The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Nehemiah 9:5,
"Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting."
With these words the Levites exhorted the people on a day of fasting and sackcloth, when the Jews, who had returned from captivity, had gathered to read the Scriptures, confess their national sins and worship the Lord.
I note their reference to the Lord's existence as being "from everlasting to everlasting." It points to the reality that the Lord exists outside of the dimension of time - his presence resides outside and beyond our concept of time. This is where circuit breakers in my head start to blow - my mind just cannot go there.
The concept of time points to the beginning and/or end of something, it points to the duration of someone, of something. Time is what keeps everything that has ever happened and will happen from happening all in an instance. These are the rudimentary concepts I have when I think of time - and the Lord exists beyond the framework of my ability to grasp. My mind just can't go there! It gets all tied up in knots!
As such the Lord has an entirely different perspective than we do. Peter touches on this a bit when he says, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." 2 Peter 3:8. With this Peter explains why the Lord is not slow in keeping his promises. He is populating his kingdom, and "not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." Verse 9. Hence, from our perspective he seems "slow" in bringing this age to a close, but from his perspective, he is not slow at all. He is merely creating opportunities so that his kingdom will have a fulness of people that satisfies his desires for his kingdom.
Every bit of everything that takes place within the time/space dimension that we live in exists before the presence and view of the Lord continually. All of it. This is why people who fail to appreciate the prophetic nature of God's revelation to us don't know God and don't understand the circumstances of his existence. Foretelling events to come is not a problem when you are God and it is laying right in front of you - and particularly when you also effect the outcomes of things to suit yourself.
However, I have to say that all of this is simply beyond me, it escapes my ability to grasp, to understand, to know in any degree. Yet, I can certainly celebrate the meager grasp of what little I do know of my fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic God of splendor!
And, what I do know is that the Lord our God resides beyond our concept of time, indeed, the dimension of time itself, "from everlasting to everlasting."
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting."
With these words the Levites exhorted the people on a day of fasting and sackcloth, when the Jews, who had returned from captivity, had gathered to read the Scriptures, confess their national sins and worship the Lord.
I note their reference to the Lord's existence as being "from everlasting to everlasting." It points to the reality that the Lord exists outside of the dimension of time - his presence resides outside and beyond our concept of time. This is where circuit breakers in my head start to blow - my mind just cannot go there.
The concept of time points to the beginning and/or end of something, it points to the duration of someone, of something. Time is what keeps everything that has ever happened and will happen from happening all in an instance. These are the rudimentary concepts I have when I think of time - and the Lord exists beyond the framework of my ability to grasp. My mind just can't go there! It gets all tied up in knots!
As such the Lord has an entirely different perspective than we do. Peter touches on this a bit when he says, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." 2 Peter 3:8. With this Peter explains why the Lord is not slow in keeping his promises. He is populating his kingdom, and "not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." Verse 9. Hence, from our perspective he seems "slow" in bringing this age to a close, but from his perspective, he is not slow at all. He is merely creating opportunities so that his kingdom will have a fulness of people that satisfies his desires for his kingdom.
Every bit of everything that takes place within the time/space dimension that we live in exists before the presence and view of the Lord continually. All of it. This is why people who fail to appreciate the prophetic nature of God's revelation to us don't know God and don't understand the circumstances of his existence. Foretelling events to come is not a problem when you are God and it is laying right in front of you - and particularly when you also effect the outcomes of things to suit yourself.
However, I have to say that all of this is simply beyond me, it escapes my ability to grasp, to understand, to know in any degree. Yet, I can certainly celebrate the meager grasp of what little I do know of my fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic God of splendor!
And, what I do know is that the Lord our God resides beyond our concept of time, indeed, the dimension of time itself, "from everlasting to everlasting."
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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