Just How is the Counsel of God Described in the Bible? (Part 3)

We’ve been considering just how the Counsels of God are described in the Bible?^[1] This is part 3 of our study; in part one we said that those counsels are immutable, that God Himself never changes them, and that no outside force can force them to change.  Yesterday we said that those counsels are faithful to the plans and purposes of God, and that they are an expression of His character, that He will be faithful to them.  Today we want to think for a moment about two things, that those Counsels are described as both Great and Wonderful.

His 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.

  The word used is a common one in the OT, having no less that eight separate shades of meaning^[2] depending the context in which it is used. 

1. It can refer to much, great or many; a large mass (Eze 38:13)
2. It can refer to upper range or scale of extent (Ex 32:11; Jdg 21:5)
3. It can speak of the size of an object taking up great area or mass compared to a norm (Dt 25:14; 2Sa 18:17)
4. Strange, i.e., pertaining to causing surprise and astonishment, in view of being important or unusual (Ex 3:3);
5. Pertaining to the older in comparison of two objects (Ge 10:21);
6. High, formally, great, i.e., to be in a spatial dimension which is elevated compared to other positions (Ge 29:7);
7. When used as a Unit:

• It can speak as a high priest, i.e., principle priest with special ministry, duties, and restrictions (Lev 21:10)
• It can speak of the quality of greatness, power, strength, i.e., the state of exerting great force or ability (Ex 15:6), see also domain LN 74; note: others parse as 1524
• It can speak of the specific Great Sea, i.e., the western-most body of water in relation to Canaanland (Nu 34:6, 7; Jos 1:4; 9:1; 15:12, 47; 23:4; Eze 47:10, 15, 19, 20; 48:28+)

However, in this specific context it speaks of the idea of that which is important, i.e., pertaining to having high status by a consensus of other persons.  In Jonah we see a similar use, though a Greek word is used, in Jonah3:3:

So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.

The greatness is not in the eyes of God, but is a subjective greatness, as is made plain by the next phrase “a three-day journey in extent”.  The greatness is measured by the consensus of men.

So it is here is Jeremiah.  This is not say that men make God great, but that men recognize God to be great.  That is an important distinction.  God is seen to great by men, recognized to be great in His works among men, in the demonstration of His counsel and plan as it works itself out in the world.

This in and of itself is a wonder!  That we can know and see His counsels work themselves out is both a blessing and a mystery!  Job said in Job 36:26:

“Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him;
Nor can the number of His years be discovered.

God’s greatness and His “unknowability” go hand-in-hand.  We can know only what He has revealed to us in His Word.  The rest lies in mystery shrouded and reserved for eternity future, when, the Bible tells us, we shall Him as He knows us.

His Counsels are Wonderful

We’re told also that God’s counsels are “Wonderful”.

There are a number of verses that champion this concept, but one immediate thinks of Isaiah where, among other name, Wonderful is connected with Counselor in 9:6

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

In that passage, those are two different names, Wonderful and Counselor.  But in Isaiah 28:29 the two terms are joined together:

This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.

“Wonderful” in this verse is actually a verb.³  It means to be wonderful, or to be marvelous, be amazing, i.e., pertaining to an attitude of great surprise and awe over an event or person.  In the particular for that it is in, it refers to that which astounds or causes amazement, or is “wonderful” in any sense (positive or negative by the way).  It is used in this for form, for instance in Deuteronomy 28:59:

“…then the Lord will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues—great and prolonged plagues—and serious and prolonged sicknesses.”

Judges 13:19-20 uses the word in a more positive sense:

19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on— 20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.

David knew Wonder when he saw it!  verses like Ps 17:6-7 demonstrate this: 

6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
7 Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.

  The point is that these things all were out of the ordinary, way out of the ordinary and caused great amazement – wonder!  In doing these thing – God was causing “wonders” – He was acting in His capacity as the Almighty One and bringing His plan – His counsels to pass.

You’ll note that in Isaiah 28:29 the Name used for God is “Lord of Hosts”.  This is of the mighty names for God – one of the Names frequently used in context that shows His power and His ability to do what is needed to accomplish all that is necessary to accomplish His purposes (or, in case, His counsels). 

Just a word about the marvelous context of this particular verse.  After a long session of harsh words of judgment, Isaiah then inserted a word of comfort. The judgment would last for only a short while as it was designed to purge the people. A farmer must crush his crops to get the desired results. For example, caraway and cummin, aromatic herbs, are beaten out with a rod or stick, not threshed, because their seeds are so small. Grain is ground by millstone, after the wheat stalks are threshed. Various crops must be treated differently so no one step (plowing, harrowing, planting, or threshing) is done continuously.

Similarly God would bring about judgment but not forever. He is the Master “Farmer, ” who knows how to handle each “crop.” Therefore the Southern Kingdom should submit to Him because He is wonderful in counsel (cf. 9:6) and magnificent in wisdom.^[4]

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^[1]Thomas Nelson Publishers. (1995). Nelson's quick reference topical Bible index. Nelson's Quick reference (156). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

^[2]Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 1524, #8). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[3] Ibid 7098, #1).

^[4] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (1:1078). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.