The Bible is full of the actions of God. The Psalms constantly praise “I will tell of all your wonders.” (Psalm 9:1) It is important to Christians that we remember all the times that God has acted in our lives. He doesn’t just sit up there and watch the show. He made a covenant — a solemn, binding promise — with His people. If they would follow Him and obey His laws, He would be their God and would bless them. If they broke their word and disobeyed those laws, He would discipline them…but He would never break His side. He would always be their God, and would forgive and restore whenever they repented and turned back to Him.
Let’s look at a few claims of God’s deeds. We’ll see how God’s actions can be evaluated in real history, not once-upon-a-time. We’ll also see how they are in keeping with that covenant relationship, that contract between God and and those who willingly choose to be His people.
Biblical Israel
The Exodus
I’ll start with the Exodus from Egypt and the entrance to the Promised Land of Canaan/Israel. The Hebrew people left Egypt and moved to Canaan, leaving archeological evidence in their wake, and the Bible claims that God was involved. He proved it with plagues, with crossing a sea on dry land, with a pillar of fire and smoke to lead them, with manna to feed them for years in the wilderness.
He rescued them from Egypt in keeping with His promises to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He blessed their obedience while disciplining their faithlessness.
The Babylonian captivity and return
History records that the Babylonian empire conquered Israel and deported most of its citizens to Babylon during the years 598 to 587 B.C 1. History also records that, after Babylon was in turn conquered by Persia, the Persian king Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland in 538 B.C. The Bible describes God’s involvement, predicting the exile as punishment for Israel’s idolatry and the return as His forgiveness and restoration when they repented. That includes even predicting Cyrus by name, 100 years before his birth! (Isaiah 44:28-45:7)
Per their covenant, God disciplined them when they turned away, and restored them when they turned back.
Modern American History
Since the close of the Biblical period, Christians have continued to attribute historical events to the direct intervention of God. I have just finished reading “The Light and the Glory“, where authors Peter Marshall and David Manuel trace God’s hand in the founding of the United States, so I’ll borrow some of their examples.
Christopher Columbus
Columbus had his faults, as history teaches. However, it also teaches that he thoroughly believed that God was leading him on his journey, and that God in turn would act on his behalf to bring him success.
That would seem to be proven correct, although God stretched Columbus’ faith by waiting until almost the last possible minute. On October 9th of 1492, it had been a month — and over 2000 miles — since they had left their last resupply port at Grand Canary Island, and headed out across uncharted waters. The crews were on the point of mutiny; the other captains demanded that he turn back. Columbus reluctantly agreed, but asked for just three more days.
At 2AM on the 12th, four hours before dawn of turn-around day, the lookout first spotted the island that they named San Salvador: “Holy Savior”.
The Pilgrims and Puritans
The early settlers in the New World saw themselves as continuing in Israel’s footsteps. They were following God to a new Promised Land, where they would live as His people and shine His light in a dark world.
Although Roanoke in 1587 and Jamestown in 1607 gave lip service to Christianity, it was the Pilgrims at Plymouth in 1620 and the Puritans in Massachusetts in 1630 who took their faith most seriously. It was not only the foundation of their spiritual life; it also informed their civic life, as well.
The Pilgrims’ settlement at Plymouth encountered a number of coincidences that can be attributed to God’s providence. First of all, they were in the Massachusetts area instead of their intended destination in Virginia because the Mayflower had been blown off course in a storm. That landed them outside the jurisdiction of any European nation. This, in turn, led to the Mayflower Compact, a document outlining a self-governing society not beholden to any king or other ruler that became a model for future American constitutions.
Second coincidence: While scouting for the right spot to build their settlement, the scout ship was caught in a storm and missed their intended harbor. They ended up taking shelter on an island during the stormy night, only to learn the next morning that it was in a perfect harbor of its own. Not only that, but the mainland nearby was an ideal location, with good soil and water…and with twenty acres already cleared but not planted. How?
The location had been the home of the Patuxet tribe. Sadly, the entire tribe had been wiped out by disease four years earlier, and other tribes now shunned the area. The Pilgrims learned this information from an English-speaking Indian 2 who simply walked into their meeting house and introduced himself one day! Samoset later returned with another Indian, a Patuxet named Squanto.
Coincidences #3 through many: Why had Squanto not been killed by disease along with the rest of his people? Because he was in England at the time, having been taken there as a slave. He was rescued by monks at a nearby monastery, and eventually found a ship on which to travel back to his home. Instead of his own people, he learned of the Englishmen now living there, who needed help after barely surviving their first hard winter. Squanto introduced the settlers to Massasoit, the most powerful chief in the region. That began a friendship and treaty that lasted until Massasoit’s death forty years later.
The Puritans’ governing model went even further than the Mayflower Compact. After finding the colony in complete disarray on his arrival, their new governor, John Winthrop, wrote an essay/sermon titled “A Model of Christian Charity“. It described what became the driving force of their government: that they had entered into a covenant with God and each other, and were to be bound by that agreement. The covenant relationship permeated all of their actions; everything was based on mutual dependence on and responsibility for one another, all under their dependence on and responsibility to God. It had a predictable effect: The more closely they kept the covenant, the more their colony was blessed.
These documents, and their foundation of civil government based on Godly principles, became the model that informed those that still govern us today. We would not have the Constitution, indeed would not have become a nation, if not for these groups of believers following God to this continent.
Revolution and Constitution
After 150 years of governing themselves in the pattern established by the Mayflower Compact and the Puritan covenant culture, the long-distance dictates of England’s kings became quite irksome. The Great Awakening of the 1740’s, led by preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, brought a leveling of society. All are equal at the foot of the cross, regardless of aristocratic birth, wealth, or status. Therefore, no man has the right to assume authority over another without their consent.
As King George III felt his grip on the American colonies lessen, he reacted by becoming even more over-bearing, tightening his control. That had the reverse effect of strengthening the new spirit of independence. As one Crown-appointed governor wrote “If you ask an American, who is his master? He will tell you he has none, nor any governor but Jesus Christ.” 3 That same spirit led to a rallying cry of “No king but King Jesus!”
Revolution came, driven by the conviction that “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” 4 That conviction came with the faith that God would guide and bless those who depended on Him. It resulted in a Declaration of Independence that “appeal[ed] to the Supreme Judge of the world” with “a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence”.
That Providence was shown repeatedly throughout the eight years of war. A ragtag army of poorly-equipped civilians drawn from their farms and shops defeated one of the mightiest militaries of its day. They were led by a God-fearing General named George Washington, who often appealed to God for His aid while exhorting others to share his piety. The war was marked by many difficulties, but also by some significant coincidences.
- As the Colonists were retreating after the battle of Bunker (Breed’s) Hill, the British did not pursue them. If they had, they would have overtaken them and then easily conquered the next town: Cambridge.
- After Washington’s disastrous defeat at Brooklyn, contrary winds prevented British ships from being able to cut off his retreat. This was followed by an even greater coincidence: Sudden dense fog hid the exodus of 8000 soldiers across the East River in a multitude of small boats. The fog lifted only after the final boat, with General Washington aboard, had reached safety 5.
- The overnight surprise building of fortification at Dorchester Heights was able to remain silent and secret until the morning. It was followed by a near-hurricane storm that kept the British from being able to respond, resulting in them abandoning Boston to the Colonists.
- A violent snowstorm made Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River for a surprise attack on Trenton difficult…but it kept the British from being able to hear the approaching forces in time to react.
- Also, ahead of that battle, an advance unit was discovered by a doctor named John Riker 6 when his dogs began barking at them. Dr. Riker fed the soldiers, then joined them! He later saved the life of the lieutenant in charge of that unit who was wounded during the battle. That lieutenant was 18-year-old James Madison, later to become the “Father of the Constitution” and our fourth President.
Later, the new nation would remember these and many other “coincidences”. It would include as part of its Seal the Latin words “Annuit Coeptis“: “Providence favors our undertakings”.
Personal Examples
God doesn’t just act on a nation-building scale. Most Christians love to look back at God’s intervention in their personal lives, as well. I’ve mentioned one of mine in a previous article. The day my father died of a sudden heart attack, over a dozen people were far easier to contact than they should have been. In the days before cell phones, everyone was reached and on their way to support us within half an hour.
That was 35 years ago. Another was about six months ago. I was dealing with family medical issues when a friend told me she was praying that God would send me someone to help. She told me that at about 8AM one morning. Before noon, someone I had never met called, offering the exact help I needed 7. One result of her advice was a sudden opportunity to get the medical test we had been waiting for, that very day. Arranging transportation that quickly would have been a problem…except I “just happened” to be at the church when I learned of the appointment and a couple of our pastors “just happened” to be on site and available to help.
Just Coincidence?
From Israel to America to personal life, there are plenty of folks who would say “That’s just coincidence.” Maybe…
But how many coincidences does it take before we see them as God in action and give Him the credit He deserves?
Jesus!
Of course, the most notable action of God in history was the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus as an historical character is attested by multiple extra-Biblical writers. Jesus as the fulfillment of thousands of years of prophecy, the central turning point of all history, and the future culmination at the end of time is the point of the entire New Testament 8.
That is definitely God taking action!
Footnotes and Scripture References
- See the Encyclopedia Britannica article for more details.
- He had learned English from encounters with earlier traders and ship captains.
- “Principles and Acts of the Revolution in America“, page 198.
- This line is variously attributed to John Bradshaw (the judge who sentenced King Charles I to be executed in 1649 for tyranny and treason), John Knox (the Scottish Puritan preacher), or Benjamin Franklin. It was appropriated by Thomas Jefferson as his personal motto, and later by Susan B. Anthony when fighting for women’s rights.
- This is reminiscent of the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II, where Providential weather conditions allowed the escape of over 300,000 British soldiers after the German invasion of France.
- Here’s a more scholarly article telling the same story, and another on the Battle of Trenton that also references Dr. Riker’s contribution.
- She knew another family member, but not me.
- See article “Before and After” for more on this point.