Who Is Like God?

[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to Hope for Today, a weekly Bible teaching program that will bring you hope for every day. Thanks again for joining us on Hope for Today. This program is brought to you by Heralds of Hope. We are a small radio ministry, small, serving a great big God. Let's go with Bible teacher J. Mark to Exodus for today's teaching. [00:00:34] Speaker B: I'm sure you're aware that people groups all over the world worship different gods. Someone may ask, which one is the right one? Which one is the true God? Well, let me ask you a couple of questions. Is your God personal? Does he love you and help you? Do you know that he loves you? There are many, many religions in our world today. Each one claims to be superior in some way or another. With so many different religions in our world, how can you and I know which is the right one? I firmly believe there is only one true God. And I also believe, according to the Scriptures, that he can be known. The most outstanding facts in Christianity are the claims that the Bible makes about God. The Bible says he is above all other gods. He has no equal. He has revealed himself to us by a written record which we call the Bible or the Holy Scriptures. Although the acts in which he engaged are recorded as historical acts, they are at the same time acts of revelation. That is, they show us who God is. And in those acts of history, he tells us who he is and what his person is like. And so my teaching today will answer this question. Who is like God? In Exodus 15 and verses 1 to 19, we have a song of victory. It is probably the first recorded song that we have in Scripture. And in it we will find the answer to our question, who is like God? This is from the experience of the children of Israel just after they crossed the Red Sea. This was their response to God's deliverance. Listen as I read Exodus 15 beginning at verse 1. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel. This song unto the Lord and spoke, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation. My Father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host he has cast into the sea. His chosen captains are also drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them. They sank into the bottom like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. Your right Hand, O Lord, has dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of your excellency, you have overthrown them that rose up against you. You sent forth your wrath, and it consumed them like stubble. And with the blast of your nostrils the waters were gathered together. The floods stood upright like a heap. And the depths were congealed. In the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My lust shall be satisfied upon them. I will draw my sword, and my hand shall destroy them. But you blew with your wind, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like you, o Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretch out your right hand and the earth swallowed them. You in mercy have led forth the people which you have redeemed. You have guided them in your strength to your holy habitation. The people shall hear and be afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestine. Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed. The mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them. By the greatness of thine arm, they shall be as still as a stone. Till your people pass over, O Lord. Till your people pass over, which you have purchased. You shall bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance. In the place, O Lord, which you made for you to dwell in. In the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea. And the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them. And but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. Moses and the children of Israel sang this song. At the time of their deliverance from bondage in Egypt. And in this song I have discovered several basic qualities about God. Which set him apart as one above all others. Qualities that help us answer the question, who is like God? The first discovery reveals a basic quality of God in his glorious triumph. In the very beginning of the song, they sang, I will sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. You know, what the Lord did for the children of Israel at the Red Sea was a tremendous, tremendous victory. It looked as though they were going to be captured by Pharaoh and his army. They were trapped, as I had said earlier, between the mountains and the Red Sea. But the Lord opened the sea. And his people went through the water, stood up on either side. And the people went through between those two walls of water. Can you imagine what that was like? But then, when Pharaoh attempted to follow them with his army, he was caught in the middle by a triumphant, glorious act of God. And the song brings this to our attention. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. Now, in their song, there are more ideas regarding this glorious triumph of the Lord. He is my strength and my song. He is become my salvation, Yehoshua, the Hebrew for my salvation. He has become my strength and my song. And because of this, they said, I will prepare him a habitation or a dwelling place, my father's God, and I will exalt him because of his glorious triumph. God is worthy of exaltation. Just imagine being one of the people of Israel at this time when it seemed as though you would need to give up and go back into the bondage of slavery. And then the Lord delivers you in such a glorious, triumphant fashion. I believe you too would have said, he has triumphed gloriously. You see, this is the God who transcends all others. And I'm sure that Pharaoh and his army expected to be successful in their pursuit of Israel. They thought there was going to be no contest, and most likely they invoked the blessing of their gods. The God who is above all gods triumphed gloriously by throwing the horse and his rider into the sea. Then the second quality I discover in this song is found in verse six. Your right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. So we have glorious triumph. And now let's meditate on glorious power. Six different expressions are listed in the next several verses that show us how God exercises his power against the enemy. First, he's described as a man of war. The Lord is a man of war against Pharaoh. For the Lord dashed in pieces the enemy. He overthrew them. They became like stubble, burned with the consuming fire of his wrath. He gathered the waters together with a blast of his nostrils. The wind blew and the waters returned, covering those who were pursuing after Israel. Pharaoh and his army sank like lead to the bottom of the waters, or they sank like a stone. God's glorious power had control of the elements, that is, the wind and the water. As expressed in these various descriptive words, God's glorious power has control of men. And God in his power, always opposes evil. And he never supports evil or sides with evil. This is important for you and me to remember. He is glorious in power, but his power is always against evil. And in this particular case, it was against Pharaoh and his army. God's Glorious power puts him above all but other gods. And then the third quality we discover in this song is found in verse 11. Who is like you, glorious in holiness? His glorious holiness. You know, this thought is difficult for us to understand because we have so little with which we can compare holiness. The Bible makes it very clear to us that no human being is holy. We are all polluted by sin, we are unclean, and our righteous acts are like filthy rags, according to the prophet Isaiah. But the glorious holiness of God is expressed in two different ways and is revealed in two different areas. First, in the area of mercy. The song describes how God redeemed His people in mercy. You led forth the people which you have redeemed. And then they further say he is going to plant them in the mountain of his inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which you made for you to dwell in in the sanctuary. So they conclude that the Lord shall reign forever and ever. His glorious holiness expresses itself in the area of mercy toward them, the people whom he has redeemed. And then it also expresses itself in the area of justice to those who do not respond properly to the Lord. They will fear, but that will be a different kind of fear. Fear and dread will fall upon those who don't know the Lord. And then there are particular geographical areas named Palestine, Edom, Moab, and the inhabitants of Canaan. God said, fear shall grip those who do not know the God of holiness and mercy. They will have no strength left in them. They will be like a stone. They will not be able to move until the Lord's own people are passed by the ones whom he purchased. Egypt was greatly distressed because the horses of Pharaoh went down into the sea, while the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. God's glorious holiness expresses itself on the one hand in mercy, and on the other hand in justice. None of us can escape this glorious holiness because we are either in one area or the other. We need to respect the mercy and justice of our gloriously holy God. We dare not override or presume upon his mercy, for then the only result we can face is justice. These qualities place God above all other gods. And we may rightly ask the question, who is like God? The answer is, no one. There is no other God like Him. And this is so beautifully expressed in this song of Moses and the children of Israel. The personal question comes to you and me, like, do you and I know him as that superior God? Do you know him in a personal way? Can you speak with Him? Do you understand? When he speaks to you by His Word and by His Spirit. You can know him in a personal way. He is seeking to show in and through you his glorious triumph, his glorious power, and his glorious holiness. To answer the question, who is like God? [00:12:38] Speaker A: Thanks J. Mark for this teaching from Exodus. The Bible is incredible and each generation can learn from all that is written in this wonderful book. For example, people everywhere want to be free. In Exodus, the children of Israel were enslaved by the Egyptians and you know the story, Moses led them to freedom. But were they really free? Why did they want to go back to Egypt? What does it mean to actually be free? Jesus tells us that if he sets us free, then we will be free indeed. Praise Jesus. This freedom knows no boundaries. It does not matter which country you were in or who you are working for. If you would like today's program or if you have any questions, here are a few ways you can contact us. One of the best ways is email. Our email is hopeheraldsofhope.org if you don't have email, no problem. Our mailing address is hopefor today, box 3, breezewoodpa15533 or you can connect with us on our website. Our website is heraldsofhope.org while you are there, please click on the Listen tab and listen to our other teaching. Again, the website is heraldsofhope.org this brings us to the end of today's program. Thanks again for being with us. We look forward to being with you next week. I will leave you with the words of Jesus from John 8 if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Go and live in that freedom.