Knowing God is the greatest pursuit we can undertake in life. This noble pursuit is more than knowing about Him or understanding what He is like; it is the pursuit of a relationship with Him where we come to know Him intimately and we are known by Him deeply.
A. W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God
is the most important thing about us.”
Because we are God’s children as followers of Jesus, He reveals Himself to us, just as He has for generations. Consider how God revealed Himself to Moses. God spoke to Moses in Exodus 33:18, “And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name YEHOVAH before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion."
God appeared to Paul and revealed Himself in their intimate relationship. This intimacy lead Paul to describe, “…the manifold wisdom of God,” in Ephesians 3:10. The idea of manifold is multi-faceted or the many faces of God. Then, in Romans 10:22 and 33, Paul later proclaimed, “Behold the kindness and severity of God….Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” God is a multi-faceted God who cannot be describe in mere human terms.
Because God is so complex, so far beyond our understanding, and so far beyond what words can describe, the old testament is filled with the name YEHOVAH combined with other words. As we look at these combined names of God we will see His many faces, not to learn about Him, but to get to know Him.
“Great is YEHOVAH, and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.” -Psalm 145:3
In Hebrew He is YEHOVAH GADOL, YEHOVAH the GREAT!
It is entirely intentional that the word “great” is used three times in this poetic verse. In Hebrew, when a word is used twice, it signifies the perfection of the word used. For example, when the Bible uses SHALOM once, it is translated “peace.” When SHALOM is used twice, it is translated, “PERFECT PEACE.”
Where double use signifies “perfection,” triple use signifies “ultimate.” So, then, the triple use of greatness in this verse signifies “ultimate greatness.” God’s greatness goes beyond all comprehension because it is the architype of greatness, the ultimate greatness, greatness far beyond anything we have experienced in our physical lives bound by the confines of time and space.
Greatness, when applied to YEHOVAH, must carry with it every aspect of greatness. It is, all at once, greatness in magnitude and extent, greatness in number and intensity, greatness in importance and eminence. The greatness of YEHOVAH is distinguished above all else and esteemed beyond measure.
Because greatness is a part of God’s nature, it extends to His great works in nature and to the exercise of His will. Greatness is displayed in the words He speaks and in the works of His hands. Whatever God touches carries the weight of His greatness.
Because greatness is essential to God’s being, it extends to His Glory, His Mercy, His Name, His Goodness and His Compassion. When sin is great, God’s mercy is greater. When great nations revolt against God, He is greater. When the challenges that we face are great, God’s victory is greater.
Because of His greatness, He makes us a great people. When God said to Abram, in Genesis 12:2, “I will make you a great nation…,” He followed with these words, in Deuteronomy 4:6-7,
“Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is YEHOVAH our God whenever we call on Him?”
Because God is great, he is greatly to be praised. He is to be praised exceedingly, abundantly beyond any praise we can practice or imagine. Our praise for God is to be above and beyond our praise of anything else I this life.
Our praise of God is to be great in intensity, as God is great in both passion and power. Our praise is to be great in frequency, never ending, just as God’s greatness never wanes and never ceases. Our praise must be great in passion, looking into the heart of our Great God who is constantly compelled by jealousy and zeal.
Were we to spend all of our waking moments praising God, it would not be enough to express the true nature of His greatness. Were we to spend all of our days praising God with every breath, it wouldn’t fulfill the call of praising God greatly. We can seek to praise God with all our being, but we will never attain to the greatness of praise possible or worthy of the greatness of God.
When I praise Him, I am surrounded by His greatness. It engulfs me. It is great in every regard, so great that it is unsearchable. It is beyond finding out. It is beyond discovery. Were we to plumb the depths of YEHOVAH GADOL, the Great One, we would never reach the bottom. If we attempt to scale the heights of His Greatness, we will never reach the top. His greatness is far and wide and tall beyond any journey we might undertake to explore Him.
And so, we say with David in 1 Chronicles 29:11-12,
"Yours, O YEHOVAH, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O YEHOVAH, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. "Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.
"Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.”
In this short treatise, we have barely touched the surface of the tip of the iceberg that is the greatness of God; and the greatness of God is but one aspect of the endless number of truths we can know about YEHOVAH.
My wife, Michy, and I were staying in Florence, Italy when God was revealing His greatness to me. We were drinking cappuccini at our kitchen table and I was sharing what I was learning. When I got up, I said to Michy, “I’m going to spend a little bit of time with YEHOVAH.”
I was immediately struck with the ridiculousness of that statement. If YEHOVAH is great in every regard (and He is), and if He wants to spend time with me (and He does), then it is ludicrous to say, “I am going to spend a little bit of time with YEHOVAH.”
I immediately corrected myself and my approach to my time with God. Since that day, my heart remains with this as its motto: “I am going to spend as much time with YEHOVAH as He wants to spend with me.” What a privilege it is to be the children of YEHOVAH and to be in relationship with such a magnificent God.