God: Love of, Exemplified

I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

“I am God,” He said, “the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

‘You have seen for yourselves what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. …

Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.

And they will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.

For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt so that I would be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

But I have told you that you will inherit their land, since I will give it to you as an inheritance—a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the peoples.

You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.

You must not profane My holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy among the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you,

…who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”

The land must not be sold permanently, because it is Mine, and you are but foreigners and residents with Me.

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

Because the Israelites are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt, they are not to be sold as slaves.

For the Israelites are My servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.

I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.”

Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.

Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?

Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power,

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth. …

He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you.

But they are Your people, Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your great power and outstretched arm.”

Yet the LORD has set His affection on your fathers and loved them. And He has chosen you, their descendants after them, above all the peoples, even to this day.

…for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.

And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments,

…that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.

Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel: “Be silent, O Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the LORD your God.

The LORD will establish you as His holy people, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.

Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.

…and so that He may establish you today as His people, and He may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance. …

Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words—

Concerning Benjamin he said: “May the beloved of the LORD rest secure in Him; God shields him all day long, and upon His shoulders he rests.”

And who is like Your people Israel—the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself? You performed great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt.

For You have established Your people Israel as Your very own forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God.

Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child

For they are Your people and Your inheritance; You brought them out of Egypt, out of the furnace for iron. …

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin.

Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.

How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!

Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His loving devotion in a city under siege.

The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day, and at night His song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.

He chooses our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom He loves. Selah

Within Your temple, O God, we contemplate Your loving devotion.

For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even till death.

“Gather to Me My saints, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

“Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.

Because Your loving devotion is better than life, my lips will glorify You.

A Psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance—Mount Zion, where You dwell.

He delivered His strength to captivity, and His splendor to the hand of the adversary.

He surrendered His people to the sword because He was enraged by His heritage.

Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty warrior overcome by wine.

But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.

Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will thank You forever; from generation to generation we will declare Your praise.

If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would follow My ways,

But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness.

A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place through all generations.

For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice,

Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

…who redeems your life from the Pit and crowns you with loving devotion and compassion,

O offspring of His servant Abraham, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.

Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel His dominion.

For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His treasured possession.

He has raised up a horn for His people, the praise of all His saints, of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah!

The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their walk are His delight.

The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness.

For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.

“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend— …

But now, this is what the LORD says—He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine! …

…everyone called by My name and created for My glory, whom I have indeed formed and made.”

But now listen, O Jacob My servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.

This is the word of the LORD, your Maker, who formed you from the womb and who will help you: “Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are My servant, O Israel. I have made you, and you are My servant; O Israel, I will never forget you.

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last.

Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones. …

I have put My words in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”

For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth.

For the LORD has called you back, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, like the rejected wife of one’s youth,” says your God.

Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.

For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.

I will make known the LORD’s loving devotion and His praiseworthy acts, because of all that the LORD has done for us—the many good things for the house of Israel according to His great compassion and loving devotion. …

From ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides You, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.

I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.

As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you, and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

“Return, O faithless children,” declares the LORD, “for I am your master, and I will take you—one from a city and two from a family—and bring you to Zion.

Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.

I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance. I have given the beloved of My soul into the hands of her enemies.

For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I have made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to Me, declares the LORD, so that they might be My people for My renown and praise and glory. But they did not listen.

Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.

“And you will be My people, and I will be your God.”

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.

I will fill the souls of the priests abundantly, and will fill My people with My goodness,” declares the LORD.

It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and of the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, …

‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”

My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.

So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion.

And I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will know the LORD.”

And I will sow her as My own in the land, and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’ I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ ‘You are My people,’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.

It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they never realized that it was I who healed them.

I led them with cords of kindness, with ropes of love; I lifted the yoke from their necks and bent down to feed them.

The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”

On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will take you, My servant, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and I will make you like My signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of Hosts.”

Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,

For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—

I will bring them back to dwell in Jerusalem, where they will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”

This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”

“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,

…but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.

“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.

…

“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? …

Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. …

Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”

For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.

All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified.

I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.

And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I in them.”

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

…neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs.

Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

…you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: …

What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. …

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.