Human Tendency to Doubt God's Sovereignty in Trials

In times of trial, humans often exhibit a tendency to doubt God's sovereignty, questioning His judgment, care, or presence ^[7]. This doubt can manifest in various forms, including rebellion, unbelief, and a desire for God to prove Himself ^{[3, 7]}.

One aspect of this tendency is the questioning of God's justice. The book of Job, for instance, directly asks, "Does God pervert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?" ^[2]. This reflects a human inclination to scrutinize divine actions, especially when faced with suffering or perceived injustice. Even Abraham, while retaining the principle that God's will is the law of justice, sought relief from the difficult thought of God destroying Sodom, where he believed good men resided ^[11]. This highlights a tension between acknowledging God's inherent righteousness and struggling to reconcile it with difficult circumstances.

Doubt can also lead to rebellion against God's authority. Torrey's Topical Textbook lists several ways this rebellion is exhibited, including unbelief, rejecting God's government, revolting from Him, despising His law and counsels, distrusting His power, murmuring against Him, refusing to hearken, and departing from Him ^[3]. Such actions provoke God and vex the Holy Spirit ^[3]. The Israelites' testing of the Lord in Exodus 17:2 is explained as doubting God's presence and care, demanding that He prove Himself ^[7]. This kind of testing, based on doubt rather than faith, positions humanity as the judge and God as the defendant ^[7].

Self-righteousness and presumption further contribute to this human tendency. Torrey's Topical Textbook describes self-righteousness as a characteristic that is hateful to God, vain, partial, and ineffectual for salvation ^[1]. Those given to self-righteousness audaciously approach God, seek to justify themselves before God and others, and reject the righteousness of God ^[1]. Presumption, another characteristic of the wicked, is exhibited in opposing God, willful commission of sin, and spiritual pride ^[4]. This can lead individuals to esteem their own ways as right ^[4].

The human inclination to doubt God's sovereignty is also linked to a broader pattern of human nature described by ancient writers. Josephus observed that when people gain power and authority, they often "put off all such notions" of God's oversight and take up "boldness, insolence, and a contempt of both human and Divine laws" ^[5]. He also emphasized that a right mind and the promotion of virtue depend on the understanding that God is the Father and Lord of all things ^[6].

Even when individuals acknowledge their own wrongdoing, they may still attribute their punishment to the "secret judgment of God" rather than directly confessing their specific crimes, as seen in Calvin's interpretation of Genesis 44:16 ^[10]. This suggests a human tendency to generalize divine judgment rather than confronting specific failures.

The problem is not the act of judgment itself, as humans are called to exercise their powers of judgment ^[8]. Rather, it is the abuse of judgment that leads to questioning God's sovereignty in a way that is rooted in doubt and rebellion ^{[7, 8]}. Matthew Henry, in his commentary on Psalms 43:1, notes that David appealed to God as his righteous Judge, confident in God's judgment for him, even when unjustly convicted by human courts ^[9]. This illustrates a faithful approach to divine judgment, contrasting with the doubt-filled questioning of God's sovereignty.

Sources

Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Self-Righteousness — Man is prone to -- Pr 20:6; 30:12. Hateful to God -- Lu 16:15. Is vain because our righteousness is But external. -- Mt 23:25-28; Lu 11:39-44. But partial. -- Mt 23:25; Lu 11:44. No better than filthy rags. -- Isa 64:6. Ineffectual for salvation. -- Job 9:30,31; Mt 5:20; Ro 3:20. Unprofitable. -- Isa 57:12. Is boastful -- Mt 23:30. They who are given to Audaciously approach God. -- Lu 18:11. Seek to justify themselves. -- Lu 10:29. Seek to justify themselves before men. -- Lu 16:15. Reject the righteousness of God. -- Ro 10:3. Condemn others. -- ”
Job “Job 8:3 (LITV) — Or does God pervert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Rebellion Against God — Forbidden -- Nu 14:9; Jos 22:19. Provokes God -- Nu 16:30; Ne 9:26. Provokes Christ -- Ex 23:20,21; 1Co 10:9. Vexes the Holy Spirit -- Isa 63:10. Exhibited in Unbelief. -- De 9:23; Ps 106:24,25. Rejecting his government. -- 1Sa 8:7; 15:23. Revolting from him. -- Isa 1:5; 31:6. Despising his law. -- Ne 9:26. Despising his counsels. -- Ps 107:11. Distrusting his power. -- Eze 17:15. Murmuring against him. -- Nu 20:3,10. Refusing to hearken to him. -- De 9:23; Eze 20:8; Zec 7:11. Departing from him. -- Isa 59:13. Rebellion against governors appoi”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Presumption — A characteristic of the wicked -- 2Pe 2:10. A characteristic of Antichrist -- 2Th 2:4. Exhibited in Opposing God. -- Job 15:25,26. Wilful commission of sin. -- Ro 1:32. Self-righteousness. -- Ho 12:8; Re 3:17. Spiritual pride. -- Isa 65:5; Lu 18:11. Esteeming our own ways right. -- Pr 12:15. Seeking precedence. -- Lu 14:7-11. Planning for the future. -- Lu 12:18; Jas 4:13. Pretending to prophecy. -- De 18:22. Pray to be kept from sins of -- Ps 19:13. Saints avoid -- Ps 131:1. Punishment for -- Nu 15:30; Re 18:7,8. Exemplified Builders of Babel. -- Ge 11”
Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 12, section 5: the actions of their lives, and that he does not only see the actions that are done, but clearly knows those their thoughts also, whence those actions do arise. But when once they are advanced into power and authority, then they put off all such notions, and, as if they were no other than actors upon a theater, they lay aside their disguised parts and manners, and take up boldness, insolence, and a contempt of both human and Divine laws, and this at a time when they especially stand in need of piety and righteousness, because th”
Project Gutenberg “Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, CHAPTER 11, section 4: life well, and give laws to others, in the first place should consider the Divine nature; and, upon the contemplation of God's operations, should thereby imitate the best of all patterns, so far as it is possible for human nature to do, and to endeavor to follow after it: neither could the legislator himself have a right mind without such a contemplation; nor would any thing he should write tend to the promotion of virtue in his readers; I mean, unless they be taught first of all, that God is the Father and Lord of all things, a”
Exodus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Exodus 17:2: 17:2 testing the Lord is explained in 17:7. They doubted that God was really with them or cared for them, and they demanded that he prove his presence and care. God invites a test based on faith (“I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief,” Mark 9:24), but he abhors a test based on doubt (i.e., I don’t believe, and I think God should prove himself to me, as in John 6:30). The test based on doubt makes us the judge and God the defendant.”
1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 10:15: Appeal to their own powers of judgment to weigh the force of the argument that follows: namely, that as the partaking of the Lord's Supper involves a partaking of the Lord Himself, and the partaking of the Jewish sacrificial meats involved a partaking of the altar of God, and, as the heathens sacrifice to devils, to partake of an idol feast is to have fellowship with devils. We cannot divest ourselves of the responsibility of "judging" for ourselves. The weakness of private judgment is not an argument against its use, but its abuse. We should t”
Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 43:1: David here makes application to God, by faith and prayer, as his judge, his strength, his guide, his joy, his hope, with suitable affections and expressions. I. As his Judge, his righteous Judge, who he knew would judge him, and who (being conscious of his own integrity) he knew would judge for him (Psa 43:1): Judge me, O God! and plead my cause. There were those that impeached him; against them he is defendant, and from their courts, where he stood unjustly convicted and condemned, he appeals to the court of heaven, the supreme judicature, praying to have their j”
CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 2 (Gen 24-50), section 21.9: because, although they had some secret suspicion of fraud, thinking that this had been a contrivance for the purpose of bringing an unjust charge against them, they choose rather to trace the cause of their punishment to the secret judgment of God. 172 172 See verse 16 . Some interpreters believe that they here confessed their crime committed against Joseph; but that opinion is easily refuted, because they constantly affirm that he had been torn by a wild beast, or had perished by some accident. Therefore, the more simple meaning”
CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 22.26: unjust. I grant that, in using the same form of speaking, the impious often murmur against God, but Abraham does far otherwise. For although he wonders how God should think of destroying Sodom, in which he was persuaded there was a number of good men; he yet retains this principle, that it was impossible for God, who is the Judge of the world, and by nature loves equity yea, whose will is the law of justice and rectitude, should in the least degree swerve from righteousness. He desires, however, to be relieved from this difficult”

Ask Your Own Question