Understanding God: He Checks Up Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a…
Understanding God: He Checks Up
Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” – Genesis 11:1-7
The attribute of God we shall consider today is His situation inspection or assessment nature. In other words, He is a God who checks up on His creatures and does not just leave them or things to chance.
This attribute of God is particularly revealing because after the disobedience of Adam and Eve and the squalor that defined humanity afterwards, which led Him to decide that He had had enough and then proceeded to wipe out the human race with the flood, and when the new generations set of human race also reverted to nature and started going out of line, a development which made God concluded that He would not need to wipe out humanity again, one would think that with such a resolution God, who cannot condone evil, would have decided to stay away from humans. However, our reference today shows that that was not the case with Him. He still kept in touch and was always visiting the hemisphere where He had placed humans to assess them and their activities.
It was during one of His assessment rounds that He saw the latest endeavor humans were engaged in, a la the tower at Babel. If He had not checked up, such a development might have escaped His attention, and He might not have dealt with it on time the way He did.
Today, God still checks up on humanity to inspect, assess, monitor, evaluate, appraise, and profile the thoughts, deeds, actions, attitudes, behaviors, and works of His children so as to know how He may reward or retribute deserving individuals or groups as commensurate with their ways. The question is, when He checks up on you, what is He going to find you doing?
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
Understanding God: God of Product Recall and Fresh Beginnings Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts…
Understanding God: God of Product Recall and Fresh Beginnings
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” – Genesis 6:5-7
Another lesson we can learn from God is that He was not afraid to admit a defect in His work and institute a product recall. Also, He was not afraid to take a drastic measure to correct the defects in His work and then start again afresh. He is a God of fresh beginnings.
From the Bible passage above, we see how God expressed regret for the unending but ever-increasing wickedness of humankind, a development which brought Him untold sorrow.
At this point, humans had mixed freely with aliens and the fallen angels. Therefore, they had morphed into a new breed of sorts, a rather horrible species comprising two fallen entities, the fallen heavenlies and the fallen earthlings in concert. In other words, the worst of the heavens had mingled with the worst of the earth, and they were reproducing on a large scale, widening the circle of wickedness. Thus, a defect was introduced in the original innocent creation that God made.
Even though God was longsuffering and endured the endless wickedness with the hope that humanity would turn around, there appeared to be no prospect of that happening, as they only kept getting worse, as seen below:
The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. – Genesis 6:11-13
At this point, God had had enough and was ready to clear out the defective creatures He had on hand.
It takes a lot of courage to admit that one has made a mistake, particularly with a project or product in which one has invested a lot of resources. And you can imagine how vested God was in humans whose models He fashioned out of Himself and painstakingly formed in His own similitude and likeness.
However, the human race at that time, having mixed with aliens and fallen angels, had become corrupted and drastically different from the original creature that God made. So that meant there was a necessity for a product recall and the need to start afresh all over again. Thus, God ‘destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth’ (Genesis 7:23).
As easy as this may sound, it was a lot then, as it is in our days.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
Understanding God: He Does Not Hold Grudges Forever And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive[a] with man forever, for he is indeed flesh.” – Genesis 6:3 Another attribute…
Understanding God: He Does Not Hold Grudges Forever
And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive[a] with man forever, for he is indeed flesh.” – Genesis 6:3
Another attribute of God which we shall meditate on today is His disposition to unpleasantness. God has very high standards for living and conduct, something which humans generally are not able to keep up with and thus always fall short of His standards. Yet, He does not strive with humankind or hold grudges against anyone forever.
This can be seen in the Bible passage above. It is worth noting that God made this statement at a time when humans had multiplied greatly and had even mixed with the fallen angels, otherwise called the sons of God. Therefore, humanity did not only increase in number, but they also increased exponentially in vices and sins as well, much to the endless vexation of God.
However, seeing that humans will continue to grow in population, and their atrocities would grow in proportion to their number, God came to terms with the fact that vexing with human foibles was not worth it, as that would mean that He would be in a frustration mode every second of the day. Therefore, He resolved to adopt a change in attitude in His perception and dealings with humans.
Up till this time, there was nothing like mercy in the dynamics of God and humans or even in the interpersonal relationships of humans with one another. However, with His declaration, God set the process of forgiveness in motion and activated code mercy, as that was the only way He could continue to bear the excesses of humankind.
Meanwhile, before that was to start, something must be done. There had to be a cleansing of the old and corrupt crop in order to have a new breed with which the new order would begin.
And here comes Noah and the flood…
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
Understanding God: He Sees Beyond the Surface Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who…
Understanding God: He Sees Beyond the Surface
Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Therefore, the well was called Beer Lahai Roi… – Genesis 16:13-14
Our meditation on the nature of God today shall be on His penetrative vision. He looks far deeper than we can imagine and sees beyond the surface of any matter. His visions are far-fetched and they see through whatever coating may be covering whatever is beneath.
From our reference passage today, we see how God exemplified this through His interaction with Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant. To an average eye, Hagar obviously looked a pitiable sight with a pathetic story to match too, and she was eager to capitalize on these to whip up sentiments in her favor as well as against her “wicked principals”, Abraham and Sarah.
Anyone with a sense of justice who visits the spring of water where she sat and sees a pregnant woman, looking haggard, in tattered clothing, panting and with tears in her eyes, would be interested in hearing her story. And, after hearing what Hagar has to say, the person would loathe Sarah for the wicked way she treated Hagar and may even take matters into their hands by reporting Sarah and her husband to the authorities for domestic abuse. But there lies the inanity of human judgment. Even with the best of intentions, our judgment and assessment can be ill-informed, not to mention the opinions we form from what is only evident to us alone.
However, in the case of God, because He knows more than we do about any matter, He is more measured and balanced in His own judgment as we can see in the case of Hagar. Even after hearing her pitiable narration, the angel did not join her pity party. On the contrary, he only ordered her to return to her mistress and submit to her authority—end of discussion.
As harsh as this verdict may seem, it is interesting to note that Hagar herself, the aggrieved party and the person to whom the verdict was delivered, did not seem to contend it. Rather, by her own acknowledgement, she only validated the appropriateness of the judgment by saying God had seen her, meaning that God truly knew what was going on and He saw what she had done that led her to where she was. So there was no hiding the truth of the matter from Him. She was the one in the wrong due to her rude attitude towards her boss, so she deserved the treatment she got.
With this her admission, she acknowledged her fault, validated God’s judgment and proved that He truly sees beyond the surface.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
Understanding God: A Balancing Act And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of…
Understanding God: A Balancing Act
And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” And the Angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction.” – Genesis 16:8-11
Another lesson we can learn from God is His disposition to a balancing act. He is not a God of extremes. Even though some who profess to follow Him go to extremes in His name or make extreme claims on His behalf, extreme is not a label that one can pin on God. He balances the acts.
From the passage above, we can see how the angel of God asked Hagar to do a very difficult thing – she should return and submit herself to her mistress, Sarah, who had mistreated her so badly that she had to flee for her life. It was this same Sarah that God was now asking her to return and submit to. Who does that?
Meanwhile, as much as the move would have been difficult for Hagar to follow, God sweetened it for her by letting her know what she stood to gain by obeying His instruction. He told her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude… Behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction.”
This promise of the great things that God would cause to be through her son and descendants was a sweetener or balancer for Hagar that would make the tedium of returning to the place of her torment a manageable prospect. God communicated this to Hagar the same way He usually handed commands to the people in the Bible, with each command promising blessings when obeyed and consequences when ignored.
By sharing with her what she stood to gain by obedience, God did not just ask Hagar to do a difficult thing but also provided an incentive for her to do it. He does not just ask you to give up something without adding something back to you. Similarly, He would not ask you to undertake a tasking expedition without a promise of what is in it for you if you accomplish it. That is his standard mode of operation. He is a God of balance.
Understanding God: He is Not Moved by Sentiments And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a…
Understanding God: He is Not Moved by Sentiments
And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” – Genesis 16:6-9
Another lesson we can learn from the personality of God is that sentiments do not move Him. Therefore, He cannot be deceived into making a wrong judgment or call, as humans tend to do.
From the scenario that played out in our reference passage above, we see how Hagar painted a picture of her horrible mistress, Sarah, who was mean to her and treated her so badly even in her pregnant state until she had to flee the house in fear for her life. Considering that this was a period when the climate was harsh and there were not many of the comforts of life that we are used to today, Hagar must have cut a very pitiable sight indeed: a pregnant woman, in tears, looking tired, haggard, sitting alone by a spring and telling about her wicked and jealous madam who constantly terrorized her because she, Hagar, was pregnant something that Sarah had not been able to achieve.
Anyone who listened to her tale of woes would have immediately condemned Sarah and her husband for mistreating a helpless pregnant woman the way they did. Abraham and Sarah would undoubtedly have made the news headlines for being an abusive couple who mistreated their poor maid-turned-surrogate.
However, despite her very moving story, the angel of God was not impressed by the sheer pathos of it. Rather, his response to Hagar was short and direct: “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
Who would have guessed that was how God would respond to such a matter? God that some have turned into a swooning, sentimental Being who gushes and croons at human dynamics.
However, the angel’s words offered us an insight into God’s mindset. He goes directly to the point and is not beclouded by sentimental shows and other charades that we put on to gain mileage for ourselves. He told Hagar, “Go back home and submit to your mistress.” Period. End of story.
Why? Because He had all the facts of the matter and knew what led to Hagar having to flee the house in the first place, and He was not going to allow her pathetic sight to taint His own judgment. We can all learn from that before jumping to conclusions and passing judgment over matters and people whose details we know little about.
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