He Wants You to Know

Copyright © 2013 Beverly Lipford Carroll.

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-9938-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9937-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9939-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013911507

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/01/2013

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1:   Fire

Chapter 2:   Water

Chapter 3:   Bread

Chapter 4:   Light

Chapter 5:   Rock/Stone

Chapter 6:   Word

Chapter 7:   Lamb

Chapter 8:   Shepherd

Chapter 9:   Father

Chapter 10:   Gardener

Chapter 11:   King

Chapter 12:   Servant

Chapter 13:   Bridegroom

What Now?

This book is dedicated to Donna Dalton and the Seekers Class at FBC Richmond. Thank you for giving me a place to pour out my passion for God’s word. It is an incredible privilege to share my journey with you.

Acknowledgments

TO THE SEEKERS SUNDAY SCHOOL class at First Baptist Church, Richmond: Your faithfulness to our class and to studying God’s word inspires and encourages me every week. I am humbled by your trust in allowing me to be your teacher, and I am indebted to you for your support and confidence. I am a better teacher because of you.

So many have helped me bring this book to its current form. My efforts have been refined and improved by all the hours of proofreading and editing of several people I trust and respect:

To Todd Ball: Your honest reactions and insights helped me see my writing from a different perspective and fill in the gaps between what was going on in my head and what I put down on paper. Thank you for your candor and your friendship. I am inspired and blessed by both.

To Stephanie Whittington: You’ve been my personal reader for years. This time you helped me do my best. You found things I couldn’t see, and helped me helped me polish off the rough edges. Thank you for your deep insight and faithful friendship.

To Anne Ball: You have the perfect blend of meticulous analysis and kind wisdom. Your countless hours of proofreading and editing have made this a better book. There are so few people in this world with whom my truest self… . and my typos! . . . . are safe. Thank you for being one of mine.

To my mom, Maureen Lipford: You’ve spent the last 54 years of your life encouraging and supporting what you believed was best about my life. You and Daddy provided all that I needed to become the person God called me to be. I try every day to be the woman you think I am. You taught me to love learning and to never to give up… both were necessary for this book. Your sharp eye caught things in this manuscript that I missed. Thank you for your thorough proofreading and consistent support in this process.

To my husband, Jay: You have supported me through these long months of research and writing in every conceivable way. Thank you for the sacrifices you made to give me the time to do this. Thank you for your commitment that has protected our marriage and for your deep love that proves God answered my teenage prayers for a good husband. I am a better person because of you.

Foreword

I DIDN’T INTEND TO WRITE a book; I just wanted to teach a series of Sunday School lessons that would help my class have a deeper understanding of the character of God. God’s mercy led me tenderly through the research and teaching before he asked me to put it on paper. Despite several periods of self-doubt in this long process, God has given me the privilege of letting him reveal the content of this book while I type. I am so humbled that God has allowed me to do this, and well aware that I serve and seek a God who is faithful to provide all that I need to complete the task he has laid on my heart. This Almighty God has given me a front row seat in scripture as he reveals himself in his word, and if that is all that comes from this book, it is enough.

But if you chose to seek God in this study, we will examine thirteen metaphors that God uses to make himself known to man. Most of these metaphors weave in and out of scripture in both Old and New Testaments. Some of these broadly apply to the character of God; some seem to illustrate only one aspect. Many share common characteristics. They are divided into inanimate and animate, and we’ll approach them in that order. Inanimate objects have characteristics that describe them, and you see God use those characteristics in the Bible to reveal his power and character to his people—fire, water, bread, light, rock, and word. Animate references will include tangible things associated with both them and God: kings have crowns, gardeners have pruning shears, but they also include responsibilities and relationships: fathers have children, shepherds have sheep, and bridegrooms have a bride. If God went to the trouble to include these symbols and metaphors in the Bible to reveal his character and to help us understand him and be obedient in relationship with him, we need to study what they say about him. We need to know what God says about himself and what that means for us before we can have our own answer for Jesus’ question—Who do you say that I AM?

I believe that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. He is the very presence of God here on earth. Based on that belief and biblical evidence, I have included the words and actions of both God and Jesus as evidence of what these metaphors indicate about God.

My prayer is that you will approach this study prayerfully, asking God to reveal himself to you as you try to more clearly understand how he revealed himself in the Bible. Don’t let this be another Bible study under your belt and off your checklist; let it be a tool that God uses to teach you more about himself. I also encourage you to use a concordance to search these metaphors for yourself.

Introduction

FOR EIGHTY YEARS GOD PROTECTED Moses. God kept the crocodiles away from his basket in the Nile when Moses was a baby, God spared him execution after he murdered an Egyptian, and God spared him from almost certain death as he crossed the desert. For forty years in Egypt and forty years as a shepherd in Midian, Moses has learned about God. But it is at the burning bush when Moses finally meets God. It is a dramatic, holy moment when God asks him to move from knowing about him to experiencing deeper relationship with him.

After Moses removes his shoes and runs out of excuses for why God should choose someone else to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, he accepts the call and new direction for his life that this encounter will have. Then comes the formal introduction. Moses asks God what his name is so that he can tell Pharaoh who has sent him. God answers, Tell them I AM has sent you (Ex 3:14).

Why would the all-powerful, all-knowing, Almighty God of the universe define himself with an incomplete sentence? I AM is a sentence fragment. A linking verb (am) requires either a noun to tell what I is (I am your mother; I am a taxpayer), or an adjective describing the subject I (I am angry; I am tired). Why would God answer Moses with an incomplete thought? In my years of studying God’s word, one thing I have absolutely learned; there are no coincidences in God’s word; details definitely matter to God. For God to give Moses an answer that provides no information indicates that God’s answer is bigger than Moses can understand in one sentence or in that particular moment. In Moses’ story, and in ours, that answer takes an entire lifetime to learn.

There is a significant difference between knowing about, knowing that, and knowing. I can know about anything that is listed in Wikipedia. Knowing about doesn’t require any level of discernment; possessing a few facts will support any claim of knowing about. The Bible never references the idea of knowing about, but it does speak extensively on the idea of knowing that.

Ex 6:7 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians

Ps 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God.

Is 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Knowing that he is God implies more information and personal experience than just knowing about God. For example, knowing about my favorite football team is different from knowing that they will win the Super Bowl or who they will take in the next draft. Studying biblical history gives me information about God; my personal experience in relationship with him leads me to know that he is the one true God. Even demons and unbelievers know about God. But the idea of knowing is far more complicated, time consuming, and intimate.

There are few people who actually know us. I know my children. I can read the expressions on their faces, see the look in their eyes, and know what they have not told me. My husband and mother and closest friends can usually look at me and know what I’m feeling or thinking when I haven’t said a word. The Bible is clear: God knows us.

Ps 139:4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

Ps 139:16 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Luke 12:7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Is 25:8 He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces.

Who on earth knows you like that? Who knows every detail about you: past, present, and future? Whom do you know so well that you trust them with your tears? Some of us are more prone to let our emotions show, but we usually try to hide our tears from those we do not know. God knows us. He knows our history, he knows our current weakness and fears, and he knows our future. The astonishing thing is that God wants us to know him.

Even cultures that did not know God left archeological evidence that man was trying to find the knowledge of God. Western Civilization and Humanities classes in schools around the world identify the earliest examples of architecture and art as evidence of a culture seeking God in this life and meeting him in an afterlife. Humans are created with an inner yearning to know God; God did that on purpose because he wants to be known.

In our attempt to communicate with each other, we rely on what is known to help us convey ideas that are less familiar. Writers and teachers will use all sorts of literary devices to either explain something that is difficult to understand, or to shorten an explanation by comparing it to what is known. Symbols are one way they do this, and no words are required to elicit understanding. Seeing the American flag reminds me of the sacrifice that has preserved that flag and brings me a sense of belonging and home and pride. A swastika always evokes repulsion and horror at the evil associated with the Nazis. Other symbols are similar: a skull and crossbones indicates poison, the Statue of Liberty has been seen by countless people as their entrance to new opportunity. Thumbs up represents approval, and thumbs down indicates rejection. The cross represents the Christian Church. Just the image of the cross conveys meaning and gives understanding. Have you ever noticed that there is no symbol for God? The second commandment given to Moses for all mankind was that there should not ever be any image of God. In God’s providence, he never allowed his people to limit him to one image.

But in his mercy, God does give us glimpses of his character and his love by providing metaphors throughout his word to help us understand. Metaphors are comparisons not using like or as. God teaches us about himself using metaphors that we do understand. He introduced himself to Moses with the name I AM, and then began an awesome journey through the desert and through history. Day by day, story by story, he is still revealing himself to his children. His goal is that as we learn to see him as he is, we will become who he created us to be.

When my boys were young, there were times when their questions required answers that they were incapable of understanding: How can God hear people when they all pray at the same time? Why does the wind just blow sometimes? Why are people mean? They didn’t have the education or experience to understand the answers. (In most cases, I still don’t!) For some inexplicable reason, God gives us the ability to ask questions that require answers we are incapable of understanding. He even gives examples of people in the Bible struggling with these kinds of questions. In Ps 8:4 David asked, What is man that you are mindful of him? In Luke 1:34 Mary asked, How can this be since I am a virgin? In Luke 14:5 Thomas asked, We don’t know where you are going. How can we find you? In John 3:4 Nicodemus asked, How can a man be born again?

When the whole is answer is too big, too complicated, too far outside our ability to understand, sometimes the only way to approach the answer is for God to explain it in terms that we do understand and hope that we can make the connection. But the important aspect of this is that God wants us to understand who he is; over the course of our entire lives he give us the education and experience that will allow us to know him as he is.

There are at least three very good reasons why God used an incomplete sentence to explain himself to man. One of the reasons God didn’t try to adequately or completely define himself at any one moment is that we humans are incapable of completely wrapping our heads and our hearts around a being that is so different from us. We are limited by experience and language that doesn’t allow us to express or understand things that are outside our understanding. So what we do, what God did, is to try to explain the unfamiliar with the familiar. There are so many things in life that we just can’t understand until we experience them for ourselves. How would you explain the idea of ocean waves or tides to someone who has never left the desert? Words cannot adequately or completely convey the immense grandeur of the Grand Canyon, the colors of a sunset, the power of a flash flood, the change that giving birth makes in a parent, or the pain and beauty of giving a loved one back to God. Those experiences cannot be captured in words. The images and metaphors that God used to describe himself, and that others used to explain him, are God attempting to explain what is too big for us to understand, what is too big to fit into words.

Sometimes we are unable to understand the metaphors God uses because our perspective on that image is tainted by personal experiences that diminish it into something less than God intended it to be. For example, when God tells us he is our Father, he is referring to all that God originally created fathers to be for their children; yet, for those who had an abusive or unloving father or who never knew their father at all, that image doesn’t work. Satan has dedicated himself to counterfeiting God in the world and hindering our ability to know God and be in relationship with him. If Satan can corrupt our understanding of the metaphors God uses to make himself known, we won’t be able to make the connections God wants us to make. But this is further complicated by the fact that time and culture can change our understanding of these metaphors. Living on the east coast of America gives me little understanding of the job of a shepherd or the character of sheep. Ancient Hebrews understood an urgency for access to water that I have never experienced. People who don’t garden may not understand all the meanings God intends by comparing himself to a gardener. By using multiple metaphors, God can teach us the same thing in many different ways.

Another reason God used many images is because as we mature, our perspective on those images changes. How different are the perceptions of father in the mind of a preschooler, a teenager, someone who has children of his own, or someone who has lost his father? Life circumstances change, and we find that what we need from God is different. Sometimes what I most need from God the Father is his protection. Other times I need his merciful provision. Other times I need his clear guidance. Our response to our need for authority in our lives changes as well. King to a preschooler, a teenager, and a grandfather has very different connotations. God never changes, but his children do. He uses many different metaphors to meet us at the point of our need… . whatever that need is, and however it changes during our lives. His patience and persistence with our lack of understanding is overwhelming.

God will not fit into a small, neat, preconceived box. He is who he is, not who we try to force him to be, and he wants desperately for us know him as he is. Even a cursory look at God’s history with his people clearly shows that he wants his people to know him. No matter how his people behaved, God kept showing up—in Eden and the wilderness, in the Tabernacle and the Temple, in Bethlehem, at Pentecost… . wherever they were, he went, and he displayed his power on their behalf. When they got themselves into trouble, he rescued them—from enemies, lions, whales, storms, slavery, bad choices, and evil kings. He communicated with them. He told them how they were to wage battle, what he would do in their life, what he wanted them to say to his people and what he had to say to them personally. From Genesis to Revelation, over and over, he reminded them not to be afraid and that he is always with them. He gave laws designed to keep them safe within his protection, and songs to celebrate his relationship with them. He spoke through a burning bush, a donkey, writing on the wall, prophets, angels, his own son, and scripture that was written thousands of years ago. And in each of these moments, God reveals who he is, how much he loves his people, that he has ultimate power over the enemies of his people, and that nothing would prevent him from giving them every opportunity to regain the intimate relationship they lost with him in Eden.

God answers Moses’ question with an incomplete sentence. How awesome that the God of the universe basically says here, Follow me; let me show you. And when his people do, they often give God a new name to try and capture their new perspective of God. Hagar calls him El Roi, meaning the God who sees, after God saw her pain in the desert and comforted her (Gen 16:13). Abraham calls him Jehovah Jirah, the God who provides, after God provided a ram for the sacrifice instead of Isaac (Gen 22:14). Gideon calls him Jehovah Shalom (Jud 6:24) when God gave him peace about his calling. God allowed his children to give him new names when they saw him in new ways.

And sometimes those who sought to know God ended up with a new name for themselves: Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah, Jacob becomes Israel, Simon becomes Peter, and Saul becomes Paul. Names matter to God. In ancient cultures the name seemed to matter more than it does now. Nowadays, we are much more concerned about choosing a name for our children based on how it sounds with the last name or whether it might lead to unfortunate nicknames. In biblical culture names represented character, and were often based on circumstance at the time of the birth. Isaac means laughter; Jacob means deceiver; Jabez means one who was brought forth in pain. Knowing someone’s name often meant knowing his character. When Moses asked God what his name was, it was more than just a what should I call you?; it was more like who are you?. It was a question with an answer bigger than Moses could comprehend, and the all powerful, almighty God of the universe said, Follow me; let me show you.

Jesus’ parables were often built around metaphors and similes. He explained the kingdom of heaven with references to: a man who sowed good seed (Mat 13:24), yeast (Mat 13:33), a pearl (Mat 13:44), a fishing net (Mat 13:47), a child (Mat 18:4), and a king (Mat 18:23 and 22:2). He commanded us to be light (Mat 5:14), and be salt (Mat 5:13). His disciples had just as much trouble comprehending God as the patriarchs did. Jesus understood that what he was telling them was outside what they could fathom based on their education and experience, so he asked them to process it through an image they did understand. He explained himself with metaphors; John’s gospel is replete with Jesus’ I AM statements: Bread, Life, Living Water, the way, the truth, the life, the resurrection, the gate. In John 8:58 Jesus said, I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I AM. Don’t miss the fact that when the Roman guard came to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane, in John 18:5-6 Jesus asked who they were looking for, and they answered, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus’ response in the original language was I AM . . . . that is all. He repeated the exact same name God provided to Moses at the burning bush. Most modern translations add I am He or I am he that you are seeking to provide clarity, but the original translations record only I AM. When Jesus says twice I AM, the arresting group drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:6). They didn’t bow on purpose, but they bowed nonetheless. God was still finishing his sentence, and that group clearly needed to learn reverence for his name.

Metaphors are a