Articles
Getting To Know The Lord
Many years ago, when I was teaching people about God and Christ in a foreign country where Christianity is not as welcome as it is in other countries, I and my fellow laborer would always begin by asking, "Do you believe in God?" It's a simple question, right? But this seemingly simple question was not so simple for the ones being asked. How so?
You see, in this country, the culture was such that it was severely frowned upon to embarrass or insult your host in any way. As we were the hosts and we were conducting private Bible studies, they knew we believed in God; knowing this, they were immediately caught in what they perceived to be a difficult position. They did not want to say "No" because they perceived we would be insulted by their response; but they could not honestly say "Yes" because they didn't really know enough about God to answer in the affirmative!
We knew this would happen, though, and when we saw this look of dismay and fear on their faces, we would immediately tell them, "It's okay to say 'No'!" A look of relief usually appeared on their faces, and most would say, honestly, "I don't know enough about God yet to say 'Yes.'" We would then begin to tell them about Him!
How about you? Do you believe in God? Do you know Him well enough to say 'Yes'? My friend, there is a difference between knowing something about God or Christ, and knowing God and Christ! Many people know something about God or Christ, but few seem to really know God or know Christ. And that is a shame, because God has given us the written word, the Bible, for the very purpose of us getting to know Him and His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
When God sent Moses back to Egypt to bring the Israelites out of bondage and into the Promised Land, he went with Aaron to Pharaoh and gave God's message to him: “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘ Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness’” (Exod. 5:1). Pharaoh replied, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go” (Exod. 5:2). You see, Pharaoh did not know the Lord! But that would soon change! God would send plague after plague upon Egypt, and it was not long before Pharaoh's magicians recognized, “This is the finger of God” (Exod. 8:19). God was plain in telling Pharaoh, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me, for at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth” (Exod. 9:14). When Pharaoh finally let the people go, but then pursued them, God told Moses, “I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord” (Exod. 14:4). And He did, and they did. By the time God was done, nobody in Egypt could say anymore they didn't know the Lord!
This, and the victories of the Israelites as they journeyed towards Canaan, did not go unnoticed among the other nations, either! When the Israelites finally prepared to cross over into Canaan they sent spies into Jericho, and met Rahab. She told them, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Josh. 2:9-11). Those in Canaan and the surrounding regions knew God and His power, and it terrified them!
There are many more stories such as these, where other nations and people would learn about God the hard way. Some nations were defeated and driven out of their lands; some people were humbled or driven out of their homes or even killed in battle; but none of them could say they didn't know God when all was said and done. But it didn't have to be!
God commanded the Israelites as they moved toward Canaan, “When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it. And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you. Now if the city will not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. And when the Lord your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword” (Deut. 20:10-13). Remember, these people knew of God's power already, so they couldn't honestly say they didn't know the Lord. But if they rejected the offer of peace, they would suffer, and they would know the Lord's punishment on the disobedient.
Now, what does this all mean to us today? Plenty!
As with the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Amorites, Moabites, Edomites, and anyone else who stood between the Israelites and the Promised Land, we cannot claim ignorance of who God is, His character, His power, and what He has done. Especially in this country, we have access to the Bible like no other people in the history of the world! On top of all the preaching that is done, there have been thousands of books written about God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible — so much so that no one can claim ignorance. We cannot say, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?”
Some may claim ignorance of God or Christ today, but like the religious leaders and people of Jerusalem of the first century, it will not be because we couldn't know Christ; it may well be, like those of the first century, because we are willfully ignorant of the Scriptures and the prophets that speak of Him, though those Scriptures are read frequently (cf. Acts 13:27). Willful ignorance will not be an excuse that saves us from the eternal punishment, however, for God's word plainly tells us Christ will come with punishment for “those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:8).
The admonition of old is just as relevant today: “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” (Isa. 55:6). And the words of King David to his son Solomon are just as true, too: “If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chron. 28:9). But to find God, you must open up His word! We may certainly see evidence of His power and Divine nature in His Creation (cf. Rom. 1:20), but we cannot truly know God and, without a doubt, cannot know Christ — without opening up a Bible and doing some intensive research.
It is through continual study of God's word that we get to know God and Christ, and appreciate the great things they have done for us, all that we might be saved and be with them in eternity. Getting to know the Lord means getting to know who He is and what He expects of us, His Creation.
Ignorance is not bliss. — Steven Harper
