Based on the belief that God existed, as described in the Old Testament of the Bible, it will be important to consider analyzing how different authors of the Old Testament portrayed the nature of God. The nature of God could be illustrated using different incidences that took place in the Old Testament as well as through the analysis of the scripts written by different authors of the Old Testament. Even though there are some instances when the attributes and nature of God could be directly established from the written books of the Bible, it is also important to note that it will be important to critically analyze the written books of the Old Testament in order to come up with a common attribute that almost all of the authors had on God. This paper will describe the nature of God based on the viewpoint of the Old Testament books such as Genesis, Deuteronomy, Amos, Isaiah, Exodus, Leviticus, and Lamentations.
One of the most important nature of God that is described in both the book of Isaiah and Deuteronomy is that God is a Rock. This can be illustrated using the fact that He was able to provide His believers with the necessary support when they were in the time of need. To support this statement, it will be important to quote the book of Isaiah 44: 8 which states that “Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long time ago? You are witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.” Furthermore, it can be determined that Moses referred to God as the Rock when he was showing how kind and just the God is to all His children. “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Referring to God as the Rock is meant to demonstrate unprecedented protection and support that He provides to those who believe in Him.
The Old Testament portrays God as the true God who has been existing before He created the world. In that case, it is therefore important for everyone in the whole universe to believe and trust in Him. This characteristic of God was demonstrated in the Book of Exodus when Moses was to pass the message from God to the people of Israel. “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers – God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:13-15).
The characteristic of God of being wrathful has also been vividly described in different Books of the Old Testament. Even though it has been determined that the wrathfulness of God is one of the solemn topics for discussion, it is also important to take into consideration that this characteristic of God cannot be avoided. It is therefore, important for the human beings to know that most of the things they are doing are contrary to the righteousness. In order to avoid the wrathfulness of God, it is important for all of the human beings to live according to His expectations. The perception that we, as the human beings, have to be responsible for the faults, together with the specific sins has been considered as a nightmare to the human beings based on the fact that God is also in possession of wrathful traits as demonstrated in the Books of Genesis and Deuteronomy. Therefore, it has been demonstrated that there are two circumstances when God was swearing to make promises (Genesis 22:16) and ready to pronounce judgment on the people who disobey Him (Deuteronomy 1:34).
The Book of Amos has described the nature of God as One who is universal, observant of all of the nations in the world and was aware of the sins committed by the human beings and therefore He has the ability of adequately apply His justice (Amos 1:3-2:3). Additionally, nurturing care of the God is also clearly demonstrated in the Book of Amos based on the fact that He was able to bring the Israelites out of Egypt as well as taking the Philistines and Syrians out of their respective places to the promised land (Amos 9:7). Furthermore, Amos was able to forestall Gentiles being called by the name of the Lord as demonstrated in the Book of Amos Chapter 9 verse 12. Even though it has been determined that God has an exceptional relationship with His special people, it is still important to take into contemplations that we are not the only group of people he considers. This inspiring trait regarding the consistent nature of God should be able to arouse our hearts in order to be devoted to His, as demonstrated by Amos.
Characterization of God as a violent destroyer is considered as one of the most provoking images of God as demonstrated in the Book of Lamentations. According to the Book of Lamentations Chapter 2 versus 1 through 9, God is described by His actions against the city. This is focused on the destruction of different physical features of the city such as the residences of Jacob and throttlehold of daughter Judah, palaces, and the wall of daughter Zion, gates and bars of the cult. Even though there is a minimal concern with the human impact following the destructions, God is pronounced as increasing mourning and lamentation. Lamentations (2:6-8) intensify the destructive nature of the actions of God, with much specifications and concerns being raised based on the manner through which He was able to destroy the cult. Furthermore, God is also demonstrated as one with dedicated love and mercy. This characterization of God is elaborated in Chapter 1 of the Book of Lamentations and fully expressed in Chapter 3 when the man moves from the genre of dirge and grievance to wisdom like sections which praise the qualities of God (Lamentations 3:21-39).
The nature of God of being holy is demonstrated in the Book of Leviticus. In that case, God expects the human beings to become holy. That can be derived from the fact that he was expecting the Israelites to practice holiness in all their undertaking because He is a holy God (Leviticus 11:44-45). The holiness of God is one of His most significant nature since it helps in demonstrating that God is separate and different from all other things that He created. Furthermore, the Book of Leviticus also demonstrates the divine presence of God. In that case, it will be important to perform every act of worship “to the Lord who resides with His people in the tabernacle of meeting” (Leviticus 1:2). Based on the fact that God is present in all of the Holy places, it was important to prevent the entry of everyone in such places, expect the high priest annually during the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:17). Even though the presence of God is often unseen, He can manifest His glory during special events such as the ordination of the priests (Leviticus 9:23-24).
Conclusion
The Old Testament Books (Genesis, Deuteronomy, Amos, Isaiah, Exodus, Leviticus, and Lamentations) demonstrate different characterizations of God which can be used in determining His true nature. From the analysis established from the assigned Books of the Old Testament, it is important to note that the real characterization of God can be derived directly from what He instructed different people to do, what He individually did and what the authors are thinking about God. Even though there are some characteristics of God that portrays Him as a loving, caring and protecting Supreme Being, it was still demonstrated that there were situations when God was able to become destructive, as elaborated in the Book of Lamentations. Therefore, the nature of God can be perfectly understood based on the unfolding events.
