RUSHWAVE: Establishing Believers in the Christian Faith

Chapter 10: God is All-Wise

God being wise means He orders and arranges all things with great ingenuity.

A classic illustration of wisdom is the story of king Solomon settling a quarrel between two prostitutes over an infant. Each woman had recently given birth, but one of the infants had died, and each woman claimed the living infant was her own and accused the other of lying. Solomon responded by voicing an order to cut the baby in two and give each woman half. One woman pleaded with the king to spare the infant’s life and give the child to the other, while the other agreed the baby should be divided and neither should have it. Solomon obviously did not have the order carried out, but simply gave the infant to the woman who pleaded for the child’s life knowing she was actually the mother. The story spread among the people of the land, and they revered king Solomon “for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice” (1 Kings 3:16-28).

Solomon’s actions are rightly viewed as wise because they reveal not only insight and discernment into human nature — he knew the true mother would want to spare the infant’s life — but also ingenuity and cleverness in bringing out that fact. And that wisdom is also rightly viewed as having its origin in God, for it is He who is all-wise.

God is exceedingly wise, but unlike Solomon it is never with the goal to uncover something unknown. God is ingenious because that is who He is by nature, so everything He does reflects that ingenuity and cleverness.

God’s wisdom is revealed through the variety, creativity, and cleverness within creation. When taking into account man, animals, sea creatures, insects, plants, micro-organisms, etc., there are literally millions of different forms of life. Man constitutes just one form or species. And each of these life forms is exceedingly complex. Each has different methods of locomotion: flying, swimming, walking, hopping, scooting, slithering, jet propulsion, and crawling. Each has its own means of being aware of its surroundings: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching or sensing some form of vibration. Each has its own way of obtaining and processing the food, water and nutrients necessary for survival. Each has its own way of eliminating waste. Each has its own way of reproduction. Each has its own built-in instincts for its own survival. Each has an exceedingly complex physical form with intricately designed parts which coordinate with each other to accomplish all these things.

There is an interdependence between all these millions of forms of life, and even lifeless things play a vital role in their survival. Man needs vegetation, and plants are pollinated by animals, insects and other plants. All these life forms exist on an earth which itself has complex processes, and a sun which is an astrophysical marvel. The chemical and atomic processes involved in the sun continually producing light, the atmosphere repeatedly forming rain-producing clouds, and the air continuously being replenished with oxygen are astonishing. And this is without even considering the wonder of the change of seasons, the rising and falling of the tides, and the cycles of days, months, and years.

To make God’s creation even more astounding, it must be realized that within everything mentioned thus far there are numerous levels, subcategories, and divisions. Sea creatures do not just swim, they have different types of fins to help them swim — some to propel them on the ocean floor, and others with multiple fins which provide quick and outstanding maneuverability. Animals do not just have eyes, they have different types of eyes — some suited for seeing at night, and others for seeing long distances. And animals do not just have body parts, these body parts work in coordination with one another. For example, an eagle’s wing or claw is comprised of muscles and joints working in perfect union with the eye and brain, allowing the eagle to see its prey, swoop, extend its claws, and grasp its prey with great precision. But that is just the eagle. There are muscles, tendons, joints, eyes, and brains in other animals that provide great speed, the application of great force, or extreme sensitivity to their surroundings. There are also highly complicated systems of equilibrium in man and animals allowing them to run while remaining upright and avoid falling over.

But we can move from the visible realm of what we normally see to that which can only be seen with the aid of technology from microscopes and telescopes. If we look inward, the different life forms are comprised of complex molecules, which are made up of atoms, which consist of particles, and on and on it goes. And if we go the opposite direction and expand our view outward, these life forms live on earth, which belongs to a solar system, which is part of a galaxy, which is within a galaxy cluster, and on and on it goes.

When contemplating the idea that one God created and sustains all these complex life forms, systems and processes on a sub-atomic and universal level, it reveals the many other traits of God we explore in this and other chapters. The human mind cannot fully grasp and track everything involved in just one life form, yet alone millions of life forms. But God’s mind is so great, His creativity so vast, His intelligence so high, His powers so immense, His wisdom so deep, His knowledge so extensive, and His care so thoughtful that He conceived in His own mind all these life forms, systems, processes, dependencies, and relationships, and acted on His thoughts by creating and sustaining everything that has, or ever will, exist. Is it any wonder we read:

O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. Psalm 104:24
It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. Jeremiah 10:12

God’s wisdom is revealed through incorporating man’s rebellion into fulfilling His own noble purposes. Men are capable of doing great evil; of doing what God does not want them to do. But God, who knows all things, orders man’s affairs in a way that man’s wrongdoing actually works towards a good end. This does not mean God conceived the evil thought and placed it into man’s heart, or that He morally approves of the wrong committed, or that He takes pleasure in the evil act. It simply means that God — for reasons He deems good, right and just — decrees a noble outcome and appoints men who stubbornly defy Him as a means to obtain that noble end. He does not overrule man’s evil plans, but as one who knows all things He incorporates those evil plans that have their origin in man to work towards a good end that originated in Himself.

If God using man’s evil decisions to work for good seems hard to understand, we can realize that as fallen human beings we can do the same thing in a very limited way. A narcotics agent may allow a drug deal to proceed not because he approves of people using drugs, but because he wants to capture not only the drug dealer but also the supplier. A father may allow his daughter to continue to act deceptively and privately rebel against his command. But the father may do this not because he is unaware or approves of her deceitfulness, but rather with a view to let her reap the consequences of her actions and learn from her mistake. Of course these analogies have their limitations when applied to God, but they nonetheless do provide a glimpse into the dynamics going on.

The classic biblical example of God using man’s rebellion for good is the true story of the Pharaoh of Egypt in the days of the prophet Moses. The nation of Israel was in bondage to the Egyptians at that time, serving as slaves under harsh, brutal, oppressive conditions. God through Moses commanded Pharaoh to let the Israelites go under threat of plague. Pharaoh refused, and God followed through on the threat and subjected Egypt to a miraculous and devastating plague. This cycle repeated itself with Pharaoh often asking the plague to be lifted while in the midst of it, only to harden his heart afterwards and refuse to let the Israelites go. After ten plagues Pharaoh finally agreed and freed the Israelites Exodus 1-12.

When reflecting on the story of Israel’s deliverance, it appears Pharaoh was frustrating the plan of God. After all, God was commanding one thing, and Pharaoh was rebelling against that command. It appears God’s purposes were not playing out.

But Pharaoh’s rebellion was part of God’s plan.

God had a word for this arrogant leader of the most powerful nation in the world. God pointed out it was within His power to completely annihilate Pharaoh and his people. The only reason God tolerated Pharaoh’s rebellion was to fulfill a higher purpose, and He even let Pharaoh know what it was.

For if by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, you would then have been cut off from the earth. But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth. Exodus 9:15–16

Pharaoh’s repeated rebellion was serving a higher, divine purpose: revealing God’s power and giving occasion for God’s praise. It was this display of God’s power that became a source of praise for generations in Israel. Many songs were composed, much poetry was written, the historical account was referenced numerous times, and God even had the Israelites mark the occasion with an annual celebration. God was not simply passively reacting to history as if Pharaoh’s rebellion was something that caught God by surprise. God appointed Pharaoh in the scheme of human history, knowing beforehand his stubborn character, so as to use that stubbornness to accomplish His noble purpose.

God’s wisdom and ingenuity has been openly displayed to you throughout your whole life. It has been evident every day through His marvelous creation. The sorrow, injustices and pain you have suffered from others, as well as that which you subjected others to, is being overruled by Him to fulfill a higher, noble purpose He Himself decreed from the foundation of the world. You may not always see what that noble purpose is in the midst of your suffering, but that does not mean no such purpose exist. It just means you are not Him, and you do not see as He sees.

from The Nature and Character of God

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