Omniscience and Action

“For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” (Ps 1:6 AV)

To be fair to the context, David is speaking of a coming judgment on the ungodly for their refusal to accept God’s grace.  There is a distinction made here between the righteous and the wicked when the LORD judges all of mankind.  He is well aware of a person’s decision to accept Christ.  He knew before the foundation of the world who would be His child and who would not.  But the words used in the verse are much deeper than the immediate context.  The word for way means the path of life.  Everything we would choose to do, fail to do, all our trials of faith, the purpose and plan for our lives, and the persecutions we would face.  He knew them from eternity as established fact.  The word used for knoweth means He knows them as an actual event.  In other words, the LORD knows everything about me.  What has happened in the past?  That which is occurring in the present.  And that which will happen in the future.  Although the context is for the purpose of judgment, the greater and more broad application is the knowledge of God is eternal and experiential and that He might be the author of, the power behind, and the orchestrator of all which happens to me.  In short, He does not know the path of life I take like someone reading a newspaper.  He knows my path so that He can interact with my path and be the most important part of my path.  God knows so that God can act.

There are times when watching a group of people or kids is a great pleasure.  There are other times that it is not.  If the kids are organized and focused on the purpose at hand, governing them can be a great joy.  Knowing each child more deeply than merely cursory means the moderator can oversee the group as individuals.  He or she knows the strengths and weaknesses of each child.  The moderator could predict how each individual child would progress through the activity and organize actions or resources that best meet the needs of everyone there while at the same time, coming to the natural conclusion of the group.  This reminds me of a class project where each person has a unique input and contribution to the overall success of that group.  Such as a patrol’s responsibility to complete a task or project under the supervision of the patrol leader and Scoutmaster.  There were many projects like this.  Setting up camp for summer campers was one of those projects.  There were community projects like cleaning up litter on a stretch of road or husbandry for someone who owned an orchard or vineyard.  There were projects held during meetings and the leader’s responsibility was to keep an eye on everyone as well as the group.  He knew what each scout was thinking and how to make adjustments so the entire group succeeded.  He knew what the scout was going to do before he did it.

God knows each of us intimately.  He not only knows the actions of a person but the motive behind those actions.  He knows what will happen to the individual.  He knows with whom he will interact.  He knows the entire path or life of each one of us to every known detail and nuance.  He knows it all.  But the LORD is not one big video camera that simply gathers facts for information’s sake.  He knows so that He can be the major influence on that path.  Like the patrol leader who watches over his patrol, he interacts with all those whom He knows.  The LORD interjects Himself into the path of all whom He loves to produce a certain end.  In short, God knows, He cares, and He is involved.  Even if we are unaware, He is still involved.  Even if we cannot discern what it might be that God is doing, He is still doing it.  Why?  Because He knows!  Because He, as Creator, has a moral obligation to be involved with those whom He has created.  Because He loves!  Don’t ever think that God does not know where you have been, where you are, and where you will be.  He knew from eternity past and He is compelled to be part of your life!  He is there because He knows.