it is God Who makes the decisions.
In our current political circumstances, we can be so terribly frustrated by endless wrongs and corrupt behavior, but we must ask ourselves, “Is there a God?” Does God have to act like man in order to be trusted? Do we desire a man to rule over us? Someone who is frail, sinful, selfish, limited in understanding, and corrupt in nature?
It is only logical that sinful men do not understand a perfect God; how could they? When we do not know for sure the events of tomorrow, can we begin to grasp the decisions of the Heavenly Father that touch centuries and even eternity?
When Israel conquered Canaan, it was the right thing to do because God said it! When Sodom was burnt to the ground, it was right and good because God did it! Man might not have done it, but God is not man. Today, the atomic bomb that was dropped on Japan might seem to be evil, but in the situation at hand, it was right; and most, who are honest, agree that fewer lives were lost in dropping the bombshell than if the war had continued. Whatever men may think today, or at that time, God allowed it to happen, and God is good and right.
I am not defending war, although it has gone on since Cain declared war on Abel, but I am saying that when God makes a decision, it is correct – no matter what men think. Do not try to evaluate the actions of God through the eyes of men. We are temporal, while He is eternal. Our view is limited while God views all time and eternity.
European immigrants came to America, pushed the Indians west, and eventually created the nation we have today. We should stop trying to act as though God had no hand in it, and that we need to give all of the land back to them. That is as foolish as the suggestion of sending black folks back to the nations they were taken from. They are Americans! This is their home! How they arrived is not as important as the fact that they are here, and we ought to place God back into the picture.
Injustice is everywhere, and in the stories of God’s plans being accomplished, it is obvious that sinful men did evil things. We all know that. The big picture (the entire circumstance) needs to be surrendered to the hand of the Almighty.
We can go as far as we desire in noticing injustice and unfair circumstances. How about Naaman’s handmaid? She was taken from home; she lost all; she was enslaved by foreign people, and no one but God knows all of the difficulties she endured. Yet, this little gal kept God and His eternal perspective in mind as she pointed Naaman to the “Man of God.”
What about four hundred years of suffering by the Hebrews in Egypt? How many mothers lost their babies to the Nile river? What about the man born blind and the struggles of his parents – all to achieve the works of God. (John 9:3)
Trust God! Believe God! Do not seek to understand God. Do not try to evaluate the actions of God by the morals and perspective of weak humanity.
God is not a man, and we should be very grateful for that.
Pastor