Our awesome God (c)

"Say to God, How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves unto You" (Psalm 66:3).

Our awesome God is awesomely awesome in power! Little wonder the psalmist says "Through the greatness of Your power shall Your enemies submit themselves unto You." Prophet Habakkuk further described His great acts towards His creation and men in Habakkuk 3:10-15. Knowing assuredly that God chooses and secures our inheritance, David praised (Psalm 108:1-5) and reminded God of His promises to Israel (Psalm 108:7-9), and later, he solicited for His help. Realizing his frailty and helplessness to combat and deal with dominant enemy that has potential to disallow him from occupying his possession, he cried out: "Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me to Edom?" Obviously, he cannot overpower or conquer his contenders without the assistance of God. He desperately cried out to God for help in in verse12, "Give us help from trouble for the help of man is useless (vain)." He also rightly acknowledges that he needed God whose power none can resist: "Through God we will do valiantly, For it is He who shall tread down our enemies" (Psalm 108:13). When the Lord leads the battle, He renders the enemies incapacitated and they have no option than to quietly submit and surrender. For our awesome God avenges, He's furious, none can dare Him as He will not take it lightly with the enemies of His children. He is jealous of His heritage (Nahum 1:2 &6) and He carefully watches to preserve and keep them (Joel 3:16).

In the book of Judges 11:21-24, the people of Ammon eyed the lot of the children of Israel beyond Jordan and claim peace if it was returned to them. Interestingly, Jephthah gave detailed analysis of how God gave them the land that the people of Ammon was claiming (Judges 11:14-23). He told them everything that happened after they came out of Egypt; highlight their routes and their experiences on the way. So, Jephthah told them "as you can see this land was given to us by our God Jehovah who fought for us against Sihon king of Amorite, and you can only have what your god can give you. Why are you coveting and insistent on getting what does not belong to you? Should you then possess it? Despite his elaborate explanation, they were ruthless and refused to neither give up nor back our because God wants to deal with them. This is our inheritance and how we get it I have told you, but you did not want to let go what is not rightly yours, so, be ready to face the consequence of not letting the sleeping dog lie. And because of their hardheartedness (Judges 11:28), being poised for destruction, Jephthah consulted God, made a vow, secured God's backing and fought the people of Ammon. Unfortunately, the people of Ammon had soon forgotten how Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the Amorites who gathered armies against the children of Israel were defeated. So, God granted Jephthah's request, and intervened (verses 32-33) and with "a great slaughter" the people of Ammon were subdued before him. When the battle becomes the battle of the Lord, there is assurance of victory (Judges 12:3). God would not allow the enemy to disinherit His people of their inheritance. Indeed, through the greatness of His power shall His enemies submit themselves unto Him!

Jephthah took his life into his hands and crossed over to fight the people of Ammon. Though the children of Ephraim refused to help him (Judges 12:1-2), but wanted to share in the victory. They spoke angrily against Jephthah and wanted to burn his house down with fire. For him, another battle ensued after fighting the enemy without; there are enemies within who will not give him respite. Despite his plight of having to sacrifice his only daughter because of the vow he made to God, the people of Ephraim were not bothered at all. Their case is similar to the people of Ammon-they wanted what doesn't belong to them. They wanted to share in the victory of the battle they were not part of. They wanted praise ascribed to them and not God. They wanted to get the honour that Jephthah had already promised God. One may begin to wonder why did God allow the Gileadites to kill the Ephraimites, the answer is simple "they were not after God's glory" but for self acclaim. So, as many of them who were detected when asked to pronounce Shibboleth and could not pronounce it correctly were slaughtered (Judges 12:5-6). Unfortunately, 42, 000 Ephramites died in one day. God will not share His glory with anyone. So, the enemies within were also subdued. Even king Herod who dared to take God's glory was eaten up by worms (Acts 12:22-24). Our awesome God is terrible in praises.

As God was preparing another deliverer for His people, angel visited Manoah's wife (Judges 13:6) and Samson was born (verses 24-25). A time came when he sought after a woman of the Philistines (Judges 14:4) and this was occasioned by God to avenge His people because the Philistines had dominated them for so long. He met a lion o his way and the Spirit of the Lord moved upon him, he tore it apart, and killed it (Judges 14:16a). Later, when he was returning, he saw the carcass of the lion; took honey from it, ate it and used the occurrence to pose a riddle to the Philistines. And there was an agreement that Samson will give 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothing to whosoever unravel the riddle, and if no one could explain it, the philistines will give Samson 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothing. Everyone wants to defend what is his, the philistines are not ready to lose their garments, yet, they did not know the riddle posed to them by Samson. The Philistines therefore threatened to burn down Samson's wife and her father's house. No one will take our garment (verse 15b) "have you invited us to take what is ours? Is that not so? No one truly wants anyone to take what belongs to him. Samson eventually told his wife the riddle because she pestered him (verse17),  and the Philistines explained the riddle as though they truly know it. Samson was wrathful against them because of the subtlety, he went and killed 30 of them to fulfill the pledge of 30 changes of clothing to those who explained the riddle.

The Philistines believed they overpowered Israel by "Dagon" their god. They presumed their mastery over them was because of their god's backing not knowing that they were able to capture Israel and the ark because of Israel's sins. And until Dagon was found fallen twice do they realize that it was not ordinary thing and that they are in for trouble (1 Samuel 5:3-4). It later became more evident to them that something serious was happening, our awesome God was at work and till today no one tread the threshold of Dagon (1 Samuel 5;5). God dealt with them, they were not healed of their plagues until they returned the ark and gave glory to God of Israel (1 Samuel 6:6, 11-16). Yet, the Philistines would not give up but still pursued the children of Israel to Mizpah, where they were gathered according to Samuel's instruction with fasting and prayers in order to return back to God (1Samuel 7:7). The children of Israel were afraid and requested that Samuel should plead to God on their behalf. God heard Samuel and thundered (1Samuel 7:10, Isaiah 8:9-10), the Philistines were confused and the children of Israel overcame them. Not only were they subdued but they never trouble the children of Israel again all the days of Samuel (Joel 3:16, Nahum 1:15b). Our awesome God also restore to the children of Israel their land taken by the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:14).

Nebuchadnezzar, a heathen king set up an image of gold for everyone to worship, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to serve or bow to his image. So, in fury, he commanded that the furnace be heated up seven times more than it was usually heated, and that they be thrown into it (Daniel 3:16-21). Though their faith in God was tested but their response was remarkable. They  had confidence and absolute trust in God as they declare " our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and He will deliver us from your hand O king." However, their faithfulness to God was made known as they also declare "But if not, let it be known to you O king, that we do not serve your gods nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." O king Nebuchadnezzar hear and hear us very well this our unflinching determination against your decree, we are resolved not to bow to your idol even if our God decides not to deliver us, because it is a sin unto our God to worship  any idol. God honoured their faith and the unimaginable happened because they were unbending. These three Hebrews had an unusual encounter with our awesome God inside the fire. They were moving about and their body was not burnt nor their hair singed. Incredible! Those who put them in the fire were consumed due to the intensity of the fire but the people in the "real fire" were unhurt. Everyone was amazed; unbelievably there is another man with them in  the fire. God himself being the consuming fire that no fire can consume was right there with them. Nebuchadnezzar saw the greatest sight of his lifetime,  he was astonished and quipped: "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire ; and they were unhurt, and the form of the fourth is like the son of God." Then, he  quickly ordered that they should be brought out and he acknowledged the God of the Hebrews (Daniel 3:28-29).