We have been looking at God appearing to people as angels and in visions and dreams. This daily devotional looks at more physical forms God takes to reveal Himself to us.
Nuggets
- God has revealed Himself to humans by taking on a human form.
- At times, we hear the voice of God.
To read devotions in the How Do We See God? series, click the button below.
In the last devotion, we looked at God sending His angels to come to us. God has also used visions and dreams. In this devotion, we will look at God appearing in human form and speaking. We will also look at the body parts that are associated with God.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
Human Form
"what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" (Ps. 8: 4 ESV)
At times, we hear the voice of God.
God has revealed Himself to humans by taking on a human form.
This is probably what happened with Jacob and his wrestling match. Genesis 32: 24 says, “TSo Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak” (ESV).
You would think human form would probably be less scary than seeing angles, but would some of us be more likely to discount that? But then again, I don’t think God would appear to someone who would not know who He was. If He was going to appear, He would make sure to make Himself known.
Remember when Abraham had a visit by heavenly beings in Genesis 18: 2? Many believe they were angels; others believe they were visual representations of God in human form. It is translated as “men” here. Do we take the interpretation literally or figuratively?
If you read Exodus 24: 9-10 without Exodus 24: 1, you don’t get all of the story. Exodus 24: 1 says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance’” (ESV).
First thing that popped into my mind was seeing someone across a crowded room. You just get a glimpse of that person, not necessarily the whole person.
Maybe this is how God and Moses had their face-to-face chats: God appeared to Moses in human form. This would explain Numbers 12: 8: “With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord …” (NIV). That would give physical form to God, the Spirit.
However, “seeing face to face” may just be a figure of speech to mean an intimate conversation. We use figures of speech all the time.
One example is when we say that we can see the wind. We don’t — we see the effects of the wind. We see trees, flags, dust, and plants blowing in the wind. We do not see the wind itself.
Voice
At times, we hear the voice of God.
Deuteronomy 4:12 describes God talking to all of the Israelite people: “Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice” (NIV). This was when God was speaking to them on Horeb when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments.
The prophets heard God. Elijah found God in a whisper (1 Kings 19: 12). Isaiah also heard the voice of God in his vision. Isaiah 6: 8 says, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’” (NIV). Isaiah not only saw God in the vision, he heard His voice.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
God’s voice was heard several times during Jesus’ ministry. The first time was at Jesus’ baptism. “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately He went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on Him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3: 16-17 ESV). God was also there in spirit in the form of the dove.
Also, God’s voice was heard at the Transfiguration. Matthew 17: 5 says, “He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him’” (ESV).
Both times God spoke, He made sure the humans hearing Him knew that He was pleased with the Son.
Body Parts
Other Bible verses attribute body parts to God. God must have eyes, because He sees everything (Prov. 15: 3). Deuteronomy 33: 27 talks about God having arm. Good thing, because Isaiah 59: 1 says God has hands. Not only does God have hands, but we are also told that we are engraved in His hand (Is. 49: 16 ESV).
There are many verses in the Bible that read, “the Lord said.” Because if this, we can understand Jesus’ words in Matthew 4: 4: “… It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (ESV). God is described in ways that we can understand.
Making the Connections
As I am writing this, I am thinking about man being made in God’s image (Gen. 2: 27). We aren’t spirits.
Is this more that? Is it, that if God were to be in human form, He would appear as we look?
Sometimes, we get caught up with God not being in physical form. It is comforting that — whatever form He takes — God can and will come to us as we are to instruct us, comfort us, and encourage us.
Usually today, God doesn’t come in the physical form nor does He audibly talk with us. But He still comes to us.
How Do We Apply This?
We need to listen when God talks with us. We have to look for Him.
Over the past few devotions, we have talked about God coming to us as angels, in visions and dreams, and in human form. We have also looked at Him audibly speaking to us. The next devotion will look at Him coming in spirit and glory.
Father God. You did create man in Your image (Gen. 2: 27). We do not fully understand what this means since You are spirit and we are physical. We put so much emphasis on physical, Lord. Help us to switch our focus to spiritual. He us to solely focus on You. Amen.
What do you think?
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