(9.) Our Accommodating God: His Special Effects in Nature

(9.) Our Accommodating God: His Special Effects in Nature.

“Who is able to understand the mind of Lord Yahweh? Who is able to be His teacher? We, however, have the mind of Christ!” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

An Accommodating Person is one who graciously changes plans for another’s benefit; who is willing to adjust in order to meet another’s needs; is open to adapting to changing circumstances; who is able to make concessions if needed; who makes allowances for others; who choose to oblige other and give them favors in order to be helpful; who is able to creatively shift from Plan A to Plan B if needed; who makes space for others to learn and grow; who welcomes others to fit into his own space; who makes reasonable exceptions to a general rule; who is comfortable in doing whatever it takes to be understood or to communicate effectively; who is willing to adjust expectations in light of reality; who is able to place limits on himself if it help others to flourish; who is able to step back in order to enable others to step forward.

Qualities of An Accommodating Person: Gracious; Humble; Sacrificial; Flexible; Observant; Farsighted; Insightful; Adaptable; Reasonable; Forgiving; Hospitable; Patient; Self-Effacing; Shrewd.

Our Accommodating God is willing, in His wisdom, to do everything described above, and then some. It seems to be in His nature to be an accommodating Soul, a part of His character since before Day One. God has been making concessions from before the creation of the universe, since creation itself was accomplished in the spirit of accommodation. God has also condescended to reveal His glory, agreed to His presence in the wilderness Tabernacle, made concessions to cultural realities in His Law, communicated in human language to produce holy Scripture, accommodated His word through His messengers, made Himself available through the Church’s sacraments, humbly revealed Himself with dreams and visions, and offered to us the ultimate accommodation… the Incarnation of His infinite Being to finite planet earth. God’s accommodations began before the beginning, during that eternal time before Day One, when Creator God filled everything, had always been present everywhere at the same time, and yet decided to make room for the universe. And the Lord has continued making concessions with His creation, with human beings, ever since. And that is the divine pattern to be found in our lives as well… to accommodate, to make space in our lives for God and for each other.

“And now, finally, Lord Yahweh answered Job from the very heart of a raging whirlwind. He said, ‘Why do you confuse the issue by questioning my wisdom, by darkening my counsel with words without knowledge? Why do you talk, Job, without knowing what you are saying? Pull yourself together and brace yourself like a man, Job! I have some questions for you, and want some straight answers from you! (Job 38:1-3).

God’s Special Effects in Nature. The Lord was not above using His creation to present some special effects to communicate with His people. He seemed to love putting some drama from nature into the mix when it comes to revealing who He is and how He expects people to live. God is accommodating, He will alter nature itself if that’s what it takes. The sun standing still? No problem. Throw in a horde of hornets? Got it. A little earthquake or two? Why not. How about My speaking from a violent whirlwind, from the eye of a hurricane? Sure thing.

God Accommodates to Us through Theophany: From the Greek words “Theo” (God) and “phaino” (to appear). So a theophany is when God makes a temporary appearance on earth for reasons of His own. A theophany is God’s temporary visible manifestation to remind us of His permanent presence in the world.  A theophany is God’s accommodation, when He stoops to us in gracious self-revelation in a form that we can experience through our senses. Theophanies, though, are preliminary, because they anticipate the ultimate theophany in the incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Theophanies in the Hebrew Bible were God’s temporary appearances, but in Jesus we see the fulfillment of theophany, a permanent appearance of God on earth.

“I know that you can do anything, Lord, and I am convinced that no one can stop you from doing anything you want. I had only heard about you second-hand, as if you were a rumor, but now I have seen you with my own eyes and heard your voice with my own ears. I take back everything I have said. Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. I repent now before you, Lord God, and I mourn my own ignorance. Please forgive me.” (Job 42:1-6).

God’s Drama. So it’s inevitable that an appearance of God, a theophany, would be accompanied by various natural phenomenon. When God makes an appearance, He seems to enjoy announcing it dramatically with special effects that capture our attention. God loves variety, so a theophany involved everything from a whirlwind and hurricane to a soft whisper; from heavenly trumpet sounds to earthquakes; from lightning and gale-force winds to thunder and voices; from fire and smoke to blinding lights and a burning bush. One particular time, a theophany of the Holy Spirit included many things all at once… a violent rushing wind, tongues of fire on people’s heads, and foreign languages. Theophanies have taken place in any number of settings in Scripture…

… At a Trash Heap: a whirlwind appearing before a suffering man (Job 38:1, 40:6);

… On a Mountain: Dense cloud; thunder; lightning; consuming fire; smoke; violent earthquake; increasingly louder trumpet blast (Exodus 19:9, 16-19; 20:18-19; 24:15-18);

… In a Tent: thick cloud; heavy presence (Exodus 40:34);

… On a Journey in the Wilderness: thick cloud by day, fire by night (Ex. 40:34-38);

… In a Cave: violent wind; earthquake; fire; gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13);

… In a Temple: thick cloud; heavy presence (2 Chronicles 5:13-14);

… In the Heavenly Throne Room: Isaiah’s calling (Isaiah 6);

… At a Babylonian River: Ezekiel watching the appearance of a violent storm, a cloud filled with flashing fire, and glowing metal in the midst of the fire (Ezekiel 1:1-5);

… In a Divine Courtroom with the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9-10);

… At the River Jordan: Father, Son and Holy Spirit all together (Mark 1:9-11; also refer to Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:29-34);

… During Prayer on a Mountain: dense cloud; body of light; clothing transfigured; voice of the Father; presence of two dead prophets. (Luke 9:28-36);

… On the Cross: Temple veil torn in two; earthquake, rocks split; tombs open, dead are raised; darkness at noon; salvation of thief. (Matthew 27:45, 50-53);

… In an Upper Room: tongues of fire; strong wind; foreign languages; filled with Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1-4);

… Under Persecution: Stephen saw skies open, heaven, Jesus and the Father. (Acts 7:54-56);

… On the Road: lightning; flashing lights; voice from heaven; blindness. (Acts 9:3-7);

… On an Island Penal Colony: St. John interacts with the glorified Jesus (Revelation 1).

“Yahweh is a warrior! Yahweh is His Name! (Exodus 15:3).

God Accommodates to Us through Creative Battle Plans. He was a fierce warrior with a vivid Imagination. Lord Yahweh, as we would expect, was not just any common fighter. He was a warrior with the divine imagination that created completely unpredictable battle plans for every conflict between an enemy of God and His Chosen People. In Scripture, the Warrior-King was the master of unconventional warfare, unexpected schemes that would leave people scratching their heads in surprise or shaking their heads in amazement. God’s strategies were so diverse that they might appear to be random, but of course they were divinely orchestrated. His battle strategies to victory were well outside the human imagination, in such a way that the faith of His fighters on the ground was tested.  It became obvious to His fighting men, though, that God was going about this battle in a completely different way than they would, and they were wise when they trusted in Him.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the enemy and his hordes that are with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and fight our battles.” (Hezekiah, 2 Chronicles 32:7-8).

Surrounded ( Fight My Battles ) – UPPERROOM

God’s Creative Battle Plans. God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thought, so it follows that His battle plans do not even remotely resemble our battle plans. His unconventional battle strategies were accommodations to bring victory to His chosen people, and included everything from His instructions to picking up the sword,

… to telling the people to stand still and do nothing (Exodus 4);

… from using natural means at His disposal such as thunder, hailstones and hornets (1 Samuel 7, Joshua 10, Exodus 23, Deuteronomy 7);

… to simply marching around an impregnable walled city and blowing the shofar (Joshua 6);

… from creating mud to impede the enemy’s chariots (Judges 4);

…  to making the sun stand still in order to finish off the enemy (Joshua 10);

… from blowing strong winds to part a sea (Exodus 14);

… to putting singing priests on the front lines to worship their way to victory (2 Chronicles 20);

… from sitting on a rock and holding up a staff (Exodus 17);

… to an undersized troop of soldiers holding up torches and yelling a battle cry (Judges 7);

… from using His angels to do the dirty work (2 Kings 19);

… to creating sounds on the tops of mulberry trees (2 Samuel 5);

… from using a brash young boy with a sling to slay an experienced giant of an enemy (1 Samuel 17);

… to placing a woman prophet to command the battle (Judges 5);

… from renewing the strength of a rebellious strong man (Judges 16);

… to assigning some heavenly horses and chariots to intimidate the enemy (2 Kings 6);

… from causing an enemy to hear a frightful heavenly army (2 Kings 7);

… to causing an enemy troop to go completely blind (2 Kings 6).

Gods battle plans were effective, impossible to predict, and can only be explained as divine intervention.  Time and again we read phrases such as, “God routed the enemies,” “God handed the enemies over,” and “God gave His enemies over to Israel.” One way or the other, Lord Yahweh was invested in each battle to protect and defend His people and assure their survival. And through it all, the Lord did the strategizing and heavy lifting. God did the accommodating to lead His people to victory.