The vast, limitless knowledge of the Lord rises far beyond any human experience. What He knows is even beyond our limited ability to comprehend. In Psalm 139:1–4, the psalmist reverently pondered the omniscience of God. “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.”

The psalmist’s response is an expression of wonder that we should all confess: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me” (verse 6). In discussing God’s omniscience in his classic work on the attributes of God, A. W. Tozer wrote:

Because God knows all things perfectly, He knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well. He never discovers anything. He is never surprised, never amazed. He never wonders about anything nor (except for drawing men out for their own good) does He seek information or ask questions.

The Hebrew word for knowledge comes from the root verb יָדַע (yadah) which means “to know.” Interestingly, the word is derived from the root word יָד (yad), which means “hand.” God’s knowledge is not merely an ethereal glut of universal information! His knowledge is “hand knowledge.” He possesses a knowledge of all things grounded in reality and experience.

Yadah is the same word used when Adam “knew” Eve. Adam was not merely acquainted with her; he knew her in an intimate, personal way. Even so, our God knows us, as well as all things, perfectly and fully.

The perfection of God’s knowledge is on full display in the Book of Genesis. From the very beginning of recorded time, God sees all things and knows all things.

The Lord knew the consequences of Adam’s disobedience.

Before man disbelieved and disobeyed God, the Lord knew completely what the end results of man’s sin would be. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16–17).

One astonishing fact about God’s knowledge is its totality: He not only knows all things that are; He also knows all things that would be if something else happened! He knows the end of every choice and the result of every action. God knew that if Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, his action would bring death upon all mankind. Similarly, the Lord in His omniscience knows the consequences of our sin and gives us warnings by His Word and Holy Spirit.

The Lord knew where Adam and Eve were hiding.

When Eve hearkened to the voice of the tempter and when Adam also ate of the forbidden fruit, both the guilty man and woman hid themselves in the Garden of Eden. Making garments of fig leaves to hide their nakedness, they mistakenly thought that they just as easily could hide from the All-Knowing One.

“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:8–9). This question was asked not from ignorance, for the Lord had come to the exact place where Adam and Eve were hiding.

So also, it is vain for us to try to hide from God. Our omniscient God already knows our sin; He desires us to bring our sins to Him in humble confession so that we may obtain His mercy.

The Lord knew the imaginations of the hearts of sinful men.

As the generations of mankind multiplied upon earth, the Bible says that “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). The omniscient Lord saw not only the sinful actions of man but also the sinful imaginations and thoughts in his heart. Jesus said, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man” (Luke 17:26).

If the Lord knew the sinful imaginations in Noah’s day, He certainly knows ours also. We should guard our eyes and our hearts. One way to do so is to memorize Philippians 4:8, so that our imaginations are conformed to what is pure and lovely in His sight.

The Lord knew the doubts of Sarah behind the tent door.

When the Lord promised Abraham a son, Sarah doubted and laughed at the promise of God. But God knew her heart, and He called her to account. “And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:13–14). Here the omnipotence of God is set side by side with His omniscience. God is all-powerful and all-knowing.

When we doubt the Lord’s promises, we should know that He sees and knows our doubts. Like Sarah, we should learn to count Him faithful to His promises.

The Lord knew the future of Abraham’s seed.

In this same passage in Genesis, the Lord revealed His perfect knowledge of the future in what He planned for Abraham and his seed. “And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Genesis 18:17–19).

God not only knew what He Himself would do, He also knew what Abraham would do. So, God also sees our future as clearly as our past! He desires the same of us as He did of Abraham—that we keep His ways and teach them to our children.

The Lord remembered Joseph in his bondage.

When Joseph was stripped of his beautiful, colorful coat and cast into a dry cistern, God heard his cry of distress. In his sermon, Stephen said of Joseph, “And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him” (Acts 7:9). According to Genesis 39:21, when Joseph was falsely accused by Potipher’s wife and he was thrown into prison: “But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy.” Even when Joseph was forgotten by a fellow-prisoner he had aided, the Lord did not forget him. God faithfully fulfilled all of His promises.

Because God is omniscient, He knows our distresses, even when no one else knows. He hears our cry of anguish when no human ear can hear it. He sees us when we are at the bottom of the pit, and no one else is there to help us.

The same omniscient God that knew the details of Joseph’s distresses in Egypt is the God Who intimately knows everything about you. You can rest in His care! He knows your circumstances, and He will do what is best. Contemplating such perfect knowledge, we can exclaim with the psalmist, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me”!