The Gospel in the Old Testament

Summary

God Revealed in the Old Testament

God is and is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. God is holy. We are both created and eternal beings (flesh and spirit). None of us can attain God’s holiness. God demands any that come to Him be holy like He is. Therefore, we must be holy in our hearts and minds (who we are and what we think), not just our actions (what we do). God is Life itself and if we cannot come to Him in His holiness, we cannot live. Therefore, the penalty for our failure to be holy is death, both physical and spiritual (separation from God). God has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him through a mediator and substitutionary sacrifice. Any and all human mediators are flawed and cannot attain His holiness for themselves let alone anyone else. We need a Mediator and a Substitutionary Sacrifice who is eternal, holy, and therefore necessarily Divine.

The Good News of the Old Testament

God wants to draw or gather us to Himself because He loves us. He reveals Himself as a Father who wants to be in relationship with us. God Himself will save. God Himself will provide the atonement and will forgive. God will sanctify His own; righteousness can only come through Him. God is our Redeemer and Deliverer, our Helper and Comforter, there is no other. God Himself will accomplish all His purposes and do so for the sake of His holy name. God has chosen to exalt and glorify His holy name through mercy, grace, lovingkindness, faithfulness, forgiveness, and judgment.

 

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Scriptural References

God Revealed in the Old Testament

God is and is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

• Genesis 1-2 – Creator http://biblehub.com/esv/genesis/1.htm.
• Exodus 3:14 – “God said to Moses, ‘I AM who I AM;’ and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.’”
• Job 38-41 – Creator http://biblehub.com/esv/job/38.htm, http://biblehub.com/esv/job/39.htm, http://biblehub.com/esv/job/40.htm, and http://biblehub.com/esv/job/41.htm.
• Psalm 75:3 – “When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.”
• Proverbs 3:19-20 – “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.”
• Isaiah 40:21-28 – Creator of the ends of the earth, the everlasting God, the Holy One http://biblehub.com/esv/isaiah/40.htm
• Isaiah 41:4 – “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last, I am He.”
• Isaiah 42:5 – “Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it”
• Isaiah 44:6 – “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and His Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.’”
• Isaiah 46:9-10 – “remember the former things of old; for I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things not yet done”
• Isaiah 48:13 – “My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens, when I call to them, they stand forth together.”
• Jeremiah 10:10 – “But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King.”
• Jeremiah 51:14-19 – “The LORD of hosts has sworn by Himself…’It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding stretched out the heavens’…He who is the portion of Jacob, for He is the One who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; the LORD of hosts is His name.” http://biblehub.com/esv/jeremiah/51.htm

God is holy.

• Leviticus 22:32 – “And you shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you”
• 1 Samuel 2:2 – “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides You; there is no rock like our God.”
• Psalm 33:21 – “For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name.”
• Psalm 71:22 – “I will also praise You with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.”
• Psalm 77:13 – “Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?”
• Psalm 99:5 – “Exalt the LORD our God; worship at His footstool! Holy is He!”
• Isaiah 5:16 – “But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows Himself holy in righteousness.”
• Isaiah 6:1-3 – “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’”
• Isaiah 40:25 – “’To whom then will you compare Me, that I should be like him?’ says the Holy One.”
• Isaiah 43:15 – “I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”
• Isaiah 57:15 – “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

We are both created and eternal beings (flesh and spirit).

• Genesis 2:4-25 – http://biblehub.com/esv/genesis/2.htm
• Job 19:25-27 – “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”
• Psalm 16:10 – “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let Your Holy One see corruption.”
• Psalm 23:6 – “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
• Psalm 49:15 – “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me.”
• Psalm 139:13-16 – “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
• Ecclesiastes 12:7b – “and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
• Jeremiah 1:4-5 – “Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’”
• Daniel 12:1-3 – “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.  And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

None of us can attain God’s holiness.

• Deuteronomy 9:4-7 – “Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you.  Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that He may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.  Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD.”
• 2 Chronicles 6:36 – “’If they sin against You – for there is no one who does not sin – and You are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near,”
• Psalm 14:1-3 – “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”
• Psalm 53:1-3 – “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”
• Ecclesiastes 7:20 – “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
• Isaiah 64:6-7 – “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is none who calls upon Your name, who rouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.”
• Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

God demands any that come to Him be holy like He is.

• Genesis 17:1 – “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless”
• Exodus 3:4-6 – “Then He said, ‘Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ And He said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”
• Exodus 19:20-24 – “The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.” And Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, ‘Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.’” And the Lord said to him, “Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break out against them.””
• Leviticus 10:1-3 – “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’’’
• Leviticus 19:2 – “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.’”
• Leviticus 20:26 – “You shall be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”
• Deuteronomy 18:13 – “You shall be blameless before the LORD your God”
• Joshua 5:14-15 – “And He said, ‘No; but I am the Commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to Him, ‘What does my Lord say to His servant?’ And the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ‘Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy,’ And Joshua did so.”
• Joshua 24:19 – “But Joshua said to the people, ‘You are not able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.’ And the people said to Joshua, ‘No, but we will serve the Lord.’ Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve Him.’ And they said, ‘We are witnesses.’”
• 2 Samuel 6:6-7 – “And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.”

Therefore, we must be holy in our hearts (who we are and what we think), not just our actions (what we do).

• Genesis 15:6 – “And he believed the LORD, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”
• Deuteronomy 6:5-6 – “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”
• Deuteronomy 10:16 – “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.”
• Nehemiah 9:7-8a – “You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land…”
• Proverbs 16:2 – “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.”
• Isaiah 29:13-15 – “And the Lord said: ‘Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, while their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.’”
• Isaiah 66:2 – “All these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word.”
• Hosea 7:14 – “They do not cry to Me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against Me.”
• Hosea 10:1-2 – “Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars. Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and destroy their pillars.”
• Joel 2:12-14 – “’Yet even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster. Who knows whether He will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?’”
• Habakkuk 2:4 – “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”
• Zechariah 7:11-14 – “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts. ”As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.””

God is Life itself and if we cannot come to Him in His holiness, we cannot live.

• Deuteronomy 8:3 – “And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
• Job 12:10 – “In His hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”
• Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
• Psalm 119:25 – “My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to Your word!”
• Psalm 119:37 – “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in Your ways.”
• Psalm 119:93 – “I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.”
• Psalm 119:107 – “I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to Your word!”
• Psalm 119:154 – “Plead my cause and redeem me; give me life according to Your promise!”
• Isaiah 42:5-6a – “Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: ‘I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness’”

Therefore, the penalty for our failure to be holy is death, both physical and spiritual (separation from God).

• Genesis 2:16-17 – “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”
• Genesis 6:11-13 – “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
• Exodus 32:33 – “But the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of My book.”
• Isaiah 59:1-3 – “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”
• Ezekiel 18:4 – “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine; the soul who sins shall die.”
• Ezekiel 18:20 – “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”

God has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him through a mediator and substitutionary sacrifice.

• Exodus 20 – the Ten Commandments http://biblehub.com/esv/exodus/20.htm
• Leviticus – the Levitical Laws http://biblehub.com/esv/leviticus/1.htm
• Leviticus 4:35b – “And the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.” (mediator)
• Leviticus 17:11 – “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” (substitutionary sacrifice)
• Deuteronomy 6:24-25 – “And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as we are this day. And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us.’”
• 2 Samuel 14:14 – “We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and He devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.”
• 2 Chronicles 30:9 – “For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away His face from you, if you return to Him.”

Any and all human mediators are flawed and cannot attain His holiness for themselves let alone anyone else.

• Leviticus 4:1-3 – “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the LORD’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them, if it is the anointed priest who sins, thus bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer for the sin that he has committed a bull from the herd without blemish to the LORD for a sin offering.”
• Leviticus 8:34 “As has been done today, the LORD has commanded to be done to make atonement for you.” (The priests themselves were in need of cleansing.) http://biblehub.com/esv/leviticus/8.htm
• Leviticus 21:21-23 – “No man of the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a blemish shall come near to offer the LORD’s food offerings; since he has a blemish, he shall not come near to offer the bread of his God. He may eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy and of the holy things, but he shall not go through the veil or approach the altar, because he has a blemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
• Deuteronomy 10:6 –- “The people of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried. And his son Eleazar ministered as priest in his place.” (Human mediators die and others must take their place.)
• Isaiah 43:27 – “Your first father sinned, and your mediators have rebelled against Me. So I defiled the officers of the sanctuary, and gave Jacob over to total destruction and Israel to abuse.”
• Ezekiel 22:23-30 – “And the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. “
• Hosea 6:6 – “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
• Micah 3:1-7 – “And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice? – you who hate the good the love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones…Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray…the sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them…” http://biblehub.com/esv/micah/3.htm
• Zephaniah 3:3-5 – “Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning. Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men; her priests profane what is holy; they do violence to the law. The LORD within her is righteous; He does no injustice; every morning He shows forth His justice; each dawn He does not fail; but the unjust knows no shame.”

We need a Mediator and Substitutionary Sacrifice who is eternal, holy, and therefore necessarily Divine.

• Genesis 22:8 – “Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’ So they went both of them together.”
• Leviticus 22:20 – “You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you.”
• 1 Samuel 2:25a – “If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” (said by Eli, the high priest, to his sons who were evil)
• 1 Samuel 2:35 – “And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. And I will build Him a sure house, and He shall go in and out before My anointed forever.” (said by God, after telling Eli, the high priest, that He would put his sons to death for their evil)
• Job 9:32-33 – “For He [God] is not a man, as I am, that I might answer Him, that we should come to trial together. There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.”
• Job 16:18-21 – ““O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place. Even now, behold, my Witness is in heaven, and He who testifies for me is on high. My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God, that He would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor.”
• Isaiah 59:16 – “He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought him salvation, and His righteousness upheld him”
• Jeremiah 17:5 – “Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed in the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD’” (God wants us to trust in Him, not any human savior.)
• Ezekiel 34:22-24 – “I will rescue My flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.  And I will set up over them one Shepherd, My servant David, and He shall feed them: He shall feed them and be their Shepherd.  And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be Prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.”
• Micah 6:6-8 – “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

 

The Good News of the Old Testament

God wants to draw or gather us to Himself because He loves us.

• Deuteronomy 7:7-8 – “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
• Psalm 103:17a – “But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him”
• Jeremiah 31:3 – “the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”
• Jeremiah 31:20 – “Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he My darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the LORD.”
• Micah 2:12 – “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men.”
• Micah 4:6-7 – “In that day, declares the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore.”
• Zephaniah 3:17-18 – “The LORD your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.”

He reveals Himself as a Father who wants to be in relationship with us.

• Deuteronomy 32:6 – “Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not He your Father, who created you, who made you and established you?”
• 1 Chronicles 29:10 – “Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: ‘Blessed are You, O LORD, the God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.’”
• Psalm 68:5 – “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation.”
• Psalm 103:13 – “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear Him.”
• Isaiah 63:16 – “For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; You, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is Your name.”
• Isaiah 64:8 – “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our Potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”
• Hosea 11:1-9 – “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son…Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them…How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel?…My heart recoils within Me; My compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute My burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst.” http://biblehub.com/esv/hosea/11.htm
• Malachi 2:10 – “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Whey then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?”

God Himself will save.

• Isaiah 43:3a – “For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
• Isaiah 43:11-13 – “I, I am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God. Also henceforth I am He; there is none who can deliver from My hand; I work, and who can turn it back?”
• Isaiah 45:21-25 – “Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. ‘Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By Myself I have sworn; from My mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ ‘Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to Him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against Him. In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory.’”
• Isaiah 46:3-4 – “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by Me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am He, and to gray hair I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”
• Isaiah 63:8 – “For He said, ‘Surely they are My people, children who will not deal falsely.’ And He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”
• Jeremiah 23:5-6 – “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as King and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which He will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’”
• Hosea 1:7 – “But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”
• Hosea 13:4 – “But I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, and besides Me there is no Savior.”
• Zephaniah 3:17a – “The LORD your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save”

God Himself will provide the atonement and will forgive.

• 2 Chronicles 30:18-20 – “For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good LORD pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.” And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.”
• Psalm 78:38 – “Yet He, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; He restrained His anger often and did not stir up all His wrath.”
• Psalm 85:2 – “You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin.”
• Psalm 103:12 – “as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”
• Isaiah 44:22 – “I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
• Jeremiah 31:33-34 – “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declare the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
• Jeremiah 33:6-9 – “Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against Me, and this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.”
• Ezekiel 16:62-63 – “I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord GOD.”

God will sanctify His own; righteousness can only come through Him.

• Exodus 29:43-44 – “There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by My glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests.”
• Exodus 31:13 – “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.’”
• Leviticus 20:8 – “Keep My statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”
• Leviticus 21:8 – “You shall sanctify him, for he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy.”
• Leviticus 22:9 – “They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
• Leviticus 22:32-33 – “And you shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD.””
• Isaiah 4:2-4 – “In that day the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.”
• Isaiah 54:17 – “no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their righteousness from Me, declares the LORD.”
• Jeremiah 33:15-16 – “In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and He shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’”
• Hosea 10:12 – “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that He may come and rain righteousness upon you.”

God is our Redeemer and Deliverer, our Helper and Comforter, there is no other.

• 2 Samuel 22:32-33 – “’For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless.’”
• Psalm 44:3 – “for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but Your right hand and Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You delighted in them.”
• Psalm 103:2-4 – “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy”
• Isaiah 41:13-14 – “For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the One who helps you.’ Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the One who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”
• Isaiah 45:21 – “Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides Me.”
• Isaiah 44:22 – “I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
• Isaiah 51:12-13a – “I, I am He who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth”
• Isaiah 52:9-10 – “Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has bared His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”
• Ezekiel 34:11-16 – ““For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I Myself will search for My sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.  And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.  I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.  I Myself will be the Shepherd of My sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.  I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” (Safe to say God means He, Himself. Not someone else.)

God Himself will accomplish all His purposes and do so for the sake of His holy name. He will not give His glory to another.

• Leviticus 10:1-3 – “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’’’
• Psalm 79:9 – “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for Your name’s sake!”
• Psalm 109:21 – “But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for Your name’s sake; because Your steadfast love is good, deliver me!”
• Isaiah 2:11 – “Human pride will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.”
• Isaiah 2:17 – “So human pride will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.”
• Isaiah 30:18 – “Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.”
• Isaiah 42:8 – “I am the LORD; that is My name; My glory I give to no other, nor My praise to carved idols.”
• Isaiah 43:11-13 – “I, I am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God. Also henceforth I am He; there is none who can deliver from My hand; I work, and who can turn it back?”
• Isaiah 43:25 – “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
• Isaiah 46:9-13 – “remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose,” calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it. ‘Listen to Me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness: I bring near My righteousness; it is not far off, and My salvation will not delay; I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel My glory.”
• Isaiah 48:11 – “For My own sake, for My own sake, I do it, for how should My name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”
• Isaiah 59:15b-20 – “The LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought him salvation, and His righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped Himself in zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, so will He repay, wrath to His adversaries, repayment to His enemies; to the coastlands He will render repayment. So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; for He will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the LORD drives. ‘And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,’ declares the LORD.”
• Jeremiah 17:12-13 – “A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be put to shame; those who turn away from You shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.”
• Ezekiel 12:25 – “For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.”

God has chosen to exalt and glorify His holy name through mercy, grace, lovingkindness, faithfulness, forgiveness, and judgment.

• Exodus 34:5-7a (ESV) – “The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty”

The Old Testament God: He Saves

 

The entirety of the Old Testament testifies to who God is and what His plans for humankind were and are. He is not the singularly angry and vengeful God that so many people think of when they think of the Old Testament. He does become angry. He will repay wrong done to the innocent. But without understanding the entirety that God is, you cannot accurately understand a smaller part of Him.

The beginning of Genesis starts out establishing that God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). He created light (1:3), the skies (1:6-8), the dry land from the gathering of the waters (1:9-10), all vegetation (1:11-12), the sun, moon, and stars (1:14-18), all living creatures (1:20, 24), and humankind (1:26).

Not only did God create all this, when He created it, He declared it was good (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). Everything He had made was “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Also from the very beginning of the creation of humankind, God had a purpose for us. Man and woman were to “be fruitful” and “multiply and fill the earth” and “subdue it,” having dominion over all animals in the sea, sky and on land (Genesis 1:28). The seed-bearing plants were given to them as food and every green plant given to the animals for food. Man was to work or cultivate the garden for his food while also watching, keeping, preserving it (Genesis 2:15).

God gave us a choice.  God created everything, including humankind, “very good.” He gave us a purpose. And He gave us a choice. The choice was one of whether or not to listen to or obey what God said. God commanded man not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:16-17).

God created us to be relational. He did not leave man by himself, but created woman to be a helpmate for him (2:18-24). God also walked in the garden with them and spoke to them (3:8-14).

Man and woman, however, did not listen to and obey God. They went against His Word (Genesis 3:6-12). In response to this, God pronounced curses against them (3:14-19). Everything was going well up to this exchange of disobedience followed by the consequences of that disobedience. This is the point at which sin (adversity) entered our world. It was not a creation of our God, but was caused by the choice to disobey His command. I want to stop for a moment and look more at this event.

Many people refuse to believe in God because they think He should not allow bad things to exist in our world. They argue that if He is good, then He would not allow suffering or evil to continue. This classic argument was presented a long time ago by the prophet Habakkuk in the Old Testament.

“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you, “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted” (Habakkuk 1:2-4).

God answers Habakkuk and says, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told” (Habakkuk 1:5). God went on to explain He was going to use an even more evil people to bring judgment upon the evil Habakkuk was complaining about.

Habakkuk was not alone in His questioning of God. Job also brought the same complaint before Him. Job clearly lays out the life he spent seeking and following after God and God’s righteousness (Job 29-31 as one example in the Book of Job). Then after great calamity comes upon him, he pleads for the right to present his case before God in court (Job 9). God finally answers Job and questions Job’s ability to understand the things of God (Job 38-40). At the end of His initial answer to Job, God says, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it” (Job 40:2).

To both Job and Habakkuk, God ultimately gave the same answer. And He gives us the same answer today. He is sovereign and doing His work. We do not know and cannot understand the work of God or what the end will be. Our job is to trust in Him and in His goodness and to listen to and obey His voice.

Back to the pivotal event in Genesis where everything went wrong. Both man and woman chose to listen to someone other than God. In doing so, they chose to disobey what God had commanded them. The penalty for this was death (Genesis 2:17). Some may want to argue this is too harsh. How could a good God make death the penalty for a single act of disobedience?

A good God MUST make death the penalty for disobedience. If God is entirely good with no evil or badness to be found in Him, then anything which opposes what He says or what His will is, is by nature bad or evil. A good God could not allow evil to continue, so He must destroy it.

But God had made man and woman very good. Then He gave them the free will to choose to obey His voice or not. And this human choice was what brought adversity into the world. Did He only create them to then destroy His creation? Would a good God destroy what was created good?

According to human wisdom, this seems to put God in a bind. He would have to either destroy what He had made good because it had become corrupted or He could let evil go unpunished, compromising His own goodness and holiness. Thankfully, God’s wisdom and knowledge is far above that of humanity, even in its collective state.

He created a way to save us.

He offered humanity a path to redemption, a way an atonement could be provided for their sin (disobedience). The price God required was a blood sacrifice (Leviticus 16); a life to substitute for the death that had entered the world. Repeatedly in the Old Testament, God states that the life is in the blood (Genesis 9:4-5, Leviticus 17:10-14).

And indeed, God Himself demonstrated this path to redemption at the very beginning with Adam and Eve. After they disobeyed God, their eyes were opened and they were ashamed at their nakedness (uncleanness before God) (Genesis 3:7). They attempted to cover their own shame by sewing together fig leaves (3:7). But it was not what God required. The disobedience was not something Adam and Eve could find their own way out of. He required a blood sacrifice to cover their sin. So God made clothing of skins for them (which would have meant the death of animals) as an atonement for their sin and clothed them to cover their nakedness (Genesis 3:21).

The symbolism of this act is prolific throughout the rest of Scripture and is the most important message of the Bible. God covering our shame. God providing an atonement for our sin. God saving us so He could continue His relationship with us. God covering, atoning, and saving; not us, not any man. God, in His goodness, providing another way than our destruction. In future posts, I’ll talk more about this way. Because although we must go to God, look to Him, trust in Him, listen to His voice, obey Him – none of this is sufficient to earn our own salvation. There aren’t enough fig leaves in the entire world to sew together to cover the sin of even a single person. Similarly, there aren’t enough animal sacrifices to cover the sins of one person. There is nothing humankind can do to save themselves. God Himself MUST provide the sacrifice. He provides the Way to redemption, and there is no other way we can take.

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Summary of points:

• God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.
• Everything He made was “very good.”
• God has a purpose for us.
• God gives us a choice.
• God created us to be relational, and to be in a relationship with Him.
• Sin was not a creation of our God, but was caused by disobedience to His command.
• He is sovereign and doing His work. We do not know and cannot understand the work of God or what the end will be.
• A good God MUST make death the penalty for disobedience.
• God offers us a path to redemption.
• God Himself MUST provide the sacrifice.

Why did God give men free will?

In another post, I raised the question, if God is good, then why is there evil, chaos and suffering in the world? I answered that these things result from being separated from Him. This begged the question, why would He separate Himself from us? The answer is a combination of two things: 1) Because He is holy and cannot tolerate sin, and 2) Because He gave human beings the free will to choose between Him and sin. And we chose sin. This led to the last question and the topic of this post, why would God give us free will if it led to so much suffering? And my short answer was His love demands it.

I think one of the most surprising characteristics of God is His humility. Yes, humility. God is humble in His very nature. The One who created all things, who is all powerful, all knowing, all present is also humble. This idea came to me while on a quest to understand His love. I was shocked by the thought of it and searched the Bible to see if this could be true. In the process, the idea that His love (and humility) demands He give us free will became more evident to me.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, NIV).

The word for “love” found in this verse in the original Greek language was agape. This love differs greatly from what we are used to thinking of as love. It is a divine love, a perfect love. It is the love that God is and has. It is described here in a series of 16 words/phrases. At least 4 of those could be used to describe humility: does not boast, is not proud, does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking. Other translations say “does not seek the things of its own” instead of self-seeking. In other words, if you love someone, you do not force them to accept or love you.

1 John 4:8 tells us, “God is love” (the same Greek word is used – agape). And repeatedly the Bible tells us God loves us. Read again the description of love in the above verses in 1 Corinthians 13. Is not the idea of giving free will to us found there?

There’s another way of phrasing this. I think inherent in the idea of love is freedom. There is a famous quotation that starts out, “If you love something, set it free…” I think we all would rather be loved by someone freely of their choice, as opposed to demanding it. And this idea of freedom as something God wants to give us is presented in the Bible (James 1:25; John 8:32; Galatians 2:4; 1 Peter 2:16 et al.).

To conclude I want to finish off an earlier tangent. 🙂 Did I find evidence outside of ! Corinthians 13 that God is humble? Yes, I did. Jesus described Himself in Matthew 11:29 as “gentle and lowly in heart” (NKJV) or “humble in heart” (NIV). Jesus also humbled Himself like a servant in the act of washing the feet of His disciples at the last supper (Luke 13). In Philippians 2:6-8 (NKJV) it says,

“[Christ Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

But it was not just Jesus Christ who is described this way in the Bible. God the Father is also described similarly. In Psalm 113:5-6 (NKJV) it says,

“Who is like the Lord our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?”

And finally a beautiful verse from Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV):

“For thus says the High and Lofty One, Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

What an incredible and amazing truth. Oh that human beings would follow God’s example in this.

Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, HSCB).

Stop and think for a moment. Have you ever tried to explain something you know much about to someone who knows very little about it? Collecting your thoughts and putting them into a coherent order to make yourself understood isn’t easy. Finding the best starting place to work from can be difficult. There is One who is perfect at such a task, though. As God decided to impart the knowledge of Himself to those who love Him,[1] He had to start somewhere. He chose to use words and He started with the Beginning.

At first glance, it is natural to understand it simply from our human perspective. In our realm of time, God started at the beginning, from that which came first. From an eternal perspective in which time fades in its significance, God started with a statement about Himself and the relationship He established with us. Stated differently, in the first sentence in the Bible God introduces us to Jesus Christ, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End,[2] and to our place in relationship to Him, the created to the Creator.

In what way did God use words? He spoke creation into existence; He used words, or the Word, as His method of creation.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created” (John 1:1-3, HCSB).

“Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. He is the radiance of His glory, the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all thing by His powerful word” (Hebrews 1:1-3a, HCSB, emphasis added).

God speaks His will and it is done. The Word goes forth from His mouth and His purposes are brought to fruition.

“Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like Me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: My plan will take place, and I will do all My will. …Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about. I have planned it; I will also do it” (Isaiah 46:9-10, 11b, HCSB, emphasis added).

“so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and will prosper in what I send it to do” (Isaiah 55:11, HCSB).

In Genesis 1:3, “God said.” In verse 6, “God said.” Also in verses 9, 11 and 14, “God said.” Again, in verses 20, 24, 26, and 29, “God said.” And then in verse 31, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” and in verse 2 of Chapter 2, “He rested.” God spoke creation into existence and then rested from His work done through the power of His Word, “the Originator of God’s creation,” [3] Jesus Christ.

Genesis 1:1 also tells us what was created – the heavens and the earth.[4] In other words, He created all things,[5] which necessarily includes us.

“yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live” (1 Corinthians 8:6, NKJV).

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation; because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-17, HCSB).

We were created by Him and are sustained by Him,[6] for Him. Furthermore, creation itself provides us with the proof God exists.[7] God spoke, therefore we are. Without His Word, we would not be.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.[4] Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the inhabited world” (Psalm 19:1-4, HCSB).

“The heavens were made by the word of the LORD, and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth. …For He spoke, and it came into being; He commanded, and it came into existence” (Psalm 33:6, 9, HCSB).

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Footnotes:

[1] Proverbs 8:17; John 14:17; John 17:3; John 17:25-26
[2] Revelation 22:13
[3] Revelation 3:14, HCSB
[4] Isaiah 48:12-13 also speaks of the creation of the heavens and the earth
by God’s “own hand” and by His “right hand.”
[5] John 1:3
[6] Hebrews 1:3
[7] Romans 1:20

Does God Exist? Who Is He?

So much of the world is divided on the question, is there a God? For me, there is an obvious answer: yes. There is, though, a second and possibly more important question: what is the nature of God? Who is He? What is He like? This is what I want to ponder here. First though, I will briefly comment on why I believe there is a God.

Does God Exist?

I look at the world around me – there is chaos and confusion, but also order and knowledge. If our world evolved out of nothing, it would explain the chaos and confusion. Intellectually though, I cannot find the rationale to believe the order, knowledge, beauty, love, meaning, and purpose I see evolved from nothing and by happenstance. The statistical probability of human beings having evolved into their current form is incalculable (unlikely). Based on intellect and reason alone, there is a much better chance of a Creator being responsible for it.

My faith does not depend on reason and intellect alone though. I have come to know God. I have borrowed His strength, trusted in His provision, been left speechless at His love, stunned by His humility and awed by His majesty. I believe the gift of faith comes from God Himself. For this reason, I believe you will either feel the call of God stirring your heart and drawing you to Him or you won’t. Ultimately, nothing I write will be able to convince you of His existence unless He gives you that gift. (Aside: If you think you have not been called, that God has not chosen you, but wish He would, then you need only ask Him. It is a prayer He answers always.)

Who Is God?

You may have decided like me, for similar reasons or not, that God does exist. That still leaves a huge area of uncertainty. In our world, there are many religions. Many people make claims about who God is, and some even claim to be God themselves. Who is correct? Is there one God or many? And what is His nature? Again, the answer to this must necessarily come from God Himself. If it doesn’t, then how are we left to judge between the different human voices making so many opposing claims? Rather than simply take my word for it, I would urge you to ask of God Himself:

Dear God, I believe You exist, but I’m confused about who You are or what You are like. Please reveal Yourself to me and help me to know You. Amen.

If you’re still reading this but don’t believe God exists, consider for a moment – are you sure you know everything and have all knowledge? Is there anything you don’t know or aren’t familiar with? Is it possible God does exist but you just don’t like who you understand Him to be? The Bible addresses that.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, HCSB).

God wants us to trust Him to be that which He has revealed Himself to be in His Holy Word, the Bible, which is a living and active testimony of His Son. What He says about Himself may not always match up with what we think we perceive the world is like, but we need to keep in mind that His knowledge is perfect, limitless, eternal, and complete whereas ours cannot even be mentioned on the same scale.

What follows is a description of who God has revealed Himself to be as far as the limits of my understanding of the Bible are. Hopefully you can imagine that fully understanding God is impossible – I believe it is a lifelong journey that will only conclude when I stand in eternity and see Him face to face. Nevertheless, I am going to attempt to put as complete a description down as possible.

I believe there is one God, He is the Creator of our world and universe, He is good and benevolent, pure and righteous, the source of all love and ultimately, peace. He is truth; He cannot lie. I believe He revealed Himself, His character, to the world completely through His Son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:3). I also believe He has given us the Bible as the living source of truth about Him (John 1:1 and Hebrews 4:12).

So many people look and see the chaos, confusion, hate, and suffering in our world and ask, if God is good, then how could these things be? These things result from being separated from Him. So why then would He separate Himself? Because He gave human beings the free will to choose Him or reject Him. And why then would He give us that free will if it led to so much suffering? Because it is the very essence and nature of His love. His love demands it. But He also provides a way out of that suffering, chaos and evil. He has given us a way to close that separation and come close to Him.

To put it another way…God is pure and righteous, or holy. He cannot stand those things which are contrary to His nature; the things called sin. Examples are lying, pride, envy, lust, and idolatry (to name a few). When He created human beings with free will, they were given the choice between honoring His holiness or separating themselves from Him though sin. We chose sin. Every one of us. With the one exception of Jesus Christ, there has never been a human being who has not sinned. So a separation came into being between us and our Holy God.

But being God and having love as part of His essential nature, He did not leave us there. He Himself provided the necessary sacrifice to bridge that separation so we could be again united with Him in holiness and purity. The only thing we need to do is to choose Him. And what does that look like? It means humbling yourself before God and believing in the sacrifice He made. If God exists, are we not less than He? Such a simple conclusion, yet so difficult to believe in practice. We argue with Him, tell Him He’s wrong, make demands and curse His Name. This is a lack of understanding or forgetting of who He is.

Back to God’s nature and character. He is compassionate and merciful. He is the essence of love – a divine love the Bible describes in this way:

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in inquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a, NKJV).

God is humble (see the above passage describing His love). He is personal in that He cares about us as individuals and wants to have individual relationships with each of us. He is redeeming. He redeems us not just from our sin, but redeems for us situations and circumstances in life (Romans 8:28). He provides for His children (those who believe in Him and trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the bridge to bring us back to God). God is powerful – there is nothing He can not accomplish if He wills to do so. And He is creative. Not just a one time creation of the world creative, but an ongoing love of beauty and restoration and revival. God is also unchanging. His essential nature and character will never change. He is love and goodness and He will forever remain that way.

All of this describes the way God is with His children – those who believe in Him and belong to Him. There is another aspect to Him as well, though. He is a God of judgment and wrath, which goes back to His essential nature of holiness and love. He will not allow evil and sin forever. He is patient and waiting for all His children to come to faith in Him. When that happens, He (in the form of Jesus Christ) will return to earth to judge all those who have chosen to reject Him. And this makes perfect sense. His love demands He gives us free will; His patience demands He waits for all those who would choose Him to do so; His holiness demands one day He forever and irrevocably separate sin and those who would choose it from Himself (and His children).

I’ve only begun to touch on the nature of God. For further reading, I’d recommend the Bible. 🙂 Another excellent source of reading on the nature of God is A.W. Tozer’s book, “Knowledge of the Holy” which is available for free online. 

The Sacrifice of God

I feel incompetent to address this subject. Whenever I ponder it, I am left with a sense that I cannot fully comprehend it. So how am I to write on something I don’t understand? Yet the desire to do so hasn’t gone away, so I’m going to try and write as much as I do understand. But please know the limitations of what is here.

I don’t know if you, as the reader, believe in God or not. But even if you don’t, for a moment as a pure thought exercise, please assume He does exist. Please also assume He is a creative God who is good and is the very essence of love. He is also holy – there is no sin in Him. Let’s define sin as anything that is contrary to His essential nature. Holiness, then, could be defined as that which is pure to His essential nature. This God, then, creates a world which He designs to be perfect. It is beautiful and it is good as characterized by God Himself.

Hopefully you’re still me. I will get to the sacrifice of God, but in order to understand the sacrifice, you need to catch a glimpse of what was sacrificed.

Other premises are needed. God is all powerful. There is nothing He wills to do that He cannot accomplish. Also, in regards to His love, it is a sacrificial love that desires to be given away. It finds joy in giving itself away. So God creates humankind, in His image. (This is speculation on my part – I have no idea why God created us. The Bible does say we were created in His image.) The very love which perhaps gave Him the desire to create us also demanded He give us free will.

I wrote about free will in another post and I won’t regurgitate that here. But essentially He gave us the freedom to choose to accept Him (and all that He is) or to reject Him (by choosing what is not of His essence). The problem (for us, not Him) is if we choose what is not of His essence, we become separate from Him because His holiness cannot tolerate that which is contrary to His nature. And all of humankind chose sin. Why? I think it’s because while we were created in the image of God, we are not God. So we are a reflection of a remarkable being but not Him. We have pride instead of humility. We have love without selflessness. We have desire without purity. We don’t understand our fallenness from the standard of who and what God is. We don’t get how very far from God we are.

So what is God to do? How does an all powerful, loving God fix this? Please stop for a moment and consider what you would do. Eliminate the freedom we have to choose? Destroy your creation and start again? Clarify the standards by which they needed to live in a system of laws? God’s love gives us the freedom and so He didn’t do that. He did destroy humankind and start almost all over again (think Noah and the Flood). And He did clarify the standards by which He wanted us to live (think 10 Commandments). Yet He knew even as He did these things that it would not work. So what then was left? A sacrifice.

God established a system of sacrifice that if adhered to, would pay a penalty for the unholiness (or sin), as it were. The purpose of this sacrifice, I believe (speculate) was to establish repentance in our hearts. It was a way of teaching us to regret our sinful thoughts and actions (aside from the negative consequences they bring) which would somehow, in some way, bridge the separation created between us and God. The sacrifice was to be a blood sacrifice. Blood because it represents death. The penalty of sin is death. But killing ourselves when we’ve all sinned just doesn’t make sense. So God allowed a substitutionary sacrifice. At first, this was in the form of animals. Yet it did not satisfy God and was only representative of a different, higher substitutionary sacrifice.

Psalm 51:16-17 NIV “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

Isaiah 1:11-17 NKJV v.11a “The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord” and vv.16-17, “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”

Hosea 6:6 NIV “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”

1 Samuel 15:22 NIV “But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

So what did God do? He made Himself the sacrifice. The almighty, holy, pure, righteous God full of goodness and love and mercy and humility took the penalty upon Himself to satisfy His own holiness. This was and is and forever will be, Eternal Grace.

But…how is God to pay a penalty of death? God, as God, cannot die. He is not human, that He could pay a substitutionary blood sacrifice for us. God, being God, did not let this stop Him. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who was in His very nature God to take on the form of a human being and become the divine substitutionary sacrifice.

Philippians 2:6 ESV “[Jesus Christ] who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped”

Hebrews 10:4-10 NKJV “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when He [Jesus Christ] came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’” Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Many times in the Old Testament, the Messiah was prophesied. The Son of God was referred to.

Proverbs 30:3-4 NKJV “I neither learned wisdom nor have knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know?”

Isaiah 9:6 NIV “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Psalm 2:7 NIV “I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”

Isaiah 7:14 NKJV “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel [which means, God with us].”

So Jesus Christ came, as the Son of God with the very nature of God, to earth in the form of a man. He lived a holy, sinless life and in His death, which He chose obediently, He became the sacrifice for my sins and the sins of all who choose to believe in Him. He dreaded the price He would have to pay, crying out to God, “not My will, but Yours be done,” as He prayed the night before. And He cried out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He endured all that was contrary to His holy nature for our sake, letting His earthly body be put to death so the blood sacrifice would be met. Just consider for a moment what it would be like to be in the very nature God, being One with Him and then to have that severed completely, being made sin – the thing contrary and separate to God Himself – to then have the wrath of God poured out for that sin; to live your entire life sinless, to put all of your effort and reason for existence on earth to avoid sin but then to be made sin in order to endure a punishment you did not deserve, all for love’s sake and the will of God the Father. What He must have suffered in His Spirit…I don’t think it’s within our human capacity to ever grasp the suffering He endured. I’m not sure we can fully grasp the extent of sacrificial love that brought this to be, either.

There is a catch: you must believe. Believe that Jesus Christ came as the Son of God in the very nature of God (being One with the Father) and as a pure and holy sacrifice willingly chose to redeem us through His substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. And through this belief – this faith which is a gift from God – we can enter into fellowship with God and experience His love and peace.

As often as the sacrifice of God is thought of as a single event – through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross – I tend to think the sacrifice God makes for us is ongoing (at least from our perspective, perhaps not from His eternal, timeless one). So if you’ll stay with me for one more paragraph, I’ll explain.

Though we’re brought back into the fellowship of God, we’re still in a sinful world with the human tendency to sin. While Christ conquered sin and death for us once for all, we still have not yet been freed from our human condition. That will happen for us (who are saved, who are the children of God, who believe) once we die. God foresaw this and again, as always, provided us with help in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also in the very nature and essence of God, One with Him. And He was sent to dwell within those who believe. Huh? Once again I come to a Biblical concept I don’t think I will ever comprehend. It is beyond my capacity to grasp. I am still in my human body. I still sin and live in this sinful world. How can a holy and pure, righteous Being dwell within me? I ponder (speculate) that He must be enduring an ongoing sacrifice to do this. Every time I do sin, it must be abhorrent to Him. Yet He does not leave me. He remains faithful. Despite the pain and unspeakable revulsion He must feel for the sin, He loves me. And He promises to stay with me and be my strength and see me through to the end of this sinful world. I am convinced that this kind of love, this kind of sacrifice I will never find elsewhere on this earth. It is a divine, sacrificial love that I am given forever.

Romans 7:24-25 NKJV “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”