God of Heaven

Sometimes we treat the biblical text like a dusty old piece of literature with antiquated expressions that must be decoded. For example:

‘Son of Man’: A simple reference to Jesus.

4 Decoded.

‘God of heaven’: A simple reference to God.

4 Decoded.

However, such casual decoding often overlooks significant meaning and a deeper message for the reader. When thinking about the breadth of the Bible, one must conclude that God used an economy of words to express His message.

Perhaps we should ask why God had things written the way He did in the Bible. Why use son of man when it would have been easier and more obvious to just say Jesus? Perhaps, son of man had deeper meaning. Perhaps it connected to something of great significance.

That question will be left for a different time. For now, why say God of heaven? Why not just refer to God as...God?

The phrase God of heaven appears 25 times in the Bible, with only two occurrences in the New Testament.

Abram (Abraham) described God to his servant as the God of heaven. That distinguished God from the many gods that people of his day believed in. He was emphasizing that his God was the God over all other gods, “the God of heaven and the God of earth.” He is God of all creation!

In the book of 2 Chronicles God of heaven was used by King Cyrus of Persia in a proclamation sent out among the nations under his rule. He could have referred to God as the God of Judah or the God of the Jews. However, recognizing the beliefs of all the nations, he described God more accurately as the God of heaven, again, emphasizing that this was the true God, the God over all gods, the Creator.

That is the same way that the phrase God of heaven was used in Daniel 2 which tells of the prophetic dream of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. In a land of many gods, the God of heaven had communicated to the pagan king. This was not the king’s first encounter with this God and it would not be his last.

The occurrences of God of heaven in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are similar. This identifying phrase was used in a setting where individuals from pagan nations were present. The God of heaven is not tied to a specific location on earth, a specific nation, or a specific part of creation (e.g. ocean, sky, fertility, war, etc.). The God of heaven is supreme. He is God over all.

Jonah referred to the God of heaven when on a ship full of pagans. He added that his God “made the sea and the dry land.” So, this was not a local god, but the God of creation.

Even in the book of Revelation, the identifying phrase God of heaven was used in a setting where there were pagan unbelievers.

The phrase God of heaven was used for the benefit of pagan unbelievers. So, it packs quite a punch when it appears at the end of Psalm 136. This is a psalm of thanksgiving to the God of Israel who is full of lovingkindness, i.e. the God who is loyal to His covenant promises. The reader is reminded of God’s involvement in Israel’s history. Then, the psalmist dramatically punctuated his prayer of thanksgiving in the final verse, “Give thanks to the God of heaven.”

I can only imagine how this impacted the Jewish mind as they read Psalm 136. However, I wonder if you can see an application for our day???

Mark Stinnett
August 28, 2022