Shemot Rabbah, a classic collection of Midrash on the book of Exodus, tackles this very question, and the answers are, frankly, .
It starts with a verse from Psalms: "There is none like You among the gods, Lord, and there are no deeds like Yours" (Psalms 86:8). A simple enough statement. But the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) asks: Why is there none like Him? What makes God's deeds so unique?
The answer isn't just about raw power, though there's plenty of that! It's about the way God acts, which is completely unlike anything we humans can comprehend. We build roads on land, but can we carve a path through the sea? Of course not! But as it says in (Psalms 77:20), God's "way was through the sea, Your path through the mighty waters, Your footprints left no trace." He creates pathways where there are none, leaving no trace of His passing.
And what about our ledgers, our records of debts and credits? We’re quick to demand what’s owed to us, but how eager are we to acknowledge our own debts? The Midrash points out that God operates in the opposite way. As the prophet Micah tells us, "He will again have mercy upon us; He will suppress our iniquities" (Micah 7:19). God hides our wrongdoings, but, as Jeremiah says, "The Lord has produced our righteousness" (Jeremiah 51:10). He brings our merits to the forefront. It’s a radical idea – a divine accounting system that favors grace over retribution.
Then there's the way we build. We lay foundations before we raise the roof. That's logical. But God? According to this Midrash, He created the heavens before He created the earth. "In the beginning God created the heavens," Genesis tells us, "and only afterward, 'and the earth.'" God's creative order defies our earthly logic.
The Midrash continues with a series of striking contrasts, all drawing on the relationship between master and servant. A human master relies on his servant for everything: to light his way, to bathe him, to clothe him, to carry him. But God? He reverses the roles. He led the Israelites with a pillar of cloud and fire, as (Exodus 13:21) describes. “The Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to guide them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to illuminate for them.” He promises to bathe them (Ezekiel 16:9), to clothe them (Ezekiel 16:10), and to carry them on eagles' wings (Exodus 19:4). God doesn't need our service; He serves us.
And while a human master sleeps soundly as his servant keeps watch, the Holy One, blessed be He, "neither slumbers nor sleeps," as we are told in (Psalms 121:4).
Even the basics of sustenance are different. We depend on the earth for bread and the sky for rain. But in the desert, God provided water from a miraculous well, as (Numbers 21:17) recounts. And He rained down bread from heaven, the manna.
The Midrash is painting a picture of a God who is utterly beyond our comprehension, a God whose actions defy our expectations at every turn. It’s not just about power; it’s about a fundamentally different way of being. It’s about a love and care that transcends human limitations.
So, what does all this mean for us? Perhaps it's an invitation to rethink our assumptions about God. To move beyond simplistic notions of reward and punishment, and to embrace the radical idea of a God who is constantly reaching out to us, offering grace, protection, and sustenance in ways we can barely imagine. It's a call to recognize the truly unique and extraordinary nature of the Divine. To realize, truly, that "there is none like You among the gods, Lord, and there are no deeds like Yours."
Another matter, “behold, I will rain down bread for you from the heavens,” that is what is written: “There is none like You among the gods, Lord, and there are no deeds like Yours” (Psalms 86:8). Why is there none like You among the gods? Because there are none who can perform Your deeds. How so? The way of the world is that flesh and blood make a path on the way; is he, perhaps, able to make a path in the sea? But for the Holy One blessed be He it is not so, but rather, He makes for Himself a path in the midst of the sea, as it is stated: “Your way was through the sea, Your path through the mighty waters, Your footprints left no trace” (Psalms 77:20). Flesh and blood examine their documents. If someone finds that people owe him, he will produce the document and collect from them, but if he finds that he is in debt to a person, he will suppress it and not produce it. But the Holy One blessed be He is not so. If He finds that we are in debt to Him He suppresses it, as it is stated: “He will again have mercy upon us; He will suppress our iniquities” (Micah 7:19). But if He finds merit for us, He produces it, as it is stated: “The Lord has produced our righteousness” (Jeremiah 51:10). Flesh and blood, when he seeks to build a palace, he builds the lower levels and afterward builds the upper levels. But the Holy One blessed be He is not so; after He created the upper levels, He created the lower levels, as it is stated: “In the beginning God created the heavens,” and only afterward, “and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Flesh and blood, when he seeks to purchase a slave, if there are claimants,8Individuals who claim that the slave belongs to them rather than to the individual seeking to sell the slave. he does not purchase him, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather He says: “Or has a god sought to come and take for himself a nation from the midst of a nation?” (Deuteronomy 4:34). Flesh and blood, the disciple holds the torch before his master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so: “The Lord was going before them by day [in a pillar of cloud, to guide them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to illuminate for them]” (Exodus 13:21). Flesh and blood, the servant bathes the master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, “I will bathe you in water” (Ezekiel 16:9). Flesh and blood would dress his master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, “I clothed you in embroidery” (Ezekiel 16:10). Flesh and blood places shoes on the feet of his master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, “and shod you with taḥash” (Ezekiel 16:10). Flesh and blood bears his master, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, “I have borne you on the wings of eagles” (Exodus 19:4). Flesh and blood, the master sleeps and the servant stands over him, but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, the Holy One blessed be He protects Israel, as it is stated: “Behold, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalms 121:4). For flesh and blood, water is from above them and bread is from below them,9Rain falls from the sky and wheat grows from the ground. but the Holy One blessed be He is not so, but rather, water is from below them, this is the well,10The well that miraculously accompanied Israel through the wilderness and provided them with water. as it is stated: “Rise, well…” (Numbers 21:17), and the bread is from above: “Behold, I will rain down [bread] for you [from the heavens].” That is, “there is none like You among the gods, Lord, and there are no deeds like Yours” (Psalms 86:8).
