The Nugget:
Deu 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.
My Comment:
Deuteronomy 33:27 speaks about the eternity of God, and is the first attribute or characteristic in a list of God’s attributes I have been developing as I study the Bible. My list might not be exhaustive, but I believe it will be more complete and comprehensive than most other lists generally available.
A study of the attributes of God is a very important study. Knowing his attributes will increase our faith in God and help us to understand Him much better (see Psalm 9:10, where knowing God’s name means to know His character, His person).
Once you have a greater grasp of the full range of the attributes or qualities the Bible ascribes to God, you will not only understand Him much better, but you will be equipped to see more clearly where some have failed to account for all the evidence in the Bible that describes what kind of God we have.
The eternity of God means God never had a beginning. He always was, and always is, and always will be. Sometimes atheists and other even more sincere seekers after the truth about God stumble over the question: If God made everything, then who or what made God? I’ve read where some atheists will suggest that matter is eternal, so they think their belief is more valid because they do not introduce what they think is a mythological being called God into the picture. But if you think it through, if there is no God, then what is the answer to the question, “Where did matter come from?” To say matter always existed goes against the laws of physics as we know them. According to the laws of physics, matter in its natural state is always tending to an increased state of disorganization. Living things grow old and die. Inanimate, inorganic things wear down. Sources of heat grow cold. That leads to the conclusion that matter is not eternal, but had a beginning. Where was matter before the beginning? Some atheists and agnostics end up suggesting what is not logical or true to fact: They suggest matter created itself, thus they get something from nothing, which would seem to be a much greater contradiction to what is reality than what the Bible declares when it says, “In the beginning God created…” (Genesis 1:1).
God is eternal. He has always existed. He is uncreated. He is necessary being, where all else is contingent being. Anything that can change is contingent. God in His essential nature and character is unchanging and eternal, just like the Bible says. His eternal nature gives us a good reason to be able to trust Him.
For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:
(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 218 for Deuteronomy 33:27.
(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 238 or in Logos 5 or 6 Bible software for Deuteronomy 33:27.
(3) Consult the cross references given in the original Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 149 for Deuteronomy 33:27.
(3) Most people today do not have access to those three resources, so I have posted cross references for this passage as I have developed them even more completely for your study as given below:
Deuteronomy 33:27. eternal. Heb. kedem, +Mi 5:2. T#212. Dt 32:40. +*Ge 21:33n. Ex 15:18. 1 S 15:29. 1 Ch 16:36. Ne 9:5. Jb 29:5. Ps 9:7. 55:19. *Ps 90:1, 2. 93:2. 102:12, 24-27. *Is 9:6. 40:28. 44:6. 48:12. *Is 57:15. 63:16. *Je 10:10. La 5:19. Da 4:3, 34. Mic 4:7. *Mic 5:2. Hab 1:12. Ro 1:20. +*Ro 16:26. *1 Tim 1:17. 6:15, 16. He 1:20-12. *He 9:14. 13:8. 2 P 3:8. Re 1:11. refuge. Ge 7:16. Jb 1:10. 5:11. Ps 9:9. 14:6. *Ps 18:2. 27:5. 36:7. *Ps 46:1, 7, 11. 48:3. *Ps 57:1, 2. 59:16, 17. 71:3, 7. 89:18. *Ps 91:1, 2, 9, 15. 94:22. 125:2. 139:5. *Pr 18:10. *Is 25:4. 32:2. 51:16. Je 16:19. Lk 13:34. Phil 3:9. *He 6:18. underneath. Ge 49:24. %Ex 17:12. *Pr 10:25. Song 2:6. *Is 26:4. Ro 14:4. He 13:5. 1 P 1:5. *Jude 1:24. everlasting. Heb. olam, +Ge 17:7. arms. Ps 103:17. 140:7. Song 8:3. Is 26:4. *Is 40:28, 29. 41:10. Je 31:3. *1 Th 2:16, 17. thrust. See on *Dt 9:3-5. Ex 23:28. Ps 80:8. *Jn 10:28, 29. *Ro 8:2. 16:20. *Re 20:2, 3, 10.