October 08, 2024
The word “sovereign” means “one supreme in power; ultimate authority.” When we say that God is sovereign, we are stating the truth that no one is above Him and that He rules over everything. But there is something vital we must understand about God’s sovereignty.
God is God and does what He pleases, but God is good and always does what is right.
To misunderstand either side of this equation is harmful. If you do not believe He is God, you will treat Him lightly and not honor, serve, and properly fear Him. You will not acknowledge His lordship nor bend to His rule.
But if you do not believe He is perfect in goodness, you will think ill of Him and not love and respect Him. Every step of His sovereignty is driven by His goodness. God knows what He is about and is always righteous and good.
THE LITTLE SOVEREIGN FACES THE SOVEREIGN GOD
Pharoah, in Moses’ day, was the ruler of the known world. He sat on his throne, thinking there was no one greater. He had the most prominent kingdom and the greatest army on the face of the earth.
All the Pharaohs in succession believed they were gods. Four thousand years later, there are still physical reminders of their dynasty. But a shepherd, directed by the Ultimate Sovereign, came out of the desert to humble him and accomplish Divine purposes. God spoke to Moses with this prophecy.
“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments. The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.” (Exodus 7:3-5)
God’s agenda was to deliver His people, who had been in cruel slavery for 400 years under various Pharaohs. But He was going to do it in such a way that all the world, both Jew and Gentile, would have a forever reminder of who He was.
Pharoah was a godless, pagan man who had mocked God and tried to take God’s place. He was ruling over what God owned. Think of someone stealing your identity and proclaiming before everyone that they are you. But also steals all your goods and uses them for vile, evil purposes.
It was time to give Egypt and the whole world a course correction. A reminder of who God was. So God “hardened” his heart each time Moses brought another plague. Over and over again, Pharoah refused to bow to God’s authority. It was nonsensical how stubborn this little king was. He was a man who had a depraved mind and couldn’t see right from wrong. But also, God had a hand in hardening his heart, for God needed to give the world a current, visible reminder of the right order of things.
In the end, both the Egyptians and the Israelites saw God's sovereignty. Pharoah bent his knee (grudgingly) and let Israel go, and the people went out with joy, awed at their God's greatness.
A failure to understand and embrace God's sovereignty leads to a host of sad results and a convoluted understanding of reality. In the absence of this belief, we quickly think we are God and can do what we please. But we fail to understand that God made us to live in dependency upon our Creator and it simply will not work any other way.
The more we accept His sovereignty the less we kick at the dispensations of Divine power and grace. We rest in His authority, but also in His goodness.
EVERY KNEE WILL BOW
There is coming a day soon when this world will end. Satan and every evil force will be judged and sent to an eternal place away from the presence of God and His people. The Bible says every imperfection of this present world will be burned with fire, and a new heaven and earth will descend on this very ground. With Christ at His right hand, God's throne will descend, and “every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10-11).
This new kingdom will never end and will never be touched by the slightest evil. (Think of living in a world of perfect love, beauty, and Divine order!)
We will bow because of His greatness but also kneel because of His goodness. We will be stunned by how He has used His power perfectly for the good of all. We will worship His mercy, grace, and kindness and be forever captured by the absolute perfection of His love. We will see and rejoice in His glorious sovereignty.
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