The Power of God
Introduction
Centuries
ago, God promised Abraham and Sarah they would have a son through whose
offspring the world would be blessed. But there were problems. Abraham and
Sarah were getting on in years, and Sarah was barren. When told she would be
the mother of Abraham’s child, the child of promise, Sarah laughed. In response
to her laughter, God spoke these words to Abraham:
13 And the
LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear [a
child,] when I am [so] old?’ 14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the
appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah shall
have a son” (Genesis 18:13-14, emphasis mine).
When God
rescued the nation Israel from their bondage in Egypt, He led them into the
wilderness, where the “menu” was a miraculous provision of manna. But the
Israelites began to grumble because they could not enjoy the variety of foods
they had eaten in Egypt. In response to their grumbling, God promised to give
this great company a diet of meat for an entire month. If the feeding of the
5,000 seems difficult, imagine feeding this hugh congregation. Moses had the
same thoughts and expressed his concerns to God:
21 But Moses
said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet Thou hast said, ‘I
will give them meat in order that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 Should
flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should
all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for
them?” (Numbers 11:21-22).
But God
asked another question in response to Moses, a question vitally important to
every Christian today:
23 And the
LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’S power limited? Now you shall see whether My
word will come true for you or not” (Numbers 11:23, emphasis mine).
The answer
to this question is crucial, and the answer of the Bible is clear and
unequivocal:
3 But our
God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115:3).
17 “‘Ah Lord
GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by
Thine outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for Thee’” (Jeremiah 32:17).
26 And
looking upon [them] Jesus said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with
God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
24 The LORD
of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened,
and just as I have planned so it will stand, 25 to break Assyria in My land,
and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from
them, and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26 This is the plan devised
against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all
the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate [it]?
And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:21-26).
God’s Power
in Creation
The earliest
manifestation of God’s power is seen in the creation of the world in which we
live:
20 For since
the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and
divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been
made, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20).
Throughout
Scripture, the creation of the world is cited as a compelling testimony of the
power of God.
(For the
choir director. A Psalm of David.) 1The heavens are telling of the glory of
God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours
forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor
are there words; Their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through
all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has
placed a tent for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his
chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. 6 Its rising is from
one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is
nothing hidden from its heat (Psalms 19:1-6).
6 By the
word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all
their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up
the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the
inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 9 For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast. 10 The LORD nullifies the counsel of the
nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the LORD
stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation. 12 Blessed
is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own
inheritance (Psalms 33:6-12).
In Psalm 33,
the heavens testify to the existence of God and His attributes and thus
proclaim His glory (Psalm 19:1-6). David continues the theme of creation’s
proclamation of God’s character in Psalm 33 where the power of God is
highlighted. Verse 6 states the power of God in creating the world, emphasizing
that all this took place by the mere speaking of a word (see Genesis 1:3ff.;
Hebrews 11:3; 2 Peter 3:5). In verse 7, David indicates God not only created
the heavens, He controls them. And in verses 10 and following, David goes on to
tell us God likewise controls the affairs of men; God is in control of history.
(For the
choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD
the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of
all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.) And he said, 1 “I love Thee, O
LORD, my strength.” 2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My
God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my
stronghold. 3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved
from my enemies. 4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of
ungodliness terrified me. 5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of
death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my
God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before
Him came into His ears. 7 Then the earth shook and quaked; and the foundations
of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry. 8 Smoke
went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; coals were
kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness
under His feet. 10 And He rode upon a cherub and flew; and He sped upon the
wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. 12 From the brightness before
Him passed His thick clouds, hailstones and coals of fire. 13 The LORD also
thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, hailstones and
coals of fire. 14 And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning
flashes in abundance, and routed them. 15 Then the channels of water appeared,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare At Thy rebuke, O LORD, at the
blast of the breath of Thy nostrils. 16 He sent from on high, He took me; He
drew me out of many waters. 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from
those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 18 They confronted me in
the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my stay. 19 He brought me forth also
into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me (Psalms 18:1-19).
Psalm 18
praises God for His strength, strength in which he can take refuge (see verses
1-2). Verses 3-7 praise God for the deliverance He gave David from the hand of
his enemy, Saul (see also verse 1). David was in great distress, and God
rescued him. David poetically depicts in verses 7-15 God’s response to His cry
for help, as though God called upon all the forces of nature to come to his
aid. In a word, David tells his readers God will, so to speak, move heaven and
earth to deliver one of His children in distress. We can trust in God and find
in Him a place of refuge, because He is the one true God whose power includes
the control of all the forces of nature.13
God’s Power
Demonstrated
at the Exodus
After having
first displayed His power at creation, God’s second great demonstration of
power is seen at the Exodus,
1 And
afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the
God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the
wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice
to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel
go” (Exodus 5:1-2, emphasis mine).
Pharaoh’s
obstinance was by divine design. While Pharaoh hardened his own heart, at the
same time God hardened his heart so that he would resist God, providing the
occasion for God’s power to be demonstrated to the Egyptians, the Israelites,
and the surrounding nations:
3 “But I
will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the
land of Egypt. 4 When Pharaoh will not listen to you, then I will lay My hand
on Egypt, and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land
of Egypt by great judgments. 5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD,
when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their
midst” (Exodus 7:3-5).
30 Thus the
LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the
Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 And when Israel saw the great power which
the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they
believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses (Exodus 14:30-31).
6 “Thy right
hand, O LORD, is majestic in power, Thy right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy”
(Exodus 15:6).11 “Who is like Thee among the gods, O LORD? Who is like Thee,
majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? 12 Thou didst
stretch out Thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13 In Thy lovingkindness
Thou hast led the people whom Thou hast redeemed; In Thy strength Thou hast
guided [them] to Thy holy habitation. 14 The peoples have heard, they tremble;
Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Then the chiefs of Edom
were dismayed; the leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants
of Canaan have melted away. 16 Terror and dread fall upon them; by the
greatness of Thine arm they are motionless as stone; Until Thy people pass
over, O LORD, until the people pass over whom Thou hast purchased” (Exodus
15:11-16).
The nation
Israel praised God for the power He displayed in delivering them from their
bondage in Egypt. They confessed that their deliverance proved God to be God
alone, and the word of their deliverance would strike terror in the hearts of
the other nations. They saw this deliverance as proof of God’s power and
assurance of their entrance into the land as God had promised. The exodus was
indeed a demonstration of God’s omnipotence.
Later, Moses
would remind the second generation of Israelites of this great event and of the
power of God to which it bore witness:
32 “Indeed,
ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that
God created man on the earth, and [inquire] from one end of the heavens to the
other. Has [anything] been done like this great thing, or has [anything] been
heard like it? 33 Has [any] people heard the voice of God speaking from the
midst of the fire, as you have heard [it], and survived? 34 Or has a god tried
to go to take for himself a nation from within[another] nation by trials, by
signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm
and by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your
eyes? 35 To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God;
there is no other besides Him. 36 Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice
to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard
His words from the midst of the fire. 37 Because He loved your fathers,
therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you
from Egypt by His great power” (Deuteronomy 4:32-37).
And so in
the later books of the Old Testament, the creation of the world and the
creation of the nation Israel (by means of the exodus) becomes a major theme.
In the Book of Psalms, these events and the power of God to which they bear
witness, become the basis for Israel’s hope and for her worship and praise:
5 For I know
that the LORD is great, And that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatever the
LORD pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. 7
He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings
for the rain; Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries. 8 He smote the
first-born of Egypt, both of man and beast. 9 He sent signs and wonders into
your midst, O Egypt, Upon Pharaoh and all his servants. 10 He smote many
nations, and slew mighty kings, 11 Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of
Bashan, And all the kingdoms of Canaan; 12 And He gave their land as a
heritage, A heritage to Israel His people (Psalms 135:5-12).
The prophets
make much of these events and of the power of God to which they point. They do
so because they are calling Israel to trust in God and place their hope in Him.
They do so because they speak of even greater events God is going to bring to
pass, events which involve a “new creation,” and therefore require the power
which only God, the Creator, has:
5 Thus says
God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out
the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit
to those who walk in it, 6 I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I
will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a
covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, 7 To open blind eyes, to
bring out prisoners from the dungeon, And those who dwell in darkness from the
prison. 8 I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images” (Isaiah 42:5-8).
24 Thus says
the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the
LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, and
spreading out the earth all alone” (Isaiah 44:24).12 “It is I who made the
earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And
I ordained all their host” (Isaiah 45:12).
2 “Why was
there no man when I came? When I called, [why] was there none to answer? Is My
hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I
dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink
for lack of water, and die of thirst. 3 I clothe the heavens with blackness,
and I make sackcloth their covering” (Isaiah 50:2-3).
While
imprisoned in Jerusalem, Jeremiah was instructed by God to redeem a field in
Judah from a relative, even though the period of the nation’s captivity in
Babylon had already commenced. Jeremiah’s prayer in response to this action
reveals his grasp of God’s power demonstrated in creation and in the exodus:
17 ‘Ah Lord
GOD! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by
Thine outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for Thee, 18 who showest
lovingkindness to thousands, but repayest the iniquity of fathers into the
bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God. The LORD of hosts
is His name; 19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all
the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and
according to the fruit of his deeds; 20 who hast set signs and wonders in the
land of Egypt, [and] even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and
Thou hast made a name for Thyself, as at this day. 21 And Thou didst bring Thy
people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a
strong hand and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror; 22 and gavest
them this land, which Thou didst swear to their forefathers to give them, a
land flowing with milk and honey. 23 And they came in and took possession of
it, but they did not obey Thy voice or walk in Thy law; they have done nothing
of all that Thou commandedst them to do; therefore Thou hast made all this
calamity come upon them. 24 Behold, the siege mounds have reached the city to
take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against
it, because of the sword, the famine, and the pestilence; and what Thou hast
spoken has come to pass; and, behold, Thou seest [it.]” (Jeremiah 32:17-24).
The Power of
God in the
New Testament
Old
Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah included the fact of His
power. He was called the “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6). At the time Messiah’s birth
was announced to Mary, she was told this miraculous virgin birth would take
place by the power of God:
34 And Mary
said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel
answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of
the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall
be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also
conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her
sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:34-37).
Our Lord’s
power was evident through the many miracles He performed (see Acts 2:32; John
3:2). The people were awe-struck by the evidences of His power:
43a And they
were all amazed at the greatness of God (Luke 9:43a).
When John
the Baptist began to have second thoughts concerning Jesus, our Lord sent this
word back to him:
4 And Jesus
answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5
[the] BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and [the] lame walk, [the] lepers are cleansed and
[the] deaf hear, and [the] dead are raised up, and [the] POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL
PREACHED TO THEM. 6 And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me”
(Matthew 11:4-6).
Jesus made
it clear His power extended beyond the merely physical realm. He employed His
power to heal in order to show that His power extended to the forgiving of sins
(Luke 5:17-26; see also Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12). The greatest demonstration
of our Lord’s power was His resurrection from the dead:
17 “For this
reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it
again. 18 No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own
initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up
again. This commandment I received from My Father” (John 10:17-18).
38 Then some
of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a
sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous
generation craves for a sign; and [yet] no sign shall be given to it but the
sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS
IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so shall the Son of Man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:38-40).
4 Who was
declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according
to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 1:4).
In His first
coming, a few men were given an occasional glimpse of the full power of our
Lord (see Mark 9:1-8; 2 Peter 1:16-19). But He makes it clear that in His
second coming, all will see Him coming with power:
30 “And then
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of
the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF
THE SKY with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).
64 Jesus
said to him, “You have said it [yourself]; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter
you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON
THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN” (Matthew 26:64).
The last
book of the Bible emphasizes the power of the Lord Jesus Christ:
11 And I
looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living
creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and
thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory
and blessing” (Revelation 5:11-12).
God’s Power
in the Lives
of His Saints
God is
omnipotent whether we believe it or not. But it is vitally important that we do
believe He is omnipotent. An individual’s grasp of the power of God will
transform his thinking and his actions. Consider these illustrations of the way
God’s power transformed the lives of several men in the Bible.
First, let
us turn our attention to Abraham. Here is a man who, at the beginning of his
life, had grave doubts about the power of God. But in the end, his firm belief
in God’s power enabled him to act in a way that makes him a model of faith for
all Christians.
In the early
days of his life, Abraham lacked confidence in the power of God. He made his
way to the land of Canaan in obedience to the revelation He received from God
(see Genesis 12:1-3). But when a famine came in the land, Abram made his way to
Egypt, a decision which does not seem prompted by faith in God’s power or His
promises. When he and Sarai arrived there, they conducted themselves as they
habitually did throughout much of their marriage (see Genesis 20:30)—they
deceived others about their relationship. It is apparent from Abram’s words in
Genesis 12:11-13 and Genesis 20:11-13 that Abram was afraid when he took his
wife to a foreign land. Because there was no “fear of God in that place” (Genesis
20:11), he thought God’s power was somehow nullified. It seems Abram thought
God’s power was sufficient to protect him only when he was in the right place
and when the people of that place feared God.
How foolish
we now consider Abram’s thinking. God not only protected Abram, He also
protected Sarai, Abram’s wife. Abram lived, and Sarai did not become another
man’s wife. Abram also prospered in these foreign places, coming out not only
alive but richer (see Genesis 12:20–13:2; 20:14-16). In fact, God was powerful
enough to close the wombs of every woman living in Abimelech’s kingdom of Gerar
(20:17-18).
Abram did
not believe God’s power was sufficient to enable he and his wife Sarai to bear
a son because they were getting old, and Sarai was barren. So Abram sought to
produce a son some easier way, first by adopting a servant as a son (Genesis
15:2), and then by producing a son by taking his wife’s handmaid, Hagar, as a
concubine (Genesis 16). God purposed to produce a son in a way that would
demonstrate His power, by miraculously producing a son in their old age through
a woman who had been barren all her life.
The great
test of Abraham’s life came when God called him to take this son, the son in
whom all Abraham’s hopes rested, and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah (Genesis
22:1-19). Here, Abraham was set to obey God, and the New Testament tells us
clearly how he could do so—he was convinced of the power of God to resurrect
his son from the dead:
17 By faith
Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the
promises was offering up his only begotten [son]; 18 [it was he] to whom it was
said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” 19 He considered that God is
able to raise [men] even from the dead; from which he also received him back as
a type (Hebrews 11:17-19, emphasis mine).
The key
words here are “God is able.” Abraham’s belief that “God is able” was his
belief in the power of God to raise the dead. Abraham had a resurrection faith,
just as we are to have (see Romans 10:9). Abraham’s growth in faith is
paralleled by his increasing belief in the power of God—whether the power to
give two people “as good as dead” with respect to child-bearing a son (Romans
4:18-21)—or the power to raise a son from the dead.
Abraham, who
began with little faith in God’s power, grew to have great faith in the power
of God. In some ways, David’s faith in the power of God diminished over time.
When we are first introduced to David, he is ready to do battle with Goliath,
the giant who arrogantly spoke blasphemously against God. David was confident,
not in his own abilities, but in God’s ability to silence this heathen by
putting him to death through David and his sling:
33 Then Saul
said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with
him; for you are [but] a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth . . .
36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised
Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the
living God.” 37 And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the
lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this
Philistine. And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you” (1
Samuel 17:33, 36-37).
David’s
problem was that he, like the nation Israel, began to take credit for what God
did through His power. God had warned the Israelites about this false pride:
11 “Beware
lest you forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His
ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12 lest, when you
have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived [in them],
13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold
multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14 then your heart becomes proud,
and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery. 17 Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power
and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ 18 But you shall remember the
LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may
confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as [it is] this day”
(Deuteronomy 8:11-14, 17-18).
I believe
this is just what happened to David. Taking too much credit for what God had
accomplished seems to have been the cause of two of David’s most serious and
devastating sins. Twice in the biographical account of David’s life we read of
David failing to go to war at the time when kings customarily went to battle:
1 Then it
happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out [to battle,] that David
sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons
of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. 2 Now when evening
came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s
house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very
beautiful in appearance. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one
said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the
Hittite?” 4 And David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him,
he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she
returned to her house (2 Samuel 11:1-4, emphasis mine).
1 Then it
happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out [to battle,] that Joab
led out the army and ravaged the land of the sons of Ammon, and came and
besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. And Joab struck Rabbah and
overthrew it . . . 1 Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to
number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, “Go,
number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, and bring me [word] that I may know
their number.” 3 And Joab said, “May the LORD add to His people a hundred times
as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s
servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt
to Israel?” 4 Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore,
Joab departed and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem (1
Chronicles 20:1; 2 Chronicles 21:1-4, emphasis mine).
It may well
be these two events, whose descriptions are separated from each other in the
Scriptures, are the result of the same failure on David’s part to go to war
with his troops. In both cases, Israel was at war with Rabbah. In both cases,
in the spring when kings normally went to war, David did not. He stayed home.
And the result was he ended up in bed with a loyal soldier’s wife and
eventually became a secret ally of the enemy army he used to kill the soldier
Uriah to “hide” his sin. In the second instance, David numbered his troops,
resulting in an outbreak of divine wrath upon the nation Israel.
The results
of David’s sin are glaringly apparent in these Old Testament texts. My purpose
here is to consider why David stayed home rather than go to war as kings
normally did and as David should have done. I would suggest David began to take
credit for the victories God accomplished through His power. David seemed to be
so confident of defeating his enemies that he need not even go out to war with
his troops. He could serve as commander and chief while between the sheets, and
it is just here, between the sheets, that David lost the biggest battle of his
life. So too David instructed Joab and the princes of Israel to number the
troops of Israel. Even though Joab strongly urged him not to do this, David
insisted, at great cost to the Israelites.
But why
number the Israelites? For the same reason many of us keep track of “decisions
for Christ” or “attendance this week” (not that this is wrong in and of
itself). Many of us want to have numbers because we believe there is strength
in numbers. David seems to have numbered the Israelites so he could feel
confident about winning the battles he waged against the enemies of the nation
Israel. Gideon’s 300 men would not have given David great confidence at this
moment in his life. David seems to have looked upon Israel’s victories as his
victories and Israel’s strength in numbers as his strength. He was wrong. David
was never stronger than in his weakness as a youth, when he stood up against
Goliath in the power of God and not in his own strength.
The life of
Daniel and his three friends, recorded in the Book of Daniel, provides yet
another example of the way faith in the power of God made men of faith heroes
of the faith. When Daniel refused to cease praying to his “God,” king Darius
was reluctantly forced to cast him into a den of lions. The last words of
Darius before he left Daniel in the den of lions overnight expressed his hope
that Daniel’s God might deliver him:
16 Then the
king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The
king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself
deliver you” (Daniel 6:16).
The king was
right, and the words he spoke in response to Daniel’s divine deliverance give
credit where credit is due, to God, by whose power Daniel was delivered from
the “power of the lions:”
26 “I make a
decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble
before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and
His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion [will be]
forever. 27 He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven
and on earth, who has [also] delivered Daniel from the power of the lions”
(Daniel 6:26-27).
Likewise, it
was through the faith of Daniel’s three friends in the power of God that
Nebuchadnezzar came to make a similar confession. Nebuchadnezzar had a great
golden statue set up before which all men were to bow in worship when prompted
by the king’s musicians. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego refused to bow down to
this image, infuriating the king who made this threat:
14
Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and
Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I
have set up? 15 Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the
horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, to
fall down and worship the image that I have made, [very well.] But if you will
not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of
blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
(Daniel 3:14-15, emphasis mine).
What a
challenge to the power of God! Notice the response of Daniel’s three friends.
Their response is first of all an expression of faith in God’s power to do
anything He chooses. It is secondly an expression of submission on the part of
these men to the will of God, which may be to deliver them from the fire or to
deliver them through a fiery death (compare Philippians 1:19-24):
16 Shadrach,
Meshach and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do
not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17 If it be [so,] our
God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and
He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But [even] if [He does] not,
let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or
worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).
In fact, God
delivered these three men in a way they could never have imagined. Rather than
keeping them from the fire, He brought them through the fire, alive, and
without as much as the smell of smoke on their clothing (see 3:27).
Nebuchadnezzar was soon to learn yet another lesson concerning the power of God
compared to his own “power.” He discovered that his “power” had been given to
him by the God of all power. After God humbled him and took away his power, he
came to his senses and issued these words for us to hear and heed:
1
Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and [men of every]
language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound! 2 It has seemed
good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done
for me. 3 How great are His signs, and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation .
. . 34 But at the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward
heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised
and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and His kingdom [endures] from generation to generation. 35 And all the inhabitants
of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the
host of heaven and [among] the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off
His hand or say to Him, ‘What hast Thou done?’ 36 At that time my reason
returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory
of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was
reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. 37
Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His
works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in
pride” (Daniel 4:1-33, 34-37).
Conclusion
No one who
takes the Bible seriously can deny the power of God. God is omnipotent; He is
all-powerful. This truth transformed the lives of men in the past, and it can
transform our lives today. Allow me to suggest several ways the power of God
intersects our lives today.
(1) The
first thing we should do, in light of the power of God, is to fear, honor, and
serve God and God alone.
1 Then God
spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other
gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of
what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the
earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am
a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the
third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing
lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not
leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:1-7; see also
Joshua 4:23-24; Psalm 115:1-15).
(2)
Recognizing the Bible teaches God is infinitely powerful should remove the word
“impossible” from our vocabulary.
How often we
excuse our sin by appealing to our human inability. “But I’m only human,” we
say. So we are. But God has not only saved us by His power, He also works in us
to sanctify us by His power:
8 And those
who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 However, you are not in the flesh but
in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does
not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 And if Christ is
in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because
of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you (Romans 8:8-11).
18 [I pray
that] the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is
the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in
the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who
believe. [These are] in accordance with the working of the strength of His
might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead,
and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly [places], 21 far above all
rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not
only in this age, but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:18-21).
14 For this
reason, I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven
and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the
riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the
inner man; 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; [and] that
you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all
the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know
the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all
the fulness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond
all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us
(Ephesians 3:14-20).
9 For this
reason also, since the day we heard [of it], we have not ceased to pray for you
and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all
spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you may walk in a manner worthy
of the Lord, to please [Him] in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work
and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power,
according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and
patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to
share in the inheritance of the saints in light (Colossians 1:9-12).
29 And for
this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily
works within me (Colossians 1:29).
(3) Our
weakness is not a barrier to the power of God. Rather, recognizing our weakness
is the basis for our turning to God, depending upon His power to work in us. In
this way, God receives all the glory.
7 But we
have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the
power may be of God and not from ourselves (2 Corinthians 4:7).
7 And
because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to
keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a
messenger of Satan to buffet me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning
this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He
has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in
weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses,
that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with
weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with
difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong (2
Corinthians 12:7-10).
When we
minister in the power of God, we need not trust in our own strength and in
human methods. Indeed, we dare not do so. Through the “weakness” of a cross,
God brought salvation to men. Through the “foolishness” of the message of the
cross, men are saved. Through weak and foolish men, God has chosen to proclaim
His gospel. Through weak and unimpressive methods, the gospel is proclaimed,
trusting in the power of God to convince and convert sinners. In this way, men
must give God the glory, and they must trust in Him and in His power, not in
men:
20 Where is
the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not
God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the
world through its wisdom did not [come to] know God, God was well-pleased
through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22
For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach
Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, 24
but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God
and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:20-24).
26 For
consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish
things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of
the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the
world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might
nullify the things that are, 29 that no man should boast before God (1
Corinthians 1:26-29).
2 For I
determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3
And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4 And my
message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not rest on
the wisdom of men, but on the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:2-5).
This is not
the way the church operates today. When we preach, we employ the marketing
methods of our day, proven to be successful in producing results. We use
persuasive techniques which sell soap and breakfast cereals. When we seek to
train and develop leaders, we train men to be leaders following the model and
methods of our secular culture rather than teaching them to be servants. The
church is more often run on the basis of “good business” principles than on
biblical principles. And we offer “therapy” in a thinly disguised version of
(poor) secular psychology and psychiatry, rather than challenging men and women
to think biblically and to obey the Word of God. Is evangelicalism not like the
state of the church Paul sadly describes as the church of the last days?
5 Holding to
a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; and avoid such men as
these (2 Timothy 3:5).
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