Principle
Because GOD created all things, He has the right to decide how His creation should function.
Explanation
We previously observed that GOD created all things.
Design implies a designer, always. We would never look at a beautiful building and think, “Oh what an amazing accident that was! An explosion happened and all the pieces came together intricately to form this incredible structure.” The thought is laughable.
Yet this is precisely what humans do with GOD’s creation. Sad!
Because GOD created everything that exists, He has the right to determine how it should work. Right from wrong.
Consider this analogy.
A computer engineer builds a robot. She codes the operating system for that robot so that it performs certain operations. She powers on the robot and everything goes smoothly for a while. Suddenly, the robot starts behaving strangely. Instead of picking up items from a cart and setting them neatly on the counter, the robot begins dropping them on the floor, making a mess.
Does the computer engineer have a right to be upset at the robot’s behavior? Angry, even?
Even though, in this analogy, the robot’s unintended behavior is due to its programming and not the robot itself, the engineer obviously has a right to be upset and angry. She intended it to work one way and it worked differently.
Despite the obvious flaws in my analogy (humans aren’t intended to be GOD’s robots), the point is to view the creation from the perspective of the creator.
The creator alone has the right to decide how his creation is supposed to function. So it is with GOD.
The Bible asserts that GOD created all things to function in a manner consistent with His will. For most of creation, that is no problem.
GOD reminded Job of this principle, putting him in his proper place:
2 “Who is this who hides counsel from Me,
And holds words in his heart
And thinks to conceal them from Me?
3 Gird your waist like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know.
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 To what were its foundations fastened,
Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the stars were m ade
And all My angels praised Me in a loud voice?8 “I shut up the sea with doors
When it burst forth and issued from the womb.
9 I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in mist.
10 I fixed My limit for it and set bars and doors.
11 I said, ‘This far you may come, but no further,
And here your waves must stop.’12 “Did I order the morning light in your time,
And did the morning star see its appointed place,
13 To lay hold of the ends of the earth
And to shake the ungodly out of it?
14 Or did you take clay of the ground and form a living creature,
And set it with the power of speech upon the earth?
15 Have you removed light from the ungodly
And crushed the arm of the arrogant?
16 “Have you come upon the fountain of the sea
And walked in the tracks of the deep?17 Do the gates of death open to you for fear,
And did the doorkeepers of Hades quake when they saw you?
18 Have you been instructed in the breadth of the earth under heaven?
Tell Me now , what is the extent of it?19 “In what kind of land does the light dwell,
And what kind is the place of darkness?
20 If you would bring Me to their boundaries,
And also if you understand their paths,
21 Then I know you were born at that time,
And the number of your years is great.22 “Have you com e upon the storehouses of snow?
Have you seen the storehouses of hail?
23 Are they stored for you against the time of your enemies,
For the day of wars and battles?24 From where does the frost proceed?
From where does the south wind scatter over the earth?
25 “Who prepared a course for the violent rain
Or a path for the thunders?
26 Who causes it to rain on a land where there is no man,
Or an uninhabited wilderness, where there is not a man in it,
27 To satisfy the untrodden and uninhabited land
And cause it to spring forth a crop of tender grass?28 Who is the rain’s father,
And who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice,
And w ho has given birth to the frost in heaven,
30 Which descends like flowing water?
Who made firm the face of the abyss?31 “Do you understand the band of the Pleiades,
And have you opened the fence of Orion?
32 Will you open up Mazzaroth in its season,
And the evening star with his rays?
Will you guide them?
33 Do you know the movements of heaven
Or the events which take place together under heaven?34 “Will you call a cloud with your voice,
And will it obey you with a violent shower of much rain?
35 Can you send out lightnings, and they shall go?
They shall say to you, ‘What do you want?’
36 Who has given to women wisdom in weaving
Or knowledge of embroidery?37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom,
Job 38:2-41 OSB
And who bowed heaven down to earth?
38 For it is spread like a cloud of dust,
And I have joined it together as one hewn stone to another.
39 “Will you hunt prey for the lions
Or satisfy the lives of the serpents?
40 They fear in their dens,
And live in the forests, and lie in wait.
41 Who provides food for the raven?
For its young ones wander
And cry to the Lord in search of food.
Yes, most of creation works exactly as GOD intended. Except those to whom He gave free will.
Angels and humans were given the ability to choose their course of action. Both chose to go against their intended design.
As for humans, the prophet Jeremiah acknowledged:
19 I know, O Lord, that man’s way is not his own, nor will a man go and prosper in his own pursuit.
Jeremiah 10:19 OSB
The Hebrew version of this verse (Jeremiah 10:23), says that it is not in man to direct his own steps.
In other words, humans aren’t smart enough or wise enough or foreknowing enough to choose our own best course of action. This is why so many people who don’t have a good relationship with GOD end up in such a mess, because they try to go their own way rather than ask the One who designed them and is (alone!) capable of setting a proper course for them to guide and direct their footsteps.
Don’t be like this fool. Lean on GOD to direct your steps.
7 The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom,
Proverbs 1:7 OSB
And there is good understanding in all who practice it;
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