The Strand Study Bible

DEUTERONOMY DEUTERONOMY Atheistic infidels will tell you that ‘nature’ produced everything. If that be so, my question to the infidel is this, “If nature indeed produced everything, what produced nature?” As you see, there is no legal reason which compels us to answer the infidel concerning problems, which he cannot answer us. We should never be disappointed or disturbed if we cannot fully understand who God is or why He does what He does at times. A.W. Tozer in The Knowledge of The Holy notes: 389

In the awful abyss of the Divine being may be attributes of which we know nothing and which can have no meaning for us, just as the attributes of mercy and grace can have no personal meaning for seraphim or cherubim. These holy beings may know of these qualities of God but be unable to feel them sympathetically for the reason that they have not sinned and so do not call forth God’s mercy and grace. So there may be, and I believe there surely are, other aspects of God’s essential being which He has not revealed even to His ransomed and Spirit-illuminated children. 3

God reminds us in Isaiah 55:8-9:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Although it is difficult for our minds to grasp the limitless, timeless God, still, we are always better off trusting Him than trusting men ( Exo 5:2 ). THE ADAGE IS TRUE: If God were small enough for our minds, He would not be big enough for our needs NOTE – Instead of dwelling on what we don’t know about God’s pre-existence, we ought to be dwelling on what we do know. What we do know is that there are three eternal persons that make up the pre-existent Godhead: 1. All three, according to the Bible, bear the same Holy Names ( Gen 1:1 c ) You will find that all three are referred to as Elohim (the Mighty One). All three are referred to as Jehovah (the Eternal Self-Existent One). All three are referred to as Adonai (the Divine Ruler). All three are referred to as EL/ELyon (the Almighty High One). 2. All three possess the same four natural attributes: omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and eternal immutability 3. All three possess the same seven moral attributes: holiness, righteousness, mercy, love, truth, faithfulness and kindness 4. All three receive the worship that only God is due 5. All three are involved in works that only God can do. All three had a hand in creation ( Psa 102:25, Rev 4:11 , Jn 1:3, Heb 1:2,10, Gen 1:2, Job 26:13 and Psa 104:30 ), the creation of man ( Gen 1:26, Rev 4:1 , Colo 1:16-17 and Job 33:4 ), the death of Christ ( Isa 53:4,10 , Jn 10:18, Heb 9:24-28 and Heb 9:14 ), the resurrection of Christ ( Acts 2:32 , Jn 2:19, 10:17-18 and I Pet 3:18 ), the inspiration of the Bible ( Heb 1:1 , I Pet 1:10-11 and II Pet 1:21 ), the indwelling of the believer ( Eph 4:6 , Colo 1:7 and I Cor 6:19 ), and the security of the believer ( Jn 10:29 , Phil 1:6 and Eph 1:13-14 ). Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “ And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken .” Three are always better than one. Physics proves that ( Deut 6:4 ). Again, let us not focus on what we don’t know about God’s pre-existence. Rather, let us focus on what we do know. -We know that three eternal pre-existent Persons had a lot to do with our being here. -We know that they love us and have interwoven their will with our freewill in order to save us. -We know that they are gracious enough to forget our past, good enough to work with our present, and are great enough to change our future. Listen to what Paul said in Phil 3:13-15: Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind , and reaching forth unto those things which are before , I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded : Paul admitted that the eternal pre-existent Triune Godhead was gracious enough to forget our past, good enough to work with our present, and are great enough to change our future. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: God may be beyond knowing completely, but He is not beyond knowing Deuteronomy 30 Subject Head There is one essential feature of The Palestinian Covenant: 1. The promise to Israel, in no uncertain terms, that in spite of her unfaithfulness and unbelief as a nation, the land would always be hers by promise (Gen 13:15 & 17:8). GOD THE FATHER ( Psa 90:1-2 & 93:1-2 ) GOD THE SON ( Mic 5:2 and Jn 1:1 & 17:5 ) GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT ( Heb 9:14 ) In fact, all three ( Rom 1:20 a ) have the greatest of interest in mankind:

1 Swenson, Richard A. More Than Meets the Eye , Colorado Springs, CO, Navpress. 2000. Print. 2 Rimmer, Harry. The Theory of Evolution and the Facts of Science , Grand Rapids, MI, WM. B. Eerdmans Pub. 1935. Print. 3 Tozer, A.W. The Knowledge of The Holy , New York, NY, HarperCollins Publishers, 1978, Print.