How tragic! To see God at work and completely miss what he’s showing you about himself.
Yet that’s what the Exodus generation did.
They saw God do amazing things, from very subtle acts to stunning wonders. They never had to ask, “Did God do that?” He wrote his signature across each act in letters even the most stiff-necked among them could read.
Yet they remained stiff-necked. Bitterly, they complained that God was mistreating them. They accused him of rescuing them from slavery in Egypt in order to wipe them out. They threatened to mutiny and go back. In their moment of greatest rebellion:
The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?” (Num. 14:11).
How long? The rest of their lives, that generation bad-mouthed and stiff-armed the Lord, whose first message to them after delivering them was this:
You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself (Exodus 19:4).
They saw it. And they completely missed it.
The Lord God rescued them. To bring them to himself.
There in the desert with them, Moses pressed in to see it all. He prayed what they did not:
If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. (Exodus 33:13).
Teach me your ways.
So I may know you.
And find favor with you.
Moses wanted what God wanted: relationship. We know this prayer expressed the cry of Moses’ heart because of how God answered:
He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel (Ps. 103:7).
Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face (Deut. 34:10).
How wonderful that Moses pressed in to know the Lord! As to the people, did God want to stop with showing them his deeds? No he did not. In Psalm 81, he lamented:
If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! You would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you (vv. 13-14,16).
Surprising link
The God who rescues us to bring us to himself wants all of us to pray, “Teach me your ways.” He makes clear that we can know his ways only as he makes them known, Spirit-to-spirit, and as we respond in faith to what he reveals.
I was just coming to see all of this when the Spirit of God began to highlight the “God who” phrases in English Bible translations. Suddenly, phrase after phrase that had blended into its context seemed to rise up off the page in sharp relief. I was intrigued, but clueless as to what the Lord wanted me to see, until I realized:
- “God who,” and similar phrases, often point to what God has done or is doing. They can show us God’s works.
- When we ask with open hearts, these phrases can give us insight into the heart of the One who does the works. They can teach us God’s ways.
And so I set out on a concordance search.1
Eventually, I recorded more than 50 pages of Scriptures containing phrases such as “God who,” “the Lord who,” or “he who” (referring to God). Some phrases are unique – appearing only once in Scripture. Some phrases appear again and again. Some offer to teach us, intimately and experientially, what we already know mentally. Some startle us with insights we’ve never seen.
Since making this list, I’m far more likely to notice, and ponder, when a Scripture passage I’m reading includes any of the phrases above. Also, I return to the list periodically, sometimes to focus on one passage, sometimes to consider a whole group of them.2
Each encounter with this living water leaves me feeling deeply refreshed and revived, like a thirsty person taking a long drink from an ice-cold spring.
Ahhh. Want some?
Seeing God’s works
Here’s a sampling of the Bible’s “God who” phrases. Taste and see.
He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen (Deut. 10:21 NASU).
God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change (Ps. 55:19).
God, who lives forever and ever (Rev. 15:7).
The God who made the world and everything in it (Acts 17:24).
God, who created all things (Eph. 3:9).
God, who gives rain in its season (Jer. 5:24 NAS).
God who removes the mountains (Job 9:5 NAS).
God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar (Isa. 51:15).
The God who gives breath to all living things (Num. 16:22).
God, who gives life to everything (1 Tim. 6:13).
God, who makes things grow (1 Cor. 3:7).
The God who created you (1 Peter 4:19 NLT).
The God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways (Dan. 5:23).
The God who sees me (Gen. 16:13).
A God who knows (1 Sam. 2:3).
God, who knows the heart (Acts 15:8).
God who probes minds and hearts (Ps. 7:9).
God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe (Deut. 10:17 NAS).
God, who does not lie (Titus 1:2).
God who does no wrong (Deut. 32:4).
God who does what is right (Isa. 26:7 NLT).
God who judges the earth (Ps. 58:11).
God, who always judges fairly (1 Peter 2:23 NLT).
The God who performs miracles (Ps. 77:14).
God, who saves the upright in heart (Ps. 7:10 NAS).
God, who is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4).
God who gives endurance and encouragement (Rom. 15:5).
God, who comforts the downcast (2 Cor. 7:6).
God, who raises the dead (2 Cor. 1:9).
Knowing God’s ways
When you’re thirsty and someone puts water before you, tasting is good – to a point.
Tasting presents you with a choice: Do I drink deeply, or not? Tasting, and stopping there, leaves you still desperately needing what is life-giving. Ah, but drinking deeply requires risk. It requires trusting yourself to.
Below are a few of the “God who” phrases from the list above, this time in context. They show us: Knowing God’s ways goes beyond tasting and seeing what he has done. Knowing God’s ways requires risk. It requires trusting yourself to him.
In the sight of God, who gives life to everything … I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 6:13-14).
But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways (Daniel 5:23).
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 15:5-6).
Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed (1 Sam. 2:3).
So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you (1 Peter 4:19).
God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change – he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God (Ps. 55:19).
I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he (Deut. 32:3-4).
So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe (Deut. 10:16-17).
But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them (Isa. 26:7 NLT).
One last example. The psalmist Asaph describes a time of distress when he felt abandoned by God. As he talks honestly to God about what he is thinking and feeling, he decides:
I will remember the deeds of the Lord, yes I will remember your miracles of long ago. Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people (Ps. 77:11,13-15).
Asaph recalls God’s works during the Exodus. He sees what they reveal about God’s ways. And he moves from distress to trust, from hopelessness to hope.3
Any of us, at any time, can choose against the Lord and his ways. In so doing, we do not change him. But we do set ourselves against Life. And any of us, at any time, can set our hearts as Moses did – to know the God who has moved heaven and earth, to bring us to himself.
Lord, teach us your ways.
So we may know you.
And may find favor in your sight.
Image is of an oil-on-canvas painting by C. W. Eckersberg, 1815, that hangs in the National Gallery of Denmark. It depicts Moses and the Israelites, pausing, resting – just after the waters of the Red Sea miraculously divided for them to cross and then the waters returned and flooded Pharaoh’s army. See more about this painting.
The God Who series explores the riches of God’s ways revealed in the “God who …” passages in Scripture.
“God who teaches us his ways” is a complete overhaul of a post originally titled, “God Who,” published Aug. 29, 2013.
Footnotes
- Primarily, I used the New International and New American Standard translations. ↩︎
- For example, I might focus on all the “God who” passages in Psalms; or on verses that have a similar theme, such as “the Lord your God, who brought you out.” ↩︎
- See all Psalm 77. ↩︎
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