We’ve already looked at the questions God asked people directly in Let Me Ask You Something. He also asked questions through the prophets, usually with no expectation that anyone would answer. “Can a person hide himself in hiding places so that I do not see him?” really means, “You cannot hide from Me.” God knew the answers. He was using the questions to make a point.
Through Isaiah
Speaking to: Judah and Jerusalem
“What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?”
What He Means: I gave you every reason to produce good fruit.
Isaiah 5:4
“To whom then will you compare Me that I would be his equal?”
What He Means: No one is My equal.
Isaiah 40:25
“Is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock?”
What He Means: There is no other God.
Isaiah 44:8
“Can a woman forget her nursing child?”
What He Means: Even if she could forget, I will not forget you.
Isaiah 49:15
“Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to rescue?”
What He Means: My power has not failed.
Isaiah 50:2
“Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?”
What He Means: I will finish what I started.
Isaiah 66:9
Through Jeremiah
Speaking to: Judah and Jerusalem
“What injustice did your fathers find in Me, that they went far from Me?”
What He Means: I gave you no reason to abandon Me.
Jeremiah 2:5
“Can I not, house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?”
What He Means: You are in My hands.
Jeremiah 18:6
“Am I a God who is near, and not a God far off?”
What He Means: I am not limited by distance.
Jeremiah 23:23–24
“Can a person hide himself in hiding places so that I do not see him?”
What He Means: You cannot hide from Me.
Jeremiah 23:24
“Is anything too difficult for Me?”
What He Means: Nothing is beyond My power.
Jeremiah 32:27
Through Ezekiel
Speaking to: Israel in exile
“Do I take any pleasure at all in the death of the wicked?”
What He Means: I want the wicked to turn from their ways and live.
Ezekiel 18:23
“Why will you die, house of Israel?”
What He Means: Turn back. Death is not what I want for you.
Ezekiel 18:31–32; 33:11
“What is this high place to which you go?”
What He Means: Why do you keep going back to these places of worship?
Ezekiel 20:29
Through Hosea
Speaking to: Israel and Judah
“What shall I do with you, Ephraim? What shall I do with you, Judah?”
What He Means: You say you’re faithful to Me, but it doesn’t last.
Hosea 6:4
“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel?”
What He Means: My compassion for you has not disappeared.
Hosea 11:8
“Where then is your king, that he may save you?”
What He Means: The rulers you trusted cannot save you.
Hosea 13:10
Through Obadiah
Speaking to: Edom
“Will I not on that day eliminate wise men from Edom, and understanding from the mountain of Esau?”
What He Means: Your wisdom will not protect you from My judgment.
Obadiah 8
Through Micah
Speaking to: Israel and Judah
“My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you?”
What He Means: What have I done to deserve your unfaithfulness?
Micah 6:3
Through Amos
Speaking to: Israel
“Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, house of Israel?”
What He Means: You were bringing Me offerings, but that doesn’t mean your hearts were really with Me.
Amos 5:25–26
“Are you not as the sons of Ethiopia to Me, you sons of Israel?”
What He Means: You are my chosen people but that doesn’t mean I will overlook your wrongdoings.
Amos 9:7
Through Haggai
Speaking to: The returned exiles in Judah
“Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house remains desolate?”
What He Means: You have made yourselves a higher priority than Me.
Haggai 1:4
“Why?”
What He Means: Your efforts are producing little because you have neglected My house.
Haggai 1:9
“Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory?”
What He Means: I know this temple looks small compared with what came before. Keep going.
Haggai 2:3–4
Through Zechariah
Speaking to: The returned exiles in Judah
“Was it actually for Me that you fasted?”
What He Means: You were fasting, but were you really doing it for Me?
Zechariah 7:5–6
“If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?”
What He Means: What looks impossible to you is not impossible to Me.
Zechariah 8:6
Through Malachi
Speaking to: The people and priests of Judah
“If I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?”
What He Means: You call Me Father and Master, but you do not treat Me like either.
Malachi 1:6
“When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil?”
What He Means: You are giving Me what you would not dare give someone you actually respected.
Malachi 1:8
“Would a person rob God?”
What He Means: Yes. You are withholding from Me what belongs to Me.
Malachi 3:8