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Far too much of our theology today falls into the category of "theological finger food." It is actually food, but it is served up in tiny bits, wrapped in attractively-cut bread, and is provided more for the enjoyment factor than its food value.
We like our theology served up in bumper-sticker slogans. It must be short and memorable, and not require any thought process to digest. We do not ask "What is the scriptural basis? What are the implications of this.? Is this a universal principle? Are there conditions attached?"
For instance, "God is a good God." That is unquestionably true - it is a wonderful truth. It is a truth we need to comprehend.
But it is not the whole truth. God is a good God - a God of infinite goodness. Yet, that does not imply what we often take it to mean; that God is something of a benevolent grandfather ready to cater to our every whim and indulge our every fancy. It does not suggest that the goodnes of God, in looking out for our best interests, may serve us a dose of bitter and difficult medicine from time to time.
We have lost the sense of the awesomeness of the Almighty. Worse still, we have lost the language to describe awesomeness.
"Man, that is an awesome pizza!" - or car - or sound system.
Then we sing "our God is an awesome God!"
More awesome than a pizza?
When I first saw the Grand Canyon, my thought was - "AWESOME"
As a matter of fact, I felt awe settling upon me as we approached the Canyon. I could not see the canyon walls on either side, but I was aware that between the trees nearby and the trees far away, some vast "something" yawned. I had read in C.S. Lewis of "the sense of the numinous" (a term not found in our dictionaries); that feeling that something vast and incomprehensible occupies the next room.
Awesome: "expressing awe, that which inspires awe."
Awe: "A mixed emotion of reverence, respect, dread, and wonder inspired by authority, genius, great beauty, sublimity, or might." (American Heritage Dictionary)
The slang use of this word seems to destroy its usefulness in describing the Almighty! What has happened to it is similar to what we have done with such words as "amazing," "incredible," "fantastic," etc. We waste superlatives on the everyday, hence we become jaded as to their meaning and have nothing left with which to describe that which deserves the term. If we always feel "fantastic," what will serve if we actually felt really good? If common, everyday experiences are "incredible," what will we say when we encounter something that does stretch our ability to believe?
Incidentally the term "awful" has exactly the meaning of awesome: In Webster, the first and primary meaning is " inspiring awe; filling with profoung reverence; as 'the awful majesty of Jehovah. Worthy of reverence and solemn respect." The last meaning given is "frightful, ugly or detestable." - the way in which we usually use the word.
There are a number of Biblical passages which communicate to us the awesomeness of God. Seldom are they pleasant passages in the sense of bringing a smile or creating feelings of joy. They demonstrate God's awesomeness.
Genesis 15 describes one such incident, involving Abraham.
He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it."
But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I shall gain possession of it? So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.
Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and ill-treated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterwards they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age." (Genesis 15:7-15, NIV).
One must read the entire passage to get the feel of it, but the intensity of Abraham's experience is summed up in verse 12 "As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him."
A "thick and dreadful darkness": Young's Literal Translation renders it "a terror of great darkness." Smith-Goodspeed call it "a great and awful gloom."
Can you see Abraham, watching over that sacrifice upon the altar all the long day, then as dusk falls, sleep overcomes him. In his "sleep", as in a vision, there comes an "awe-full" presence. The voice of God has stilled for the moment, and the Almighty draws very near. His feeling is not one of glee, of joy; no hallelujahs rise from his lips. He draws his cloak over his trembling head; there is no light to shut out, but there is a darkness that is seen even in the darkness of the night; For God is nigh, and Abraham cannot withstand the assault of His incomprehensible Light, and Light clothes itself in darkness. And in the darkness, a voice speaks. For Abraham, this was truly awesome!
Eliphaz, one of Job's comforters, shares an "awesome" experience he had in Job 4:12-17:
"A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on men, fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice: 'Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?'"
We have heard of "hair-raising" experiences; that is what Eliphaz describes. We are not told just who that "spirit" was that passed before him. It was felt, not seen. But the statement that comes to Eliphaz sounds like the words of God.
Daniel 10 describes a vision of one whose presence overcame Daniel. We believe tha this is what is called a "theophany," an appearance of God in the form of a man. In verses 7 - 9 he describes the effect of that vision.
I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground. (Daniel 10:7-9 NIV)
The men with Daniel, overwhelmed with terror, fled. Daniel, one accustomed to entering into the presence of the Almighty in prayer, is overcome. His strength leaves him, and he fell helpless, into a deep sleep.
In verse 10, another, an angel, speaks. He is described in verse 18 as one " like the appearance of a man" who touched him, and raised him up, and spoke to him. Yet Daniel was overwhelmed, until this one encouraged him.
Scripture is replete with these descriptions of overwhleming encounters: Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, John on Patmos, Paul struck from his horse by the overwhelming presence of Jesus, Paul again, lifted up to the third heaven where he heard words which he could not repeat.
There is a common thread throughout all of these mighty displays of the awesomeness of God. In each of them, the person involved is humbled, brought low, put on his knees or on his face before God.
In the presence of the Almighty, our own weakness becomes evident. Our sinfulness becomes plain. Every facet of our being is exposed as if to some spiritual X-ray machine. There is a two-fold revelation; God is revealed in His awesomenss, and we are revealed in our utter spiritual poverty.
In all of these incidents, God speaks. He speaks reassurance, He speaks power, and often He commissions. An encounter with God is not a stand-alone experience. It isn' just some sort of spiritual high, to get us up on a mountaintop and cause us to shout. God encounters us to change and challenge us.
Little wonder we prefer the satisfaction of a gentle touch, a brush of angels wings.
In his description of the strange manifestations in the Cane Ridge Revivals of the 1800's, Barton Stone describes what he calls the "running exercise." He suggests that it comes about when men run in an effort to get away from what God is trying to do for them!
Whether or not that is so, I believe that most of us prefer the excitement of revival to the Divine encounter that may result in or result from Revival.
Let us understand that God is an AWESOME God!
J. GENE ADKINS
© 1997
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