God Uses the Rejected
Jump to: SubtopicsTerms
Topical Encyclopedia
Throughout the biblical narrative, God consistently demonstrates His sovereign ability to use those whom society has rejected or deemed unworthy. This theme underscores the divine principle that God's purposes are not hindered by human limitations or societal norms. Instead, He often chooses the marginalized, the outcast, and the overlooked to fulfill His divine plans, thereby revealing His power and grace.

Old Testament Examples

1. Moses: Initially rejected by his own people and exiled to the desert after killing an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-15), Moses was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. Despite his initial reluctance and self-doubt, God empowered Moses to confront Pharaoh and perform miraculous signs, ultimately leading to the Exodus. As God assured him, "I will be with you" (Exodus 3:12).

2. David: The youngest of Jesse's sons and overlooked by his own family, David was chosen by God to be king over Israel. When Samuel came to anoint the next king, David was not even considered initially (1 Samuel 16:10-11). Yet, God saw what others did not, declaring, "The LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).

3. Gideon: From the weakest clan in Manasseh and the least in his family, Gideon was called by God to deliver Israel from the Midianites. Despite his initial fear and doubt, God assured him, "Surely I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man" (Judges 6:16). Gideon's victory with a small army of 300 men demonstrated God's power through human weakness.

New Testament Examples

1. The Samaritan Woman: In John 4, Jesus engages with a Samaritan woman at the well, a person rejected by Jewish society due to her ethnicity and personal history. Through her encounter with Jesus, she becomes a witness to her community, leading many to believe in Him. Her account illustrates how Jesus breaks social barriers and uses the marginalized to spread the Gospel.

2. Matthew (Levi): A tax collector despised by his fellow Jews, Matthew was called by Jesus to be one of His disciples (Matthew 9:9). Despite his social rejection, Matthew became an apostle and the author of the Gospel bearing his name, contributing significantly to the New Testament.

3. Paul (Saul of Tarsus): Initially a persecutor of Christians, Paul experienced a dramatic conversion and became one of the most influential apostles. Despite his past and the rejection he faced from both Jews and Christians, God used Paul to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles and author much of the New Testament. As Paul himself wrote, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Theological Implications

The recurring theme of God using the rejected highlights several key theological truths. First, it emphasizes God's sovereignty and His ability to accomplish His purposes through unexpected means. Second, it reveals God's grace and mercy, as He chooses not based on human merit but on His divine will. Finally, it serves as a reminder that God's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), encouraging believers to trust in His strength rather than their own abilities.

Practical Applications

For believers today, the biblical accounts of God using the rejected offer profound encouragement and challenge. They remind Christians that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace and that He can use anyone, regardless of their past or societal status, for His glory. This truth calls for humility, faith, and a willingness to be used by God in whatever capacity He chooses. It also challenges the church to embrace and uplift those whom society may overlook, recognizing the potential for God's work in every individual.
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 Uses the Outcasts
Top of Page
Top of Page