Humans have consistently worshipped some deity, even if it is being gods unto themselves. From rain forests to mountains in Asia evidence exists to connect with the gods.
Such gods had a specific portfolio.
- The oft-mentioned Baal was god of fertility and reproduction, as well as the god of rain.
- Ashteroth was goddess of love and war.
- Poseidon, was the Grecian god of the sea.
- The Roman goddess Minerva was responsible for craft and wisdom.
The list of such gods extends into the hundreds. Life was compartmentalized. The worshippers of these false gods did not envision one god infringing on another’s responsibilities.
God LimitedEach god was in a box. The worshippers thought a particular deity had blessed or cursed them with such things as fertility, victory in war, or rain.
God Limited Versus God UnlimitedIn the contest between God and Pharaoh, god limited encountered God expansive. Egypt’s Pharaoh was worshipped as a god. The conflict was not Moses pitted against Pharaoh. The contest was between Jehovah and the Egyptian god Pharaoh.
For a brief time, the magicians of Egypt replicated miracles that happened at Moses’ hands. (Exodus 7:10-12). But the god Pharoah, and all Egyptian gods were then soundly defeated.
Even the worshippers of false gods knew if they were serving the god of rain or the goddess of peace. The god of rain did not deal with issues of conflict. In war time, there was no need to appeal to the rain god. Your help could only come from a war God.
Humans did not envision a god, who was unrestricted. Humans love to understand and explain. This includes explaining god. A god with particular duties is comfortable and understandable.
During the contest between the god Pharaoh and Jehovah God, unexplainable events occurred. How do you explain water turning to blood, or livestock across Egypt dying, while the animals owned by the Israelites stayed healthy.
Such happenings are tough to explain.
Pharaoh and the Egyptians were encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their God was not the god of rain, war, peace, or fertility. Job had called Him the Almighty God. One who never need look outside himself for anything.
Jehovah did not fit in any box. He had no limitations. Consider:
- God unlimited versus god(s) limited.
- God without boundaries versus god(s) in a box.
- An unexplainable God, or a comfortable god.
Which sort of god do you serve? Do our actions and behavior indicate a relationship with God Unlimited?
I’ve an idea that you have experienced God unlimited, unbounded, and unexplainable. Would you share stories of what you have seen God unlimited do?
Application:- Think of your perception of God. In what way(s) have you put Him in a box?
- Consider your church, are there certain areas where a “No Access” sign has been posted for the Lord Jesus Christ?
- Imagine yourself in Moses’ shoes. He had spent forty years in Pharoah’s palace. In his early years he had been taught about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Next, Moses spent forty years in the Arabian desert tending another man’s sheep. Now he is back in Egypt representing God to both Israel and Pharoah. How would the experiences of the burning bush, and rods being turned into serpents have changed your perception of God?
One of my existing books touches on this concept: If Everybody Here Were Just Like Me . . . What Kind of Church Would This Church Be?
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