The Birth Canal

If God is "God", then why doesn't He know everything?

"And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." Genesis 22:12

The omnipotent, omnipresent, and the sort of omniscient God we serve, has just acknowledged that He needed to test Abraham because He didn't know if Abraham really meant business. For all you scoffers who believe the Bible is just a fairy tale, you are dismissed. I don't want to bore you with hope, redemption, and purpose. Just memorize this verse and use it against those dumb Christians when they bother you with their mythology. We'll address God's lack of infinite knowledge later, but for now, a little context.

In Genesis 17, we read God telling Abraham that his barren wife Sarah will finally bear him a son, named Isaac. God declares that He will establish an everlasting covenant through Isaac and his descendants. If we fast forward "back" to chapter 22, we can see that one of the symptoms of being God is amnesia. After promising to bless his descendants through Isaac, God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on a burning alter. Man, this silly God Christians believe in is such a hoot!

Will the real God please stand up? Either you are the God who wants to bless the world through Isaac's children, or you are the God who wants to kill Isaac. Fortunately, Abraham's faith doesn't see the contradiction. The Apostle Paul doesn't either.

'It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.' Hebrews 11:17-19

It didn't matter to Abraham that God was commanding him to go "ALL IN". Because of Genesis 17, Abraham was already holding pocket aces. Abraham was pot, ahem, 'promise' committed. But God KNEW that. God already knew Abraham was going to go through with it. I don't serve a sorta omniscient God. God didn't pretend He was at "Medieval Times", sit down with some chicken, and wait to see how it was going to turn out. God knew that Abraham was gonna cut Isaac's throat, so why waste time?

The word 'know' is the Hebrew word 'yada'. This word is a lot more than just a collection of facts. Yada is an intimate word. The best way to grasp the meaning of the word is to give you another verse that uses it.

Now Adam knew (yada) Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. Gen 4:1

Knowledge is connecting with something so intimately, that it produces fruit. None of you would ever question the fact that my wife and I know each other. Some of you have baby sat the evidence. My history with Sarah has gone through many levels. When we were classmates, we knew each other on a certain level and that level had its own fruit. When we dated, that was another level, and that level added new fruit. When we got married and lived together, it seemed as though I jumped 50 levels. Then came the kid level. This level was so high, I sometimes needed oxygen and a tissue to wipe the blood from my nose. Some of you are even past that. You and your spouse are enjoying grand-kids and completing each other's sentences.

God's foresight, knowing that Abraham was going to walk up a mountain, gather firewood, tie his son to an altar, and plunge the knife wasn't 'yada'. What if I told you, that I would give you a million dollars if God gave me 100 million? That could be completely true. I could even sign a contract ensuring it would happen. But that doesn't change anything. Neither of us get to that level until it happens, and me saying it doesn't make you feel better. We've all heard the phrase, "It's the thought that counts", and we all know it's not true.

At the exact moment of surrender, Abraham connected to God and He knew(yada) Abraham's faith. That connection produced a ram "right before his very eyes". The ram wasn't there before. That is why James said faith without works is dead. Because faith without works produces nothing. It's not the thought that counts, it's what you do. Belief always produces action. You can't wish your way into a new level.

I can't even imagine the level Abraham was on. The level that God would ask him to sacrifice something so dear, and be so trusting to actually go through with it. Such thinking is so foreign to us. In fact, we think the complete opposite happens. It's because God knows I trust him, that I'll never have to trust him?? How many times have we told ourselves, "God knows my heart, so I'll never have to go through that!" How many times have you heard someone else say, "God knows my heart, so I think I'll be fine when I die."

Quit saying "God knows my heart." Of course he does, that's why he doesn't slap us upside the head every 2 minutes. It may be my nature to rebel against God and live like hell, but It isn't my heart. I thank God for his mercy and long suffering. He knows me more than I know myself.

You knowing the outcome of what you think you'll do has nothing to do with your graduation. He does know your heart. That is why it's test time. Abraham understood that. He knew the quicker he started the fire, the quicker God would show up with a "new level" pass.

"The tests in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the test to be more than you can stand." 1 Corinthians 10:13

God doesn't give you tests to see which ones you can pass. He gives you tests that he already knows you can pass. Taking the tests allow you to graduate and move on to bigger and deeper levels with him. God is intentional. He's not throwing you around and seeing what sticks. Paul said he thanked Christ for considering him 'trustworthy' and appointing him to serve. Do we respond with gratitude, or do we get mad because it seems like God has a trusting complex?

It took the Jews 40 years to get to the level where they entered the land. Some of them died in the desert. For them, not being in Egypt and doing what was familiar was as far as they wanted to go with God. When I complain and feel sorry for myself, I don't inherit another level. I inherit another day to get it right. Are you as far as you want to be? For me, I'm on this bus until the driver stops. Damn, I shouldn't have said that. I think I see a light, and some forceps.