Genesis 18:20 reads: "The Lord said, 'The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.' " But I thought that God is all-knowing. There is also Revelation 20, where we read about "the books" in which our deeds are written. But again, if God is all knowing, what is the purpose of a written record? -- Abram Guerra
All of this is for our benefit. The metaphors, the language, the figures of speech are for us. The Bible is written so that we humans can understand it, relate to it. God is totally above us, beyond us, greater than us. See Isaiah 55:8-9, John 1:18, and scores of other passages stressing how absolutely different from us the Almighty is. Accordingly, God bends himself to our language, to our very modes of thinking and speaking. This is called anthropomorphism -- putting things in human terms. We frequently read of God's "hand," or his "eyes." We find him "repenting," and we find him "moving" -- whereas, in fact, the Word teaches he is everywhere at all times. The Bible is written for us. The visit to Sodom is for Abraham's benefit, not because God is lacking in "intelligence."
The book recording our deeds represents the sum total of all the actions of mankind, in the light of God's righteous judgment. God knows all, needs nothing, is infinitely above our world. Yet he chooses to allow us to live, move, and have our being in him. And he speaks to us, not in the language of physics, metaphysics, and eternity, but in words and idioms comprehensible to every man and woman. The image of the book signifies that nothing will be hidden from the Lord. Ultimately, all of us will give an account of ourselves.
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