Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and through the night
the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind and turned it
into dry land, and the waters were divided (Ex. 14:21).
Who has seen such marvelous things? God’s prophets and deliverers do
amazing works. Miracles, wonders and signs give credibility to the words
they speak and bring success to their missions. Yet none of these works
are done by their own abilities. Moses stretches out his hand over the
water, but it is the “breath” (NIV, NLT) of YHWH (the LORD) that blows
upon the sea and causes it to separate (Ex. 15:10).[1]
The sea parts at the raising of Moses’ staff (Ex. 14:16). At the
direction of the prophet Elisha, Naaman dips seven times in the Jordan
River and is cured of leprosy (2 Kings 5:10–14). By Elijah, fire comes
from heaven upon the sacrifice of the LORD (1 Kings 18:36–38). Another
time, the prophet causes rain to be withheld from the land (1 Kings
17:1). On still another occasion, a woman’s son is brought back to life
(1 Kings 17:17–24).
These men and women of God do “YHWH things”: things that we would
expect only God to do. The works that they do can even rightly be said
to have been done by God. Yet they themselves are not YHWH.
God’s prophets and deliverers do amazing things. However, they do not
act on their own. The God who sends them to his people also fully
equips them for their missions. He equips them according to whatever
deliverance is needed:
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not
by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts”
(Zech. 4:6).
It is not by human might or power that Zerubbabel will succeed.
Rather, it is by the active presence of God. It is by his spirit that
wonderful works will be accomplished.
When the Messiah’s day comes, God greatly equips him. He too does
YHWH things. Like Zerubbabel, he does all his great works by the spirit
of the LORD (Isa. 61:1, 2; cf. Luke 4:1, 18–21). Like Moses and others,
he does miraculous signs ( John 3:2; 11:47). His disciples also do great
things (Acts 5:12).
The fact that God’s prophets and deliverers do these amazing works
does not mean that they themselves are YHWH. Neither are they God-men,
or angel-men or some other kind of super-beings. Rather, they are people
who are empowered by his spirit. They do all of their works by the
spirit of God. That demonstrates that they are true human beings. If
they were otherwise, perhaps they would have innate abilities and not
need the working of God’s spirit to do these things. 21C Christian Reformation.