Who Is God?
As Known in Old and New Testament
Biblical Exegesis and Commentary by Philip G. Roets STL SSL
Note: You may want to have your Bible at hand as reference.
Picture Develops Gradually!
As far back as we can go in the written records of mankind, there has been a penchant to create or depict a Supreme Being or beings. These beings were given all sorts of names and their lives were developed in numerous ways. In Hebrew, the general conglomeration or mixture of these gods was called the ELOHIM or the ELIHIM.
It is a plural word and is found in the oldest accounts of the Old Testament (OT). The plural was chosen because they thought there were many gods. Gradually, the Hebrew beliefs centered on one God, whom they called "YAHWEH." No one is sure what this name is supposed to mean. However, it is the "hiphil" or causative form of the verb "to be" and means "He causes to be." Hence its meaning would be something like the "SURROUNDING PRESENCE" or "PROTECTIVE PRESENCE."
The teachers and writers of the OT looked upon Yahweh as a father. They saw him as a "PRESENCE" in the life of each follower in much the same way as a person often feels the "presence" of Dad or Mom in his/her daily life. The parent may be dead or far away but a decision has to be made or an act to be performed. The person automatically recalls what Dad or Mom would say, exactly as if he or she were present. This sense of "PRESENCE" is the notion of "Yahweh" in the entire Old Testament. Each writing gives us some development of this "FATHER" so that he becomes ever more real to each of his followers.
People get their sense of "parental presence" from living with their parents and growing into adulthood with them. This same sense of understanding of the divine presence must be obtained from the pictures developed by the OT people, teachers, and writers.
Jesus Christ came, and his whole life and teaching were concerned with this one notion. He was the ideal son because of the way in which he thought and acted. He was so convinced of his ideas that he insisted they be handed on by all his followers.
The New Testament (NT) is primarily a description of how this presence should govern our lives — especially in our relationship to all the people around us. Jesus summarized the whole notion in the command: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (MT 5:48).
Once the notion of God as "surrounding presence" was determined and a name was given him, this question arose: "What is he like?" The teachers and writers of the OT went from idea to idea trying to determine and describe the nature of this God.
It is good to trace this development and to see how it was picked up in the NT. Then the emphasis shifted. Jesus was thoroughly convinced they had arrived at the notion of who God was. Now the question is how should people live in order to be worthy of this God? The New Testament is a presentation of the various aspects of human life in reference to this world and to God.
Genesis
The story of Genesis was written and edited again and again through the centuries. The latest development is found in the opening lines. God is the MAKER of the Universe. Everything in the universe depends on God for its origin, existence, and proper functioning.
Human beings have a special role in this universe but it must be exercised according to the plan of God. Human beings wander farther and farther from this wise governance and they destroy themselves.
One group of people, under the guidance of some wise leaders, began their search for this true God again. The founder was first called "Abram," "noble" or "lofty" Father. This was changed to "Ab-Ra-Ham" which is interpreted "Father of many peoples." Gradually these peoples were formed into a single nation, with their belief in a single God and the life that this entailed. They developed a strong unity through adversity such as persecution, slavery, and a nomadic life.
Exodus
The name of this God was "YAHWEH" and he was a wise lawgiver. He chose Moses as his representative and through Moses gave the basic law that was to be followed. This stage showed a strong emphasis on monotheism and the need to obey Yahweh's laws and plans or suffer the consequences.
Leviticus
This God expected the expression of obedience and reverence not only in daily life but also in ritual form. Some rites were developed in the course of the wandering in the desert. Once the people were established in the land, this liturgical life was fully developed under the guidance of a special group of priests.
Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth
This development of allegiance to Yahweh was not a one-way street. There were many backslidings and failures as we see in the accounts of the times. NUMBERS, JOSHUA, JUDGES gave detailed accounts of these failures and the resultant penalties or punishments for the people. DEUTERONOMY was called the "Second Law" in the Greek. This was due to a faulty idea that it was a second version of the Torah. Actually, Deuteronomy was a book that came from the time and influence of Jeremiah. It stressed many of the ideas and warnings characteristic of the preaching of Jeremiah.
RUTH is an idyllic short story about a non-Israelite girl who married into the Chosen People and through her husband was an ancestor of David and later of Jesus. This short story is valuable because of its description of customs and practices of the times.
Samuel, Kings, Chronicles — Kingship of Yahweh, King David
The people were partially settled in the land west of the Jordan. They had begun to fall into the idolatrous practices of the natives of the place. One man, Samuel, felt a strong drive to get these people back on the right track. He stressed the absolute necessity of only one God, Yahweh, and the leading of lives that were worthy of him. Samuel saw the people going farther and farther from the ideal and then they demanded a king just like all their neighbors. Samuel resisted the movement but the demand got louder and stronger. Samuel realized that they would set up a kingdom with or without him so he decided he had better keep his hand in the projected plan.
A king, Saul, was chosen and anointed. Immediately the people turned to the idolatrous practices of their neighbors. Saul went from bad to worse and died a violent death. His successor was a young man, named David.
David got off to a good start because he had been the leader of the army in their fighting with the natives of the land and had been kept very busy. Once the wars were over, David fell into the ways of the pampered monarch. He married several women. But Nathan, another prophet, was able to keep some control. He succeeded in getting Solomon crowned as successor to David.
Solomon built a beautiful Temple for the worship of Yahweh. At first everything seemed to move in this direction. Then Solomon fell into the numerous wives syndrome and the idolatry that went with it. Each of the wives brought along some of her gods.
After the deaths of Samuel, Nathan and Solomon, the kingdom went from bad to worse. It was split into a northern and southern kingdom. The north was openly idolatrous and the south was not far behind. Then a group of teachers, known as seers or prophets or official teachers, strove to bring the people back on course. Sometimes they succeeded but the general movement was farther and farther away from the worship of Yahweh into the paths of idolatry. Each of the prophets was extremely helpful in the development of the notion of the true God.
Today, the prophets would be called reporters. They made it their job to ferret out the facts and assess their meaning in relation to the plan of Yahweh. Then they made suggestions or threats as to what would happen in the future if the people did not live in keeping with the plan of Yahweh.