The Study of God

 

In his writing “a look into my garden” H.P. Barker gave this graphic illustration. “As I looked out into the garden one day, I saw three things. First, I saw a butterfly. The butterfly was beautiful, and it would alight on a flower and then it would flutter to another flower and then to another, and only for a second or two it would sit and it would move on. It would touch as many lovely blossoms as it could, but derived absolutely no benefit from it. Then I watched a little longer out my window and there came a botanist. And the botanist had a big notebook under his arm and a great big magnifying glass. 

The botanist would lean over a certain flower and he would look for a long time and then he would write notes in his notebook.He was there for hours writing notes, closed them, stuck them under his arm, tucked his magnifying glass in his pocket and walked away. The third thing I noticed was a bee, just a little bee. But the bee would light on a flower and it would sink down deep into the flower and it would extract all the nectar and pollen that it could carry. It went in empty every time and came out full.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me.” Knowing God is the most valuable pursuit in life. The greatest endeavour that can ever engage the attention of a child of God is the study of the nature, the character and the works of the great God whom he calls his Father.

Paul said to the Athenians “I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship” (Acts17:23).  In verses 24-29 he told them who God is. Paul spoke about the God who created the world and everything in it. From one man he made all the nations...and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him.

We do ourselves a lot of injustice if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God who created and who runs it. We stumble through life with no sense of direction. Solomon sadly observed “what do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless... without him (God), who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness” (Ecc.2:22-28).

A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness and in darkness its name is shrouded” (Ec. 6:3-4). In ancient Israel many children were a sign of great legacy (Ps. 127:3-5). A long life was also considered a divine blessing (Ps. 91:16).

Solomon makes a profound point that a life full of external blessings but devoid of satisfaction is worse than a life that never began. Despite all the external trappings of success, this man’s inner life is empty, for his soul is unfulfilled. Solomon says that a life that never breathes air is better than a long life lived without soul satisfaction and without lasting impact.

The world idolizes legacy, longevity and fame. But Solomon dismantles this illusion. The truth is that if you don’t know true joy found only in a living relationship with Christ, your life lacks peace and contentment; even your great accomplishments and your lengthy obituary mean little. Having in his possession all that some people count as blessings, a person can still depart unnoticed, unlamented and unfulfilled.

The study of God is a subject so vast, that our plumb line cannot sound its depth and that our eagle eye cannot see its height. Job understood a lot about God. His description of the power of God (Job 26:5-13) is amazing and impressive. Yet, Job knew that there was far more that he did not understand (Job 26:14). He had only seen  "the outer fringe of his work" (the tip of the iceberg).  One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of him.

A little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about him. There is a connection between knowing God and trusting Him. Psalm 9:10 says "those who know your name will trust in you". Knowing God is a necessary precondition of trusting in him; its hard to put trust in a stranger.  Those who know God, not just a superficial understanding of him, but have a deep relationship with him find it very easy to trust in him.

The book of Daniel has the most vivid presentation of the many-sided reality of God’s sovereignty in the whole Bible. The book forms a dramatic reminder that the God of Israel is sovereign and that “heaven rules” (Dan.4:26).   In Daniel 1:1-20 we are told that king Nebuchadnezzar ordered his officials to bring some of the Israelites to be trained for the king’s service.Daniel, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego) were among them.

The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the his table. Daniel asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. But the official told Daniel he was afraid the king would kill him. Daniel told the guard to test them for ten days, “give us nothing but vegetables and water”. At the end of the ten days Daniel and his three friends looked better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.

In Daniel 2:1-23 we are told that Nebuchadnezzar had troubling dreams. So he summoned his wise men to tell him what he had dreamt. The astrologers told the king “No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.” This made the king so furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon including Daniel and his friends.

Daniel asked the king for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him. Daniel urged his friends to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then he burst into joyful praises to the God of heaven (vv. 20-23). Unlike the astrologers Daniel knew that God could reveal to him what the king had asked because “wisdom and power are his... He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what lies in darkness”.

In Daniel 3 some astrologers said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego ... neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned them and said “if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”They replied to him, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.

 But even if he does not, we want you to know, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”There was no panic in them. They had walked with God and they had enough evidence that God was trustworthy. Like Paul they could say without hesitation “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12). They knew that their God was well able to do keep them safe. They also knew that God, in his infinite wisdom, might decide not to save them. They were ready for whichever he chose.

Paul wrote  to the Romans “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living (Rom.14:8-9). He wrote to the Philippians “if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Phil 1:22-23).

Those who know their God make a stand for righteousness in the face of incredible persecution.There is no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God, and God has known them (Gal 4:9). That relationship guarantees God’s favor to them in life, through death and on forever. This is the peace which Daniel ,Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew; hence the peace and tranquility with which they stood their ground in face of Nebuchadnezzar’s ultimatums.

Knowing God must be the priority and the highest aim of every child of God. Seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut 4:29). Call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will find the knowledge of God (Prov. 2:3-5). Silver is found beneath the ground, it requires digging, time, dedication and intentional pursuit.

The reward of knowing God is overwhelming and he is a treasure worth cherishing. God “holds success in store for the upright, shields those whose walk is blameless, guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. You will understand what is right and just and fair-every good path.  Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will enter your heart and and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men (Prov.2:7-13).

Those who know that the Lord is near are not anxious about anything. Their hearts and minds are guarded by the peace of God, which transcends all human understanding (Phil 4:5-7). The Lord of peace himself gives them peace at all times and in every way (2Thess. 3:16). As you come to know God, you will discover a growing process of intimacy, a closeness that will compel you to desire to know Him even more. The man who know God has a better perspective on life than he who simply plods around this narrow globe.

In Daniel 11:32-35  we read "With flattery he (the devil) will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered...many who are not sincere will join them. Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.