IS GOD A MEAN, VINDICTIVE, ANGRY GOD?

A compilation of Scriptures by Dan Beeson 18 November 2022

www.vigilantvaliant.com    dan@vigilantvaliant.com

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

WHAT ARE THE FIRST THINGS GOD DOES?

PARADISE!

TROUBLE IN PARADISE!

PARADISE LOST!

WHAT ARE THE FIRST THINGS HUMANITY DOES?

DISOBEDIANCE AND MURDER

WAR

YAHWEH’S THOUGHTS ARE ABOVE OUR THOUGHTS

TRUST AND OBEY

YAHWEH LOVES US

YESHUA LOVES US

IS YAHWEH AN ANGRY GOD?

ANGER IS NOT A SIN

YESHUA GOT ANGRY

YAHWEH GETS ANGRY

YAHWEH IS SLOW TO ANGER

BECAUSE OF TRANSGRESSIONS

BECAUSE WE KINDLE HIS ANGER

BECAUSE WE PROVOKE HIM TO ANGER

IS YAHWEH A MEAN GOD?

IS YAHWEH A VINDICTIVE GOD?

WHAT IS YAHWEH REALLY LIKE?

YAHWEH IS THE ONLY GOD

LOVING / CARING

ALMIGHTY / OMNIPOTENT

ALL KNOWING / OMNISCIENT

IMMUTABLE / UNCHANGING

KIND / GOOD

NEAR

FAITHFUL

PATIENT

WISE

TRUTHFUL

JUST

HOLY

JEALOUS

FORGIVING

RIGHTEOUS

MERCIFUL

GRACIOUS

PERFECT

SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

This study was written for a friend. She has had a rough life, full of disappointment, with little encouragement, and little joy. Even though she is a kind, caring, loving person, she has not received the desires of her heart, yet sees ungodly people seeming to be blessed left and right. It has made her wonder about God. Is He a kind and loving God who watches over us closely?  Or is He far off, way out there in heaven, ignoring men, until they provoke Him to get angry and get involved? “From a Distance” is a song by Bette Midler. She sings beautifully, and she makes it a beautiful song. But it is also very sad. It talks about hope, it talks about harmony, it talks about love, yet it says God is a far off God, who only watches us from a distance.

Below are selected lyrics from "From a Distance" by Bette Midler.

“From a distance you look like my friend,

Even though we are at war.

From a distance I just cannot comprehend

what all this fighting is for.

From a distance there is harmony,

and it echoes through the land.

And it's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves,

it's the heart of every man.

It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves.

This is the song of every man.

And God is watching us, God is watching us,

God is watching us from a distance.”

Is the real God, the true God, Yahweh, a far off God? Or worse, is He an angry God? If you have ever read the Old Testament of the Bible, you have seen some scenes of an angry God.  You have seen bloody wars, great destruction, and death on a horrible scale.  He told people to go to war. He told people to kill other people.  He brought plagues on Egypt and destruction on many nations. He allowed His own people to be captured, forced into slavery, and be killed. From Bible stories, do you get the idea that He's a mean God, and maybe a vindictive God?

We should make it clear right from the start, that the God we are talking about is the only God, Yahweh, The Great I Am, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel), The Living God. He is the God of the Bible.  He Himself tells us there is only one God, and there is no other. If you are not convinced of this, please see my other Bible Studies. If you don’t trust the Bible, then you need to do some serious thinking. There are very few ancient books that even claim to have the words of the One True God. No living person has seen Him. If any living person says they have heard His voice speaking to them, be very careful about believing them.  He does guide people. He does speak to peoples’ hearts.  But apart from how He deals with us in our own life, the only authoritative source we have is the Bible.  If you believe in Yeshua (Jesus in English), then realize He read and quoted the Old Testament of the Bible, known to the Jews at that time as the Torah (the Law), the Prophets, and the Writings (Psalms, Proverbs, and other books). So decide first if you are going to trust the Bible, because that is the source of authority for any Bible Study.

Loving Yahweh is the most important thing we can do in our entire lives. How can we love someone we don't even know?  We want to be closer to Yahweh. How can we be closer to someone if we don't even know what they're like? We need to find out exactly who Yahweh is. What kind of God is He? Is he a God we want to worship and love? We've heard about God from our parents, Family, friends, and preachers. But what kind of God is he really, far off or near, angry or loving? This is a Bible study to find out the true nature of God. Let's look at the Bible and find out what it says about Yahweh. What proof can we find about what Yahweh is really like?  Let's get to know Yahweh so that we can love Him more, and love Him better.

Most of us wonder how Yahweh will deal with us, more than wondering how He will deal with other humans.  But we are part of humankind, and seeing how He deals with other people in the past, gives us an idea as to His character. That is exactly what we are looking for.  What kind of person is Yahweh? Knowing that will answer how He will deal with us.

Who am I to do a study? I am nobody, a common man, a stumbling Christian, an everyday American. But, through all my failings and sins, I love Yahweh and want to be obedient to Him, though I can almost see Him rolling His eyes as I say that. And my guardian angel has probably asked for hazardous duty pay or to be reassigned dozens of times. But like you, I read the Bible and try to understand it. So I study it in my own way. This writing is one of my studies.

Most of my Bible Studies attempt to have EVERY SCRIPTURE IN THE BIBLE on the topic.  Some people have complained that it is just TOO MANY Bible verses.  But my Bible Studies are to learn the TRUTH about what the Bible says, not what some denomination told me to believe, not what some person told me to believe, but what the Bible really says.  I want ALL the scriptures on the topic.  I want the scriptures those with opposing beliefs use as their key scriptures, so I can analyze them.  I want to know their reason for believing the way they do, and give that a fair hearing.  How can we find the “Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth” if we don’t have all the data, all the information available? Since my studies are meant to learn what the Bible really says on a topic, I typically use nothing from outside the Bible.  Outside sources may or may not be valid.  The ONLY place we can read the words of Yeshua (Jesus in English) is from the Bible.  So yes, I hope I have found EVERY SCRIPTURE on the topic.  If I have missed a scripture, if you find other scriptures that address the question, or if you can in any way help me improve this writing or see a mistake, please contact me and let me know at dan@vigilantvaliant.com.

This particular Bible study, “Is God a Mean, Vindictive, Angry God?” goes into the attributes of God.  Wow, I just could not put every scripture on that in this one study. Each attribute alone could be a whole, long, deep study in itself. So, I have compiled below just some of the scriptures I found on this topic. Since this is the main topic of the Bible, there are hundreds of scriptures about this. Some are repeated, for example if one verse speaks of God’s love and forgiveness, it may appear below under both of those attributes. Those that follow are just a few that are clear in getting us started. This is meant to be an introductory study, not a thorough thesis. For more Bible Study topics, my other Bible Studies may be found on www.vigilantvaliant.com.

If you wonder why I use The Living God's name, Yahweh, and Our Savior's name, Yeshua, please see my other Bible Study, "Does Jesus Want Christians to Obey the Ten Commandments" in the Appendix, in the section, "THE NAME OF GOD AND HIS MESSIAH" for a short explanation.

I use the King James Version (KJV) only because it was by far the main English translation during my life. While there are other good translations of the Bible, I am using the one I am familiar with, the KJV. Yes, it is old-fashioned English, but it can also be poetic and beautiful. So, all scriptures are quoted from the KJV Bible (King James Version), unless otherwise noted. All scriptures will be indented and in italics.  All Bolding, Underlining, Italicizing, (parentheses), highlighting, and [brackets] are done by me for emphasis.

END OF INTRODUCTION

WHAT ARE THE FIRST THINGS GOD DOES?

You’ve heard it said, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Let's out study start at the beginning. The first thing we see God doing in the Bible is creating the heavens and the earth and Adam and Eve. He then blesses them, and turns the Earth over to their management. He gives them a high position, a job, and good food.

"1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.  4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.  5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."  (Genesis 1:1-5)

"26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.  31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."  (Genesis 1:26-31)

He had put them in a garden, a beautiful garden, The Garden of Eden, with lots of green trees, and a beautiful river.  He gave them instructions to take care of it, and only one rule.  Being a Park Ranger sounds like a great job to me.  He gave them an entire garden, and fruit and nut bearing trees of all kinds, probably hundreds. The penalty for breaking the one rule is serious, but it was for picking the fruit of just one forbidden tree, when they had possibly thousands to eat from. Not eating the fruit from only one, one specific tree, out of many, does not sound like too bad of a rule. Wouldn't you agree?

PARADISE!

"8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.  9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.  11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.  13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.  14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.  15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.  16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:8-17)

I very seldom put anything in my studies except Bible verses, but I must add this poem. When I was a child my mother had a little plaque with a line from this poem in her garden. It has stuck with me through life.

“The Lord God Planted a Garden”

By Dorothy Frances Gurney

The Lord God planted a garden

In the first white days of the world,

And He set there an angel warden

In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,

That the hawk might nest with the wren,

For there in the cool of the even

God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden closes

With their shade and their sun-flecked sod

And their lilies and bowers of roses,

Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth,

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

Remember that last sentence, not as Biblical truth, but as wisdom, nonetheless.

“One is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere else on earth.”

TROUBLE IN PARADISE!

As children, we ran and played and had fun and no real responsibilities.  Life was a joy! Ahh. But as adults, life can sadly teach us to be cynical. We sometimes don't expect good things to last. And that's exactly what happened in the beautiful garden.

"1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."  (Genesis 3:1-7)

How very sad.  The same old story, from time immemorial, is played out again and again through the ages.  God says something, the devil lies, and people believe the devil instead of Yahweh. Yahweh says,” You will surely die.”  The devil says, “You will not die.”  And to this very day, the vast majority of people and churches believe what the devil said, instead of what Yahweh said.  They believe humans will live forever in torture in “Hell”, or forever in pleasure in Heaven. That is NOT what the Bible teaches. They believe the devil’s lie.  To know more about this sad state of spiritual affairs, please see my Bible Study, “Will Humans Be Tortured Forever in Hell?”

As a child I messed up now and then. Now and then may not be totally accurate, as I can almost see my brother and sisters rolling their eyes.  Like almost every kid in the world with good parents, when I broke the rules, I was punished.  We don’t like it, but we all admit it is fair; fair, and just, and for our own good. As our creator, Yahweh is Our Father, and most of us admit that when we break Yahweh’s rules, when we sin, and Yahweh punishes us, it is fair; fair, and just, and for our own good. Our parents were trying to teach us how to live right, how to be good people.  Yahweh, Our Father, is trying to teach us what we need to know, to teach us how to live right.

"8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.  9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.  11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.  14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;  19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:8-19)

PARADISE LOST!

And another age old story, when caught doing something wrong, we blame it on somebody else.  So is anyone really surprised that when the people who disobeyed were caught in their sin, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the devil?  Remember, to be punished by God is fair, and just, and for our own good.  People grow old and die.  There are funny memes today with the statement, “You had ONE JOB to DO!”  They of course include a photo of somebody messing that One Job up horribly wrong.  Humans had ONE RULE, one commandment to obey.  Well, that went well.  NOT!  And so ended humanity’s idyllic life in the Garden of Eden.

"22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:  23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.  24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."  (Genesis 3:22-24)

If you were ever a landlord, or dealt with one, you know they own a property, and make an agreement with someone, a tenant, to stay there for a while, according to certain rules. If they break those rules they are thrown out, evicted.  Obviously, this isn’t good for the tenant. But no one questions that it is fair and just.  Whose fault was it?  Whose fault was humankind’s eviction from Eden?  Was Yahweh being unreasonable? Was Yahweh being unfair?

WHAT ARE THE FIRST THINGS HUMANITY DOES?

DISOBEDIANCE AND MURDER

We have already seen the first thing humankind did after they were created.  They disobeyed the one command God had given them. But they were punished, so perhaps they learned a lesson on how to live with Yahweh. Ahh, NO! We see the next thing humankind does is even worse. Humankind learned to commit murder.

"1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."  (Genesis 4:1-8)

Humankind has laws of its own on how to deal with murderers. Most countries have the penalty of death for murderers, or a lifetime in prison. How does God deal with the first murder?

"9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." (Genesis 4:9-12)

So Yahweh did not kill Cain. Yahweh did not imprison Cain. His punishment was that he could not be a farmer, and he would be a fugitive.  Does this sound like too harsh of a punishment for the murder of an innocent man?  Or does this sound almost merciful?  However, maybe now humankind learned a lesson.  Maybe now humankind would try to be good. Guess again.

"5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."  (Genesis 6:5-6)

Humankind’s wickedness was “great”, and our thoughts were “only evil continually.”  Wow.  Yahweh wasn’t just a little sad, He “grieved.” Sadly, most of us in life have grieved.  And I think if we could change the thing that caused that grief, we would. So Yahweh decided change the thing that cause His grief, to stop the continual evil and wickedness of man.

7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. (Genesis 6:7)

Does that sound like a harsh or a fair way, to stop continual evil and wickedness?  I don’t know about you, but the following verse has always touched my heart. It gives humankind a ray of hope.  It gives me a ray of hope.

"8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." (Genesis 6:8-9)

We all know the story of Noah and the Ark.  Humankind was continually evil, continually wicked, but Yahweh gave grace to one man and his family.  And Yahweh tells us exactly why!  Noah was just, perfect, and walked with Yahweh.

Have you ever just asked yourself, “What does God want from me?”  I have, often.  Luckily, He tells us outright. And it isn’t that much.  It is to love Him, and obey Him. If we do that, we will do justly, and show mercy.

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8)

"13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

WAR

When one man kills one innocent man, without cause, it is called murder.  When many men kill many men, it is called war.

“1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar." (Genesis 14:1-2)

"Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war." (Psalm 68:30)

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet" (Matthew 24:6)

"1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not." (James 4:1-2)

Man started war, not Yahweh.  But when war is going to affect His people, you can bet He is going to get involved.

Some will read “ye have not, because ye ask not”, and hesitate, because they have asked Our Father in prayer for something over and over for years, but their prayer is not answered. The Bible assures us that Yahweh is a loving Father, and that He listens to the prayers of those who love Him. Why then do we think our prayers are not answered?  The topic of unanswered prayer is a deep and hard one. It must be covered in another study. Please consider for now, that He loves you, regardless of your sins, and He wants to save you, and to bless you. There are dozens, if not hundreds of circumstances that all work together in Him forming decisions on HOW to answer our prayers. You want a gallon of ice cream now? He may allow you to have one bowl (as any parent would do). You want to drink the pretty red clothes dye? No, just plain No. It is not good for you. Sometimes we just have to trust our loving Father, that He is doing things for our own good.

YAHWEH’S THOUGHTS ARE ABOVE OUR THOUGHTS

We can never truly understand God.  We need to realize that.  Dogs are wonderful creatures.  Talk about faithful creatures, talk about devoted and self-giving creatures, and you will not be able to stay off the topic of dogs for long.  People with dogs for pets love these companions.  They talk with them all the time.  When a dog who has been a pet for a long time hears, “Are you hungry?” they jump for joy, knowing you are going to feed them. But try explaining your taxes to them, or your problem with the car’s motor, or politics.  Yahweh speaks to us, but it is hard for us to understand.  The fault is not Yahweh’s, but our limited intelligence and understanding.

“7 Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? 8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. 10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? 11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?” (Job 11:7-11)

"Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite." (Psalm 147:5)

"7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.  8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:7-9)

An interesting support for this is from the webpage: https://www.koko.org/about/programs/project-koko/interspecies-communication/sign-language/.

[Dr. Penny Patterson taught American Sign Language (ASL) to Koko the gorilla. Koko’s current American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary exceeds 1100 signs. Koko’s younger male companion, Michael, learned over 600 signs. Including basics like: FOOD, DRINK and MORE, and emotional signs like: SAD, LOVE, GOOD, and SORRY to more sophisticated signs like: OBNOXIOUS, FAKE, and POLITE, and epithets like: STUPID. Koko compounded the sign for SCRATCH with the sign for COMB to mean “Brush”, and would sign (SCRATCH-COMB) to say brush. As Koko and Michael were learning American Sign Language, Dr. Patterson always spoke to the gorillas simultaneously while signing to them. Thus, both gorillas learned to comprehend a great deal of spoken English (over 2,000 words for Koko and a similar number for Michael). This is often surprising to people who first meet Koko, and think they can make private side comments to Penny; but Koko usually keeps up with the conversation and responds accordingly.]

Penny can speak 2,000 words to gorillas, and they can sign 1,100 back to her. This is roughly the vocabulary of a 4 year old human. Many dog owners are proud of how many words their dog recognizes, and all dog owners recognize differences in their dog’s barking, or verbal noises, to mean certain things, like happy, warning, in pain, and more. But can they possibly understand why we do everything we do?  The difference between our minds and thoughts, and Koko’s mind and thoughts, is not nearly as much as the difference between God’s mind and thoughts and our minds and thoughts. We are much more like KoKo than we are like God.

"18 To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto him?  19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.  20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.  21 Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? Saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28 Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding." (Isaiah 40:18-28)

It seems to me that that is exactly what is happening with us and Yahweh.  In the deepest conversations between Yahweh and people in the Bible, as eloquent and profound as His words sound, I believe Yahweh is using His “baby-talk” with humankind.  In the same way, even with our most brilliant scientists, Yahweh is keeping it super simple.  It is not demeaning to people, it is knowing the limits of what our brains can handle. We don’t explain compound interest to our three year old child. Though we chat with them all the time, those chats are very limited in scope. We talk about eating, playing, not hitting others, sharing toys, grandma is coming to visit, and the essentials for a three-year-old’s life.  You don’t talk about the calculus you use to analyze static stresses and the tensile strength of different alloy steels when you design a large bridge.

"11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. 12 But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. 13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth." (Micah 4:11-13)

All that was stated to help us remember that while we try to understand why Yahweh does something, why He has these laws, (Don’t run into the street!) we may understand in part, (Don’t murder!) but there is more going on than we can possibly understand. Einstein couldn’t. We can’t. And adding to the problem of not understanding God, God knows the future.

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." (Genesis 15:12-16)

"23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27 And last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her. 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." (Matthew 22:23-32)

Yahweh is infinitely more intelligent than humans. Yahweh is infinitely more powerful than humans. Yahweh knows the future. Think how that affects His plans in ways we can not see, since we can’t know what will happen even tomorrow, or even in the next hour.  What does He mean; the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full?  Yes, we can understand that they are not finished being bad, but why let the evil go on? Why not stop them today? Why let a future evil king be born at all?  Why wait and let them do evil, wage wars, kill thousands of innocent people?

And finally, about humans not being able to understand The Living God, here are words from a man, a good man, who suffered much, but still trusted Yahweh.

"22 Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? 23 Who hath enjoined him his way? Or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity? 24 Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold. 25 Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off. 26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out. 27 For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: 28 Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly. 29 Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle? 30 Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea. 31 For by them judgeth he the people; he giveth meat in abundance. 32 With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud that cometh betwixt. 33 The noise thereof sheweth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapour." (Job 36:22-33)

"1 At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place. 2 Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. 3 He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth. 4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. 5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. 6 For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. 7 He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. 8 Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. 9 Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. 10 By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened. 11 Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud: 12 And it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth. 13 He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy. 14 Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. 15 Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine? 16 Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge? 17 How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south wind? 18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass? 19 Teach us what we shall say unto him; for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. 20 Shall it be told him that I speak? If a man speak, surely he shall be swallowed up. 21 And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them. 22 Fair weather cometh out of the north: with God is terrible majesty. 23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict. 24 Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart." (Job 37:1-24)

We can not understand Him. There is nothing left for us to do but trust; trust and obey.

TRUST AND OBEY

Imagine that when you were a little child, God told your mother in a dream that, if allowed, you were going to contract a deadly disease at 50 years old because of eating sugar. But, for a very important reason, He told her to not tell you about the disease or the dream. So your mom makes a rule, no sugar in your house, none in your food, and doesn’t let you eat out at restaurants at all. She does her best to teach you that sugar causes disease, but can not say more. Your birthday cakes are like cornbread. And of course the rule holds for every other brother and sister in your house, and even your father and mother, who willingly sacrifice sugar, so that you aren’t tempted by seeing them eat sugar in any form.  Every other kid in town is gobbling up sugar treats, sugar foods, and eating out at every restaurant in town.  As a child, how would you feel?  Irritated? Would you think your mother is mean? Would you think your mother is cruel to restrict you, to keep you from the blessing of sweet, delicious sugar?  Or would you TRUST her, that she is doing this for YOUR own good?  I realize it can be hard, but that is how we must be with Our Father, Yahweh, whom we can not understand.

"9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee? Is thy counsellor perished? For pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.  10 Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.  11 Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. 12 But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.  13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth." (Micah 4:9-13)

"I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me." (Psalm 119:75)

We don’t know the thoughts of the Lord, we don’t understand. Like the little girl in the scenario above needed to trust her mother, without understanding, we need to trust Our Father, Yahweh.  It is hard to trust someone, so below are many verses about trusting Our Father, The Living God, Yahweh.

"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek." (Psalm 9:10)

"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7)

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him." (Psalm 28:7)

"Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about." (Psalm 32:10)

"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:5)

"3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." (Psalm 56:3-4)

"7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.  8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah." (Psalm 62:7-8)

"1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." (Psalm 91:1-2)

"6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.  7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord." (Psalm 112:6-7)

"Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee." (Psalm 143:8)

"5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

"The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." (Proverbs 29:25)

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord (Yahweh) is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." (Isaiah 12:2 KJV with a made-up name replaced by God’s name.)

"3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal." (Isaiah 26:3-4)

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)

"7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.  8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

"25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:25-26 BSB Berean Study Bible)

Yeshua says to trust in God, Yahweh, Our Father.

YAHWEH LOVES US

When our parents punished us when we did wrong, even though we didn’t like it, deep in our hearts we knew they were doing it because they loved us. Love changes everything. There are hundreds if scriptures that show Yahweh loves us. Below are some of the most touching.  If you find another that needs to be here, please let me know at dan@vigilantvaliant.com. If someone told you they loved you, and wanted to come live in your home with you and your family, then ignored you or led a horrible, mean life hurting other people, would you believe they loved you? We’ve all heard the phrase, “Talk is cheap.” In the Bible Yahweh says, “This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” (Mark7:6b). Haven’t you ever had that feeling about someone?

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;" (Deuteronomy 7:9)

"Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee." (Deuteronomy 8:5)

"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." (Psalm 86:15)

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy." (Psalm 103:8)

“O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalm 136:26)

"He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." (Proverbs 13:24)

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiah 29:11)

"The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." (Jeremiah 31:3)

"22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)

"The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

"14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." (John 3:14-21)

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

"4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,  5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:4-5)

"1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.  7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.  11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." (Hebrews 12:1-11)

"6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 John 3:1)

"7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." (1 John 4:7-14)

"19 We love him, because he first loved us. 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." (1 John 4:19-21)

YESHUA LOVES US

There are many scriptures that show that Yeshua loves humankind and believers in particular. Below are some of the most touching.  If you find another that needs to be here, please let me know at dan@vigilantvaliant.com.  There is a lot of talk about “unconditional love.”  Yahweh’s love, Yeshua’s love is as close to that as we can get.  If your son was a murderer, a serial murderer, and had been in and out of prison, counseled by psychologists and preachers, under long term psychiatric care, but still murdered every time he got out of prison, you need to lock him up and throw away the key, or have him executed.  You can still love him through all that.  It may grieve you to have to do all that. But you can’t let him loose in society, to murder over and over.  I believe Yahweh is like that. He loves us. If we love him back and are obedient, then He allows us to join Him and live with Him, in His house.  If we don’t love Him back and obey, we would destroy the peace of His house and destroy the happiness of those who live there. He won't let us come to His home.

"9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John 15:9-14)

You will hear some talk about a costless salvation, a salvation that costs you nothing, that you don’t have to do anything to receive it.  They would have you believe you can ignore Yahweh, ignore His commandments, live as you please, hurt other people, and still Yahweh is going to take you into His home, just because you asked Him to save you.  Read the verse above again, and see my light Bible study, “How to Be Saved and Gain Eternal Life”, or my deeper, more serious Bible study, “How Jesus & His 12 Apostles Say We Are Saved.”

"34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34-35)

They were called “commandments” not “suggestions” for a reason.

"37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

If we love Yahweh, and prove that is true by our lives, then we have nothing at all to fear.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

"16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him." (1 John 3:16-19)

IS YAHWEH AN ANGRY GOD?

Do you get angry?  Haven’t we all gotten angry a number of times in life? If we are asked about the times we’ve gotten angry, would we say we had good reasons for it?  Perhaps someone broke an agreement we had with them, so broke our trust.  Perhaps they hurt us by not loving us the way we hoped they would. Perhaps they even taunted and provoked us.  We all get angry, we’re only human. But thankfully, most of us are not angry people. We don’t live in a state of anger.

ANGER IS NOT A SIN

"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:" (Ephesians 4:26)

YESHUA GOT ANGRY

Yeshua got angry because the money changers and those who sold animals for sacrifice were doing so in the temple, and apparently, were cheating people, as He called them thieves.  He made a whip and chased them out and overturned their tables.

"13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." (John 2:13-17)

"11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." (Matthew 21:11-13)

Yeshua got angry because the Pharisees did not want Yeshua to heal on the Sabbath.

"3 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.  5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other." (Mark 3:1-5)

YAHWEH GETS ANGRY

We saw above that there is a difference between being an angry person, and getting angry. Here are scriptures to show that Yahweh does get angry. But other scriptures below show it is a righteous anger, anger based on spiritual reasons.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:27)

People say, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” So it shouldn’t surprise us that since we, His children, get angry, that Our Father gets angry.

“And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,” (1 Kings 11:9)

“Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.” (2 Kings 17:18)

“How long, Lord? Wilt thou be angry for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?” (Psalm 79:5)

“And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.” (Isaiah 12:1)

“And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel.” (Numbers 32:14)

“The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.” (Deuteronomy 29:20)

“And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:” (Deuteronomy 29:23)

However, there is good news.  Yahweh does not get angry easily or quickly.

YAHWEH IS SLOW TO ANGER

We have all had to deal with those people who are “angry people”.  They are not angry for a reason, at least not an immediate, germane reason. They live in a state of being angry.  Perhaps from issues in their childhood or past, anger grabbed hold of them, and they grabbed hold of anger and never let it loose. That is a much different person than most of us. Most of us get angry for a good reason, well, at least some reason. When a guy cuts us off in traffic, “Hey buddy, where did you get your license, Walmart?”  Even for us, it is easy to “take it home”.  Somebody really hurts us during the day, and we get really angry. We dwell on it all day. Later, going into our peaceful home, the wife asks if we fixed the doohickey-thingamabob she asked us to a while ago.  “I told you I will fix it and I WILL fix it. You don’t have to keep on asking every six months.” Oh yes, we all get angry now and then. And we sometimes let it overflow out on innocent people. Luckily, I don’t think Yahweh lets His anger overflow. Let’s see what the scriptures say about God’s anger.

“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.” (Exodus 34:6 ESV)

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." (Proverbs 16:32)

"19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:  20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."  (James 1:19-20).

"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness," (Exodus 34:6 NIV)

“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 86:15 NIV)

"The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." (Numbers 14:18 NIV)

"And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." (Joel 2:13)

"And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not." (Nehemiah 9:17)

“5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.  6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:5-7)

“The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” (Nahum 1:1-3)

“And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.” (Nehemiah 9:17)

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8)

“The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” (Psalm 145:8)

“A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.” (Proverbs 15:18)

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Proverbs 16:32)

“And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” (Joel 2:13)

“And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” (Jonah 4:2)

“The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” (Nahum 1:3)

There are many more verses in the Bible about Our God, Yahweh, being slow to anger, but this sampling above makes the point.  Yahweh is not an angry God, sitting around just waiting for someone to get angry at. On the contrary, Our God is slow to anger.

BECAUSE OF TRANSGRESSIONS

When people hurt us, when those, like our young children, who are supposed to obey us, do not obey us, we can rightfully get angry.  When people transgress God’s Law, which is the definition of sin, Yahweh gets angry too.

"When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you." (Joshua 23:16)

"And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;" (Judges 2:20)

"7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.  10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)" (Hebrews 3:7-11)

BECAUSE WE KINDLE HIS ANGER

Thank God that we know from the scriptures that He does not stay in an angry state.  We will see later in this study that Yahweh is usually in a kind, forgiving, and compassionate mood.  Then why does He get angry?  Why do we get angry and “burn” with anger? When there is no fire burning, it must be kindled. This is how Merriam-Webster says it.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kindle

“Kindle verb

1: to start (a fire) burning: LIGHT, using dry twigs to kindle a fire

2a: to stir up: AROUSE, kindle a child's interest in art.

2b: to bring into being:”

So humans kindle God’s anger.  The fire is gone out, it is cold. Then we do something or say something or do not do something we should do, that lights up God’s anger.  I was at a party that had melted chocolate (Oh Yeah) to drizzle over some yummy desserts.  One husband, attempting humor, teased his wife about spilling the melted chocolate and drizzling it over her pretty white dress.  This calm, cool, pleasant wife turned to her husband with one of “Those Looks.” (You know what I mean.) She said, “Don’t start with me!”  Now, there are flash floods, and there are flash fires, and whoa, he kindled a flash fire in her, her anger.  Sadly, we humans do that with Our Father, Yahweh. Here are just a few examples.

“And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.” (Numbers 11:1)

The following is a little long, but it is quite a story. There is more to the story, but here are the main parts of how Balaam the prophet kindled God’s anger. The people spoken of, who Balak asked Balaam to curse, are the people of Yahweh, the Isrealites, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: 6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed." (Numbers 22:4-6)

"9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? 10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, 11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out. 12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed."  (Numbers 22:9-12)

Hmm.  Do Yahweh’s instructions and intent seem crystal clear?  Do not go! Do not curse! Hmm. I wonder what the prophet of God will do. I think you already see where this is headed.

"21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. 22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. 24 But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. 25 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the will: and he smote her again. 26 And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. 28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? 29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. 30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? Was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay. 31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. 32 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: 33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. 34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again."  (Numbers 22:21-34)

May we all have donkeys, or friends, in life, that try to help us avoid danger.  How often we may get mad at them for interfering. “Mind your own business.” It’s a good thing Balaam’s donkey tried to save Balaam. And may Yahweh open our eyes when we are going out of the path to righteousness.

"1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. 5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.” (Numbers 25:1-5)

“6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? 7 And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them? 8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the Lord had given them. 10 And the Lord'S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, 11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: 12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the Lord. 13 And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed. 14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel.” (Numbers 32:6-124)

Have you ever been cheated on?  Unfaithfulness of a loved one is a heartbreaking experience. We get hurt, and we get angry. Is it any wonder that Yahweh, who has called the church to be His bride, gets hurt and angry when we go “whoring after the god’s of strangers?”

“15 And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. 16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.” (Deuteronomy 31:15-18)

Nothing can hurt us in life as much as the ones we love. The unfaithfulness of a loved one hurts us deeper than when strangers hurt us. We are made in the image of God, so how do we expect Him to feel when we are unfaithful to Him?

“15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 16 They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. 17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. 18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. 19 And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. 20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. 21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. 22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.” (Deuteronomy 32:15-22)

“2 And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims. 3 And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drave the new cart. 4 And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. 5 And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. 6 And when they came to Nachon's threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.” (2 Samuel 6:2-7)

I’ve always felt sorry for Uzzah.  He seems to be a good guy, just trying to stop the Ark of God, the Ark of the Covenant, from falling off the cart.  Isn’t that a good thing?  Yet God strikes Uzzah dead. The problem is, there was an absolute commandment about not touching the Ark. When it was moved it was covered with three blankets, and carried by putting poles through rings on the Ark, so the priests could hold the poles and not touch the Ark.  It was perhaps the holiest thing in Israel, and in the world. There were very strict rules, and Uzzah broke them.

The underlying problem, the real cause of the problem, was that the priests were also not obeying God.  God told them exactly how to move the Ark, by men walking holding the two poles through the rings on each side.  They threw it on an oxen cart.

Think that through.  The priests did the wrong thing, Uzzah tried to do a good thing, but Uzzah was not forgiven.  Parents, friends, teachers, and priests and pastors may be teaching us the wrong doctrine, but that does not excuse us.  "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."

"1 And the Ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the Ark of the Lord? Tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 3 And they said, If ye send away the Ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. 4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. 6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: 8 And take the Ark of the Lord, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. 9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us. 10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: 11 And they laid the Ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. 12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh. 13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the Ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the Lord. 15 And the Levites took down the Ark of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the Lord. 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the Lord; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the Ark of the Lord: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite. 19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the Ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. 20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall he go up from us? 21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the Ark of the Lord; come ye down, and fetch it up to you." (1 Samuel 6:1-21)

Yahweh is serious about His commandments. We need to be serious about them also.  To learn more about Yahweh’s commandments, please see my study, “Does Jesus Want Christians to Obey the Ten Commandments?”

BECAUSE WE PROVOKE HIM TO ANGER

Following are just a few of the examples in the Bible where humankind has provoked Yahweh to anger.  He doesn’t just sit around as an angry God.  Indeed, we have seen that He is slow to anger. But haven’t you had one of those days where people are just pushing your buttons, rattling your chain, and trying to stir you up, to provoke you?  We’ve all been there.

"And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among" (Numbers 14:11)

"Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:" (Numbers 14:23)

"1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben,  took men: 2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? 4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: 5 And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. 6 This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; 7 And put fire therein, and put incense in them before the Lord to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the Lord doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi." (Numbers 16:1-7)

"28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. 29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me. 30 But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. 31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: 32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. 33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation." (Numbers 16:28-33)

"23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee. 24 For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. 25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger: 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. 27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you. 28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. 32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? 33 Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? 34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him. 36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; " (Deuteronomy 4:23-37)

"Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the Lord." (Deuteronomy 9:7)

"Also in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry with you to have destroyed you." (Deuteronomy 9:8)

"And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger." (Deuteronomy 9:18)

"And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the Lord to wrath." (Deuteronomy 9:22)

"19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. 20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. 19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. 20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant." (Deuteronomy 31:19-21)

“For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.” (1 Kings 22:53)

“And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.” (2 Kings 17:17)

“And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the Lord God of his fathers.” (2 Chronicles 28:25)

“For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not:” (Zechariah 8:14)

Sadly, it wasn’t only the ancient Hebrews, the Jews, who provoke Yahweh to anger.  We do today, sometimes unwitting, but even that is often because we don’t care enough to study about God and try to find out what He wants from us, how to please Him.  What in the world does God want from us?

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8)

"35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:35-40)

Justice, mercy, walk with our God, and love our God; Really, is that too much of Yahweh, the holy, Almighty God, to ask?

IS YAHWEH A MEAN GOD?

Wow!  I didn’t realize the word “mean” meant so many things.  It is the adjective form we are looking for, and even that has many meanings, including financial and mathematical.  Remember high school math? Luckily the MacMillan Dictionary had a little of what we are looking for, and labels it under the “informal” meaning. Apparently Oxford and Cambridge don’t care for “informal” English. Ha. Apparently American English is “informal” compared to British English.  So I tried the American Heritage Dictionary, and got the definition we are looking for. They say it is “Middle English, from Old English gemǣne, common. My fellow Americans, apparently we speak “Middle English”. . Kudos to the American Heritage Dictionary for using American English. I have used smaller point size for meanings 3 and 4, as they are not applicable to our search.

https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=mean

“mean 2 - adj. mean·er, mean·est

1. a. Lacking in kindness; unkind:

b. Cruel, spiteful, or malicious:

c. Expressing spite or malice:

d. Tending toward or characterized by cruelty or violence:

e. Extremely unpleasant or disagreeable:

2. Ignoble; base: a mean motive. See Synonyms at base2.

3. Miserly; stingy: mean with money.

4.: a. Low in value, rank, or social status: b. Common or poor in appearance; shabby:

5. Slang:  a. Hard to cope with; difficult or troublesome:”

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/mean_2

MEAN-ADJCECTIVE-INFORMAL:”Cruel, or unkind: angry and violent."

None of us like mean people.  If they are being mean to other people, we are sympathetic with those victims. If they are being mean to us, we are defensive and angry.  Nobody likes mean people.

The first definition of “mean” in American Heritage Dictionary is unkind. See the section below on “What is Yahweh Really Like”, and read the sub-section on Kind / Good.  After reading that, ask yourself if The Living God really fits this part of that part of the description of “mean”.

Cruel is the second definition of “mean”.  We can find Bible verses where Yahweh punishes people. We can find Bible verses where Yahweh kills people.  But I failed to find any Bible verses showing Yahweh was “cruel”.  Someone says to us, “Butch killed the dog.”  We may think Butch is such a jerk, a mean guy. If we then find out the whole story, that a dog had been hit by a car, and horribly, irreparably wounded, dying a long, painful death, then Butch was doing a good deed, a sad, but necessary and good deed. Butch was actually being kind in killing the dog.

When we perceive that someone is cruel, spiteful, or malicious toward us, we think of them as being just plain “mean”. There was lots of ice cream at the party, but Betty would not give any to her little daughter, even when her daughter begged her.  Wow, Betty is such a jerk, a cruel jerk.  But wait.  What if we find out the rest of the story? What if Betty’s three-year-old daughter is lactose intolerant, and would get significantly sick if she ate ice cream? So while Betty let her daughter attend a party with her friends, while they reveled in ice cream, Betty’s daughter could not. And we learn Betty tried to have her daughter eat another non-milk yummy frozen smoothie, but her daughter rebelled and would not eat that because she thought “that’s not ice cream” like the other kids are eating. Her daughter might feel her mother, Betty, is being cruel.  And we might have agreed, until we knew the rest of the story.

Context is so important in all the scriptures we examine.  How easy it is to twist the truth into something ugly.  We see politicians do that every single day. We can force the Bible to say almost anything, and many people do.  But that is not OUR goal. We are trying to find out the true intent of the scripture.  And that isn’t easy. You may be reading this Bible Study because, like me, you would like the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

In the section below on “What is Yahweh Really Like”, we will see the Bible overwhelming supports that Yahweh is loving and caring. Add that to His attributes of kind and good, and it is hard to think of The Great God as “mean”.

When we continue to try to assess if God is mean, we might remember that the Bible says to FEAR GOD.  In the section that follows soon below, “What is Yahweh Really Like?” we see that Yahweh is good and loving, forgiving, and patient.  That does not sound like somebody from whom we should tremble in fear.  What does the “fear of the Lord” really mean?

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” (Psalm 111:10)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7)

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” (Proverbs 3:7)

“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 it is at this day.” (Deuteronomy 6:24)

“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28)

“12 Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: 13 But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.” (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13)

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” (Malachi 4:2)

So while the Bible does say to fear God, the Bible also tells us to FEAR NOT.

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

“After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” (Genesis 15:1)

“And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.” (Genesis 21:17)

“And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.” (Genesis 26:24)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

“And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;” (1 Samuel 12:20)

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

Fear God, or “fear not”, which is it?  Like many things in life, that may depend greatly on our attitude.

There are many kinds of fear, and we use that word to mean many things. What we are asking in researching if Yahweh is “MEAN” leads us to learn if Yahweh is someone we should tremble in frightful fear from, fearing He will do evil to us without a reason, without a cause.  What does the Bible mean when it says we should FEAR God? Does this mean Yahweh is a mean God?

An interesting article "Come, Let Us Worship: The Fear of God written by Bud Ahlheim" can be found at https://strivingforeternity.org/come-let-us-worship-the-fear-of-god/.  Ahlheim mentions two kinds of fear, referencing both Martin Luther, founder of the Lutheran Church, and Paul Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress.

In part, Ahlheim says, "What is the fear of God?  The diligent, regenerate student of Scripture will recognize two types of fear of God, the fear of punishment and the fear of holiness.  The first, which Martin Luther called 'servile fear,' and which (Paul) Bunyan terms 'ungodly fear,’ is that fear of the unregenerate in the face of God’s wrath.  It is the fear of the slave to the harsh taskmaster. "

"Yet because of the grace of Christ (Ephesians 2:4) in having become the propitiation for our sin (1 John 4:10, Hebrews 2:17), the servile fear of God is transformed in us, as born again new creations (John 3:3, 2 Cor. 5:17), into a different, and reverential, fear of God.  Luther would call this fear of God in believers ‘filial fear,' that of a child to the father. (Paul) Bunyan calls it a 'godly fear.' ”

This makes sense to me, though at times our emotions may overlap.  Luther’s “filial fear” like a child fears a parent whom they know to be a good, kind, loving parent is how I choose to interpret the Bible’s use of “fear” for saved BELIEVERS.  Luther’s “servile fear” is how I choose to interpret the Bible’s use of “fear” for unrepentant, unforgiven, unsaved NON-BELIEVERS.

Yes, I said that is how I CHOOSE to interpret it. Let’s be honest to the bone. EVERYTHING you and I believe, we have chosen to believe.  We may say the belief is totally based on scripture, or data and facts, but what percentage that is for any given belief may vary greatly.  Let’s hope and pray that you and I base our religious beliefs very predominantly on a correct interpretation of the scriptures, and really get close to believing what Yahweh wants us to believe.

A saved Christian believer with no unconfessed sin may still tremble at the thought of meeting The Living God, but it is similar to how we “fear” having a recital in front of a large audience. We may tremble at the thought of meeting The Living God, with a fear like that of being nervous upon meeting some king or high dignitary on Earth, only much more so. Or like we might “fear” having a talk with our kind and loving parents, to explain how we broke the window playing ball.  We may fear a light, just punishment, but we are not in fear of being tortured forever and ever.

Luther’s “servile fear” however, is for the unrepentant.  This is being scared of a mean, vindictive, angry person who has gained total power and control over us.  This is trembling in fear, scared of being tortured, tormented, and living in anguish.

When you think of The Almighty God, do you tremble in fear that you are in the hands of a mean, cruel person, or do you have the reverential respect, the godly fear, of being in the hands of someone so much greater than us that we can not even begin to understand Him?

If you are truly fearful of God, in Luther's "servile" fear, you might want to read my very first, light Bible Study, "How to Be Saved and Gain Eternal Life."  If you consider yourself a serious seeker of truth, you might like my deeper study, "How Jesus & His 12 Apostles Say We Are Saved?"  After reading those, I would hope you will see that ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY who turns to The God of Abraham in repentance and humbly seeks salvation, and will be obedient, can be saved and gain eternal life. Then you will have placed yourself in the hands of your LOVING FATHER.  You won't be fearful (servile fear) any more. I believe you can then be truly happy.  Oh, we will get spankings which we will have to admit we deserved, but we know they are done in love, for our own good, to a higher end, that we may live with Yahweh forever.

IS YAHWEH A VINDICTIVE GOD?

Let’s start with the definition of vindictive.  Following are definitions from three of the world’s best dictionaries: Oxford Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary, and Merriam-Webster Dictionary, from their online versions.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/vindictive

Vindictive: "Showing a strong and unreasonable desire to harm or upset somebody because you think that they have harmed you."

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/vindictive

Vindictive: "Having or showing a wish to harm someone because you think that they harmed you; unwilling to forgive:"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vindictive

Essential Meaning of vindictive: "Disapproving: having or showing a desire to hurt someone who has hurt or caused problems for you."

Full Definition of vindictive

1a: disposed to seek revenge: VENGEFUL

b: intended for or involving revenge

2: intended to cause anguish or hurt: SPITEFUL

From that Essential Meaning of the word Vindictive, Yahweh Himself says He is NOT vindictive. He does not like to have to punish people who transgress His Law, who disobey, who don’t believe. Ezekiel is a very interesting book of the Bible.  See what Yahweh tells Ezekiel about NOT wanting to do harm to transgressors. Yes, I bolded every word. These are three very important verses in understanding what kind of God Our God, The Living God, Yahweh is.

"Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? Saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23)

"For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." (Ezekiel 18:32)

"Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" (Ezekiel 33:11)

Now He does say vengeance is His, that He is a vengeful God. Since that is part of the definition of “vindictive”, let’s see what the Bible says about God’s type of vengeance.

“The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” (Nahum 1:1-3)

“To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.” (Deuteronomy 32:35)

Though the following starts out pretty rough, with a glittering sword, it ends up with mercy.

"41 If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. 42 I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. 43 Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people." (Deuteronomy 32:41-43)

The following is a long quote, but it gives a good understanding of what it means for Yahweh to be a vengeful God.

"1 O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. 2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. 3 Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? 4 How long shall they utter and speak hard things? And all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? 5 They break in pieces thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage. 6 They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. 7 Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. 8 Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? 9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see? 10 He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know? 11 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. 12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law; 13 That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. 15 But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it." (Psalm 94:1-15)

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." (Romans 12:19)

This is not the kind of vengeance that is vindictive. The definitions above say vindictive vengeance is an “unreasonable desire to harm” someone. Punishment for disobeying Yahweh, for hurting His people, for even mocking The Living God, is not unreasonable, by any standard.

Make your own conclusions, but to me, these scriptures show Our Father, Yahweh, is not a vindictive God.

WHAT IS YAHWEH REALLY LIKE?

So if Yahweh is not a mean, vindictive, and angry god, what kind of God is He?  Let’s see what the Bible says about who The Living God really is, what He is really like.

YAHWEH IS THE ONLY GOD

More important that any other attribute of Our Father, is that He is the ONLY God.  If there were others, there might be fights over who is the most important or most powerful, like the idolatrous gods of Rome and Greece. Thank Our God that He makes it very clear, THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD, and His name is Yahweh.

"28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:" (Mark 12:28-29)

"35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him. 36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt; 38 To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day. 39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. 40 Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever." (Deuteronomy 4:35-40)

"6 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: 5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:" Deuteronomy 6:1-6)

"See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand." (Deuteronomy 32:39)

This was a major point Yahweh was making with His people during the time of Isaiah the Prophet.

"5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: 6 I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. 9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." (Isaiah 42:5-9)

"10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. 12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. 13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? 14 Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King." (Isaiah 43:10-15)

"6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. 7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. 8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? Ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God; I know not any." (Isaiah 44:6-8)

"5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. 8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it. 9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands? 10 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? Or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? 11 Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. 12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded." (Isaiah 45:5-12)

"3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: 4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. 5 To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? 6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.  7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble. 8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" (Isaiah 46:3-10)

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

The Name of God has been considered by the ancient Jews to be too holy and sacred to be spoken, so they replaced it in the writings with the name Adonai, and the Christian translators, following that tradition, replaced it with “The Lord”.  But He told us His real name.

"13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." (Exodus 3:13-15)

A more literal translation uses the true Hebrew words. Even here, the Tetragrammaton (the four letters), YHWH (English Letters) or יהוה in Hebrew. Note that Hebrew is written right to left; hence the two “n” looking letters are the two “H”s in English.

"13And Moses says to God, “Behold, I am coming to the sons of Israel, and have said to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they have said to me, What [is] His Name? What do I say to them?” 14And God says to Moses, “I AM THAT WHICH I AM.” He also says, “Thus you say to the sons of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” 15And God says again to Moses, “Thus you say to the sons of Israel: YHWH, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, has sent me to you; this [is] My Name for all time, and this [is] My memorial, to generation [and] generation. 16 Go, and you have gathered the elderly of Israel, and have said to them: YHWH, God of your fathers, has appeared to me, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I have certainly inspected you, and that which is done to you in Egypt; 17and I say [that] I bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing [with] milk and honey." (Exodus 3:13-17 LSV Literal Standard Version)

LOVING / CARING

In two sections above, “Yahweh Loves Us” and “Yeshua Loves Us,” we saw scriptures showing this attribute of Yahweh, and of Yeshua. None of those will be repeated in this section.  But the Bible has so many scriptures about Yahweh loving us, we will list more below, so that you are overwhelmingly reassured that Yahweh loves you more deeply than any human ever can.

The Bible is very clear about Yahweh loving us even when He is angry at us for having done wrong, for being disobedient, for disobeying.  "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a hellfire and brimstone sermon that was preached by Jonathan Edwards on July 8, 1741. It is said to have sparked a great awakening, a spiritual revival. It is terrifying.

It may be heard, recreated, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXOOPsgvC94&ab_channel=OlgaHouseholder

It may be read here: http://www.jonathan-edwards.org/Sinners.pdf

It makes a world of difference, if the angry God whose hands you are in is your loving father. If you are not sure of that, YOU CAN BE today!  See, “How Jesus & His 12 Apostles Say We Are Saved.” www.vigilantvaliant.com

Let’s see what the Bible says about Yahweh loving us.

“7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)

"Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:18-19 ESV)

"22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV New International Version)

"7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings." (Psalm 36:7 NIV)

"But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." (Psalm 86:15 NIV)

"Help me, LORD my God; save me according to your unfailing love." (Psalm 109:26 NIV)

"Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever." (Psalm 136:26 NIV)

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you." (Isaiah 54:10 NIV)

This verse doesn't have to word "love" in it, but clearly He is saying He loves us.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

"For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God." (John 16:27)

"9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:9-10)

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not" (1 John 3:1)

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:8)

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.  18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4:16-19)

"4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV)

Have you ever asked yourself how a loving, caring God could torture lost humans forever and ever, never letting them die?  Is that what Yahweh and Yeshua have shown us by Their words and actions? Is that what the Bible says?  You might be surprised. If that is what you believe the Bible says, you might be interested in my Bible Study, “Will Humans Be Tortured Forever in Hell?”

ALMIGHTY / OMNIPOTENT

If Yahweh was not almighty, all His other attributes wouldn’t matter.  If He loves us, but is unable to protect us, unable to help us, unable to save us, what use is His love? Thank Yahweh that He is the Almighty God, the ONLY God.

"And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:18)

“10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." (Genesis 18:14)

"17 Ah Lord GOD! Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: 18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, 19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: 20 Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day; 21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror; 22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; 23 And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them: 24 Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it. 25 And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:17- 27)

"8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8)

"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)

"31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-39)

“20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

"28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible." (Luke 1:28-37)

ALL KNOWING / OMNISCIENT

Is there some hidden sin in your life you think Yahweh has not seen? Is there some hurt done to you, some sadness befallen you, some deep desire you think Yahweh is ignoring?  Guess again.  The Bible says the Living God sees all and knows all.

"For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." (1 John 3:20)

9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make known the end from the beginning,  from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, And I will do all that I please.’” (Isaiah 46:9-10 NIV)

“‘23 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? Saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

"Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite." (Psalm 147:5)

"For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." (1 John 3:20)

"For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings." (Job 34:2)

"O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. 5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me." (Psalm 139:1-5)

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4:13)

"20 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; 21 Shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart." (Psalm 44:21)

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.” (1 Chronicles 28:9)

Doesn't it sound to you like Our Father knows EVERYTHING?

IMMUTABLE / UNCHANGING

First, from the mouth of Yahweh Himself, “I change not.”

“For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17)

Others also tell us Yahweh is unchanging.

"29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent." (1 Samuel 15:29)

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19)

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8)

"17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:" (Hebrews 6:17-18)

The Bible says God repents or relents of the evil He was thinking of doing, or started doing to His people, His children. If Yahweh is unchanging, how can He repent? Does God do EVIL? The short answers are that no, Yahweh does not DO EVIL, and no, Yahweh does not change. He told us that. Standing your kid who has misbehaved in the corner is not a PLEASANT thing for the kid; it is not a GOOD thing from the kid’s perspective. But it is a good and necessary thing. As for repenting, the word from the Old Testament Hebrew translated repent meant just to be sorry. Yes, Yahweh is often sorry He has to do something. The meaning of repent we are more familiar with is the meaning of the Greek word for repent in the New Testament. That means more than just sorry, but changing your ways, stopping your sinning.  We need to not just confess our sins, but to STOP doing them.  To truly repent of our sins is to change our ways.  Yahweh does not change, so His repentance is being sorry, but not changing. First let’s look at the Hebrew and Greek words, and their difference.

The Old Testament of the Bible was written in Hebrew. To know the meaning of the HEBREW word translated as “repent”, let’s look at Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance for the Hebrew word “nacham” which Strong numbered H5162.

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5162.htm

Strong's Concordance

H5162. Nacham

Nacham: to be sorry, console oneself

Original Word: נָחַם

Part of Speech: Verb

Transliteration: nacham

Definition: to be sorry, console oneself

So the Hebrew word meant to be sorry. Not to change.  We are taught, as we study the New Testament, that to REPENT of our sins is not only to be sorry for them, but to CHANGE our ways, and try our best to not commit those sins again.

The New Testament of the Bible was written in Greek. To know the meaning of the  GREEK word translated as “repent”, let’s look at Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance for the Greek word “metanoia” which Strong numbered G3341, and the Greek word “metanoeo”, which Strong numbered G3340.

https://biblehub.com/greek/3341.htm

“Strong's Concordance

G3341. Metanoia

Metanoia: change of mind, repentance

Original Word: μετάνοια, ας, ἡ

Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine

Transliteration: metanoia

Phonetic Spelling: (met-an'-oy-ah)

Definition: change of mind, repentance

Usage: repentance, a change of mind, change in the inner man.”

https://biblehub.com/greek/3340.htm

“Strong's Concordance

3340. Metanoeó

Metanoeó: to change one's mind or purpose

Original Word: μετανοέω

Part of Speech: Verb

Transliteration: metanoeó

Phonetic Spelling: (met-an-o-eh'-o)

Definition: to change one's mind or purpose

Usage: I repent, change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God), repent.”

Therefore, there are two main points to understand about God’s immutability, and the way that word is used in the Bible.

FIRST: The Hebrew and Greek words mean different things.  The Hebrew used for God’s repentance meant only to be sorry. The Greek talking about OUR repentance means be sorry AND CHANGE our ways. This is not God’s repentance. His repentance is sorrow only.

SECOND: Always look at context. Many of the verses saying God repented, or relented, are after God said “IF.”  IF you don’t change your ways I will do such and such.  IF you don’t start obeying me, then I will punish you.  So Yahweh’s action in the matter is not because He changed His mind, but because WE changed OUR ways. That is not a change on Yahweh’s part, but on ours.

Some would use a verse like the story of Jonah and Nineveh to try to prove Yahweh changes, however their logic is faulty.  With Nineveh Yahweh said IF. IF you don't repent, then in 40 days you will be destroyed.  They repented. Yahweh did not change His mind. People repented and changed their ways.

“And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” (Jonah 3:10)

“1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 2 And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” (Jonah 4:1-2)

In the same way, the verses below explain a lot. They typically say, IF you DO NOT change and stop sinning, THEN I will have to punish you. IF you DO change, THEN I will not punish you.

“Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.” (Jeremiah 26:13)

“And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” (Joel 2:13)

“1 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. 2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small. 3 The Lord repented for this: It shall not be, saith the Lord. 4 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part. 5 Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? For he is small. 6 The Lord repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord God.” (Amos 7:1-6)

When the Bible says Yahweh was sorry He made man, it does sound like He changed His mind, but keep in mind the context. Also consider this situation. You say to your child that you are going to punish them because tomorrow, at a class party, they are going to misbehave. Therefore, you are going to punish them right now for their FUTURE behavior.  You know they are going to say how unfair that is, that they haven’t even misbehaved yet, but they are being punished.  So you acknowledge that, and for the sake of your child’s understanding, you wait, advise them to NOT MISBEHAVE or you will have to punish them, and let the misbehavior happen.  After the party, the hammer drops, the punishment comes, and the child is sad, and you are sorry.  You are sorry you let your child go to the party and misbehave, but you had to let it happen.  Yahweh made humankind. He knew ahead that they would fail, and that He would have to send a savior, and that He Himself would feel hurt and sorrow in the process. But He did not change anything. Yahweh could see the end from the beginning, and was sad humankind would make bad decisions.

“The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:6-7)

“And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.” (Exodus 32:14)

"43 Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. 44 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: 45 And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies." (Psalm 106:43-45)

“It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the Lord all night.” (1 Samuel 15:11)

“14 So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. 15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” (1 Chronicles 21:14-15)

KIND / GOOD

One of my favorite verses of all time reminds us Yahweh is the source of all good.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

Yeshua said that ONLY Yahweh is good! This is a good verse to also point out to us the answer to that burning question, “What does God want from me?”

"And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." (Matthew 19:17)

"For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee." (Psalm 86:5)

“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” (Psalm 34:8)

“And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.” (Nehemiah 9:17)

Just a few of the many verses about Our God's lovingkindness follow.

“Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.” (Psalm 17:7)

"Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old." (Psalm 25:6)

“How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” (Psalm 36:7)

"Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me." (Psalm 40:11)

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." (Psalm 51:1)

"Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies." (Psalm 69:16)

"Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;" (Psalm 103:4)

"Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee." (Psalm 143:8)

"I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses." (Isaiah 63:7)

"But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 9:24)

"The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." (Jeremiah 31:3)

"17 Ah Lord GOD! Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: 18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, 19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: " (Jeremiah 32:17- 19)

Would you agree that The Great God, The Mighty God, is a kind God?

NEAR

What good would it do us if this good and almighty God was far off, ignoring us, and hard to find? It is very important that The Great God is watching us closely.

"Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" (Psalm 56:8)

How comforting to know that our Loving Father keeps track of everywhere we wander in life, and keeps track of our tears.  He certainly is a near God, a God keeping close watch over His children, and keeping a record of our lives.  Remember that in the Book of Revelation, at the final judgment, Yahweh will open the books, and all people will be judged fairly.

“Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.” (Psalm 119:151)

“Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?” (Jeremiah 23:23)

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

“But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.” (Psalm 73:28)

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18)

"That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:" (Acts 17:27)

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:8)

“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” (Isaiah 55:6)

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." (Psalm 32:8)

"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." (Proverbs 15:3)

"The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." (Luke 15:10)

And finally, Yeshua (Jesus in English) tells us just how closely Yahweh watches us.  He watches even the little birds. NOT ONE falls to the ground without Him knowing, as He is watching over them also.  How many hairs are on your head? YOU don’t know. That number changes by the minute, yet Yeshua assures us that Our Father, The Living God, is watching us VERY CLOSELY!

"28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:28-31)

The Living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the only God, is not “watching us from a distance!” We are of great value to Him. He watches over us closely.

FAITHFUL

If somebody tells you they love you, tells you they will stay with you forever, tells you they will protect and take care of you, BUT then they are not FAITHFUL, all the rest doesn’t matter.  Faithfulness is a very important attribute of The Living God.

“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.” (Exodus 34:6 ESV)

Though the word "faithful" is not in the following two verses, that is what they are all about.

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19)

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;" (Deuteronomy 7:9)

"The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4 ESV)

"For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness." (Psalm 33:4 ESV)

"But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." (Psalm 86:15 ESV)

"Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail." (Psalm 89:33)

"He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler." (Psalm 91:4 ESV)

"Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth." (Psalm 119:90)

"O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth." (Isaiah 25:1)

What a beautiful song comes from the following verse, “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”

"21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:21-23)

" Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)" (Hebrews 10:23)

“If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” (Timothy 2:13)

" But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil." (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

"God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:9)

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

"Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” (1 Peter 4:19)

The verses above are just a few showing clearly that The Great God, The Living God, The God of Israel is a FAITHFUL God.

PATIENT

Part of patience is being slow to get angry. Being “Slow to Anger” is an attribute of Yahweh we covered above. Below are verses about Yahweh’s patience in other ways also.  Longsuffering is a word used of Yahweh in the Bible to mean patient and slow to anger. It is made up of two Hebrew words, identified in Strong’s Concordance as "H639" AND "H750," one for “anger” and one for “long” hence, a long time to get angry, or the same thing as “patient” or “slow to anger”.

"And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth," (Exodus 34:6)

"The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." (Numbers 14:18)

If that part about the children bothers you, please hold that thought until you read the section under “FORGIVING” below.

"O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke." (Jeremiah 15:15)

"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4)

"What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:" (Romans 9:22)

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

What a wonderful revelation! Our God is not willing that ANY should perish. He would like to save ALL.  It is not Yahweh who causes people to be lost, it is a choice those people make. These verses above support that our God is a patient, longsuffering God.

WISE

Ahh, wisdom.  Who doesn’t want to be wise?  How much better would our lives have gone, if we had only used a little wisdom in our decisions?  The Bible is clear, Yahweh has great wisdom, and thanks to God, He doesn’t mind sharing it with us.

"10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10)

"10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever." (Psalm 111:10)

"7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7)

":And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not." (Ezra 7:25)

In asking for Yahweh to show the secrets of wisdom, Job is acknowledging that Yahweh has wisdom.

"5 But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; 6 And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. 7 Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" (Job 11:5-7)

For Yahweh to be able to give wisdom, He must have wisdom.

"For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit." (Ecclesiastes 2:26)

"20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:" (Daniel 2:20-21)

"46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! For ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe unto you! For ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: 50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation." (Luke 11:46-51)

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33)

"19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; 24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" (1 Corinthians 1:19-27)

"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:" (1 Corinthians 2:7)

"8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:" (Ephesians 3:8-11)

Finally, one of my favorite verses (of very many :-), perhaps because I need wisdom so badly, and need to ask so often.

"5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." (James 1:5-6)

TRUTHFUL

Yahweh Himself says He is truthful.  We all need to make up our minds to believe Him, or not.  If Our Father is not truthful, none of His other attributes matter.  Will He do what He says He will do?  Will He complete the work He says He will complete? Trusting The Living God is so important! How can we trust someone who lies to us? We can not! So does the Bible say that The Great God is truthful?  Yahweh Himself says He is truthful.

"And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth," (Exodus 34:6)

Also, many people in the Bible testify that Yahweh is truthful.

"He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4)

"All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies." (Psalm 25:10)

"Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." (Psalm 31:5)

"For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth." (Psalm 33:4)

"Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me." (Psalm 40:11)

"O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles." (Psalm 43:3)

"He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth." (Psalm 57:3)

"For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds." (Psalm 57:10)

"Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name." (Psalm 86:11)

"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." (Psalm 86:15)

Here's a good one. Read this one a couple of times, and feel comforted, and cared for, and under the wings of the Almighty God. He is TRUTHFUL and we can TRUST Him! Revel in the love of the wonderful God we have!

"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." (Psalm 91:4)

"He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." (Psalm 98:3)

"For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm 100:5)

"For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds." (Psalm 108:4)

There are hundreds (actually 224) of times the word "truth" is used in the Bible (KJV), so many are being omitted. I think you get the idea. Yahweh is truthful. Yet here are a couple from the New Testament, about Yeshua.

"14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:14-17)

I just have to include the following two verses, because they are so well known and so often quoted. Yeshua says He is the truth, and the truth (Yeshua) shall set you free!

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)

"44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?" (John 8:44-46)

"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:" (John 15:26)

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:17)

Each person has to make their own decision about Yahweh, and about Yeshua.  Either they are what they say they are, in which case we need to repent, and bow down, and live accordingly, or they are not, in which case we do not need to do these things.  If you have already made this decision, may the words below be a good refresher.  If you have not, this is undoubtedly the most important decision of your life.  Don't wait for a tomorrow which might never come. People die in car wrecks or from heart attacks daily, even hourly.  Please MAKE OR REAFFIRM YOUR DECISION NOW!

An interesting discussion by MARTIN COTHRAN on the logical approach to believing God is found in his article here.

https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/lord-liar-or-lunatic/

"The argument appears in Lewis’ Mere Christianity. Lewis introduces the argument by observing how most people who don’t believe that Jesus is God are still attracted to Him as a moral teacher. While He is not God, these people say, He was a great moral teacher."

"Jesus claimed to be God. His claim is either true or false. If it is true, then, ipso facto, He is God. If the claim is false, then either He said it knowing it was false, in which case He is a liar, or He said it not knowing it was false, in which case He was mad. Therefore, we are left with three logical options: He is either God, or a liar, or a lunatic."

Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?  Take a stand. Make up your mind today.

Make up your mind, make a decision, and set your face like a flint.

"Thus saith the Lord, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. 2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? When I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. 3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. 4 The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. 6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? Let us stand together: who is mine adversary? Let him come near to me. 9 Behold, the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me?" (Isaiah 50:1-9)

Make up your mind TODAY!

"14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:14-15)

To be sure you are SAVED, BORN AGAIN, I have a light Bible Study, "How To Be Saved And Gain Eternal Life", and a deeper Bible Study, “How Jesus & His 12 Apostles Say We Are Saved".

JUST

Yahweh Himself tells us outright that He is just, and loves justice.

"For I, the Lord, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And I will faithfully give them their recompense And make an everlasting covenant with them." (Isaiah 61:8 NASB)

"Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? And there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me." (Isaiah 45:21)

"23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Then He tells us He expects us to emulate Him, in showing justice in all ways.

"16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." (Isaiah 1:16-20)

“8 And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying, 9 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: 10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart." (Zechariah 7:8-10)

"Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place." (Jeremiah 22:3)

He also has His prophets, kings, and people tell us that He is just, and expects us to be just, like Our Father is.

"17 For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: 18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name." (Deuteronomy 10:17-20)

“He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4)

“Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.” (2 Chronicles 19:7)

"Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?" (Job 8:3)

"Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment." (Job 34:12)

.Judging in righteousness surely means true justice.

"7 But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. 8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness." (Psalm 9:7-8)

"The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed." (Psalm 103:6)

"I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted and justice for the poor." (Psalm 140:12 ESV)

"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 30:18 ESV)

"56 Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.” (Isaiah 56:1-2)

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth." (Jeremiah 23:5)

“So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.” (Hosea 12:6 ESV)

"Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph." (Amos 5:15 ESV)

There are many beautifully worded verses in the Bible, and here is one of those.

“But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5:24 Berean Study Bible)

"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?" (Micah 6:8)

"21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (Romans 3:21-26)

If you are judged without partiality, that means true judgment, based on your deeds.

"For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality." (Colossians 3:25)

The Biblical evidence is overwhelming. Yahweh is a JUST God.

HOLY

Just to be sure we have a firm concept of what we are talking about when we call God “holy”, here is the definition from The American Heritage Dictionary.

https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=holy

Holy

1. Belonging to, derived from, or associated with a divine power; sacred.

2. Regarded with veneration or specified for a religious purpose: a holy book; a holy place.

3. Living or undertaken with highly moral or spiritual purpose; saintly: a holy person; a holy way of life.

4. Regarded as deserving special respect or reverence: The pursuit of peace is our holiest quest.

Does the Bible support that The Living God is holy?

YAHWEH HIMSELF SAYS HE IS HOLY

"44 For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 45 For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: 47 To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten." (Leviticus 11:44-47)

“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 19:2)

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." (Isaiah 57:15)

ANGELS SAY YAHWEH IS HOLY

"1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." (Isaiah 6:1-3)

"And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)

"Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:4)

OTHERS SAY YAHWEH IS HOLY

"Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11)

"There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God." (1 Samuel 2:2)

"Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?" (Psalm 77:13 ESV)

"Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy." (Psalm 99:9)

"15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." (1 Peter 1:15-16)

"And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins." (Joshua 24:19)

Possibly you noted in the verse above that it says God “will NOT forgive your transgressions nor your sins.”  Please see “FORGIVING” below for a better understanding of Yahweh and His forgiveness.

Being holy is mentioned in the Bible 546 times. I hope those few quoted above lead you to reverence the HOLINESS of the Lord Our God, Yahweh.

JEALOUS

There is probably not a person alive that has not felt jealousy.  If someone else is trying to take away someone we love, we can feel jealous.  There is nothing wrong with that kind of jealousy.  There is a different type of jealousy that is wrong.  When someone else earns an honor, or more money than us, or has anything we would like, there is a type of jealousy that says, “I want his honor/money/home/spouse, and he should not have it.”  It is a wish to take away what the other person rightfully has. It is also a desire to have something we have not earned. The Ten Commandments address BOTH KINDS of jealousy, the righteous jealousy like Yahweh has, and the unrighteous jealousy that we all too often might be tempted to feel. Because of their importance, all the Ten Commandments are quoted below.

The Ten Commandments

1.  "1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2.  4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

3. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

4. 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

5.  12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

6.  13 Thou shalt not kill.

7. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8.  15 Thou shalt not steal.

9.  16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

10.  17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." (Exodus 20:1-17)

Here is a great place to ask you, “Are you keeping the fourth commandment, keeping the Sabbath Day holy?”  If you are not a Sabbath Keeper, please ask yourself why.  Why are you not obeying the fourth Commandment of Yahweh?  Do you really think God threw out His Ten Commandments?  Did someone tell you that God moved the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday?  Find proof for your position in the Bible, I challenge you.  Wouldn’t you like to learn what the Bible really says about the Sabbath Day?  Please see my Bible Studies, “Does Jesus Want Christians to Obey the Ten Commandments?” and “Does Jesus Want Christians to Keep the Sabbath Day?”

Now look at the tenth commandment. Coveting can come from jealousy. We are jealous because “they” have it, and we don’t.  It is not the desire for “a” loving spouse, or “a” good ox that is wrong.  It is wanting THEIR spouse or ox or whatever. This is humankind’s jealousy, not God’s. Humankind’s jealousy is a sin.

“19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21 NIV)

In the first and second commandments, we see Yahweh’s jealousy is for His people to love Him, and not commit adultery with false gods.

1.  "1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2.  4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:2)

Paul not only says there is a “Godly jealousy,” but also points out the church is the Bride of Christ.

"Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine." (Ezekiel 16:8)

"7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." (Revelation 19:7-9)

Yahweh Himself says that Israel, and by extension all believers are children of Abraham, are like His bride.

"And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins." (Joshua 24:19)

Before you get upset about the verse above saying God will NOT forgive our transgressions or sins, please see below Yahweh’s attribute of being a Forgiving God.

FORGIVING

Let’s get one hard thing out of the way first.  Not everyone should be forgiven, and not everyone will be forgiven.  Yahweh has rules, commandments, and laws.  People who consistently show they hate Yahweh and hate His rules or commandments or laws, will not be forgiven.  As much as some people will try to deny it, the Bible says MANY people will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (what people call hell). It’s a fact. And it is righteous judgment, just, and fair.  Some people think Yahweh should forgive the devil himself, and Adolf Hitler, and other UNREPENTANT murders and grossly evil people.  Would Yahweh then be a just God?  You know the answer is “NO!”

"The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." (Numbers 14:18)

Before anyone gets upset about the last sentence of the verse above, consider the verse below. It is the first and second of the Ten Commandments.  Yahweh states that punishing the children is for those who “hate me.”  If any of those children turn to Yahweh and love God, they are not part of this.  People who are happily trapped in sin usually teach these sins to their children as a way of life.  Drug user’s kids grow up to be drug users, in general, unless God helps pull them out of that life. The kind and forgiving Yahweh is always and ever holding out His hand to help everyone who will just reach up and take hold of His hand.  If they refuse, what can He do?  He will not force anyone to believe and be saved.

"1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:1-6)

In the verses below, verse 15 is bolded because it is one of my favorite verses.  What a strong, valiant statement from Joshua, and a great reminder for all Christians everywhere. It is about making a strong stand for Yahweh.  However, it also says that for those who have through their entire life consistently and continuously rebelled against God, and die unrepentant, He will NOT FORGIVE their sins. You need to confess your sins to Yahweh, be repentant, and ask for forgiveness. And then Yahweh WILL forgive. To see that this is not my opinion, but what the Bible really says, please see other Bible Studies. For a light beginners approach see “How to Be Saved and Gain Eternal Life.” For a more in depth study, see “How Jesus & His 12 Apostles Say We Are Saved.”

"14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; 17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: 18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God. 19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. 21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord. 22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. 23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel. 24 And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey." (Joshua 24:14-24)

Yahweh Himself says He is a forgiving God.

“5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.  6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:5-7)

“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)

Many others in the Bible tell us Yahweh is forgiving.

“1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. 2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 3 If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. 7 Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.;” (Psalm 130:1-8)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12)

“1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. 5 I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.” (Psalm 32:1-11)

“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” (Psalm 86:5)

How wonderful to know that God WANTS us to talk with Him about our sin. He WANTS us to repent. He WANTS to forgive us.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:7)

“To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;” (Daniel 9:9)

Yeshua, The Son of Yahweh, died and shed His Holy Blood so that we can be forgiven for our sins. What kind of love Yahweh has for us, to go to this length to give us a chance to be saved.

“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” (Ephesians 1:7)

“13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

“To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” (Acts 10:43)

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Have you ever worried, when you have fallen and sinned again and again, if God will not forgive you, WHEN YOU TRULY REPENT of your sins?  Note that when Peter asked Yeshua how often to forgive, Yeshua said very often.  This shows that Yahweh will do this also for us.

“21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22)

"The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." (Numbers 14:18 NIV)

Since none of us are perfect, FORGIVING may be one of Yahweh’s greatest attributes.

RIGHTEOUS

Just to be sure we agree on the definition of righteous, here are some trusted dictionary definitions from The American Heritage Dictionary, The Cambridge Dictionary, and Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=righteous

"Righteous: adj.

1. Morally upright; without guilt or sin: a righteous parishioner.

2. In accordance with virtue or morality: a righteous judgment. See Synonyms at moral."

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/righteous

“Righteous - adjective; Morally correct:”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/righteous

“Righteous:

1: acting in accord with divine or moral law: free from guilt or sin

2a: morally right or justifiable

b: arising from an outraged sense of justice or morality”

Even a foreign king had to admit that God is righteous.

"And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked." (Exodus 9:27)

You can tell from the context of the following verse, he is talking about Yahweh being righteous.

"He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4)

The next two verses talk about the “righteous acts” of the Lord. Obviously to do these righteous acts, the Lord must be righteous.

"They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates." (Judges 5:11)

"Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers." (1 Samuel 12:7)

"Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous." (2 Chronicles 12:6)

"O Lord God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this." (Ezra 9:15)

"7 Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; 8 And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous:" (Nehemiah 9:7-8)

"Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face." (Psalm 5:8)

"Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins." (Psalm 7:9)

"I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high." (Psalm 7:17)

"For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright." (Psalm 11:7)

"O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee." (Daniel 9:7)

14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice." (Daniel 9:14)

There are 510 verses on righteousness, of Yahweh and men. I hope this sampling above is enough to convince you that the Living God is a righteous God.

MERCIFUL

One of the wonderful attributes of The Living God is His ability to temper justice with mercy. The following are just a few of many scriptures that tell us about Yahweh’s mercy.

“And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.” (Nehemiah 9:17)

. “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” (Exodus 33:19).

“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.” (Exodus 34:6 ESV)

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;" (Deuteronomy 7:9)

"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." (Psalm 86:15)

"18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:18-19)

"O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies." (Daniel 9:18)

"15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." (Romans 9:15-16)

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8) "Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old." (Psalm 25:6)

"Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me." (Psalm 40:11)

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." (Psalm 51:1)

"Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies." (Psalm 69:16)

"Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;" (Psalm 103:4)

"Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord: quicken me according to thy judgments." (Psalm 119:156)

"The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works." (Psalm 145:9)

What is YOUR decision?  Is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Our Father, a merciful God?

GRACIOUS

. “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” (Exodus 33:19).

“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.” (Exodus 34:6 ESV)

“And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.” (Nehemiah 9:17)

"Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God." (Nehemiah 9:31)

"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth." (Psalm 86:15)

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8)

"He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion." (Psalm 111:4)

"Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful." (Psalm 116:5)

"The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy." (Psalm 145:8)

"And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." (Joel 2:13)

"And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." (Jonah 4:2)

“8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9)

"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." (1 Peter 2:3)

The Lord Our God is a gracious God.

PERFECT

For the next two verses consider that God could not ask another person to be perfect, if He Himself were not perfect also.

"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." (Genesis 17:1)

"Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God." (Deuteronomy 18:13)

“He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4)

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him." (2 Samuel 22:31)

"For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee." (Job 36:4)

"Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?" (Job 37:16)

"As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him." (Psalm 18:30)

For Yahweh to have created a perfect Law, He Himself must be perfect.

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." (Psalm 19:7)

For Yahweh's will to be perfect, He Himself must be perfect.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2)

"8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec." (Hebrews 5:8-10)

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

Would you agree the Bible supports that The Living God is perfect?

SUMMARY

As a final word of encouragement, study the Bible yourself to grow in knowledge and understanding. Pray every day, often throughout the day. Stay close to Yahweh, and He will stay close to you.

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." (James 4:8)

May Yahweh guide, bless, and protect you in your Christian walk.

If this study helped you, please see my other Bible Studies on www.VigilantValiant.com.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

WHAT ARE THE FIRST THINGS GOD DOES?

PARADISE!

TROUBLE IN PARADISE!

PARADISE LOST!

WHAT ARE THE FIRST THINGS HUMANITY DOES?

DISOBEDIANCE AND MURDER

WAR

YAHWEH’S THOUGHTS ARE ABOVE OUR THOUGHTS

TRUST AND OBEY

YAHWEH LOVES US

YESHUA LOVES US

IS YAHWEH AN ANGRY GOD?

ANGER IS NOT A SIN

YESHUA GOT ANGRY

YAHWEH GETS ANGRY

YAHWEH IS SLOW TO ANGER

BECAUSE OF TRANSGRESSIONS

BECAUSE WE KINDLE HIS ANGER

BECAUSE WE PROVOKE HIM TO ANGER

IS YAHWEH A MEAN GOD?

IS YAHWEH A VINDICTIVE GOD?

WHAT IS YAHWEH REALLY LIKE?

YAHWEH IS THE ONLY GOD

LOVING / CARING

ALMIGHTY / OMNIPOTENT

ALL KNOWING / OMNISCIENT

IMMUTABLE / UNCHANGING

KIND / GOOD

NEAR

FAITHFUL

PATIENT

WISE

TRUTHFUL

JUST

HOLY

JEALOUS

FORGIVING

RIGHTEOUS

MERCIFUL

GRACIOUS

PERFECT

SUMMARY