God’s multiple motives

Often times when people do something apparently for one reason when in fact there is actually a different reason motivating them, we say they have an “ulterior motive.” Most of us have probably done this ourselves, and some of us probably do it on a regular basis! Even though the phrase “ulterior motives” suggests deceptive behavior, it doesn’t have to be that way. The word ulterior simply means, “going beyond what is said or shown.” In this sense, we could certainly say that God has been known to have ulterior motives!

If you look at the way God has worked throughout the many stories recorded in scripture, you cannot help but realize that God always has multiple reasons for the things he does. And certainly many experiences confirm that God often does not reveal all his motives to mankind – which is certainly his prerogative. But on other occasions God does give us glimpses into his motivations for doing certain things, and if we will learn from theses glimpses, they will teach us more about God’s nature and his ways. A good example of this comes from the life of Moses.

In Exodus 5:22 a confused Moses went to God in prayer and asked, “Why did you ever send me?” (See article by this name.) Like many of us, Moses was frustrated that what God had called him to do didn’t seem to be working. But helping Moses fulfill his calling was not God’s only motive, in this story. Obviously God had another greater motive, which was to deliver His people from Egypt. So in Exodus 6 God again tells Moses to go tell pharaoh to let God’s people go.

If Moses had gone again to Pharaoh at this point and once more told him to let God’s people go, he very likely would have again come back to God confused and frustrated the next time pharaoh said no. And so, perhaps to avoid this very thing, God revealed to Moses yet another motive for his actions. In Exodus 7 God explained to Moses that He was going to harden Pharaoh’s heart in order that he might multiply His signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. God then told Moses that his motive for doing this was in order that “The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.”

Then, in Exodus 9:16 God revealed yet another of his motives, telling Pharaoh “For this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you my power…” Paul would refer to this in Romans 9:22-23, declaring that God’s motive in hardening Pharaoh’s heart was “To demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known… And… to make known the riches of His glory…”

But Exodus 9:16 goes on to say, “And in order to proclaim my name through all the earth.” We can see that this purpose was clearly fulfilled in passages like Joshua 2:10, where Rahab told the spies, that her people had “heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt.” Another such passage is 1 Samuel 4:8, when the Philistines, about to engage in battle with Israel, said, “Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.”

What this story teaches us so well is that, while we often tend to think only of ourselves in any scenario, God is always acting with multiple motives – being motivated by His desire to accomplish his will not only in our lives, but also in other people and situations around us, and ultimately the entire earth. So if you are feeling like God may not be doing things quite the way you think he should, take courage! God has multiple motives in your situation as well, and if you will be patient, he will accomplish all of them!