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For me this is Yom Kippur number 34 since becoming a disciple of Yeshua, and the good news is I think I’m beginning to get it. Or, maybe not. After all, it seems we go about our daily affairs, largely oblivious to the invisible but real cosmic war taking place all around us. We have little idea just how powerful these heavenly beings are, and just who God is. It occurred to me the other day that, we are kind of like a guy in the old west who’s driving a horse-drawn wagon, either pleasantly drunk or else half-asleep at the reins, unconcerned about the ruts and rocks and bumps he is hitting, unaware that he’s hauling bottles of nitroglycerin. We scarcely know Who it is we’re dealing with!
If we’re going to take Yom Kippur seriously, if we’re going to do more than just go through the religious motions, we need to think this through. Before we go on and continue our confession of sins, let’s stop and honestly consider the nature of the One we’ve offended. To do that, I’d like us to consider the words of the Jewish prophet Isaiah. Please turn to Isaiah 40.
Isaiah 40:21-28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
He is the Creator of matter itself. Everything that exists, except for Him, had a beginning point, and that beginning point was when He spoke the physical universe into existence. And He is enthroned as King over it. There was no Hebrew word for ‘sphere’ but the prophet communicated over 2,700 years ago things that took scientists considerably longer to discover: namely, that the earth is round not flat, and that the universe is expanding.
He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, but He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the storm carries them away like stubble.
The infinitely wise and powerful God, after creating the earth and everything in it, did not go off on a six-thousand year vacation and let things simply take their course. He may be incomprehensible, but He is not distant. He has been at work in human history. Do not confuse His patience, the fact that that He allows wickedness to continue for a season, with indifference. If you think Adonai ought to immediately and completely destroy every evil person, you and I will be among them. While He will never violate man’s freedom to make choices (which frequently are foolish and sometimes evil), the fact is, He cares about what happens, and often intervenes; sometimes covertly (via human agency), sometimes mysteriously (in unknown ways), and sometimes manifestly, pouring out judgment by His own hand. We can take comfort, despite wicked rulers in the world, in knowing that He will reduce them to nothing at the appointed time.
“To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.
The God to whom we are addressing our prayers is incomparable. There is simply no one like Him. In the entire universe there are only two categories of being: that which has been created, and the Uncreated One who created it. He tells us to look up in the night sky. There are approximately 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe, spread across vast light years. Though we might only see a few thousand stars with the unaided eye, the latest estimates suggest there are 300 sextillion stars in the universe (that’s 3 with 21 zeroes after it), and every one of them is on display entirely for our sake.
With the aid of telescopes, much of it is visible to us, courtesy of God having located our sun and solar system precisely along a lower rim and outer edge of a spiral arm of the Milky Way – perfect for looking out beyond the galaxy. He created us with a thirst to discover and, astronomically-speaking, set us up to do just that!
He created every one of those stars, and has a name for every one of them, and never ran out of ideas for names for them. Who is this God we speak of?
Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired; His understanding is unfathomable.
If 300 sextillion stars sounds like a lot to keep track of, consider this. There are approximately the same number of H2O molecules in just ten drops of water as there are stars in the known universe. Let me repeat that: if you were to take ten drops of water and could count the number of H2O molecules in those drops, you would get a number equal to all the stars in the universe. So imagine how many H2O molecules there are in the sum of earth’s oceans! You can’t. You wouldn’t have a clue. But the Creator could give you that number, along with the number of hairs on our collective heads and the full number of sparrows that have ever fallen to the ground.
What makes you think He doesn’t see and know every last detail about you? The God we are talking about knows every word you have said, or ever will say, every action you have taken or ever will take, even every thought that has passed through your mind. Imagine the sum total of it, multiply it by the estimated 108 billion people who have ever lived on this planet, and it is a drop in the bucket in terms of the sum of Adonai’s knowledge.
And try this on for size: God not only knows completely the past, present and future; He knows every contingent past and future. He could tell you exactly what would have happened if you had taken a right turn instead of a left on such-and-such a road three weeks ago Thursday; where you would be and what you would be doing and with whom you would be doing it if you had gone to this school rather than that, majored in this field rather than that; said “No” to such-and-such an offer rather than “Yes”. The psalmist rightly declared, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it.”
And the One who knows you is the Supreme Judge. The writer of the Letter to the Messianic Jews would have us remember that, Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13). The One who knows everything about you is the One before Whom you will stand on the appointed day. And He doesn’t grade on a curve, in case you were thinking of comparing yourself to thugs, thieves and terrorists.
In view of such holiness, power and omniscience, what hope is there for sinful, weak and ignorant human beings like us when we appear in the Heavenly Court? Do not think for one minute you can appear before El Shaddai, the Almighty, on the basis of your own moral character or goodness, and attempt to represent yourself. In the words of Abraham Lincoln: “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.” If that is true in earthly courts, how much more so in the Heavenly Court? No, my friend, you need representation. You need a good Jewish lawyer… an advocate, and one of the highest order… and, by the way, I can refer you to Him.
Proverbs 30:4
Who has ascended into heaven and descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped the waters in His garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name or His son’s name? Surely you know!
The question we asked at the beginning, “Just Who is This?” is a question that has been asked from time immemorial, and has been answered unambiguously. This proverb speaks of One who has authority over the very elements, because He Himself created them. He has access to both earth and heaven at will. And the winds and the waves must respond to His word. And even the answer to who it is that can represent us is hinted at here. But since we need more than hints, I’ll just tell you. Or, rather, I’ll let Mark the Gospel writer tell you.
(while people turn to Mark 4, describe the scenario)
Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Yeshua Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
It had to be some kind of storm to make these seasoned fishermen fear for their lives. Yet here is Yeshua fast asleep. Does that sound familiar – a Jewish prophet asleep in a boat in the midst of a fierce storm? But unlike Jonah, Yeshua was not weary on account of running away from God. He was weary because day after day, hour after hour, He was teaching and healing and doing the will of God, and in His genuine humanity He was exhausted. But the disciples were wide awake and terrified at the ferocity of this storm, so they woke Him up, saying, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Mark continues, And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
If they had been afraid in the midst of that storm, now they were really afraid! “Just who is this in the boat with us, who has this kind of authority?” It was only beginning to dawn on them that they were in the presence of God Himself, who had taken on humanity.
And that’s who Yeshua is. And if you will confess your sin, and transfer your loyalties to Him, He will be your Advocate with the Father, and His righteousness will be credited to you. That’s who He is. He is the only One who can do this for you, but He is all you will ever need.