Miracles

This is a season of Miracles. We have so many to be thankful for. Every Miracle we see is another way in which our heavenly father says I love you. When one meditates on the times our father acts in our life it may seem we have an endless stream of Miracles. At this time of year it is always good to reflect on some of the miracles that have been performed for Israel.

Before one can contemplate and remember the Miracles YHWH has worked in our lives it is important we understand what a miracle is. I found this definition from the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible most helpful.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Miracle

Miracle. Event which may seem contrary to nature and which signifies an act in which God reveals himself to man. The classical definition of miracle assumes that it is contrary to natural law, but this is a misnomer for two reasons. First, many of the miracles of the Bible used nature rather than bypassed it (e.g., the wind which parted the Red Sea, Ex 14:21). Second, there no longer is a concept of “absolute natural laws”; rather, a phenomenon which is not readily explainable (e.g., quasars) may reflect laws with which science is not yet fully conversant. In Scripture the element of faith is crucial; a natural approach cannot prove or disprove the presence of “miracle.” The timing and content of the process can be miraculous even though the event may seem natural. The consistent rationalist demonstrates the necessity of faith; he would place any so-called miracle in the category of unexplained phenomena rather than accept it as a pointer to the presence of God’s activity in the world. The revelatory significance is also important. In every case God performed the miracle not merely as a “wonder” to inspire awe in man but as a “sign” to draw men to himself.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Miracle

Event which may seem contrary to nature and which signifies an act in which God reveals himself to man. The classical definition of miracle assumes that it is contrary to natural law, but this is a misnomer for two reasons. First, many of the miracles of the Bible used nature rather than bypassed it (e.g., the wind which parted the Red Sea, Ex 14:21). Second, there no longer is a concept of “absolute natural laws”; rather, a phenomenon which is not readily explainable (e.g., quasars) may reflect laws with which science is not yet fully conversant. In Scripture the element of faith is crucial; a natural approach cannot prove or disprove the presence of “miracle.” The timing and content of the process can be miraculous even though the event may seem natural. The consistent rationalist demonstrates the necessity of faith; he would place any so-called miracle in the category of unexplained phenomena rather than accept it as a pointer to the presence of God’s activity in the world. The revelatory significance is also important. In every case God performed the miracle not merely as a “wonder” to inspire awe in man but as a “sign” to draw men to himself.

This last sentence is a key to understanding the why of a Miracle, In every case God performed the miracle not merely as a “wonder” to inspire awe in man but as a “sign” to draw men to himself. Miracles draw us to our father. He acts specifically not just to do something , not to impress us, but to attract us to his presence. With this in mind a Miracle is in a sense communicating come to me.

I would like for us to even remember and meditate on a few Miracles today. Let us see if we can spot a few common themes even. The themes to look for are 1. was this a miracle performed for the nation, a small group, or an individual. 2. Who was faithful in the Miracle? 3. Could this Miracle be explained by known scientific explanation. As we contemplate these things we hope discover a new appreciation for our heavenly fathers love for us. The Lord is so gracious and merciful to us we could not possibly list even those events we might consider the most significant so this is not an inclusive list.

Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Miracle,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1468.

The first one for us to look at is the birth of Issac. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was approaching it when Issac was born. This is a miraculous birth. Neither Abraham nor Sarah would be expected to be able to have children at their age. So first question who was this miracle performed for? In the immediate time frame absolutely it is Abraham and Sarah that is blessed, however it is the whole world that is blessed through this .

We do not have time today to list them all so this is not an inclusive list.

The Scriptures Chapter 17

17 And it came to be when Aḇram was ninety-nine years old, that יהוה appeared to Aḇram and said to him, “I am Ěl Shaddai—walk before Me and be perfect.

2 “And I give My covenant between Me and you, and shall greatly increase you.”

3 And Aḇram fell on his face, and Elohim spoke with him, saying,

4 “As for Me, look, My covenant is with you, and you shall become a father of many nations.

5 “And no longer is your name called Aḇram, but your name shall be Aḇraham, because I shall make you a father of many nations.

6 “And I shall make you bear fruit exceedingly, and make nations of you, and sovereigns shall come from you.

7 “And I shall establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be Elohim to you and your seed after you.

8 “And I shall give to you and your seed after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Kena‘an, as an everlasting possession. And I shall be their Elohim.”

We do not have time today to list them all so this is not an inclusive list.

The Scriptures Chapter 22

17 that I shall certainly bless you, and I shall certainly increase your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore, and let your seed possess the gate of their enemies.

18 “And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

So who was faithful in the miracle? This is kind of a trap question. Sometimes we like to think of faith as something you either have or you do not. If you have it we have to be on guard not to lose it and if you do not have it you need to get it. Like most things in life faith is not a 1 or a 0 it is a spectrum more like a 1 to 10. Some of us may have a lot of faith in some matters and little faith in others. Abraham seemed to me to have a lot of faith in this. Sarah had less but she was still obedient. Lastly could this miracle be explained scientifically? Well of course it could. Perhaps it would statistically unlikely but there is no indication that there was an absence of organs or something of that nature.

Next let us look at the miracle of the destruction of the idol of Dagon. This comes out of . The book of Samuel is my favorite of the writings and some one I look forward to meeting one day. In chapter 5 we read:

The Scriptures Chapter 5

5 And the Philistines took the ark of Elohim and brought it from Eḇen Ha‘ězer to Ashdoḏ,

2 and the Philistines took the ark of Elohim and brought it into the house of Daḡon and set it by Daḡon.

3 And the Ashdoḏites rose early in the morning and saw Daḡon fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of יהוה. So they took Daḡon and put it in its place again.

4 And they arose early the next morning and saw Daḡon fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of יהוה, and the head of Daḡon and both the palms of its hands cut off, on the threshold, only Daḡon itself was left of it.

How incredible was is this? I love this story it truly speaks to me. First this was a miracle performed not just for one nation but for 2. It did benefit Israel to have the ARC returned but it also benefited the Philistines and Ashdodites to have their idol destroyed and the ARC returned where it belonged. Second who was faithful in this? Not the priest or his family this happened because of the corruption of the priesthood. Eli the high priest and all his sons die as we read later. They acted inappropriately with the ARC and so they lost it. Certainly not the Philistines of the Ashdodites their faith was in a false god. We really do not know. I do feel confident that their was some one a remnant one might say that was faithful the ARC would be returned, but if there is or not we really do not know. 3rd could this miracle be explained by known scientific explanation? We would be working with a lot of coincidences for this to happen.

Next I want us to look at 2 miracles that occured together. .

The Scriptures Chapter 14

23 And having dismissed the crowds, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray. And when evening had come, He was alone there.

24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, agitated by the waves, for the wind was against it.

25 And in the fourth watch of the night יהושׁע went to them, walking on the sea.

26 And when the taught ones saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a phantom!” And from fear they cried.

27 But immediately יהושׁע spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.”

28 And Kěpha answered Him and said, “Master, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

29 And He said, “Come.” And when Kěpha had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to יהושׁע.

30 But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Master, save me!”

31 And immediately יהושׁע stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “O you of little belief, why did you doubt?”

32 And when they came into the boat, the wind ceased.

33 And those in the boat came and did bow to Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of Elohim.”

Here we read that Yeshua walked on the water. The wind and the waves obeyed him. Clearly this is miraculous and what is more for a moment Kepha walked on the water too. A lot of times we give Kepha a hard time about this he allowed the wind and the waves to distract him, yet for a moment he walked on water, for a moment he had faith to do the impossible. 1. Who was this miracle for? It was for Yeshua’s disciples that he walked on water, and it was for Kepha that he walked on water. Again everything can be a learning experience but the immediacy was for them. 2. Who was faithful in the miracle? Kepha was. He had it for a moment he had it. How incredible is this? 3. What about the scientific explanation? I am not sure what would be a greater stretch the explanation that would be presented to try and explain this or to just accept it on faith.

In each of these scenarios we see Miracles happen in the open sometimes behind close doors. Sometimes in the home of the faithful sometimes in the very den of evil and wickedness. There is no limit to the power of YHWH. He wants us to be close to him and every thing he does invites us to him. As we witness miracles in our own lives we should always remember the direction they point and that is to mercy seat and throne of grace. With this in mind we might be able to understand that when we become more obedient and faithful it becomes easier for us to approach his throne. If we want to be close to his throne this is what we must do. Follow the miracles obediently to his will and faithfully to his cause.