Jealous God : The Power Of The God And God

In the Old Testament, in the Creation Story (Genesis), God proves how vicious he can be with his punishments when he punishes the serpent for allowing Eve to touch the tree of knowledge. The Bible states, “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,” (Gen. 3.14). Right then and there God exhibits his power over all living things. God has a very strong opinion about the life that he’s created and always has consequences for things that he finds wrong with the world. In the Flood, while conversing with Noah, God says, “The end of all flesh is come before mel for the earth is filled with violence through them and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth,” (Gen. 6.13). The God being depicted in the Old Testament is very merciless and seeks full divine judgment for all things he

God of the Old Testament is a God of election. Throughout the Old Testament we see God choosing whether to bless or curse people. Youngblood explains this through Jacob and Esau. Both were from the same father yet he chooses to bless Jacob who was younger than Esau. Election removes pride and boastfulness in humans and puts all of us on the same level waiting for God’s will in different ways. Youngblood than brings out the aspect of the covenant. Since the beginning of the time, God made covenants with the people. Through these covenants, God portrays that he always keeps his promise, and he is fair, and trustworthy to all who honor God.

In Genesis, God interacts with Adam by speaking to him face to face. Whether God was giving out instructions or punishment to Adam and Eve, he was always doing it on a personal level. The usual portrayal of God as an omniscient being is instead replaced as mentor to Adam and Eve who is trying to help them understand their existence. This close relationship is shown even when man does something wrong. The only rule that God gives to Adam is that he must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve go on to break the singular rule and be punished; but not to the extent most would think. Before partaking of the fruit God says that, "the day that you eat of it you shall die"(Genesis). Instead of dying, Adam and Eve are removed from the garden and go begin their lives. God punishes them for their actions, but also gives clothes and allows them to take the knowledge they have gained from the tree. Even after breaking the one rule that he has set for them, God allowed them to keep the knowledge they gained to begin mankind. This grace towards humanity is shown once again with Adam and Eve's children, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel after God accepts Abel's offering and not his own. Even with Cain having killed his own brother, God still does not punish Cain severally; "you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth"(Genesis). This punishment is especially seen as inadequate as Cain goes on to settle in Nod and have his own family. This mercy by God shows that he was unable to punish humanity even for the most serious of offenses. This lack of punishment shows God's sympathy for mankind because of his close relationship with them. This close relationship stems from God's close bond with mankind because of their similar image and knowledge. This relationship that began as two very similar beings, has further blossomed as God has given great responsibility to

On the other hand, the Hebrew God is the only God in charge of everything. God does not need humans to continue being powerful. In fact, God wants to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me…” (Genesis 18:20). The Hebrew God does not put up with sinful people. He does not need the people of Earth if they do not believe and obey him. However, God can be forgiving. After Moses has a baby with Sarah’s servant because he and Sarah get impatient for a child, God still gets Sarah pregnant with Isaac. (Genesis 17:16; 21:2-3). God is also merciful toward Lot and his family

At the beginning of time, God created mankind, creatures made in his own image, with whom He could have relationship with. Unfortunately, the original humans, Adam and Eve, shattered this relationship by turning away from God and sinning, putting themselves before Him. All of the descendants of Adam and Eve, mankind itself, have and continue to suffer from the repercussions of this Original Sin. Ever since that time, thousands of years ago, God has been working through human history in order to repair His relationship with Humanity, redeeming them from the effects of sin. His plan of salvation began with a covenant He made with a nomad named Abraham, whose descendants became the nation of Israel. This covenant established the Lord's intentions to bring about redemption for humanity through the nation of Israel. Sadly though, the ancient Israelites time and again were unfaithful to their covenant with God, and would worship the false idols of the nations around them. Because of their sin of apostasy, the nation of Israel eventually split in two, and was then wiped out by foreign invaders, sending in the Hebrew people into exile. It was during this exile that the Prophets, men who would speak on behalf of God, began to predict the coming of the Messiah, an 'anointed one' of

Fortunately, God alters his ideology over time.  After destroying the world with a flood in the story of Noah, God realizes He has made a mistake, and accepts that no one is flawless.  “I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” (28).    God’s promise never to flood the world again has much meaning to it, and displays a change in God’s nature.  From a very early age, when one commits a wrong doing he promises never to do repeat the mistake again.  By making this oath, one acknowledges the fact that he is at fault.  Admitting to a wrongdoing by pledging never do the same again is simply human nature.  Since God is the creator of mankind, He is the one who originally sets the base for human nature.  Therefore, His actions can be decoded similarly to the actions of humans.  After destroying the world with a flood, God regrets it, and admits His wrong doing by vowing never to destroy the world again.  The flood incident allows God to realize that even a divine figure can make a bad decision, and to accept the fact that humans have flaws.  The Lord is not longer so strict

Through out this period maintaining a covenant remained the focal point of the Old Testament, and Psalms continues to emphasize this covenant and God’s mercy. Firstly, I agree with Basma’s assessment of a universal aspect to Psalms 100, because God is all knowing and omnipresent, so he knew/knows everything. Furthermore, as the creator, knowing all, therefore, would establish blessing for those faithful believers, and punishment for those continuous sinners. By, establishing both a strict and powerful punishment, and being merciful and blessing those true believers, many people learn from their mistakes. Trying to understand the hidden meaning to the bible. Now, if God is this powerful creator, why would he establish a covenant with a family,

God call of the Israelites to be used by God to be his chosen people to influence the world and a historical prologue reviewing the past relationship between God and Israel. The unique feature of the Mosaic Covenant was the Law. The passages about Mosaic/Sinai Covenant tell me that God will keep his promises to Israel only if they obey his Commandments and Laws. God’s covenant with Israel established not simply an agreement between suzerain and his vassals, but an intimate relationship based on loyal love.

Understanding the dynamic concept of covenant permeates everything God says in His Word and everything He does in a believer’s life. The following word study will examine the text of Exodus 19:1-8. The text begins with an obscure and severely brutalized people who are saved from slavery and are on the verge of a new covenant between God and man. The word in study is the Hebrew word האמנה, translated “covenant.”

God is seen interacting with the humans in various points throughout the Old Testament after he creates them, whether it’s through showing himself to them, speaking to them, or in a vision. He does this to communicate what he wants from the Israelites, as well as to help them in times of need, though often enough he will be the one that punishes them for making mistakes and going against the rules in the Torah. God is seen doing both kind actions as well as cruel actions towards the Israelites and the people around them, though it often seems he is doing more cruel then kind acts. This can be seen throughout the Old Testament such as in Exodus, Genesis, Amos, and Isaiah. The character of God in the Old Testament is angry and often uncaring.

In the first Genesis creation story, God already is demonstrating his commitment to the people. In the Old Testament, it is made evident that the creator is the redeemer, and God’s acts of creation are a sign of his pledge of redemption. The same God who created the beauty of the world and the human race will also be the God who redeems that human race. In the Book of Isaiah, God speaks through the prophet and says, “My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens…The Lord’s chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon” (Isa 48:13-14).

Sometimes people do not understand how a God of love could have such wrath and demand punishment for sin. We must understand that God is holy and cannot tolerate sin. He cannot just overlook wickedness. (Laney). There must be punishment and payment for it. This is why God had to give punishment for sin, but in His love He prepared a way to redeem the sinners. His plan to save humankind can be found in the promise of Christ, God’s Son, who is to pay the penalty for all our sins.

God uses his power to teach Adam and Eve that if they cannot obey his word that they will pay the price for the disobedience. Instead of having compassion for the humans and understanding the reason for their actions God goes straight to revenge, to begin with. On the other hand, God does show some

The authority of God is sensed throughout the book of Numbers, in His leading the Israelites to the promise land. Within the chapters, we discover the tribes of Israel, and their unrelenting petulant behavior. Their frustration, ager and discontentment endlessly rage on, towards God and Moses. It is emphasized that this is this is “God’s story above all, and God will keep his part of the covenant with Abraham regarding his seed inheriting the land. At issue is whether Israel will keep covenant with God—and Numbers reminds you over and again that the divine provision for them to do so is always ready at hand.” (Fee,

For my second response paper I would like to revisit the claim that I made in my first response, god is maturing and evolving as he to deals with certain situations. As god dealt with the Cain in the story of Cain and Able in Genesis chapter 4, a since of an inexperienced God is portrayed. He plays favorites and in doing so Able is slayed by his brother and thus Cain is condemned but this is a direct reaction to God playing favorites. With this story I believe God starts to mature and learn from his “mistakes”. Second looking back at Exodus chapter 33, God is made to seem to be regretting the fact that the Israelites are his chosen people. They way he uses his words displays an inexperience in interaction with his creation, calling them stiff necked and then claiming that he would not travel with them least he destroy them. There are many different ways to handle this situation and I believe that in this case God made a mistake by using the wrong words when talking with his chosen people.