Tag: How can God Know

14.a. “They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression  They set their mouths against the heavens”

Malachi 2:17  You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

Psalms 95:9-10     when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.  For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”

Isaiah 43:24     You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.

Jeremiah 15:6    You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting.

Ezekiel 16:43    Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

Psalms 73:3-15    For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.  They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.  Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.  Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.  They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression  They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.  Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them.  And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”  Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

Ecclesiastes 8:11    Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.

Do you ever wonder if we are just continually asking things of God and forgetting to honor, worship, and glorify Him?  Don’t get me wrong it is good to seek the Lord with all those troubles and concerns that affect us or the ones we love.  Is it possible in all of this asking we lose sight of honor, glory, and praise to Jesus Christ?  Do we weary Jesus with this continual asking and minimal praise and worship?  Do we spend enough time in His Word to know of His greatness, power, knowledge, wisdom, might, grace, mercy, and love?  Do we spend enough time in His Word so that we recognize that which is worldly and that which is holy, true, just, and right?  Do we put God’s patience to test by confusing worldly cultural beliefs with those of God?  Is our heart astray? Are we always going backward? Are we calling evil good?  Think about this.  Many across our country approve of abortion, protest riots and looting, gay lifestyle, pornography, gay marriage, etc….. Is our country going backward?  Have our leaders abandoned Jesus Christ? Has our country become ice-cold to Jesus Christ?  There can be no compromise in our hearts and minds.  There cannot be room for the cultural beliefs of what is right and wrong to coexist with things of God.  Our foundation, rock, and steadfast truth are found in the Word of God, Jesus Christ’s redemption, and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  When we neglect God’s Word, deny honor and worship to Jesus Christ, and resist the Holy Spirit’s leading, that which is worldly is given space to root and it will easily confuse us in our understanding of what is right and wrong.  Just take a good look at what people are calling right and wrong right now and compare it with the Word of God and what it calls right and wrong.  We will do well to continually worship, honor, praise, and glorify Jesus Christ, studying His Word, and following, trusting, obeying, and relying on Him every day.

That I may live and keep your word.

Psalms 119:17  Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.  Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.  I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!  My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.  You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments.  Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.  Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.  Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

Isaiah 29:10-12     For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).  And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”  And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.”

Isaiah 29:18     In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.

Isaiah 32:3     Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention.

Isaiah 35:5     Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

Matthew 13:13     This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Matthew 16:17    And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

John 9:39     Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

Acts 26:18    to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

2 Corinthians 3:14-18     But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.  Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.  But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

Ephesians 1:17-18     that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,  having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

This is true  a love of God not desiccated by study but refreshed, informed and nourished by it.”

The Psalmist didn’t need new revelation; he needed to see the revelation that was already given. He didn’t need new eyes; he needed to see with the eyes he already had.

“In order to keep God’s word, must we not pray to understand it? What then is this prayer? Not – give me a plainer Bible – but open my eyes to know my Bible. Not – show me some new revelations beside the law – but make me behold the wonders of the law.” (Bridges)

There are wondrous things in Scripture; but they can only be seen when the eyes are opened by God.

It also means that not everyone sees the wondrous things in God’s word, but that when one does see them, they should regard it as evidence of God’s blessing and favor.

God has given man a sense of wonder, and there are certain things that prompt it. The new and unexpected can cause wonder; the beautiful and great and cause wonder, and the mysterious and unknown can cause wonder. We can say that God has provided for this sense of wonder by giving us His word. The Holy Spirit can make us alive to the Bible, and constantly see things that are new and unexpected; things that are great and beautiful; things that are mysterious and unknown. It is a shame to many Christians that they look for their sense of wonderful to be satisfied without looking to the Word of God.

Think of all there is in the Bible that you don’t see. Think of all the wonder, all the treasure that is there, but you don’t see it. You can see such things, though you can’t see everything, and sometimes you will think you see things that are not really there. Yet those who see more than you are not necessarily smarter or better; their eyes are just more open.

“If we want to see wonderful things in the Scriptures, it is not enough for us merely to ask God to open our eyes that we might see them. We must also study the Bible carefully. The Holy Spirit is given not to make our study unnecessary but to make it effective.” (Boice)

Almost Stumbled

“but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Psalms 73:1   Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.  For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.  They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.  Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.  Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.  They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.  They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.  Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.  If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.  But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

Jeremiah 12:1  Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

Psalms 37:1   Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers

Proverbs 3:31    Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,

Proverbs 24:1     Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them,

Hosea 7:2     But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.

Zephaniah 1:12   At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.

I copied this from a commentary on this chapter of 73 Psalms.  “We have in these verses a good man’s temptation. In every age God’s people have asked whether God can possibly know all that is taking place on the earth, and if He does know, why He allows evil to prosper. The dark spirit who is ever at our elbow whispers that we should have done as well, and better”  It surely rings true if not for the questions of “does He know” and “why does He allow” surely for listening to the whispers of Satan into our ears and becoming envious.  We must recognize these whispers and fight them with the word of truth.  Paul in his letters once wrote “I have learned to be content in having little and having much.”  We do well to be content knowing and humbly serving God.  We have so many distractions pulling at our heart and soul it is only those who desire and commit to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey who will find true peace and rest this side of eternity.

Nothing is Hidden

There is nothing hidden from God.  He knows the intent of our heart.  If our heart desire is to speak, act and live to bring honor and glory to Him  what manner of people should we be?  What directs our actions, reactions, how we live?  We are told out of the abundance of our heart our mouth speaks.  What are we filling our heart with?  Tomorrow is a day we celebrate the risen Lord.  He is risen and because He lives we have hope and reason to live for the single thankful and humble purpose – to honor and glorify God.

Matthew 6:3
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

6:6
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you

6:18
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you

Job 28:11
and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light

Psalm 10:11
He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it

Psalms 73:8
They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
And they say, “How can God know

Luke 8:17
For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light