The Silence of God

Ps 50:21 “These things hast thou done, and I KEPT SILENCE; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.”

Every once in a while, some “wise” man tackles it again, and speaks with certainty about things he cannot possibly know!

1) Fact #1 – When He is silent, it is because He has His reasons NOT to speak! He “KEEPS” silence (or not). God’s silence is no accident, nor is it a a”spur of the moment” thing. He KEEPS silence, and He BREAKS silence, in a way consistent with His nature and purpose.

2) Fact #2 – The fact that we have no current record of God speaking to a certain matter – especially of matters which occurred thousands of years before --does not mean that He had NOT spoken on that matter. By inspiration (2 Sam 23:2); by dreams (Gen 37); by visions (Dan 9); by lot; by Urim and Thummin – He DID reveal His will. Not every such expression of God’s will (especially since it did not pertain to us) is recorded. To unequivocally state that God did NOT speak to allow or deny certain things in times past, in view of this fact, is the height of arrogance. We need to be reminded: De 29:29 “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

3) Fact #3 – For US, God has determined that we live by His WORDS, not by His SILENCE. “Man shall live by every WORD…” (Mt 4:4). We must “SPEAK as the oracles of God”…(1 Pet 4:11). Our souls are purified in obeying the “truth” (in itself, “silence” reveals NO truth) (1 Pet 1:22-25); He holds us to “what has been written (revealed, not withheld)” (1 Cor 4:6).

At the conclusion of the latest article I read which sought to neutralize God’s silence, human judgment (not God's word) grants to us the choice to respect God’s silence, so long as we do not expect others to do so, and receive them regardless. But, as far as I can see, there are no grounds for compromise – we either respect it when God does not express His will, and act only when He reveals it to us, or we do not. And only those who have that mutual respect for the will of Almighty God should receive our respect and endorsement. -A.C. Belue, Jr.

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