GOD WANTS ALL MEN TO KNOW HIM

We know from 2 Peter 3:9, that God does not want any man, woman, or child, to perish; that is, to stand before His judgment, and be sentenced to eternal torment.  That is why He has provided His Son as a substitute, a stand-in, to take the death sentence our sin has earned us (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 2 Cor. 5:21; etc.)!  And, man cannot plead ignorance as a defense.  The Scriptures tell us that God's glory is revealed to humanity through nature, and that because He may be known by His Creation, man will stand without excuse at God's judgment (Rom. 1:18-32; Rev. 20:11-13; etc.).  God, being just, provided evidence of Himself. 

But, that was not all!  The LORD repeatedly worked miracles to reveal Himself to man!  The Word of God uses the exact phrase "shall know that I am the LORD," fifty-seven times in the Scriptures.  All are in the Old Testament, with fifty-one of them being found in the Book of Ezekiel.  It also appears five times in Exodus (6:7; 7:5; 14:18; 16:12; 29:46), and once in First Kings (20:28). 

The phrase can be divided into two groups.  The first group of verses focus upon "they" (heathen, Egyptians, Babylonians, etc.); that is, that "they shall know that I am the LORD."  There are thirty-one of these, and all are found in Ezekiel with the exception of three which are in Exodus (7:5; 14:18; 29:46). 

I was surprised to discover that there is nearly an equal number of verses, in which the phrase was addressed to God's chosen people:  Israel!  One would think that with all of the interaction between God and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Moses, etc., that God would not need to prove Himself by the time the Book of Ezekiel was written!  And yet, Ezekiel records twenty-three instances where God says, "ye shall know that I am the LORD!"

The New Testament Gospels each record an instance where Jesus uses the phrase "that ye may know" (Mt. 9:6; Mk. 2:10; Lk. 5:24; Jn. 10:38).  The first three refer to His ability to forgive sins, something even His enemies knew could only be done by God (Mk. 2:7; Lk. 5:21)!  The last, John 10:38, tells us that His mighty miracles were evidence that He and His Father are one!  I will close with a quote from 1 John 5:13:

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God;

that ye may know that ye have eternal life...."