Study Focus:Jer. 23:23, 24; Gen. 1:1; Gen. 2:7; Isa. 7:14.
We cannot fully fathom God in all His glory or majesty. God’s ways and thoughts are beyond our understanding (Isa. 55:9, Rom. 11:33). Indeed, they are as far from our finite comprehension as the heavens are from the earth. And yet, wonder of wonders, the Bible insists that we may, and should, know God (Jer. 9:23, 24).
To the Babylonian king who believed that the gods were unreachable because, as his wise men insisted, their “dwelling is not with flesh” (Dan. 2:11), Daniel responds to the contrary. Although God is in heaven, Daniel declares that God reveals secrets (Dan. 2:28). The Bible conveys, then, a paradoxical message about knowing God: God is both far and near (Jer. 23:23, 24). This dynamic tension is already present in the Creation story, which presents the simultaneity of God’s farness and nearness (compare the divine-human relations within Genesis 1 and 2). Furthermore, the Creator is also the Savior (Gen. 3:15). This basic truth, which we learn in the beginning of the Scriptures, contains an important lesson about our worship response to our powerful and great God: not only did He create us and the universe, He is also the approachable and loving God who came down in human flesh to be “with us” (Isa. 7:14, NLT).
Part II: Commentary
“Knowing God.” Implicit in the Hebrew concept of “knowing” is a conjugal metaphor, as exemplified in the phrase “Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived” (Gen. 4:1). To know God, essentially, refers to the conjugal, or covenant, relationship we entertain with God. This covenant language (Gen. 17:7, 8) is also reflected in the love language of the Song of Songs (Song of Sol. 2:16). In the New Testament, Paul plays on the paradox of knowing God, which he explains to mean that we are known by Him (Gal. 4:9).
The God of Creation and Salvation. The Bible begins with two parallel Creation accounts: Genesis 1 and 2. The name of God, ’Elohim, in the first Creation account (Genesis 1), connotes the ideas of grandeur and power. The name ’Elohim is plural, which expresses intensity and majesty. ’Elohim evokes the ideas of power and strength. The name YHWH, in the second Creation account (Genesis 2), connotes the ideas of proximity and existence. This name, which is etymologically related to the verb hayah, “be,” refers to the God who exists for us: He comes down to earth, speaks to humans, and walks with them. He is the God of history, the personal God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
There is also significance in the respective proportion of references to God in the Creation accounts in comparison with the number of references to humans. While ’Elohim occurs 35 times in the first Creation account, YHWH occurs 11 times in the second account. In the first account God speaks to humans only twice and in a general way. Also, in the first account, humans are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27). In the second account, God creates man by shaping the dust, the medium of his making, with His own hands, and by breathing into him the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). In the first Creation account, God speaks to humans, but no human response is recorded. In the second Creation account, God speaks personally to humans, and they respond to Him.
The contrast between the two parallel accounts of Creation is intended to highlight the glorious paradox of God: the powerful God of Creation who created the universe is simultaneously the personal God of salvation who relates with humans.
The God We Worship. God is our Creator and Savior. These two revelations of God impact our worship. Furthermore, these revelations contain important lessons about the reasons we should worship. The first and fundamental reason is Creation: God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1, 2), including the human species (Gen. 1:26, 27; Gen. 2:7; Ps. 139:13–16). In the Bible, worship is a response to God’s works of Creation: for instance, the worship of God on the seventh-day Sabbath (Gen. 2:1–3) constitutes the first human response to God’s creation. Fearing God means keeping His commandments, and the commandment of the seventh-day Sabbath is the only commandment that refers to Creation (Exod. 20:8–11).
In the Psalms, worship is always directly connected to Creation. Also, the book of Revelation refers to Creation as the primary rationale for worship: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things” (Rev. 4:11, NKJV).
The second reason for worship is rooted in the understanding of salvation as a re-creation that will take place at the end of time. The first angel’s mention of the “springs of water” (Rev. 14:6, 7, NKJV), in addition to the usual components of creation—namely, heaven, earth, and sea (Exod. 20:11, Neh. 9:6)—conveys the eschatological connotation of life and, by extension, hope (compare with Gen. 16:7, Exod. 15:27, Ps. 107:35). In the book of Ezekiel, the New Jerusalem abounds with springs of water (Ezek. 47:1–12), which evoke the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:10–14; compare with Joel 3:18, Zech. 13:1, Ps. 46:4). Likewise, in the book of Revelation, the “rivers of water” denote life (Rev. 22:1, 2). The Lamb, representing Christ, leads His people to the springs of water (Rev. 7:17, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:17). The “springs of water” thus have a future ring, pointing to the final redemption, the recovery of the Garden of Eden, with the promise of the actual presence of the Lord among His people (Rev. 22:1–3).
The God Who Hides His Face. In the book of Isaiah, the theme of God’s hiding His face (hester panim) is an important motif. But it is in the context of the Suffering Servant that this theme takes on its most poignant significance. The image of the hidden face, used in Isaiah 53, does not mean God’s death or ours and, hence, our separation from Him. It is, on the contrary, a hiding that saves and, paradoxically, restores God’s relationship with sinful humans. Significantly, this particular divine feature is contrasted to the idols. The idols are seen, unlike God, who is hidden (Isa. 45:15).
Our verse makes it clear that, in contrast to the idols, the God who hides Himself is the true God, “the Savior.” The next verse emphasizes the contrast between God and the idols. Immediately after mentioning the shame and confusion of the makers of idols in Isaiah 45:16, verse 17 refers to the salvation of Israel by the Lord, the Creator. Salvation does not come from the idols that one makes and sees, but from the God whom one does not make and whom one does not see. That is, salvation comes from the God who hides His face.
“God With Us.” The background story of the prophecy of the birth of Immanuel contains a lesson of hope in spite of human skepticism. Ahaz is afraid that he will lose the war against his enemies and that the Davidic line will be disrupted. Then the Lord admonishes him: “ ‘If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established’ ” (Isa. 7:9, NKJV). Yet, Ahaz still refuses to believe, and rejects God’s offer to ask Him for a sign (Isa. 7:12).
God’s response seems to be filled with irony: because the king of Israel refuses to be involved in God’s plan, “therefore” the child will be conceived without “his” help; that is, apart from any human agency. Thus, “a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son” (Isa. 7:14). The prophet Isaiah predicted to the king a birth of a supernatural character. The birth of this child would come from a virgin woman; also, the name of the child would be “Immanuel,” meaning “God with us.” The birth of this child would, then, bring God closer to His people, an experience that is the actual evidence that God would respond and be present in history, in spite of the king himself.
For Ahaz, the future birth of Immanuel from a virgin is a sign that the throne of David would not be empty, a guarantee that the Davidic line would not be disrupted. For Ahaz, the promise of the future birth of Immanuel was intended as a sign of hope to comfort him in his present circumstances. For us today, the promise of Immanuel, who came and will return, should suffuse and illuminate our present journey from now until the end. As our Savior said: “ ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ ” (Matt. 28:20, NKJV).
Part III: Life Application
Teacher’s Tip: What are the many ways that we may know and respond to God? To explore these topics further, ask for volunteers to read the passages below. Then discuss with your class the questions that follow.
Read Psalm 139:19–24.
1. Paul says that we are “known of God” (Gal. 4:9). How does this fact affect my life?
2. What effect does this knowledge have on my thinking and on my anxieties?
3. What impact does being known of God have on my relationship with other people (Ps. 139:19)?
4. How does being known of God inspire my relationships with people and my daily decisions (Ps. 139:23, 24)?
Read Revelation 14:7.
1. How do you respond to the God of Creation?
2. In Revelation 14:7 (NKJV), how does the use of the pronoun “Him” after the verb “worship” affect your way of worshiping?
3. Is it possible to worship without “Him”? Explain.
4. As a church minister, or as a church member, ask yourself, What can I do to ensure God’s presence in the church and in my mind?
5. Activity: The fact that worship is a response to Creation should inspire our way of worship. The God we worship is both the powerful and the transcendent God, Elohim (Gen. 1:1–2:4), and the personal and loving God, YHWH (Gen. 2:4–25). The psalmist’s call for worship resonates with this same tension: “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling” (Ps. 2:11). Prepare a liturgical program, including music and preaching, that reflects the tension of the two Creation stories.
Read Daniel 3.
1. Make a comparative list of the characteristics of false worship (the Chaldeans) and true worship (the three Hebrews).
2. What does this comparison teach you about the difference between true and false worship?
Read Isaiah 6:5.
As you worship God, remember Isaiah’s sentiments. What does Isaiah’s attitude teach you about the necessity of humility in the presence of God?
Read Exodus 34:6, 7.
1. Identify in these verses the many characteristics of God.
2. How have you experienced these characteristics (mercy, grace, goodness, forgiveness, etc.) in your own walk with the Lord?
Notes
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Key Text: John 17:3
Study Focus: Jer. 23:23, 24; Gen. 1:1; Gen. 2:7; Isa. 7:14.
We cannot fully fathom God in all His glory or majesty. God’s ways and thoughts are beyond our understanding (Isa. 55:9, Rom. 11:33). Indeed, they are as far from our finite comprehension as the heavens are from the earth. And yet, wonder of wonders, the Bible insists that we may, and should, know God (Jer. 9:23, 24).
To the Babylonian king who believed that the gods were unreachable because, as his wise men insisted, their “dwelling is not with flesh” (Dan. 2:11), Daniel responds to the contrary. Although God is in heaven, Daniel declares that God reveals secrets (Dan. 2:28). The Bible conveys, then, a paradoxical message about knowing God: God is both far and near (Jer. 23:23, 24). This dynamic tension is already present in the Creation story, which presents the simultaneity of God’s farness and nearness (compare the divine-human relations within Genesis 1 and 2). Furthermore, the Creator is also the Savior (Gen. 3:15). This basic truth, which we learn in the beginning of the Scriptures, contains an important lesson about our worship response to our powerful and great God: not only did He create us and the universe, He is also the approachable and loving God who came down in human flesh to be “with us” (Isa. 7:14, NLT).
Part II: Commentary
“Knowing God.” Implicit in the Hebrew concept of “knowing” is a conjugal metaphor, as exemplified in the phrase “Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived” (Gen. 4:1). To know God, essentially, refers to the conjugal, or covenant, relationship we entertain with God. This covenant language (Gen. 17:7, 8) is also reflected in the love language of the Song of Songs (Song of Sol. 2:16). In the New Testament, Paul plays on the paradox of knowing God, which he explains to mean that we are known by Him (Gal. 4:9).
The God of Creation and Salvation. The Bible begins with two parallel Creation accounts: Genesis 1 and 2. The name of God, ’Elohim, in the first Creation account (Genesis 1), connotes the ideas of grandeur and power. The name ’Elohim is plural, which expresses intensity and majesty. ’Elohim evokes the ideas of power and strength. The name YHWH, in the second Creation account (Genesis 2), connotes the ideas of proximity and existence. This name, which is etymologically related to the verb hayah, “be,” refers to the God who exists for us: He comes down to earth, speaks to humans, and walks with them. He is the God of history, the personal God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
There is also significance in the respective proportion of references to God in the Creation accounts in comparison with the number of references to humans. While ’Elohim occurs 35 times in the first Creation account, YHWH occurs 11 times in the second account. In the first account God speaks to humans only twice and in a general way. Also, in the first account, humans are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27). In the second account, God creates man by shaping the dust, the medium of his making, with His own hands, and by breathing into him the breath of life (Gen. 2:7). In the first Creation account, God speaks to humans, but no human response is recorded. In the second Creation account, God speaks personally to humans, and they respond to Him.
The contrast between the two parallel accounts of Creation is intended to highlight the glorious paradox of God: the powerful God of Creation who created the universe is simultaneously the personal God of salvation who relates with humans.
The God We Worship. God is our Creator and Savior. These two revelations of God impact our worship. Furthermore, these revelations contain important lessons about the reasons we should worship. The first and fundamental reason is Creation: God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1, 2), including the human species (Gen. 1:26, 27; Gen. 2:7; Ps. 139:13–16). In the Bible, worship is a response to God’s works of Creation: for instance, the worship of God on the seventh-day Sabbath (Gen. 2:1–3) constitutes the first human response to God’s creation. Fearing God means keeping His commandments, and the commandment of the seventh-day Sabbath is the only commandment that refers to Creation (Exod. 20:8–11).
In the Psalms, worship is always directly connected to Creation. Also, the book of Revelation refers to Creation as the primary rationale for worship: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things” (Rev. 4:11, NKJV).
The second reason for worship is rooted in the understanding of salvation as a re-creation that will take place at the end of time. The first angel’s mention of the “springs of water” (Rev. 14:6, 7, NKJV), in addition to the usual components of creation—namely, heaven, earth, and sea (Exod. 20:11, Neh. 9:6)—conveys the eschatological connotation of life and, by extension, hope (compare with Gen. 16:7, Exod. 15:27, Ps. 107:35). In the book of Ezekiel, the New Jerusalem abounds with springs of water (Ezek. 47:1–12), which evoke the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:10–14; compare with Joel 3:18, Zech. 13:1, Ps. 46:4). Likewise, in the book of Revelation, the “rivers of water” denote life (Rev. 22:1, 2). The Lamb, representing Christ, leads His people to the springs of water (Rev. 7:17, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:17). The “springs of water” thus have a future ring, pointing to the final redemption, the recovery of the Garden of Eden, with the promise of the actual presence of the Lord among His people (Rev. 22:1–3).
The God Who Hides His Face. In the book of Isaiah, the theme of God’s hiding His face (hester panim) is an important motif. But it is in the context of the Suffering Servant that this theme takes on its most poignant significance. The image of the hidden face, used in Isaiah 53, does not mean God’s death or ours and, hence, our separation from Him. It is, on the contrary, a hiding that saves and, paradoxically, restores God’s relationship with sinful humans. Significantly, this particular divine feature is contrasted to the idols. The idols are seen, unlike God, who is hidden (Isa. 45:15).
Our verse makes it clear that, in contrast to the idols, the God who hides Himself is the true God, “the Savior.” The next verse emphasizes the contrast between God and the idols. Immediately after mentioning the shame and confusion of the makers of idols in Isaiah 45:16, verse 17 refers to the salvation of Israel by the Lord, the Creator. Salvation does not come from the idols that one makes and sees, but from the God whom one does not make and whom one does not see. That is, salvation comes from the God who hides His face.
“God With Us.” The background story of the prophecy of the birth of Immanuel contains a lesson of hope in spite of human skepticism. Ahaz is afraid that he will lose the war against his enemies and that the Davidic line will be disrupted. Then the Lord admonishes him: “ ‘If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established’ ” (Isa. 7:9, NKJV). Yet, Ahaz still refuses to believe, and rejects God’s offer to ask Him for a sign (Isa. 7:12).
God’s response seems to be filled with irony: because the king of Israel refuses to be involved in God’s plan, “therefore” the child will be conceived without “his” help; that is, apart from any human agency. Thus, “a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son” (Isa. 7:14). The prophet Isaiah predicted to the king a birth of a supernatural character. The birth of this child would come from a virgin woman; also, the name of the child would be “Immanuel,” meaning “God with us.” The birth of this child would, then, bring God closer to His people, an experience that is the actual evidence that God would respond and be present in history, in spite of the king himself.
For Ahaz, the future birth of Immanuel from a virgin is a sign that the throne of David would not be empty, a guarantee that the Davidic line would not be disrupted. For Ahaz, the promise of the future birth of Immanuel was intended as a sign of hope to comfort him in his present circumstances. For us today, the promise of Immanuel, who came and will return, should suffuse and illuminate our present journey from now until the end. As our Savior said: “ ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ ” (Matt. 28:20, NKJV).
Part III: Life Application
Teacher’s Tip: What are the many ways that we may know and respond to God? To explore these topics further, ask for volunteers to read the passages below. Then discuss with your class the questions that follow.
Read Psalm 139:19–24.
1. Paul says that we are “known of God” (Gal. 4:9). How does this fact affect my life? 2. What effect does this knowledge have on my thinking and on my anxieties? 3. What impact does being known of God have on my relationship with other people (Ps. 139:19)? 4. How does being known of God inspire my relationships with people and my daily decisions (Ps. 139:23, 24)?
Read Revelation 14:7.
1. How do you respond to the God of Creation? 2. In Revelation 14:7 (NKJV), how does the use of the pronoun “Him” after the verb “worship” affect your way of worshiping? 3. Is it possible to worship without “Him”? Explain. 4. As a church minister, or as a church member, ask yourself, What can I do to ensure God’s presence in the church and in my mind? 5. Activity: The fact that worship is a response to Creation should inspire our way of worship. The God we worship is both the powerful and the transcendent God, Elohim (Gen. 1:1–2:4), and the personal and loving God, YHWH (Gen. 2:4–25). The psalmist’s call for worship resonates with this same tension: “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling” (Ps. 2:11). Prepare a liturgical program, including music and preaching, that reflects the tension of the two Creation stories.
Read Daniel 3.
1. Make a comparative list of the characteristics of false worship (the Chaldeans) and true worship (the three Hebrews). 2. What does this comparison teach you about the difference between true and false worship?
Read Isaiah 6:5.
As you worship God, remember Isaiah’s sentiments. What does Isaiah’s attitude teach you about the necessity of humility in the presence of God?
Read Exodus 34:6, 7.
1. Identify in these verses the many characteristics of God. 2. How have you experienced these characteristics (mercy, grace, goodness, forgiveness, etc.) in your own walk with the Lord?
Notes