Who is YHWH?

June 12, 2014

 

I listened to some talking head on television the other day opining about Phil Robertson and his stand on homosexuality.  She declared that Phil’s stance against gay marriage was a political one rather than a religious one.  He was simply using religion as a cloak to give legitimacy to his prejudices.  After all, she said, true Christians are embracing homosexuality and the whole LGBT agenda.  They believe that God accepts all and loves all.  Therefore, Phil really can’t be a true Christian.

To be honest, what she said frightened me on a couple of  levels.  One, her remarks spoke to what I believe will be a new angle in the attack on Christians who oppose the LGBT agenda for legitimization.  The new angle?  Those in opposition really aren’t Christians.  They’re bigots using Christianity to advance their homophobic causes.  Two, the assertion that “true” Christians support, not oppose, the gay agenda speaks to a deliberate campaign to marginalize and disenfranchise those who would argue the bible, and thus God, stand in opposition to legitimizing homosexuality.  Those who would take that position are being charged with misrepresenting what the Scripture teaches on the subject.  According to many mainstream Protestant denominations God has no problem with homosexuality, only the kooks and nuts do.

This brings me to what I believe is a central question in this ongoing battle:    

Who is YHWH?  What is He really like?

This is a question I tackle with great reservation.  Why?  First of all, it seems the height of hubris for any finite being to seek to answer such a question about an infinite being.  How can the creature possibly grasp the nature of the Creator?  It is a task that would appear to me to be, for a multitude of reasons, impossible.  Secondly, the more I study and think about the nature of God, frankly, the more inadequate, and even frightened, I feel.  Treading on holy ground requires you take your sandals off (see Exodus 3) and recognize the imperfections and flaws of your humanity.  I have no desire to misrepresent or in any way denigrate YHWH.

Having said that; I feel constrained to address this subject.  The nonsense being asserted on a daily basis concerning the nature of God must be responded to.  Is He the fiendish, cruel, vindictive, hateful God of the Westboro Baptist Church?  Is He the grandfatherly, toothless, harmless, tolerant to a fault Being portrayed by most liberal Protestant clergy?  Is one right and one wrong? Or are both pictures heretical misrepresentations of His nature?   Finding the truth in this matter is critical.  Our understanding of the character of YHWH will undeniably affect our perception of His will for mankind as reflected in the Bible.

Allow me to share a couple of observations concerning the nature of God, which make me, and may make you, a little uncomfortable.  However, I believe they are very pertinent to this discussion.

The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 1:20 – For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So what does His creation tell us about Him?

Generally, we look at creation for the attributes that make us comfortable with Him.  Like every other believer, I love to extol the glories of this universe.  The breathtaking beauty of far off galaxies and nebulae as seen through the eyes of the Hubble Telescope; the awesome glories of the Grand Tetons or the Grand Canyon; the bewildering and amazing varieties of life inhabiting the seas; all speak to a Being of overwhelming creative genius.  We are blessed with a world filled with seemingly infinite gifts of beauty placed here for our benefit.

But if I look with an honest eye at this creation, I also see another side of the Creator’s nature.  He has placed us on a world that is, undeniably, a violent and dangerous place.  Life, with all of its beauty, hangs for most creatures by a tenuous thread.  We tend to turn away from the harsh reality that death, often violent and bloody, is a part of life.  Disney’s representation of the animal world deliberately underplays the role of beak and tooth and claw, underplays it, I believe, because the reality makes us uncomfortable.  God created a world where billions of creatures die every day that others might live.  Pain and suffering are as much a part of His creation as beauty and life.  That is a fact.  To deny or ignore it is to turn a blind eye to a critical aspect of what His creation reveals about His nature.  He clearly wants us to understand that life, our life, is neither cheap nor easy.  Am I overstating it to say He has placed us in a world where, in a very real sense, we must fight for life?  There is clearly a side to our Creator that is not exactly cute or cuddly.

I believe too many have a tendency to read Scripture as they view creation – with the proverbial rose colored glasses.  We love Psalm 23 and John 3:16, and rightfully so.  They are beautiful affirmations of our God’s love and care for us.  They are reassuring and comforting.  Many in the realm called “Christian” today wish to accentuate this side of His revelation to us.  Great emphasis is placed upon His grace, mercy, and kindness.  The self-described “progressive” religionists would have you believe that sin is no big deal.  God is in the forgiveness business.  Selfishness, greed, and sexual sin are buried and forgotten beneath the comforter of love.  Our God is the big Teddy Bear in the sky. Just cuddle up in His arms.  Everything will be okay.

On the other hand, Scripture’s relentless depiction of God’s implacable justice tends to be ignored or explained away – except for its exploitation by atheists.  It’s almost as if there is a tacit agreement among Christians that we will turn a blind eye to the harsh judgment and violent justice God metes out in Scripture.  Once again, I fear it is neither healthy nor profitable to ignore what God’s word clearly does not.  Why would His word be so explicit about His often violent judgment against those who rebel against Him unless He wants to make it clear that offending Him is not a wise thing to do?  From causing the earth to open to swallow the followers of Korah (Numbers 16), to requiring the life of the newborn son of David because of his adultery (2 Samuel 12), to smiting Herod Agrippa with worms because of his acceptance of worship as a god (Acts 12), the message of God’s word is He does not take sin lightly.  He punishes sinners.  Harshly.  This may make some uncomfortable, but it does not make it less true.

God is the God of heaven.  He is also the God of Hell. 

I believe that people who are downplaying the dangers of blasphemy, idolatry, and sexual sin in this day and age are making a huge, and tragic, mistake.  They are choosing to ignore the complex nature of an infinite Being who is as just as He is gracious.  Their deliberate ignoring of His absolute demands for obedience and loyalty are temporally and eternally unwise.  Scripture could not make it clearer that there will be a horrifying price to pay for disobedience and disloyalty.

We have a divinely given blessing to share with the world the message of God’s love in Jesus Christ.  We also have a responsibility to share with the world the consequences of disrespect and disobedience shown toward Him.  We may enjoy sharing the one and find it challenging to share the other.  Welcome to the world of Jeremiah and Paul.  But we do the world no favors if we allow it to bully us into silence on issues of eternal consequence.