Why the Bible Presents a Problem

One of the unique things about the Bible is one of the hardest things to refute.  What I refer to is the amount of material it represents over the time period that it represents.  The fact that it represents all of time– beginning at the beginning and then not going silent except between a period of the Old Testament and the arrival of Jesus of Nazareth on the scene– makes it difficult to say that it contains no value, and the historical quality makes it difficult to ignore what it claims about history.

This is because the Bible contends to not just tell what happened, but why it happened, and Who was behind it.  If the Bible were to have stayed with just talking about what happened, there would be no problem with accepting it.  That it claims that an Almighty Being caused events to occurred means that a hard task of attempting to discredit the history has to be undertaken to nullify its message.

Take, for example, the time in Hezekiah’s reign in Israel where they were being attacked by the Assyrians.  Archeologists have found accounts in the Assyrian history that they tried to take Jerusalem but were unable to.  If the Bible had simply corroborated this story then everyone could be happy– but that’s not the case.  The Bible talks about Hezekiah praying, Isaiah interceding and the Lord destroying the whole army with an angel before dawn.

And that’s not the only time that the Bible claims that God did things for His own glory without any help:

• Egypt- plagues, parting the Red Sea, and Manna
• Jericho- army marches around a wall 7 days and it falls inward.
• Gideon- defeats an entire army with 300 men, pitchers and torches
• Jehosophat- is looking toward being destroyed only to have the invading armies turn on each other.
• Other battles- God causes the sun to stand still.

And that’s just a small sampling.  This is the problem– that contrary to what the atheists of the day want to tell you– God wanted to let people know that He was involved.  In fact, I believe that one of God’s biggest desires for those that are called by His name is to get out of the way and let him be seen.

This is a problem.  God’s supposed to be someone that I cannot find, cannot talk to, and that is shy.  Unfortunately, the Bible paints something completely different– and also has a warning.  Those that seek for a sign are often the ones that cannot see it when it’s given.  Think Pharaoh in the Old Testament and the Pharisees in the new.

For those that believe– take heart:  God is at work today, just like He’s always been.  He may be more at work through people than in pillars of clouds, but He is still there.

For those that do not believe– take notice:  Each time you are shown God you’re given the chance to accept or reject.  Just like Pharaoh of old, though, the more you reject the less chance you have to see Him the next time– even if He uses something spectacular.