"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8, 9).
If the universe that God has made were the size of the largest church auditorium, our earth would be, in comparison, smaller than the size of a pea. On this tiny earth dwells approximately six billion human beings, who would not be visible with a microscope. Inside of each human there is a brain, the reasoning of which many men have tried to match against the Wisdom of Almighty God.
There is a move today by many modern-day ministers, professors of theology, and authors of religious literature to flood the pulpit and literature with natural explanations to miracles written in the Bible, in order to deny the supernatural power of God and to make shipwreck of the faith of the children of God. Some examples of their natural explanations to the Word of God are as follows:
1. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:26-28). Men have tried to explain the destruction of these cities as possibly volcanic phenomena such as that which swallowed up Pompei. However, since some geologists say the most recent volcanic phenomena was before Abram's time, they feel it was an earthquake. They say the "smoke of a furnace" that Abram saw might have been that from the smelting for slag common in that land. Some have explained Lot's wife turning to salt as merely her becoming barren. The motive behind this human reasoning is to cause one to believe that God does not have supernatural power to punish iniquity. If they could get a person to believe that "fire and brimstone" in Genesis 19;24 is not literal, the "lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8) would not be literal either. Therefore a man would have no fear of being punished eternally for unforgiven sins.
2. Crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22). The Rand McNally Bible Atlas by Emil G. Kraeling, (Rand McNally & Co., New York, 1956) states that those with a realistic knowledge of these parts discount any effect of a wind on the sea level hereabouts. The strongest gale would only lower the water level a few inches on the northward side. Therefore they feel that the Israelites made their escape by passing over the narrow spit of land between that lake and the sea." The motive behind the above natural reasoning is to deny God's supernatural delivering power. Egypt is a type of sin. If God did not have power to deliver Israel from Egypt, He would not have power to supernaturally deliver us from the bondages of sin.
3. Smiting of the Rock (Exodus 17:6). The Bible Atlas calls this the "Legend of the Rock." Other terms this book uses are "Hebrew tradition," "such an old Hebrew story," and "an old tale." This atlas states that this incident probably happened in a limestone region like that around Kadesh-barnea, not in a granite rock area like that around the traditional Mt. Sinai. It mentions "Major C.S. Jarvis describes how a petty officer by accident struck water from limestone in this area." They would like a person to believe that any limestone rock would have brought forth water if smitten. The motive behind this is to get a person to believe that any person crucified on Calvary would have been as good as Jesus for the spiritual Rock that Moses drank of was Christ (I Corinthians 10:4).
4. Jesus feeding the multitude (John 6:1-13). Modern day ministers have tried to explain this miracle by saying that the people of this day were quite selfish and had their food hidden in their baskets. When the lad brought his five barley loaves and two small fishes forward, all the people were convicted of their selfishness and brought their food forward to be distributed by the disciples, thus feeding the multitude. The motive behind this human reasoning is to get a person to disbelieve that God can supply all man's needs as stated in Philippians 4:19.
A geology professor once stated that every miracle in the Bible had a natural explanation. This lie is being taught to students throughout this country. These people cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God because they are carnal (I Corinthians 2:14). To them the miracles of God are foolishness but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.
There are some miracles in the Bible that I believe God has put there because He wants to prove that His wisdom is beyond any human reasoning. The following miracles cannot be explained naturally.
1. Swimming axe head (II Kings 6:4-7). There is no natural explanation for an iron axe head 7.86 times as heavy as water to float on water.
2. Hezekiah's sun dial going back ten degrees (II Kings 20:9-11, Isaiah 38:8). There is no natural explanation to the shadow going back ten degrees. The Bible states the sun returned ten degrees. This means that the sun must have moved over 16,300,000 miles, instantaneously when Isaiah cried unto the Lord. Since the Lord did this it is easy to believe that He created the universe.
3. Turning the water into wine (John 2:7-9). No chemist has yet turned water containing only hydrogen and oxygen into wine which contains carbon, hydrogen , and oxygen. Since God can do this, one can believe that He can change a sinful man into a new creature in Christ Jesus.
4. Walking on the water (Matthew 14:24-30). The Bible states that Jesus walked on, not waded, in the water. It also states that there were waves, therefore the water was not frozen. The only natural explanation for walking on water would be surface tension. Assuming that the water had been perfectly still, just above the freezing point, and that Jesus weighed 150 pounds, He would have had to have feet 1.1 miles long and 0.3 of a mile wide to walk on the water by surface tension. The fact that Peter started to sink proves that Jesus performed a miracle. God has a force greater than gravity that caused Jesus to walk on the water, and will cause the church to be caught up to meet Him in the air (II Thessalonians 4:17).
Because God has wisdom beyond our reasoning and the power beyond our imagination, I can believe although it cannot be explained naturally, that: 1) a virgin brought forth a child which was Emmanuel, God in the flesh. 2) The blood of Jesus shed over 1900 years ago can forgive a sinner of every sin. (3) Baptism in water in the name of Jesus Christ can remit every sin, never to be remembered again. 4) Christ can today dwell within a mortal man by the power of the Holy Ghost. 5) If a person walks with God he will be taken from this earth to a home somewhere in heaven beyond the imagination of men. 6) Every other promise in the Word of God is true.
The verse (Isaiah 55:7) preceding the text commands, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
The only time we are ever asked to reason with God is found in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson; they shall be as wool.