A:
As a gentile, I relate to the gentiles in the Old Testament. So when The Bible says that God ordered Joshua to deprive the gentiles of their cities and to kill every living person in Jericho and Ai, I struggle to see this as showing us that he is our loving father. Only faith can teach that genocide is love.
A:
We can see that God is our loving father through the way He dealt with the nation of Israel and various individuals in the Old Testament. For example God spoke to Adam and Eve and to Cain and to Noah and to the nation of Israel. God continued to speak to Moses as He led and guided the Israelites towards the land He promised to give them, and so on. Throughout the Old Testament God reached out to people and continued to bless those who followed His ways in spite of repeated failure.
But to say that God is a loving God is not the complete truth about God as revealed in the Bible. The Bible also tells us about God the judge, the wrath of God, the goodness and the severity of God. The Bible tells us God is holy and righteous, merciful. So all these aspects of God's character must be taken into account along with the knowledge that God is love.
It was God the judge who told the nation of Israel to destroy the people who lived in the land He gave to Israel.
Genesis 15:16 It will be four generations before your descendants come back here, because I will not drive out the Amorites until they become so wicked that they must be punished."
God judged these nations because they had turned away from Him:
Exodus 23:24 Do not bow down to their gods or worship them, and do not adopt their religious practices. Destroy their gods and break down their sacred stone pillars.
God is the same today (yesterday and forever). He deals with His children as He has revealed Himself in the past.
The word for 'father' used to refer to God in the New Testament is "Abba," which is an Aramaic term meaning "father" or "daddy." It reflects a close and intimate relationship between believers and God as a loving father figure.
Father is mentioned 311 times in the New Testament.
No, the old testament is more wide ranging than just that, it tells of creation and the history of the Jewish people and the Jewish law. Its purpose is to foretell the coming of the God's messiah (Jesus Christ).
Abraham is one of the most well-known father figures in the Old Testament. Known for his faith and obedience to God, he is considered the father of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths. His willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac is a significant story in the Bible.
The name Zebedee is of Hebrew origin and means "gift of God" or "God’s gift." It is a biblical name found in the New Testament, as the name of the father of the apostles James and John.
The word for 'father' used to refer to God in the New Testament is "Abba," which is an Aramaic term meaning "father" or "daddy." It reflects a close and intimate relationship between believers and God as a loving father figure.
In the Old Testament, God is often portrayed as a father figure who provides guidance, protection, and discipline to his people, the Israelites. He is seen as a loving and caring father who watches over his children and expects them to obey his commandments. God's relationship with his people is often compared to that of a father and his children, emphasizing his role as a provider and protector.
In the Old Testament, God demonstrated His loving fatherhood through His covenant relationships with His people, particularly with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, promising to be their God and guide. He provided for the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt, offering guidance through the law and nurturing them in the wilderness. God's compassion is also evident in His willingness to forgive their transgressions, as seen in His interactions with figures like Moses and David, emphasizing His desire for reconciliation. Overall, His persistent care and commitment highlight His role as a loving Father.
In the New Testament, God's commandments are summarized by Jesus as loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself. These commandments guide believers to prioritize their relationship with God and to show love and compassion to others in their actions and decisions. By following these commandments, believers can strengthen their faith and live a life that reflects the teachings of Jesus.
There are many animals associated with God. The Holy Spirit is a white dove. God is described as a lion in the old testament. God is also described as a human, loving and forgiving father figure. God the Son, or Jesus, is a lamb.
Father is mentioned 311 times in the New Testament.
In the Old Testament, God was called Father to symbolize his role as the creator and protector of his people, similar to a father's care and authority over his children.
YES!!!
My Father
In the Old Testament, God is often depicted as powerful and wrathful, enforcing strict laws and punishments. In the New Testament, God is portrayed as loving and forgiving, emphasizing grace and redemption through Jesus Christ.
This is not an entirely accurate statement of the Gnostic Christian belief about the nature of God. They could not believe that the harsh and unjust God of the Old Testament was the same as the loving and forgiving God of the New Testament, so they believed there must be two gods. The God of the Old Testament became the Demiurge, while the supreme God is the God of the New Testament. Thus, God of the New Testament is good and the Demiurge, the God of the Old Testament, is the bad God.
God has no father.God has existed eternally as He is. Of course, we know that Christ is also God, and is referred to as God's Son as also the Holy Spirit is God. One God, three divine persons (along with the Holy Spirit they make up what is called the trinity).But there is no old testament scripture of God having a father.