God is omniscient[1] which means He knows all. This is an ‘all’ that is incomprehensible to us. From the beginning to the end, He already knows it. He knows the core of our very being and our every thought. He knows us as our creator.
For example, if you have ever made something such as a flower arrangement, built a cabinet, sewed a garment or even cooked a meal, then you created that item. You know what materials you used to create it, how much of what you put into it and exactly where and when you put it. You know that item. Now magnify that in comparison to how God knows His creation. Not only does he know the materials and parts, but he knows beyond the particles that make up the atoms that make up the materials, which He also made.
Because He knows all, He can be truly just. Because He knows all, He can be truly merciful. Because He knows all, He can be truly gracious. It may seem that there is a great inequity throughout the world. It appears that some receive justice and others don’t. It appears that some receive mercy and others don’t. The same is true with grace. But what we see and what is true, or what God sees and knows, is far beyond what we see and know.
How many times have you done something to someone what you felt was just and then you learned more about the situation later and you saw that your treatment of them was not just and in total error? With God, who sees and knows it all, His intervention is just.
How often have we not been merciful until we knew the hardness of their situation, at which point we felt sorry for them and merciful towards them. But God, who is omniscient, is capable of absolute mercy.
It is because His justice, mercy and grace are absolute that we needed a redeemer, a rescuer, a savior.
Scriptures on God's Omniscience
1) Psalm 147:4,5
4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
2) Acts 15:1818 things known from long ago.
3) Psalm 33:1313 From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
and sees all mankind;
4) Romans 4:17
17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[a] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[a] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
5) Isaiah 46:10
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
6) I Samuel 23:5-14 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 6 (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelek had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)
Saul Pursues David
7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” 8 And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10 David said, “LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant.”
And the LORD said, “He will.”
12 Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?”
And the LORD said, “They will.”
13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.
14 David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.
and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.
Saul Pursues David
7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has delivered him into my hands, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” 8 And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10 David said, “LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant.”
And the LORD said, “He will.”
12 Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?”
And the LORD said, “They will.”
13 So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.
14 David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.
and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.
[1] 1. all-knowing: knowing or seeming to know everything
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