The Sovereignty of God
Scripture
2 Samuel
7:18-29, Daniel 4:17-33
Key Verse -
“And
as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have
also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this
your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord?”
Study
As we have
studied God’s omnipotence, we learned that God has the power to do
all things. However, this power is not wielded randomly. God has a
plan and a purpose for His people. God’s plan will be achieved
because of His omnipotence. He will not leave His plan and purpose
to chance but rather will exert His power where it is necessary.
Freewill
We mentioned
freewill with respect to God’s power and how much power God exerts
over us. It is even more applicable with regard to His
sovereignty. John Calvin saw God as being absolutely sovereign
where man had no freewill. God has to exert His power all the time
because man would continually fail and reject God because of our
sinful nature. Deists (many of our founding fathers were such!)
have gone the opposite extreme, believing that God set the world in
motion and is now sitting back and watching things play out.
As with many
things, the answer is most likely in between. Without a doubt,
God’s promise to David was fulfilled and is still being fulfilled.
Israel was not always faithful to God however. As a nation they
were essentially destroyed for 2500 years. Was it God’s sovereign
desire to see His people rebel and reject Him as they did for so
long – and even now? However, God’s plans are not thwarted just
because sinful man is unable to follow God. His plans are still
headed toward fulfillment even if Israel was lost for more than two
millennia.
Likewise with
Nebuchadnezzar, he could have humbled himself and avoided the
judgment that fell upon him. Jonah is a case of just such a
situation. It was God’s sovereign plan for Nebuchadnezzar to be
humbled before Him and it could have happened immediately when
Daniel announced the judgment, or it could wait until after
Nebuchadnezzar had gone through seven years of madness. In this
case, it occurred after judgment, in the case of Jonah, the people
repented immediately.
We would do
well to not forget that God is on the throne and His plans will not
be thwarted. Although God did not cause Hitler to commit the crimes
he committed, God used such crimes to accomplish the return of the
nation of Israel. If Hitler had not rebelled against God but had
chosen a different path, God would have used another person or
another way to bring Israel back. His plans will not be stopped and
His promises will not be broken. We can rest assured in this
knowledge.
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