We’ve spoken about the wisdom and counsel of the Lord previously and want to develop the idea a bit. The Bible, of course, has quite a bit to say about the idea and it would be good to systematize it a bit.
The Counsels and Purposes of God [1]
Jeremiah (among many other passages) tells us that those counsels are “great”. Jeremiah 32:19 says:
You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.
Great here meaning not large or many but pertaining to having high status, to be high, or formally great. It is not that this is saying that God gives a lot of counsel (though one could surely observe that He does have a LOT to say about a LOT of things) but that God’s counsel is significant, it is counsel that stands out over and above other counsels from other sources. To ignore such counsel is foolish and self-destructive. This is the beginning of a case that is both conclusive and condemning.
Secondly, God’s counsels are described as “wonderful”. Isaiah, in a passage speaking of the need to listen to and heed the teaching of God, speaks of the counsels of God in this fashion in Isaiah 28:29 where he says:
This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.
The phrase “wonderful in counsel” contains a verb that means “astound, to cause amazement, or to be wonderful”. The counsel of God is astounding, it boggles the mind, it goes far and beyond any and all human counsel to the point of causing one to stop and take amazed notice. And this is the norm for our God! Once again we are compelled to note that the fact that Israel ignored, and even more than that, tossed aside that counsel (remember that God has already taken them to task for “provoking Him to anger” or showing despite or His commands. The more wonderful the counsel, the great the crime involved in casting it aside!
Thirdly, the Counsels of God Are immutable. David said in Psalm 33:11:
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations
We’ll want to note several things about this great verse.
- Note that the word “counsel” is singular. It is a common word, neither truly feminine or masculine. David is not speaking of the specific things that God has said, but of His counsel in general, the entire package as a unit! It is all trustworthy! It can all be counted upon – none of it is more reliable or less reliable than any other part of it.
- The Word “LORD” is Yahweh – the covenant name for God – and casts our minds back to God and all of promises and the reliability of His nature and the power of His great right arm to cause those promises to bring those promises to pass.
- The root meaning of the word “Stands” in stands forever means to present, i.e., to stand in front of a superior as an offering, or for evaluation (Gen. 43:15). In this context and form it means to endure, to formally stand, i.e., be in a duration of time which lasts for an indefinite period of time (Ps 111:3) [2] The counsel of God is not a thing that will pass from the scene. It stands before Him (for He is the authority, the Judge Who passes sentence on all matters) for all eternity.
- “Forever” is not intended to be understood as hyperbole. This is not a figure of speech – it is intended to be understood literally. His counsels stand from now until, well,there is no then! His counsels, now given are never revoked. They are ever in effect and always in force.They stand “forever”!
Not only do the counsels of the Lord stand of themselves, but the cannot be frustrated by any device of man. Solomon observed in Proverbs 19:21:
There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.
We might be tempted to think of this as speaking to a simple contrast, man’s counsel versus God’s counsel. But this cannot be so because of the use of the contrastive conjunction that starts the second phrase. God’s counsel will stand despite what man plans and no matter man seeks to do to frustrate the plan of God. That which God has promised cannot change.
Jeremiah puts it is sad, negative terms in 4:28 speaking of the time when those counsels come to pass and the earth reaps the result of the decree of God in judgment:
For this shall the earth mourn,
And the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have purposed and will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.
All of this, by the way, is not empty theology. It is real and it is “now”, working itself out in the now, not just waiting for the future. Paul, speaking of the birth of Jacob and Esau, and God’s hand in the details of that birth, tells us in Ro 9:11:
(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),
God is not passively waiting for eternity future to come before He starts to enact His purposes. They are being enacted now and those purposes will continue to be enacted from now throughout all time.
The writer to the Hebrews says Hebrews 6:17:
Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
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[1] Torrey, R. (1995, c1897). The New Topical TextBook : A scriptural text book for the use of ministers, teachers, and all Christian workers. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos research Systems, Inc.
[2} Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 6641, #7). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
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