'God' in the Bible

Solomon son of David strengthened his hold on his kingdom. The Lord his God was with him and highly exalted him.

Now David had brought the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had set up for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem,

That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him: “Ask. What should I give you?”

And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great and faithful love to my father David, and You have made me king in his place.

Lord God, let Your promise to my father David now come true. For You have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.

God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king,

Now I am building a temple for the name of Yahweh my God in order to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the rows of the bread of the Presence continuously, and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening, the Sabbaths and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.

The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods.

Hiram also said:May the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth, be praised! He gave King David a wise son with insight and understanding, who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

He said:May the Lord God of Israel be praised!He spoke directly to my father David,and He has fulfilled the promiseby His power.He said,

Now it was in the heart of my father Davidto build a temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

So Yahweh has fulfilled what He promised.I have taken the place of my father Davidand I sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised.I have built the temple for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

He said:Lord God of Israel,there is no God like Youin heaven or on earth,keeping His gracious covenantwith Your servants who walk before Youwith their whole heart.

Therefore, Lord God of Israel,keep what You promisedto Your servant, my father David:“You will never fail to have a manto sit before Me on the throne of Israel,if only your sons guard their way to walk in My Lawas you have walked before Me.”

Now, Lord God of Israel, please confirmwhat You promised to Your servant David.

But will God indeed live on earth with man?Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You,much less this temple I have built.

Listen to Your servant’s prayer and his petition,Lord my God,so that You may hear the cry and the prayerthat Your servant prays before You,

Now, my God,please let Your eyes be openand Your ears attentiveto the prayer of this place.

Now therefore:Arise, Lord God, come to Your resting place,You and Your powerful ark.May Your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation,and may Your godly people rejoice in goodness.

Lord God, do not reject Your anointed one;remember the loyalty of Your servant David.

Then they will say: Because they abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They clung to other gods and worshiped and served them. Because of this, He brought all this ruin on them.

According to the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, of the Levites over their responsibilities to offer praise and to minister before the priests following the daily requirement, and of the gatekeepers by their divisions with respect to each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.

May the Lord your God be praised! He delighted in you and put you on His throne as king for the Lord your God. Because Your God loved Israel enough to establish them forever, He has set you over them as king to carry out justice and righteousness.”

All the kings of the world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.

The king did not listen to the people because the turn of events came from God, in order that the Lord might carry out His word that He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God:

Those from every tribe of Israel who had determined in their hearts to seek Yahweh their God followed the Levites to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

Don’t you know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?

“But as for us, Yahweh is our God. We have not abandoned Him; the priests ministering to the Lord are descendants of Aaron, and the Levites serve at their tasks.

They offer a burnt offering and fragrant incense to the Lord every morning and every evening, and they set the rows of the bread of the Presence on the ceremonially clean table. They light the lamps of the gold lampstand every evening. We are carrying out the requirements of Yahweh our God, while you have abandoned Him.

Look, God and His priests are with us at our head. The trumpets are ready to sound the charge against you. Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”

and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. When the men of Judah raised the battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God handed them over to them.

The Israelites were subdued at that time. The Judahites succeeded because they depended on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God.

He told the people of Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to carry out the instruction and the commands.

So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God. We sought Him and He gave us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded.

Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God: “Lord, there is no one besides You to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on You, and in Your name we have come against this large army. Yahweh, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder You.”

The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded.

For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without instruction,

but when they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress and sought Him, He was found by them.

Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress.

Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him.

Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their mind and all their heart.

Whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be put to death, young or old, man or woman.

At that time, Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

but sought the God of his father and walked by His commands, not according to the practices of Israel.

So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, 400 men, and asked them, “Should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war or should I refrain?”They replied, “March up, and God will hand it over to the king.”

But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I will say whatever my God says.”

When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him.

However, some good is found in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles from the land and have decided to seek God.”

Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

And now, may the terror of the Lord be on you. Watch what you do, for there is no injustice or partiality or taking bribes with the Lord our God.”

He said:Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You.

Are You not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and who gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?

Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to You.

Then the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel shouting with a loud voice.

In the morning they got up early and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in Yahweh your God, and you will be established; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”

The terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel.

Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was quiet, for his God gave him rest on every side.

However, the high places were not taken away; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

And now Edom is still in rebellion against Judah’s domination today. Libnah also rebelled at that time against his domination because he had abandoned Yahweh, the God of his ancestors.

Then a letter came to Jehoram from Elijah the prophet, saying:This is what Yahweh, the God of your ancestor David says: “Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of Asa king of Judah

Ahaziah’s downfall came from God when he went to Joram. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

So he gathered the priests and Levites and said, “Go out to the cities of Judah and collect money from all Israel to repair the temple of your God as needed year by year, and do it quickly.”However, the Levites did not hurry.

He was buried in the city of David with the kings because he had done what was good in Israel with respect to God and His temple.

and they abandoned the temple of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors and served the Asherah poles and the idols. So there was wrath against Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.

The Spirit of God took control of Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God says, ‘Why are you transgressing the Lord’s commands and you do not prosper? Because you have abandoned the Lord, He has abandoned you.’”

Although the Aramean army came with only a few men, the Lord handed over a vast army to them because the people of Judah had abandoned Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. So they executed judgment on Joash.

However, a man of God came to him and said, “King, do not let Israel’s army go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—all the Ephraimites.

But if you go with them, do it! Be strong for battle! But God will make you stumble before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to make one stumble.”

Then Amaziah said to the man of God, “What should I do about the 7,500 pounds of silver I gave to Israel’s division?”The man of God replied, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.”

While he was still speaking to him, the king asked, “Have we made you the king’s counselor? Stop, why should you lose your life?”So the prophet stopped, but he said, “I know that God intends to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my advice.”

But Amaziah would not listen, for this turn of events was from God in order to hand them over to their enemies because they went after the gods of Edom.

He sought God throughout the lifetime of Zechariah, the teacher of the fear of God. During the time that he sought the Lord, God gave him success.

God helped him against the Philistines, the Arabs that live in Gur-baal, and the Meunites.

The Ammonites gave Uzziah tribute money, and his fame spread as far as the entrance of Egypt, for God made him very powerful.

But when he became strong, he grew arrogant and it led to his own destruction. He acted unfaithfully against the Lord his God by going into the Lord’s sanctuary to burn incense on the incense altar.

They took their stand against King Uzziah and said, “Uzziah, you have no right to offer incense to the Lord—only the consecrated priests, the descendants of Aaron, have the right to offer incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully! You will not receive honor from the Lord God.”

So Jotham strengthened himself because he did not waver in obeying the Lord his God.

So the Lord his God handed Ahaz over to the king of Aram. He attacked him and took many captives to Damascus.Ahaz was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck him with great force:

Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 in Judah in one day—all brave men—because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors.

A prophet of the Lord named Oded was there. He went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Look, the Lord God of your ancestors handed them over to you because of His wrath against Judah, but you slaughtered them in a rage that has reached heaven.

Now you plan to reduce the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, to slavery. Are you not also guilty before Yahweh your God?

He made high places in every city of Judah to offer incense to other gods, and he provoked the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

He said to them, “Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place.

For our fathers were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned Him, turned their faces away from the Lord’s tabernacle, and turned their backs on Him.

They also closed the doors of the portico, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place of the God of Israel.

It is in my heart now to make a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel so that His burning anger may turn away from us.

Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over how God had prepared the people, for it had come about suddenly.

Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem to observe the Passover of Yahweh, the God of Israel.

so they affirmed the proposal and spread the message throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, to come to observe the Passover of Yahweh, the God of Israel in Jerusalem, for they hadn’t observed it often, as prescribed.

So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king’s command, saying, “Israelites, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped from the grasp of the kings of Assyria.

Don’t be like your fathers and your brothers who were unfaithful to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors so that He made them an object of horror as you yourselves see.

Don’t become obstinate now like your fathers did. Give your allegiance to Yahweh, and come to His sanctuary that He has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God so that He may turn His burning anger away from you,

for when you return to Yahweh, your brothers and your sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For Yahweh your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

Also, the power of God was at work in Judah to unite them to carry out the command of the king and his officials by the word of the Lord.

They stood at their prescribed posts, according to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood received from the hand of the Levites,

whoever sets his whole heart on seeking God, Yahweh, the God of his ancestors, even though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”

Then Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the Lord. They ate at the appointed festival for seven days, sacrificing fellowship offerings and giving thanks to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.