Pg. 5 - An Interpretation of the Nature of GOD

Hermeneutics is the study of principles and methods of interpretation. The term is sometimes used to emphasize the present relevance of text (Kaiser 285). Hermeneutics is sometimes called the science or art of interpretation (Kaiser 15). Hermeneutics involves the methodological principles of interpretation and explanation. Hermeneutics is the foundation for the three disciplines of theology, philosophy and literature. Hermeneutics may also be used in plays, art, music and many other subject areas.

Perhaps the most critical use of hermeneutics is in interpreting the nature of God in the Bible. Throughout the Bible, the nature and behavior of God may be questioned. Often times the activity and reactions, of God in the Bible, seem strange and unusual.

First it is necessary to establish the nature and character of God under normal circumstances. The nature of God can be found in verses throughout the Bible. Revelation 19:6 states: “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” I Samuel 2:2 states: “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.” Jonah 4:2 states: “And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” Exodus 34:6 states: “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” I John 4:16 states: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in God, and God in him.” I Kings 8:23 states: “And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart.” Romans 8:38-39 states: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” From these verses, we see that God is omnipotent, and that there is none as holy as the Lord. We also see that God is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, of great kindness, longsuffering and is abundant in goodness and truth. We also find that God is love and that he loves humankind a great deal. We see that there is no god, like God, in heaven or on earth; and that he keeps a covenant with his servants and is merciful with them and nothing can separate God from his people.

One of the more unusual characteristics of the nature of God is jealousy. In Exodus 20:3-6, the first two of the ten commandments are: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and forth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” Two other verses in the Bible speak of the extreme jealousy of God. Deuteronomy 32:16 states: “They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.” Ezekiel 36:5 states: "Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.” Psalms 79:5 speaks of the length of time and intensity of God’s jealousy and states: “How long, Lord? Wilt thou be angry forever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?” Why is such extreme jealousy within the nature of an omnipotent, holy God? If God is truly slow to anger, longsuffering, merciful and loving; why do people have to pay such a high price for not serving him and his jealousy? I Corinthians 10:22 states: “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” Is such extreme jealousy truly a god-like quality?

Several other times in the Bible the behavior and extreme reactions of God seem unusual and contradictory to his omnipotent and loving nature. At the beginning of his reign, King David had the Ark of the Covenant transported to Jerusalem. II Samuel 6:6-8 states: “And when they came to Nachon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. And David was displeased, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day.” Although it is apparent that God had instructed no one to directly touch the ark of the covenant, God’s extreme anger in this situation seems excessive. It appears that Uzzuh was only trying to stop the ark from falling to the ground. Uzzuh’s intentions seem good, but despite this God killed him. Even David was displeased that the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzuh.

Another extremely unusual reaction of God takes place concerning the tree of life. Genesis 3:22-24 states: “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Several very important questions arise from this scripture passage. What is meant by one of us? Why is the tree of life so important that it now had to be guarded by Cherubims? Why was God so concerned if they were to eat of the tree of life? What would have happened if Adam and Eve would have eaten of the tree of life? Would they have lived an eternity in sin and evil? Is the tree of life a literal tree or is it a metaphor for eternal life? Again, if God is truly omnipotent and there is no god as powerful as God in heaven and earth, why is God so concerned that Adam and Eve become as one of us, to know good and evil, and live forever?

Perhaps the most ironic reaction of God in the entire Bible takes place in the book of Job. Due to the hardships and struggles Job endures, he boldly questions God concerning the reasons for his suffering. God finally responds to Job very oddly, in two speeches, over the course of four chapters (Job 38-41), numbering 124 verses! In Job chapters 38 and 39, God asks Job many very unusual questions and declares his superior knowledge to Job. God begins by asking Job, in Job 38:4: “ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding.” One of the more peculiar questions God asks Job in is chapter 39:13-15: “Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? Or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust, And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.” In Job chapters 40 and 41,

God declares his superior power over Job. It seems almost as if God is trying to scare Job by the declaration of his superior power. Job 40:9 states: “Hast thou an arm like God? Or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?” God’s overall reaction to Job seems to be very arrogant. Job 40:2 states: “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? He that reproveth God, let him answer.” Why should an omnipotent, almighty god react in such an unusual way?

Also, why does God demand obedience, service and praise from people? Jeremiah 7:23 states: “But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may well be unto you.” Deuteronomy 6:13 states: “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.” I Chronicles 16: 25 states: “For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all Gods.”Again, if God is omnipotent, loving and abundant in goodness and truth, why does he demand obedience, service and praise from people? Why does an almighty God require anything from people at all? Why does God go to such extremes for people, and why does he punish them so severely for disobedience? Why is God not content just within himself and his own existence? Often times throughout the Bible, God’s relationship to people seems analogous to human’s relationships with their own children. It seems as if God says “do as I say, not as I do.”; and do not question me or my methods. Why does an omnipotent God act in such a way? It also seems ironic that God judges people for some of the same behavior that even he commits, such as jealousy. Genesis 1: 26 states: “And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness...”. Do people not indeed behave in the same way as God to some extent?

However, God does address such issues and questions within the Bible. Proverbs 3:5 states: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” I Corinthians 3:19 states: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” Romans 11:33 states: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out.” The Bible also addresses humankind’s questioning of God. Isaiah 45:9-10 states: “Woe unto him that striveth with his maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of this earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? Or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?” God’s response to Job’s questioning in Job 42:3 was: “Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understand not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.” Perhaps the wisest thing Job did was to “shut up, and to realize that the ways and wisdom of God were above his comprehension.

Can the methods of hermeneutics interpret and unlock the true nature of God within the Bible? Should hermeneutics even be applied to understand the nature of God? Most importantly, if hermeneutics is to be used to interpret the Bible, the Bible must be interpreted as a whole. Additionally, the nature of God must be interpreted as a whole. Sometimes it is difficult for humankind to understand God’s methods, and reasons for his actions, but we must live by faith and trust that God has everything under control in the long run!