Who among the gods
Exodus 15:11 NIV
is like you, LORD?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
How do you describe the indescribable God? While I am nowhere near the smartest man alive, I am reasonably intelligent. And while I have little formal theological training, I have invested much of my life in studying the Bible and trying to understand what it says. And yet, I still struggle to answer that question.
Yes, God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, self-existent, eternal, triune, sovereign, transcendent, immanent, and so much more. I know all (or at least most) of the terms we use to describe God. And I have written about many of them. But that is not the same as really knowing what God is like. I can describe him in human terms. But he is so much more than that.
In Exodus 15:1-19, Moses’s song seems to express that same sentiment after Israel had passed through the sea. Who among all the gods other people worship can begin to compare with the Lord? There is no one like him—he is unique. Moses stood in awe of God: majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, and working wonders.
The Bible contains God’s revelation of himself to us, as does the creation. But their story is necessarily limited by our inability to understand the infinite God. All we see and believe about him is only a faint shadow of his reality.
But how often am I guilty of thinking I have something about God figured out? When the best I can do is like a blind man trying to describe an elephant by feel. And then wasting time arguing with another blind man about what the elephant is like.
There is little doubt in my mind that when we see the Lord in all his glory, we will realize just how limited and distorted our picture of him was. But, for now, I will continue as best I can to grasp his glory and majesty. And I will try to extend grace to my fellow blind explorers as we try to understand God.
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1 Cor 13:12 NIV
