Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. 1 Samuel 2:3
I was watching a broadcast of a national spelling contest when a bright 13-year-old girl stepped up to the microphone with an engaging grin. The man conducting the bee uttered a word that I never heard before. The girl’s grin broadened, and she confidently asked the moderator, ‘That’s a writing desk, right?’ He answered in the affirmative, and she quickly spelled the word ‘ecrevier’. Smart girl! I wouldn’t have know that. It doesn’t even appear in most dictionaries. But I wonder if she would have known how to spell the word ‘omniscience’. It’s not a word that we use every day. And when it is used, it is usually used incorrectly. Because there is only one Person who is ominscient. We might compliment a person who seems to have all the answers by calling them omniscient. But the definition of this word is to know and be aware of everything. And that applies only to God. And as our text declares, He weighs our actions by what He knows about us.
Instead of asking what God knows, we might better ask what God does not know. Nothing! Consider the words of Elihu in Job 37:16: ‘Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of Him which is perfect in knowledge?’ Or the words of Isaiah 55:9: ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts’. You and I simply cannot grasp the meaning of God’s knowledge. We also cannot grasp, although we can accept by faith, the reality that God’s knowledge is for our benefit: ‘And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things’ (1 John 3:19,20).
The God Who knows all about us has saved us despite all of our rebellion and sin. I am pretty sure that if I had been God, I would not have saved me. And if you look into your heart, you should be able to say the same. You would have to be very proud to say otherwise. Remember, we are talking about the God Who knows not only every bad word you ever said but also every bad word or thought that you didn’t say. So if He knows all about us, why did He save us? I believe it is because His mercy is greater than all our sin. And His grace is as great as His knowledge. Is it any wonder that John Newton described grace of God as amazing in his lovely hymn Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me?
The God of perfect knowledge is weighing our actions today. That should frighten us. But the same God of perfect knowledge has forgiven all our sins. That should humble us. -Jim MacIntosh