I want you to know that God always wanted to be close to man. After forming man and placing him in the Garden of Eden, the Holy Father used to take time from His day to converse with Adam and Eve. God still had legions of angels and the host of heaven for Him to interact with and man had his wife and all the Earthly animals to communicate with. Everyone had their roles and responsibilities to handle in the Heavenly realm and Earthly realm respectively. However, God felt that it was important for both realms to connect and what better way for that to happen than for Him to come down and talk to man face to face (Genesis 3:8)

Now unfortunately, Adam and Eve sinned and lost that connection and communication with God. They lost God, but they also gained something that He didn’t want them to get, that is, the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Yes, man got the knowledge of how to do evil, and oh how greatly have we perfected this knowledge to our detriment! The first humans gained knowledge and they also lost knowledge; they lost the knowledge of who God was and lost the daily ability to speak to Him and obtain His wisdom and impartation.

It was only at the birth of Adam’s grandson, Enos, two hundred years after, that men began to call upon the name of the Lord again and know him once more (Genesis 4:26). Two hundred years of wasted time before man started to desire God again. But God always wanted to be close to man, but it is a result of man’s stiff-necked and sinful ways that hinders God from drawing near.

But because of God’s love towards us He was always injecting Himself in various ways in an attempt for us to know Him.   In the Old Testament for instance, every time a major event happened, we would find God revealing a new characteristic of Himself. For example, when Abraham’s faith was tested with the killing of his only son, God provided a lamb as a replacement, so God’s name became known as Jehovah-Jireh (Genesis 22:14), meaning the “the Lord will provide”.

Another example is when King Melchizedek of Salem praised Abram’s valiant rescue of his nephew Lot (Genesis 14:19-20).  The Hebrew name given to God here is Jehovah-Elyon which means “supreme God” or “most loved God”. Again, God was providing us with knowledge of who He is and you would find this event-based name identification approach throughout the Bible. After all, names are important to God  so there is no wonder He focuses on it.

A good place to start learning the Hebrew names of God is by reading “The Names of God” – by Lester Sumrall.  But apart from doing this extensive Bible study, God has given us glimpses of Himself in simple expressions of His word when He says He is the “God Of”.

  1. “God of gods” – Deuteronomy 10:17
  2. “God of Heaven and Earth” – Ezra 5:11
  3. “God of Glory” – Psalm 29:3
  4. “God of our Salvation” – Psalm 65:5
  5. “God of the things not seen as yet” – Hebrews 11:7
  6. “God of the spirits and all flesh” – Numbers 27:16
  7. “God of Knowledge” – 1 Samuel 2:3
  8. “God of Love and Peace” – 2 Corinthians 13:11
  9. “God of all Grace” – 1 Peter 5:10
  10. “God of Patience and Consolation” – Romans 15:5

Listing those 10 characteristics has brought joy to my spirit, knowing that our God is the God of all those things and much more. Every one of us can stand securely on those words, in the knowledge of who He is.  

I also like how He states in the following passage that He is NOT the God of:

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive” – Luke 20:38

This means that everyone living can come to Him and He will be the “God of” everything to them and for them. If we draw nigh to Him, He will draw nigh to us (James 4:8). During this time of the Passover (Easter), I want to remind everyone that Jesus paid the price in blood and ultimately death for us to be reconciled with God. He did it that we might once again know Him, that He is the God of everything!

In these perilous times with pandemics like the Coronavirus, it is a good time to have knowledge of the Heavenly Father and foster a deep relationship with the God of everything. Let’s not be described like how Jeremiah labelled some:

“My people are fools; they do not know me (God). They are senseless children;  they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.” – Jeremiah 4:22

I don’t want to be labelled as a fool for not knowing God, especially when he has opened a door through His son for us to come back to Him. Therefore, let us all turn from our unrighteous ways (Isaiah 64:6) today and back to the God of all flesh for there is True Life and Salvation in Him.    

PS: Dane Miller was last seen telling some friends that there is a difference between “Knowing about God” and “Knowing God”.  

Your Brother in the Lord,

Dane Miller | Author

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