January 6, 2018
I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:
TO MAKE IT GOOD
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
What is the difference in this verse between the word “said”, and the word “spoken”? They are obviously two different words but they would seem to mean the same. These are two different Hebrew words in the text. The word “said” is more an emphasis on what God has promised. The word for “spoken” emphasizes more what God has proclaimed. “Hath he said, and shall he not do it?”, emphasizes that God will do it. “ Hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?”, emphasizes that God will not just do it, but He will do it right.
Let me illustrate. If I told my wife that I am going to go home early from work and clean the house for her, I could go to the house and straighten a few things out, maybe empty the garbage, and dust off a few tables. I could even go to my children’s room and take whatever toys or clothes or on the floor and I could grab them, throw them in the closet, and with great force push the closet door till I finally get it shut. Whenever she got home, I could claim to her that I had cleaned the house. And I will have done some things that could be categorized as cleaning the house. However behind some closed doors there is still a mess. There are toilets that have not been scrubbed and cleaned. There are sinks that have not been washed and drained. There might be dishes out that have not been washed and dried and put away. There might be dirt underneath the couches that I have not vacuumed. There might be windows that I have not washed. There might be some floors that I have not mopped. So, though in my opinion I have cleaned the house, in her opinion I have not cleaned it well. There is a difference in doing something, and in doing something right.
The end of this verse means that what God has promised He will do, But not only that, what He has proclaimed, He will do right. Whatever he has said or spoken, he will make it a success. That is what the Hebrew word here for “good” means. It means to stablish, to stir up, to strengthen, to succeed. It means to make it a success.
That’s what God can do to our broken dreams, broken lives, and broken relationships. God can make them good. God can take something or someone that is unsuccessful, and make them or it successful. Isn’t that what God did for the woman at the well. Isn’t that what God did for the maniac at the graveyard. Isn’t that what God did for the broken man laying at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus said “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk”. That man did need help to leave. He did not crawl away, or even limp away. God did it exactly the way God said He would. He didn’t just do it. He did it right.
That is exactly what God can do for you. He doesn’t just straighten up. He cleans the entire house. God doesn’t just forgive us. He justifies us! God doesn’t just repair, He restores!