Oppose the Lord - you lose 21:30 There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD
Chapter 21 ends as it begins with references to the Lord and especially to his sovereign power. Derek Kidner sums up the two closing verses as warnings not to fight against the Lord (30) or without the Lord (31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD).
Verse 30 is very striking with its triple negative. There is no wisdom, insight or plan that can beat the Lord. He cannot be outmanoeuvred, though many have tried. There have been football teams and boxers and grand chess masters who have been labelled as unbeatable but their day has come at last. The ship The Titanic was famously thought to be unsinkable but it sank. The Lord, however, is different. He is genuinely unbeatable and unsinkable. Nietzsche declared that God is dead. As one wag put it after his death, ‘God is dead –Nietzsche. Nietzsche is dead – God.’ Mark Twain is said once to have observed that reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated. The same can be said of God and will continue to be said. Despite all the best laid schemes ‘o’ mice an’ men’ they have all ‘gang agley’ and no future scheme can succeed either, despite the many boasts that atheists and others have so often made. He is sovereign and his will must be done. The corollary here is that no-one who opposes God is wise, bright or smart, even though they often claim to be. The truth reaches its height in Acts 2:23, 24 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. And then But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
Chapter 21 ends as it begins with references to the Lord and especially to his sovereign power. Derek Kidner sums up the two closing verses as warnings not to fight against the Lord (30) or without the Lord (31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD).
Verse 30 is very striking with its triple negative. There is no wisdom, insight or plan that can beat the Lord. He cannot be outmanoeuvred, though many have tried. There have been football teams and boxers and grand chess masters who have been labelled as unbeatable but their day has come at last. The ship The Titanic was famously thought to be unsinkable but it sank. The Lord, however, is different. He is genuinely unbeatable and unsinkable. Nietzsche declared that God is dead. As one wag put it after his death, ‘God is dead –Nietzsche. Nietzsche is dead – God.’ Mark Twain is said once to have observed that reports of his death had been greatly exaggerated. The same can be said of God and will continue to be said. Despite all the best laid schemes ‘o’ mice an’ men’ they have all ‘gang agley’ and no future scheme can succeed either, despite the many boasts that atheists and others have so often made. He is sovereign and his will must be done. The corollary here is that no-one who opposes God is wise, bright or smart, even though they often claim to be. The truth reaches its height in Acts 2:23, 24 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. And then But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
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