When God Doesn't Make Sense
November 9, 2025Pastor Patrick presented today's message, "When God Doesn't Make Sense." A video of today's message is here on YouTube. The discussion that follows assumes you are familiar with the message content.
Today began a short sermon series of 3 sessions called "Hope in the Dark." It's based on the Book of Habakkuk in the Old Testament. Habakkuk (חֲבַקּוּק) was a prophet (around 600BC) who spoke to God on behalf of the people in stark contrast to most prophets that talked to the people on behalf of God. The Hebrew root of his name means embrace. The final chapter of his book is a song which some suggest means he was part of the Tribe of Levi (who served as musicians in the temple). Habakkuk is recognized by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
During his message, Patrick used the word wrestle (or one of its derivatives) several dozen times. This is particularly appropriate in light of the Torah as wrestling or struggling with God is exactly what the word Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל) means: yisra = struggle and el = God. Jacob is renamed to Israel twice in Genesis, once by an angel in Genesis 32:28-29 and once by God in Genesis 35:9-10. In the Jewish faith, "struggling with God" is a way of life. As Prager puts it, God assumes, even expects, that His people will struggle with Him. It seems obvious. How could God create free, reasoning human beings without expecting they'd think for themselves and thereby question things. For an example of Abraham struggling with God, see Genesis 18:23-32. See Prager's The Rational Bible: Genesis, pp. 386-390.
Ever ponder who the saddest character of the Bible must have been? The one who suffered the most anguish? Jesus comes to mind in light of the crucifixion. And that's close or even correct if you consider Jesus in the big picture, as part of the triune God. The answer is God (not Job, not Jeremiah, not Joseph, not any of the "great sufferers" of the Bible). God is constantly disappointed by his people. And this was set in concrete the moment God allowed for freewill.
Related to the notion of freewill is the question of whether people are basically good or bad. Most people will incorrectly say people are basically good. They are not. And God tells us this. In Genesis 8:21, after the Flood, God promises to "never again curse the ground, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth." God is saying, basically, that I won't destroy mankind because it's my fault, I made him that way. This will surprise no one who's ever raised a child, having to tell them to say Thank You thousands of times. Goodness must be taught. Goodness is not built in. The Torah makes that clear, too. See Deuteronomy 6:7: "Talk about them [God's instructions] when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Basically, all the time. Add to that the number of people who think they can just "follow their heart" as opposed to follow a God-given moral code and you begin to get the picture. People will fail us all the time; it's just a matter of "on what scale."
Lastly, we must also consider the reality that the nature God created doesn't care (to put it bluntly). Nature proceeds as it will. And on the personal level, there is no telling what natural catastrophe might befall us (including human-caused ones), from a ray of sunlight screwing up our DNA to cause cancer or a lightning strike or a drunk driver. In any and every case, we are doomed to eventually die from this world. That was true of every figure in the Bible (including Jesus, interestingly) and is true for us. We have to "wrestle with" these realities as well.
What I do think we can count on is that all will be made right in the end. God's perfect justice will be accomplished in the afterlife. The Torah so much wants us focused on living this life well that an afterlife is never directly asserted. It's implied a few times, but that's it. One of the ways it's implied is the use of the phrase "gathered to his kin" (about ten times, e.g. Genesis 25:8). This is stated regardless of physical burial location (like an ancestral or family grave site). And it's stated upon dying, not upon burial. It's a strong implication of an afterlife.
Bonus
Who Should Win the Nobel Peace Prize?
I write this on Veterans Day (11/11/25). That might give you a clue as to my answer. But let me direct you to PragerU's 5-minute video answer: Who Should Win the Nobel Peace Prize?.