Characteristics of God, Humankind and Satan

2006-09-07

This brief essay gives examples of characteristics of God, humankind, and Satan found in the books of Genesis and Exodus.

Three Characteristics of God

God has many characteristics that make Him unique. Since the word “unique” is such broad a term, three specific characteristics will be presented to demonstrate His uniqueness.

God is omnipotent. As Moses wrote the Pentateuch, he used many designations for the Lord. When he wanted to emphasize His unlimited power, he often used a more generic name like God. This is why Moses used this term in the creation hymn. The refrain “God said” occurs ten times, and immediately after God spoke, whatever He commanded came to pass. The ten plagues of Egypt is another example of God’s omnipotence. Both passages reflect the Holy Spirit’s desire to show God’s unlimited power while undermining heathen deities. The gods of Egypt were all toppled (cf. Exodus 12:12), such as the sun, and Pharaoh king of Egypt, who was recognized as deity, had no control to stop or reverse the plagues. Other obvious examples include God’s sending of the floodwaters (Genesis 7), God’s confusing of the languages at Babel (Genesis 11), God’s parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14), and God’s provision of manna (Exodus 16). Because God made all things from nothing, He owns all, and He demonstrates His sovereignty over all creatures, including Satan, spirits, humankind, and animals.

God is full of grace and mercy. God loves people, and has been generous with humankind since they were created. He gave the first man and woman a garden where they could freely eat from every tree except one (Genesis 2:16f). Even after the pair sinned against Him, He led them away from the tree of life, so that they would not live forever in a sinful state where pain and broken relationship exist. The pinnacle of God’s grace and mercy is His provision for a Savior that would be born of a woman, and who would destroy the devil that led them astray (Genesis 3:15). Everything in the Bible from then on acts as a commentary on this verse, pointing to people’s need for a Savior to be restored to fellowship with God. God also demonstrated His love for His people in giving them a chance to escape the flood judgment in the ark (Genesis 6-7), promising His servants Abram and Sarai a child in their old age (Genesis 15), providing a substitute ram for the sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22), and giving Pharaoh king of Egypt many chances to repent and to let the Israelites go and worship the Lord (Exodus 12). Regardless of the faithlessness of humankind, God is faithful and provides for them.

God demands judgment for sin. God must punish sin because He is holy and righteous. All sin is against God. When the man and the woman sinned against Him in the Garden of Eden, He could not let them go unpunished. He said that they would surely die. They died spiritually upon eating the fruit they were told not to, and eventually died physically. When they sinned, God also slew animals to cover their sin, since sin requires a blood sacrifice (Genesis 3:21). In Genesis 6, the wickedness of humankind was so great that God had to act by sending floodwaters on the earth. In Sodom and Gomorrah, God had to destroy the cities because of their sin (Genesis 19). God also had to punish the Amorites after their sin was complete (Genesis 15:16).

Two characteristics of humankind

Humankind, ever since the eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, has been a race of sinners. Though all people have turned aside to do what is right in their own eyes, God still has not given up on them.

Humankind has the capacity of great evil. Even before the first sin of Adam, humankind had the capacity to disobey God. Given their own volition, they could choose to walk with God or walk away from God. Choosing the latter, people have elected to do evil ever since. Everyone is marred with sin. Specific examples include the first murder in the human race (Genesis 4:8), the disobeying of God to replenish the earth to build a tower honoring themselves (Genesis 11), Esau selling his birthright for stew (Genesis 25:34), and the Israelites murmuring in rebellion against Moses (Exodus 16). All people have the capacity to do the most wretched evil things in the face of God.

Humankind does not learn from mistakes. Though people had the chance to learn from their mistakes, they continue to do what is wrong and invite God’s judgment. Cain was caught in the middle of his sin, and though he was condemned to be a vagabond, he settled in Nod to build a city, naming it after his son (Genesis 4:14-17). The liberated Israel saw the miracles of God, but the people were already complaining a few days into their journey into the wilderness. Moses came into the presence of God, but could not trust God when he was called to speak with the Egyptian king (Exodus 4:10, 14). Whether or not they fear God, humankind will never be experientially righteous this side of heaven.

Application of God’s attributes to us

Since God is all-powerful, it is imperative that we let this fact rule our lives. We are sinners, bound to sin and cannot escape. But when we let God rule in our lives, we experience His forgiveness and are changed from the inside out. His grace and mercy extends to us incessantly, and when we ask for forgiveness, He is quick to forgive. A lot of times, we sin, and then blame God for turning away from us. But when we ask for forgiveness, quite the opposite is true. God is quick to forgive us as many times that we sin. Jesus’ death at Calvary covered it all.

Two characteristics of Satan

Satan was created as the anointed cherub Lucifer. Satan is a particularly evil being, because when he sinned, he had no previous example to follow.

Satan wants to be God. His aspiration to be like God is seen in the fivefold refrain of ‘I will’ in Isaiah 14. Satan specifically states, “I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14). He noticed his own beauty, and lifted himself up (Ezekiel 28:17).

Satan wants to see the ruin of humankind. Because Satan hates God and wants His position in the universe, Satan hates humankind because they were made in God’s image and were given rule over the earth. He went to Eve to deceive her, using outright lies to get her to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge (Genesis 3:1-5).