If there is a God, he will need to beg for my forgiveness.
This was scratched on the wall of a concentration camp.”
Understandable. Some may even say, “Damn Right!”
But this statement just did not sit right with my spirit. And then yesterday it occurred to me that this was only one of a set of “bookends.” The other states:
“In the beginning, God created man in His image and man has been returning the favor ever since.”
In my experience, there are many, like this prisoner, who cannot forgive God for their suffering. But what they really mean is they cannot forgive the god they created.
Between these bookends is a tall, thick volume titled Reality. And Reality includes the Bible which tells of 2 men who could be considered experts in suffering. After tremendous misery, both men had an opportunity to “reason” with their Creator. Except for Jesus, few have endured the magnitude of their suffering. Before their ordeal, one of these men feared God and the other did not.
And remarkably, after they were restored, neither demanded an apology from their Creator.
King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler over the Babylonian Empire, did NOT respect his Creator. In Daniel 4, we learn that King Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream and the Israelite captive named Daniel interpreted it as a warning of the king’s imminent destruction.
After providing this doomsday interpretation, Daniel pleaded with the king to “Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor.” (Daniel 4:27)
But Daniel’s advice fell on deaf ears and twelve months later, while King Nebuchadnezzar was strolling on his palace roof, he was heard to say:
‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’
And as he was about to continue patting himself on the back,
a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’
That same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society.” Daniel 4:30-33 NLT
At the end of this period, maybe 7 years, King Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity returned and he declared,
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All His acts are just and true, and He is able to humble the proud. (Daniel 4:37 NLT)
Where was his demand for an apology?
The other man was named Job who “was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1 NIV) Job lived long before King Nebuchadnezzar and likely even before Moses. Job had 7 sons and 3 daughters and was wealthy, “the greatest man among all the people of the East”.
And then the “perfect storm” destroyed his world. His sons and daughters, all his livestock, his health, everything was destroyed. All except for his bitter wife. Then some long-time friends came, sat with him as he scraped his boils, and after an appropriate time, they accused Job of bringing this judgement upon himself. (Friends are not always right.) But Job knew he was “blameless, upright,” and feared God and thus could not understand his Creator’s reasons for the unjustified suffering he was enduring. He knew he had not done anything to deserve punishment.
Finally, likely months later, Jehovah, the Creator, met with Job. (Job chapters 38–42) Significantly there were two events missing in this encounter. First, God never identified any offense or sin that Job had done to justify any of his suffering. Second, God never scolded Job for asking for a reason for his great loss and suffering.
Personally, I don’t think I have ever been scolded for asking Father for His purposes behind my suffering. Just to clarify, asking is not demanding like an insolent child. I have known many people who, like an insolent child, have refused any interaction with their Creator because they cannot get a justifiable reason for God allowing their suffering.
Instead, Job was called to the witness stand and Jehovah preceded to cross-examine him with numerous questions that likely had Job’s head spinning. Questions like:
Do you know the laws of the universe?
Can you use them to regulate the earth?
Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?
Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” (Job 38:33 & 35; 40:2 NLT)
Likely after a string of stuttering “but; but; but;..” the Most High God paused and looked to Job for his response which was:
“I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.
You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.
You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”
(Job 42:2-6 NLT)
Did you catch that question? ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?”
The Apostle Paul summed up God’s cross-examination of Job in Romans 9 where he states: “Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?” (Romans 9:20-21 NLT)
Job’s desire for an explanation faded as he experienced the “One Most High”. And significantly, similar to King Nebuchadnezzar, this “mere human being” did not demand an apology.
Perhaps your god may need to beg for your forgiveness. But your god is NOT the “One Most High” who created you. In fact, the “One Most High” is not even created. He governs created time and the other dimensions from outside those created constraints. He is the Designer of mortal man who has, in rebellion, fantasized millions of lesser “gods.” And the “good god” you may have created, when challenged about your suffering, just shrugs and says, “Sorry. Be Happy.”
Summary:
Two men, both wealthy beyond imagination. Both knew of the “Most High God.” One honored Him and the other did not. Both went through unimaginable loss and suffering followed by an unusual and intimate meeting with this “Most High God.” After they both experienced an overwhelming taste of how high was this Most High God, neither sought, let alone demanded, an apology. And neither received an explanation.
CALL TO ACTION
What about you? Does your god’s “Sorry. Be Happy.” work for you? If not and you want to do more than just hear about this Most High God, then start seeking Him. As a Good Father, He promises to answer.
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
(Luke 11:9-10 NLT)
If you’d like more information on how to experientially know Father, just ask.
