GOD IS WITHOUT EXPLANATION

 

 

During the past 40 years, Moses had become humbled desert shepherd. He had lost everything he had as a member of Pharaoh’s household, but that was all to change when he encountered the Creator of all.

 

Moses saw a burning bush, which was not consumed. So he approached and heard a voice and saw a Being in the midst of the bush:

·       And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed…God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:2, 4–6)

 

He identified Himself as the God and promised bring Israel to the Promised Land by the hand of Moses. However, Moses, the adopted grandson of Pharaoh, had tried to do this on his own 40 years earlier but failed miserably. Therefore, he no longer wanted anything to do with God’s plans:

 

·       Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:13–14)

 

In Israelite culture the name represented the person and was supposed to reflect his character. Israel had been slaves in Egypt for almost 400 years. Consequently, they had lost hope in God’s deliverance. They didn’t need another failed hope, but the assurance that their God was able to deliver them, and that was greater than all the gods of Egypt. “I AM WHO I AM” might have conveyed this.

 

There is much that we cannot understand about our God. In many ways, He warns us to not depend upon our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6) but upon His Word (John 15:7-14). Even then, there is still much that we do not understand:

·       For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12 (CSB)

 

Therefore, we are forced to ask, “What then can I know with a certainty so that I can declare God’s Word with confidence and oppose sin?” What His Word plainly teaches!

 

What can we not know? A friend and deist philosopher had argued, “God does not care about us. If he did, he would have created us like the angels in heaven who need not suffer.”

 

We can only answer this question—“Why didn’t God do otherwise?”—partially. I answered that we need suffering and the lessons it teaches, which prepare us for heaven:

·       So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:16–17)

 

But my philosopher friend answered, “If He is all-powerful, as you claim, He could have taught us these lessons without pain.” I would then answer, “This is a misunderstanding of “all-powerful.” While God can accomplish anything He wants to, He cannot do it in any way. He cannot sin and violate His holy nature.” However, we trust that He has His reasons for doing what He does.

 

However, my answer implies that there is much we do not know about God:

 

·       If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. (1 Corinthians 8:2)

 

 

WE CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO ANSWER OTHER QUESTIONS

 

“Why is God this way” is such a question. As God had answered Abraham, “I AM THAT I AM.” God just IS, and we must accept Him as He is! Jesus had prayed in the Garden:

·       And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup [the Cross] pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

 

The Father could have answered that His righteous nature required an adequate payment for the sins of the world. However, no answer is offered in this context. Even if the Father answered in this way, it would have led to another question, “Well, why does your righteous nature require a payment for sin? Why can You not forgive without such a payment?”

 

There is no possible answer to this question! Why not? God just IS! Since He is an uncaused Being, there can be no causal explanation for why He is the way He is, since He is beyond any cause or explanation.

 

Skeptics foolishly ask the question, “Well then, who created God?” God IS the uncaused 1^st Cause. Even if we could offer a causal explanation for God, we would then have to offer an explanation for whatever it was that had caused God! This questioning would go on without end. This is the problem of “infinite regress.” Consequently, if the causal chain is endless, then there could never be a logical and satisfying explanation for anything! Instead, God is where the buck stops. He is the One explanation that makes sense of everything else.

 

The Israelites must have asked, “Why, God, did you keep us waiting for deliverance for so long?” All that God would have given Israel were partial answers. The only adequate answer is “I AM THAT I AM!” To God be the glory!

 

For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. (Isaiah 29:23)