FEBRUARY 5

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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Deuteronomy 7:21

“You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.”    (And He is among us who have received Him.)

Deuteronomy 10:17-21

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.  He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.  Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.  You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.  He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.”

1 Chronicles 16:25

“For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;   He is also to be feared above all gods.”

Nehemiah 8:6

“And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”

Exodus 18:11

“Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.”

Deuteronomy 4:7

“For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?”

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Our book for this month  is called “100 NAMES OF GOD”  written by Christopher D. Hudson.  Each day we’ll take one Hebrew name for God as given in the Bible to study and relate to.

EL HAGGADOL

THE GREAT GOD

“for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.”  Deuteronomy 10:17

Certain names have been associated with greatness.  There was Alexander the Great, The Great Gatsby, Boxer Muhammad Ali, who was known at “the Greatest,” and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky who was called “the Great One.”

We typically reserve the word “great” to describe a unique accomplishment or status.  To call someone “great” is to say there is only one – there has never been, nor will there ever be, another like him or her.

The Hebrew people who heard Moses speak the words of Deuteronomy 10:17 (above) had heard often of Yahweh, the God of their forefather Abraham.  But by that time, they had also lived for four hundred years in Egypt, where multiple gods were worshiped.  And now God was leading them to a land where they would be surrounded by other polytheistic peoples.  What made Israel’s God unique from the rest?  What, if anything, caused Him to stand out from all the others?

Moses argued that God deserved the Hebrews’ full devotion because He is “the great God.” The Hebrew word for great is  “gadol.”  It means distinguished, important, large, grand, magnificent.  And why is God uniquely deserving of this title?  Because, Moses said, He’s mighty.  He’s powerful and awesome.  There’s nothing too hard for Him.  Not only this, but unlike the petty gods of the surrounding cultures, the God of Israel is just – He is fair and gracious.  That’s another reason He’s great:  He doesn’t play favorites or accept bribes like a crooked earthly judge.

Deuteronomy 10:14-22 attests God’s greatness.  God is great, Moses said, because He owns the universe.

He’s great because He graciously “set His affection” on the Hebrew people.  (which affection we inherit when we accept Jesus, the Messiah of the Jews, as our Lord and Savior, and are “grafted in” as Paul describes it in Romans 11.)

He’s great because He cares about the helpless.

He’s great because He alone does “awesome wonders.”

He’s great because He blesses undeserving people. (that’s us!)

What other gods does such things?  NONE.  Only Yahweh, Israel’s God, the one true God, is able to hold the title of “great.”

It is blasphemous and tragic to treat ANYTHING as being greater than God!  Do people give their hearts to other gods?  Of course!! But there is no god like “the great God” of Israel.

After the Hebrew people identified their God as “great,” Moses urged the following response from them: 

“Fear the Lord your God and serve Him.  Hold fast to Him.” (Deuteronomy 10:20).

Because of God’s unique position, He is worthy of reverential fear and faithful service.

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Many things vie for our devotion.  Where does “God the Great” stand in your life?

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PRAYER

Great God, please help me see You as You are, so that I might worship You as You deserve.  Amen

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