I like a few verses from Jeremiah 23. Here are my raw, unfiltered thoughts.
Vs 23″ “Am I God who is only near” – this is the LORD’s declaration – “and not a God who is far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?” – the LORD’s declaration. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” – the LORD’s declaration
Context: God is speaking through the Prophet Jeremiah about false prophets who have led God’s covenant people astray by their lies, evil behavior, and false prophecies. Exile is forthcoming.
Yahweh asks rhetorical questions that highlight his imminence (near) and transcendence (far). Yahweh is not solely near (imminent). He is not a pagan deity shackled by geographic locations or “responsibilities.” He is not the Oracle at Delphi nor is he Poseidon, god of the sea, typical pagan deities associated with a place or jurisdiction. Nor is Yahweh solely transcendent (far) in that he doesn’t intimately know us and our every thought, action, and feeling. Yahweh is both imminent and transcendent.
Genesis 1 says;
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.
The creation account details Yahweh’s creation and dominion over all elements of this world. He transcends location because he created geography. He transcends limited jurisdiction because he imagined and made all roles and responsibilities.
Thus, the answer to “Am I God who is only near” is one that the Israelites should’ve known; “No.”
Because Yahweh is not solely near but is far, we ought to hold highly Yahweh’s sovereignty and stand and worship in AWE of Yahweh. We ought to study and know his actions and character and uphold what he has told us to uphold.
God is not so far, though, that we can hid ourselves in secret places where he cannot see us.
Psalm 139, written by King David ,says
Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away…. Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, Lord…. Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?….For it was you who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb…all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.
God knows us intimately – every thought, feeling, and action. God’s nearness can be a source of great comfort or great terror. God describes himself as a father who delights to give good gifts to his children and we know that he will meet our needs (Matthew 6). We ought to trust in God’s nearness to uphold justice in our lives and surroundings and to help us in our distress. I am comforted by this.
Second, like a good father, Yahweh metes out discipline when we disobey him. I sometimes wonder if God has a perfect life full of love and joy imagined for each of us that can only be experienced through him. Yet all of us, me especially, eschew this perfect life for one we imagine and desire to make. We disobey through pride, lust, envy, anger, bitterness, jealousy, idolatry, etc. Like children, we hide when we know we have disobeyed. Think about a shy 2 year old – she hides behind her parent’s leg because she doesn’t think the stranger can see her. We act the same when confronted with our sin. So, we ought think of God’s nearness with terror. We cannot hide ourselves in secret places where Yahweh cannot see us. All of our thoughts, actions, and feelings are laid bare before the Creator of all things. The choice is to repent and be restored to Yahweh or continue to hide and deceive ourselves that he doesn’t see. But he does and he seeks to restore our broken relationship.
Yahweh fills both the heavens and the earth. He is both imminent and transcendent, near and far. Let’s be awed and humbled by his transcendence, his sovereignty. And let’s be comforted or humbled to repentance by his imminence, his nearness.
A Repository of Thought 