The God Nobody Knows

Published October 18, 2011

The God Nobody Knows

the unknown god

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”
[Isaiah 55:8]

Introduction

This study discusses attributes of God that very few people know about. These attributes describe God by the events and deeds that He claims responsibility for. They are things about God that many people do not want to attribute to the “God of love” they have been taught about, because they are normally thought of as “negative” character traits or bad deeds. However, when we better understand the sovereignty of God and His position above us, we can see that God has every right to do as He pleases and is not answerable to any man. When we better understand what God loves (righteousness, holiness, obedience, etc.) and what He hates (sin, unrighteousness, ungodliness, rebellion, etc.) then we can begin to truly know the God of heaven and earth:

Daniel 4:35 “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”

Also, God’s holiness and His intellect are far superior to ours. So who are we to judge Him? Who are we to even understand Him? While hatred and jealousy are normally sinful attributes for mankind, cannot God hate with a perfect hatred or be jealous yet righteous at the same time? Is it a sin for God to do what He pleases with His creation? Is He subject to our definitions of right and wrong or is it the other way around?

Psalms 115:1 “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake. 2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”

Isaiah 46:9 “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure”

What God claims responsibility for

The following verses clearly indicate that it is God who:

1. tears, heals, smites, binds up (Hosea 6:1)

2. devours like a lion (Hosea 13:8)

3. wounds, afflicts, strikes, bruises, smites, makes sore, heals, kills, makes alive, declaring: “there is no god with me” (Deut. 32:39, 1Sam. 2:6, Jer. 31:28, Job 5:18, Isa. 53:10)

4. forms the light, creates & causes darkness (Isa. 45:7; Jer. 13:16; Ex. 10:21, 14:10)

5. makes peace, makes the dumb, deaf, seeing, blind (Exodus 4:11)

6. sends sore judgments upon Jerusalem (the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast) (Ezek. 14:21)

7. sends an evil spirit (Judges 9:23, 1Sam. 16:14, 18:10, 19:9-10)

8. sends evil angels (Psalms 78:49)

9. shoots arrows & darts, breaks bones (Lam. 3:12-13, Num. 24:8-9, Deut. 32:22)

10. heaps mischief upon people (Deut. 32:23)

11. breaks in pieces horses, nations, chariots, rider, men, women, the young, the old, the young man, the maiden, shepherds, flocks, husbandman/yoke of oxen, captains/rulers (Jer. 51:20-23)

12. turns men to destruction (Psalms 90:3)

13. is as a moth and rottenness (Hos. 5:12)

14. feeds and makes drunk with worm wood, gives the water of gall to drink (Lam. 3:15, Jer. 9:15)

15. creates and brings evil (calamities) (Isa. 45:7, Jer. 18:8, Job 2:10, Amos 3:6)

Verse quotations pertaining to the above 15 actions God takes responsibility for

1. God tears, heals, smites, binds up (Hosea 6:1)

Hosea 6:1 “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.”

2. God devours like a lion (Hosea 13:8)

Hosea 13:8 “I will meet them as a bear [that is] bereaved [of her whelps], and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.”

3. God wounds, afflicts, strikes, bruises, smites, makes sore, heals, kills, makes alive, declaring: “there is no god with me” (Deut. 32:39, 1Sam. 2:6, Jer. 31:28, Job 5:18, Isa. 53:10)

Deuteronomy 32:39 “See now that I, [even] I, [am] he, and [there is] no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither [is there any] that can deliver out of my hand.”

1Samuel 2:6 “The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.”

Jeremiah 31:28 “And it shall come to pass, [that] like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.”

Job 5:18 “For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.”

Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”

4. God forms the light, creates & causes darkness (Isa. 45:7; Jer. 13:16; Ex. 10:21, 14:10)

Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].”

Jeremiah 13:16 “Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, [and] make [it] gross darkness.”

Exodus 10:21 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness [which] may be felt.”

Exodus 14:20 “And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness [to them], but it gave light by night [to these]: so that the one came not near the other all the night.”

5. God makes peace, makes the dumb, deaf, seeing, blind (Exodus 4:11)

Exodus 4:11 “And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?”

6. God sends sore judgments upon Jerusalem (the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast) (Ezek. 14:21)

Ezekiel 14:21 “For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?”

7. God sends evil spirits (Judges 9:23, 1Sam. 16:14, 18:10, 19:9-10)

Judges 9:23 “Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech”

1Samuel 16:14 “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.”

1Samuel 18:10; 19:9-10 “And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and [there was] a javelin in Saul’s hand. [19:9-10] And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with [his] hand. 10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.”

8. God sends evil angels (Psa. 78:49)

Psalms 78:49 “He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels [among them].”

9. God shoots arrows and darts, breaks bones (Lam. 3:12-13, Num. 24:8-9, Deut. 32:22)

Lamentations 3:12-13 “He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow. 13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.”

Numbers 24:8-9 “God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce [them] through with his arrows. 9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed [is] he that blesseth thee, and cursed [is] he that curseth thee.”

Deuteronomy 32:23 “I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.”

10. God heaps mischief upon people (Deut. 32:23)

Deuteronomy 32:23 “I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.”

11. breaks in pieces horses, nations, chariots, rider, men, women, the young, the old, the young man, the maiden, shepherds, flocks, husbandman/yoke of oxen, captains/rulers (Jer. 51:20-23)

Jeremiah 51:20-23 “Thou [art] my battle axe [and] weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; 21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider; 22 With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; 23 I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers.”

12. God turns men to destruction (Psalms 90:3)

Psalms 90:3 “Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.”

13. God is as a moth and rottenness (Hos. 5:12)

Hosea 5:12 Therefore [will] I [be] unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.

14. God feeds and makes drunk with worm wood, giving water of gall to drink (Lam. 3:15, Jer. 9:15)

Lamentations 3:15 “He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.”

Jeremiah 9:15 “Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, [even] this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.”

15. God creates and brings evil (calamity) (Isa. 45:7, Jer. 18:8, Job 2:10, Amos 3:6)

Isaiah 45:7 “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].”

Jeremiah 18:8 “If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.”

Job 2:10 “But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.”

Amos 3:6 “Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done [it]?”

Credit or blame? Who is in charge?

We must be careful not to “blame” Satan for everything, which can become a common practice when we do not fully understand who God is and what HE SAYS HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR. God is in charge. He is in control of EVERYTHING. And contrary to popular teaching, the Lord of Hosts, Jehovah God, is the “god of this world” and the God of the entire universe. He has not relinquished His crown or His throne to some evil enemy. All the more reason for us to take heed to this verse:

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”
[Proverbs 3:7]

But then why do so many people attribute the following verse to Satan?

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Because they don’t read their bibles very carefully. If they did, they would see that it is God who blinds:

John 9:39 “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”

Isaiah 29:10 “For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.”

Romans 11:8 “(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.”

When did the God of the universe ever transfer control of earth to anyone else? Can you find a description of such an event in scripture? If you found such a verse how would you harmonize it with all the verses about God quoted above?

Why would God blind some people and not others?

Nobody knows the answer to that question except God. All God has told us is that He has elected (predestinated) some people to eternal life as it pleased Him:

Ephesians 1:5 “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself … 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will”

The rest have not had their sins paid for by Christ, and therefore will have to pay for them themselves – in hell – for all eternity. The realization of this situation is what makes God’s grace all the more amazing to those for whom Christ died:

Romans 9:20 “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”

Are you one of those for whom Christ died? How do you know?

God’s justice

So does all this mean that God is not compassionate or caring or tenderhearted? No, that is not what it means. However, it does reflect God’s attitude towards sin and those in rebellion against Him. God is a god of justice and the punishment He meets out towards sinners is always deserved by them.

Job 4:17 “Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

Genesis 18:25 “That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”

2 Chronicles 19:7 “Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.”

Daniel 9:14 “Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.”

God’s compassion – who is it directed towards?

Now that we have discussed the attributes of God that we as sinful creatures are less fond of, let us consider that God’s anger and hatred towards the righteousness is complemented by His equally strong love and compassion for the righteous. How often have you considered who it is, to whom God shows love and compassion? Is it towards the unsaved, the goats? Or is it towards the saved, His sheep? We see in the Bible that it is definitely not towards those in rebellion against Him:

Psalms 5:5 “The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. 6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.”

Psalms 10:3 “For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.”

God’s view of His people [the elect of God – those whom Christ redeemed] is far different than His view of the unsaved:

Psalms 11:5 ” The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. 6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. “7 “For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.”

Jeremiah 9:23 “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me [meaning that he is saved/born-again], that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”

Psalms 29:11 “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.”

Psalms 111:9 “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.”

Luke 1:77 “To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins”

God still grants “temporal” blessings (in the here and now) to those who are unsaved. But eventually, all who have sinned and die unsaved, will be judged guilty for their sins and cast into hell.

“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” [Revelation 20:15]