God's Choice vs. Human Expectations
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The theme of God's choice versus human expectations is a recurring motif throughout the Bible, illustrating the divine prerogative in selecting individuals and unfolding plans that often defy human logic and societal norms. This theme underscores the sovereignty of God and His ability to work beyond human understanding and expectations.

Old Testament Examples

1. Abraham and Sarah: God's choice of Abraham and Sarah to be the progenitors of a great nation defied human expectations due to their advanced age and Sarah's barrenness. In Genesis 17:19, God promises Abraham, "Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac." Despite their doubts, God's promise was fulfilled, demonstrating His power to accomplish His purposes irrespective of human limitations.

2. David's Anointing: The selection of David as king over Israel is a profound example of God's choice over human expectations. When Samuel was sent to anoint a new king from the sons of Jesse, he initially assumed Eliab, the eldest, was the chosen one. However, God instructed Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). David, the youngest and a shepherd, was chosen, highlighting God's criteria that transcend human judgment.

3. Gideon's Army: In Judges 7, God reduces Gideon's army from 32,000 to 300 men to deliver Israel from the Midianites. This unexpected choice was to ensure that Israel would recognize that victory was due to God's intervention, not human might. Judges 7:2 states, "The LORD said to Gideon, 'You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands. Israel might boast against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’"

New Testament Examples

1. The Birth of Jesus: The incarnation of Jesus Christ is a paramount example of God's choice defying human expectations. Born in a manger to a humble virgin, Jesus' arrival was contrary to the anticipated royal and powerful Messiah. The angel's announcement to Mary in Luke 1:31-32 reveals God's plan: "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."

2. The Calling of the Disciples: Jesus' choice of His disciples further illustrates this theme. He selected fishermen, a tax collector, and others from ordinary backgrounds, rather than religious leaders or scholars. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, saying, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." This choice emphasizes God's ability to use the unlikely to accomplish His divine purposes.

3. Paul's Apostleship: The conversion and calling of Saul of Tarsus, later known as Paul, is a striking example of God's unexpected choice. Once a persecutor of Christians, Paul was chosen to be an apostle to the Gentiles. In Acts 9:15, the Lord tells Ananias, "Go! This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel."

Theological Implications

The theme of God's choice versus human expectations highlights several key theological principles:

· Divine Sovereignty: God's choices are not bound by human limitations or understanding. His plans are executed according to His will and purpose, often surprising and confounding human expectations.

· God's Wisdom: The wisdom of God surpasses human wisdom. As stated in Isaiah 55:8-9, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

· Grace and Mercy: God's choices often reflect His grace and mercy, selecting the weak, the humble, and the unexpected to demonstrate His power and love. This is evident in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."

Throughout Scripture, God's choices consistently challenge human expectations, revealing His sovereign will and the unfolding of His redemptive plan.
Subtopics

God

God Accepting Me

God Answering Prayers

God Being Our Husband

God for Other Anthropomorphic Scriptures by Israel

God for Other Anthropomorphic Scriptures: Saul

God Forgiving

God Giving Talent

God in Prospering Asa

God in Prospering Daniel

God in Prospering Hezekiah

God in Prospering Jehoshaphat

God in Prospering Job

God in Prospering Jotham

God in Prospering Uzziah

God in Rescuing Jeremiah

God in the Banishment of John to Patmos

God in the Conquest of Canaan

God in Turning the Heart of the King of Assyria to Favor the Jews

God is a Spirit

God is Declared to Be: A Consuming Fire

God is Declared to Be: Compassionate

God is Declared to Be: Eternal

God is Declared to Be: Faithful

God is Declared to Be: Glorious

God is Declared to Be: Good

God is Declared to Be: Gracious

God is Declared to Be: Great

God is Declared to Be: Holy

God is Declared to Be: Immortal

God is Declared to Be: Immutable

God is Declared to Be: Incorruptible

God is Declared to Be: Invisible

God is Declared to Be: Jealous

God is Declared to Be: Just

God is Declared to Be: Light

God is Declared to Be: Long-Suffering

God is Declared to Be: Love

God is Declared to Be: Merciful

God is Declared to Be: Most High

God is Declared to Be: Omnipotent

God is Declared to Be: Omnipresent

God is Declared to Be: Omniscient

God is Declared to Be: Only-Wise

God is Declared to Be: Perfect

God is Declared to Be: Righteous

God is Declared to Be: True

God is Declared to Be: Unsearchable

God is Declared to Be: Upright

God Knows Your Name

God Loving all of his Children

God Made Us Perfect

God on High

God Speaking to You

God Speed

God Testing Abraham

God With Us

God Working Through You

God: A Spirit

God: Access To

God: Appearances of To Abraham

God: Appearances of To Adam

God: Appearances of To Ezekiel

God: Appearances of To Gideon

God: Appearances of To Isaiah

God: Appearances of To Israel

God: Appearances of To Jacob, at Beth-El

God: Appearances of To Moses and Joshua

God: Appearances of To Moses, at Sinai

God: Appearances of To Moses, in the Flaming Bush

God: Appearances of To Solomon

God: Comforter

God: Creator

God: Creator of Man

God: Delaying and Destroying Pharaoh

God: Delivering the Israelites

God: Dividing the Red Sea

God: Elijah's Trials

God: Eternity of

God: Faithfulness of

God: Fatherhood of

God: Feeding Elijah and the Widow

God: Fighting the Battles of Israel

God: Fills Heaven and Earth

God: Foreknowledge of

God: Glory of

God: Goodness of

God: Grace of

God: Guide

God: Holiness of

God: Immutable

God: Impartial

God: Incomprehensible

God: Infinite

God: Invisible

God: Israelites

God: Jealous

God: Job's

God: Judge, and his Justice

God: Knowledge of

God: Longsuffering of

God: Longsuffering of, Abused

God: Love of

God: Love of, Exemplified

God: Mercy of

God: Name of

God: Name of Proclaimed

God: None Before Him

God: None Beside Him

God: None Good But He

God: None Like to Him

God: Not to be Profaned

God: Omnipotent

God: Onnipresent

God: Perfection of

God: Personality of

God: Power of

God: Praised

God: Presence of

God: Preserver

God: Preserver by Abijah

God: Preserver in Delivering from the Oppressions of the King of Syria

God: Preserver in Exempting the Land of Goshen from the Plague of Darkness

God: Preserver in Exempting the Land of Goshen from the Plague of Flies

God: Preserver in Gerar

God: Preserver in Giving Peace With Other Nations

God: Preserver in Preserving Their Cattle from the Plague of Murrain,

God: Preserver in Saving the Firstborn, when the Plague of Death Destroyed the Firstborn of Egypt,

God: Preserver in the Wilderness

God: Preserver: Ahab

God: Preserver: As he Journeyed in the Land of Canaan

God: Preserver: Daniel and the Three Hebrew Captives

God: Preserver: Deliverance from Egypt,

God: Preserver: Delivering Israel by Jeroboam Ii

God: Preserver: Delivering the Kingdom of Israel from Syria

God: Preserver: Delivering Them from the Army of the Assyrians

God: Preserver: Hezekiah

God: Preserver: Jeremah and Baruch

God: Preserver: Jesus and his Parents

God: Preserver: Jonah

God: Preserver: On Account of Samuel's Intercession

God: Preserver: Paul

God: Preserver: Paul and Silas

God: Preserver: Peter

God: Preserver: The Ethiopian Host

God: Preserver: The Wise Men of the East

God: Preserver: To Abraham and Sarah, in Egypt

God: Preserver: To David,

God: Preserver: To Hagar, when Abraham Cast Her Out

God: Preserver: To Jacob, when he Fled from Laban, his Father-In-Law

God: Preserver: To Joseph, in Egypt

God: Preserver: To Lot, when Sodom Was Destroyed

God: Preserver: To Moses, in his Infancy

God: Preserver: To Noah and his Family, at the Time of the Flood

God: Preserver: To the Israelites, in Bringing About Their Deliverance from Bondage

God: Preserver: To the Kingdom of Judah: in Delivering from Egypt

God: Preserver: Under David

God: Preserver: Under Deborah

God: Preserver: Under Ehud

God: Preserver: Under Gideon

God: Preserver: Under Jephthah

God: Preserver: Under Othniel

God: Preserver: Under Shamgar

God: Preserver: Victories Over the Canaanites Under Joshua

God: Preserver: when he Met Esau

God: Profaned

God: Protecting Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech

God: Protection of Homes While at Feasts

God: Providence of

God: Providence of, Mysterious and Misinterpreted

God: Providence of, Overruling Interpositions of The

God: Purifying the Waters of Marah

God: Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem

God: Repentance Attributed To

God: Restoration of the Jews

God: Restoring Epaphroditus

God: Restoring Manasseh After his Conversion

God: Righteousness of

God: Saving David's Army

God: Saving Noah

God: Saviour

God: should be Worshipped in Spirit and in Truth

God: Sovereign

God: Special Grace: To Abraham

God: Special Grace: To Enoch

God: Special Grace: To Jacob

God: Special Grace: To Moses

God: Special Grace: To Noah

God: Special Grace: To Solomon

God: Supplying Manna and Quail

God: Supplying Water at Meribah

God: Symbolized by the Darkness of the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle

God: Symbolized by the General Structure of the Most Holy Place, See

God: Symbolized by the Pillar of Fire

God: The Call of Abraham

God: The Care of Isaac

God: The Deliverance of Lot

God: The Mission of Joseph

God: The Pillar of Cloud

God: The Revolt of the Ten Tribes

God: To be Reverenced

God: Truth

God: Ubiquitous

God: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To

God: Unity of

God: Unsearchable

God: Warning Joseph in Dreams

God: Warning Pharaoh About the Famine

God: Warning the Wise Men from the East

God: Wisdom of

God: Works of

Sarcasm: God Reproaching Israel

Related Terms

Serpent (40 Occurrences)

Jashubi-lehem (1 Occurrence)

Jashubi (1 Occurrence)

Jashubilehem (1 Occurrence)

Jokim (1 Occurrence)

Lehem (1 Occurrence)

Chozeba (1 Occurrence)

Cremation

Coze'ba (1 Occurrence)

Cozeba (1 Occurrence)

Smiter (9 Occurrences)

Saramel

Scorpion (6 Occurrences)

Sarchedonus

Seraphim (2 Occurrences)

Jo'ash (44 Occurrences)

Records (50 Occurrences)

Ruled (84 Occurrences)

Dominion (72 Occurrences)

Adversity (54 Occurrences)

Beth-lehem (49 Occurrences)

Joash (49 Occurrences)

Moab (162 Occurrences)

Ancient (64 Occurrences)

God's Choice of Zion and David
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