Helping God
By Julius Egharevba | Lagos, Nigeria
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-2).
In Job 22:2, Eliphaz, one of the friends of Job asked a rhetorical question; “Can a person do anything to help God? Can even a wise person be helpful to Him” (NLT). Indeed, it must be said that no one on earth can help God; rather, we are to obey God. Several passages in the Divine record affirmed that man is to obey God because He is our God, He created all things and has need of nothing, He is eternal, Almighty from whom all good and perfect gift comes (James1:17). Jesus said that“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”(Jn. 7:17)
The Bible gives account of certain individuals who tried to help God and the tragic result of such endeavour as well as the disastrous end of such people. One of them is King Saul. On two occasions, he made mistakes thinking he was helping God, or perhaps doing God a favour. Of course, that resulted to his rejection from being king. As a king, he is not expected to perform the work of offering but the priests (cf. II Chronicles 26:18). He was instructed to wait for a priest to offer burnt offering before he could embark on a fight with the Philistines, but he personally offered burnt offering. It happened that Samuel the priest was delayed to get to Saul for a reason not stated. When Samuel confronted him for such action, he said, “I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.” In response, Samuel said to Saul, “Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which He commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue…”(1 Sam. 13:12-14).
In the second instance, God commanded King Saul to go and smite Amalek:“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”(1 Samuel 15:2-3). King Saul spared some animals with the intention to sacrifice them unto God.
In verse 22, Samuel said to him; “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”Man is to obey God, because God does His work without the assistance of any man. King Saul lacks the knowledge of God.
Another gallant soldier who died for disobedience was Uzzah. The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months, and it has to be brought back to Israel. Uzzah was one of the thirty thousand chosen men to perform that task.“And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart, and they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark…And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God” (II Sam. 6:7; I Chron. 13:7-14)
Every rational fellow would ask, what is wrong, what sin did he commit when he wanted to prevent the Ark of God from falling? God answered the question, “HE DIED FOR HIS ERROR” (II Sam 6:7). He has a good intention, but lacked knowledge of the word of God. Jn. 7:17.
Men rejoice, glorify and justify denominationalism. They think they can as well establish one because God established His Church through his apostles. Therefore, the end justifies the means; since it is to win souls for Christ, any method adopted to achieve that, is acceptable. The very truth is that God has not given men authority to establish any Church than the one true Church already established. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 3:11). Someone said sometimes that apostles helped God to preach the gospel of Christ, therefore, Christians are as well helping God by preaching the gospel, that is not true, we are only obeying God’s command given in Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15-16 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Mk 16:16). This is the great commission. Conclusion: No human being is legible to help God, but simply to obey. God will not just accept anything because we zealously engage in it. He does not need our help in any form. We as humans should seek to know His will and do it. “Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24)
