'God' in the Bible

The Israelis told Samuel, "Don't stop crying out to the LORD our God for us that he may deliver us from the hand of the Philistines."

The young man said, "Look, there's a man of God in this town. The man is respected, and everything he predicts happens. Now, let's go there. Perhaps he can tell us about the journey on which we have set out."

Saul told the young man, "Look, we could go, but what could we bring the man? The bread is gone from our bags, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have with us?"

The young man answered Saul again, "Look here! I have in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I'll give it to the man of God, and he will tell us about our journey."

(Previously in Israel, a person would say when he went to inquire of God, "Come on! Let's go to the seer!" because the person known as a prophet today was formerly called a seer.)

Saul told his young man, "That's a good suggestion! Come on, let's go!" Then they entered the town where the man of God was.

Now it happened as Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, that God gave him another heart, and all these signs occurred on that day.

When they arrived there at Gibeah, a band of prophets was right there to meet them. The Spirit of God came upon Saul, and he prophesied along with them.

He told the Israelis, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.'

But today you have rejected your God who delivers you from all your troubles and difficulties. You have said, "No! Instead, appoint a king over us.' Now present yourselves in the LORD's presence by your tribes and families."

Saul also went to his house in Gibeah, and the soldiers whose hearts God had touched went with him.

When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God came on him, and he was very angry.

But they forgot the LORD their God, so he handed them over to the domination of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into domination by the Philistines and by the king of Moab, and Israel fought against them.

But when you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was coming to fight you, you told me, "No, let a king rule over us instead,' even though the LORD your God was your king.

If you fear the LORD, serve him, obey him, and don't rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who rules over you will truly follow the LORD your God.

Then all the people told Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants, so that we don't die, because we made all our sins worse by asking for a king for ourselves."

Then Samuel told Saul, "You have acted foolishly. You haven't obeyed the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever,

Saul told Ahijah, "Bring the Ark of God here." For at that time the Ark of God was with the Israelis.

Saul said, "Let's go down after the Philistines tonight and plunder them until dawn, and let's not leave a single one of them alive." They said, "Do whatever seems good to you!" But the priest said, "Let's draw near to God here."

Saul inquired of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?" But God did not answer him that day.

Then Saul told the LORD God of Israel, "Judge us properly." Jonathan and Saul were selected, but the army was cleared.

Saul said, "May God do this to me and even more, if you don't surely die, Jonathan!"

Saul replied, "They brought them from the Amalekites. The people spared the best of the sheep and cattle to offer sacrifices to the LORD your God, and the rest they completely destroyed."

The people took some of the spoil sheep, cattle, and the best of what was to be completely destroyed to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal."

"I've sinned," Saul said. "But please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me so I may worship the LORD your God."

The LORD told Samuel, "Don't look at his appearance or his height, for I've rejected him. Truly, God does not see what man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart."

Saul's servants told him, "Look, an evil spirit from God is troubling you.

Let our lord order his servants who attend you to look for a man who is skilled in playing the lyre. And then when an evil spirit from God comes on you, he will play and you will be better."

Whenever an evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the lyre and play it. Relief would come to Saul and he would be better, because the evil spirit would leave him.

David asked the men who were standing by him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? Indeed, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he defied the armies of the living God."

Then David told the Philistine, "You come at me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied.

This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I'll strike you down and remove your head from you. And this very day I'll give the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel,

Saul sent messengers to take David, and they saw a group of prophets caught up in prophetic ecstasy, with Samuel standing beside them leading them. Then the Spirit of God came on Saul's messengers, and they also were caught up in prophetic ecstasy.

Someone replied, "They're at Naioth in Ramah." Saul went to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God came on him also. He continued in prophetic ecstasy until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

Jonathan told David, "The LORD God of Israel is my witness that I'll carefully question my father by tomorrow or the next day. And if the response is favorable for David, will I not then send word to you and let you know?

David went from there to Mizpah of Moab, and he told the king of Moab, "Please let my father and mother come and stay with you until I know what God is going to do for me."

Then Saul asked him, "Why have you conspired against me you and Jesse's son by giving him food and a sword, and by inquiring of God for him, so he can rise up against me to lie in wait, as he's doing today?"

Is today the first time I inquired of God for him? Absolutely not! The king shouldn't accuse his servant, or any of my father's family of anything, because your servant didn't know anything at all about this."

David said, "LORD God of Israel. Your servant has definitely heard that Saul intends to come to Keilah to destroy the town because of me.

Will the people of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down just as your servant has heard? LORD God of Israel, please inform your servant." The LORD said, "He will come down."

David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and he lived in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not let David slip into Saul's control.

Saul's son Jonathan got up and went to David at Horesh, and he encouraged him to trust in God.

He told his men, "God forbid that I should do this thing to your majesty, the LORD's anointed, by stretching out my hand against him, since he's the LORD's anointed."

If anyone should arise to pursue you and seek your life, may the life of your majesty be bound up with the LORD your God in a bundle of the living, and may he sling out the lives of your enemies from the pocket of a sling.

David told Abigail, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today.

For as surely as the LORD God of Israel lives, the one who restrained me from harming you indeed, had you not quickly come to meet me, by dawn there wouldn't be a single male left to Nabal."

Abishai told David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Let me run the spear through him into the ground with a single blow. I won't need to strike him twice!"

Samuel told Saul, "Why did you disturb me by bringing me up?" Saul said, "I'm in great distress. The Philistines are waging war against me. God has departed from me and won't answer me anymore, either by messages written by the hand of the prophets or by dreams. So I've summoned you to tell me what I should do."

Achish answered David, "I know that I'm pleased with you. You're like an angel of God. But the Philistine leaders have said, "He mustn't go into battle with us.'

David was in great danger because all the people were bitter because of their sons and daughters, and they were talking about stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

David asked him, "Will you take me to this raiding party?" He said, "Swear to me by God that you won't kill me or turn me over to my master, and I'll take you to the raiding party."

Joab answered, "As God lives, if you hadn't spoken up, by morning my army would have broken off their pursuit of their own relatives."

Therefore may God do to me and more also! just as the LORD has promised to David, since I'm doing this for him:

Then all the people cried again because of him. Everyone tried to persuade David to have a meal while there was still daylight, but David took an oath by saying, "May God to do like this to me and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!"

David became more and more esteemed because the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies was with him.

Then David and all the people with him set out from Baal-judah to bring up from there the Ark of God, who is called the Name, the name of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, and who is enthroned on the cherubim.

They mounted the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab's home in Gibeah, with Abinadab's sons Uzzah and Ahio driving the new cart.

As they left Abinadab's house in Gibeah accompanied by the Ark of God, Ahio was walking ahead of the ark.

When they arrived at Nacon's threshing floor, Uzzah reached out and grabbed the Ark of God because the oxen had stumbled.

Just then, the anger of the LORD blazed against Uzzah, and God struck him down right there because of his failure, and he died there beside the Ark of God.

But David feared the LORD that day, and asked, "How can the Ark of God come to me?"

Later on, David was informed, "The LORD has blessed the home of Obed-edom and everything he has since he's in possession of the Ark of God." So David went out joyfully and brought up the Ark of God to the City of David from Obed-edom's home.

he told the prophet Nathan, "Look now, I'm living in a cedar palace, but the Ark of God resides behind a tent curtain."

"Who am I, Lord GOD, and what is my family, that you have brought me to this? And this is still a small thing to you, Lord GOD you also have spoken about the future of your servant's house, and this is the charter for mankind, O Lord GOD!

"What more can David say to you, and you surely know your servant, Lord GOD.

And therefore you are great, Lord GOD, there is no one like you, there is no God except for you, just as we've heard with our own ears.

"And who is like your people, like Israel, the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, to make a name for himself, and to carry out for them great and awe-inspiring accomplishments, driving out nations and their gods in front of your people, whom you redeemed to yourself from Egypt?

You have prepared your people Israel to be your very own people for ever, and you, LORD, have become their God!

"And now, LORD God, let what you have spoken concerning your servant and his household be done and let it be done just as you've promised.

May your name be made great forever with the result that it is said that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is God over Israel, and that the household of your servant David may be established before you.

For you, LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant, telling him, "I will build a dynasty for you,' so that your servant has found fortitude to pray this prayer to you.

"Now therefore, Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have spoken to your servant these good things.

So may it please you to bless the household of your servant, so that it might remain forever in your presence, because you, Lord GOD, have spoken, and from your blessing may the household of your servant be blessed forever."

Be strong, be courageous on behalf of our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what he thinks is best."

But Nathan replied to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ""I anointed you king and you became king over Israel. ""I delivered you from Saul's control.

After this, the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah's wife had born to David, and the child became very ill. David begged God on behalf of the youngster. He fasted, went inside, and spent the night lying on the ground.

Then she said, "Your majesty, please remember the LORD your God, so that blood avengers don't do any more damage! Otherwise, they'll destroy my son!" So he promised, "As the LORD lives, not even a single hair from your son's head will fall to the ground!"

After all, even though we all die, and we're all like water being spilled on the ground that cannot be recovered, nevertheless God doesn't take away life, but carries out his plans so as not to cast away permanently from him those who are presently estranged.

Perhaps the king will listen and deliver his humble servant from the oppression of the man who intends to eliminate both me and my son from what God has apportioned to us!'

"So your humble servant is saying, "Please, your majesty, let what the king has to say be of comfort, because just as the angel of God is, so also is your majesty the king to discern both good and evil. And may the LORD your God remain present with you.'"

"As your soul lives, your majesty, the king," the woman answered, "no one can divert anything left or right from what your majesty the king has spoken! As a matter of fact, it was your servant Joab! He was there, giving me precise orders about everything that your humble servant was to say. Your servant Joab did this, intending to change the outcome of this matter. Nevertheless, your majesty is wise, like the wisdom of the angel of God, to be aware of everything that's going on throughout the earth."

Meanwhile, Zadok showed up also, along with all of the descendants of Levi with him, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God and Abiathar approached while all the people finished abandoning the city.

The king told Zadok, "Take the Ark of God back to the city. If I'm shown favor in the LORD's sight, then he'll bring me back again and show me both it and the place where it rests.

So Zadok and Abiathar returned the Ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there.

Just as David was coming to the top of the Mount of Olives where God was being worshipped, there was Hushai the Archite to meet him, with his coat ripped and dust all over his head!

Now Ahithophel's advice that he provided at that time was being compared to one who inquired of God, so highly regarded was Ahithophel's counsel by both David and Absalom.

"Everything's fine!" Ahimaaz announced to the king. He bowed low with his face to the ground before the king and said, "Praise be to the LORD your God! He has handed over the men who rebelled against your majesty the king."

Then ask Amasa, "Aren't you my own flesh and blood? So may God deal with me, no matter how severely, if from this day forward you don't take Joab's place as commander of my army.'

by slandering your servant to your majesty. But your majesty the king is like an angel from God: so do what you think is best.

and they buried Saul's bones and his son Jonathan's bones in the territory of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Saul's father Kish. After they had done everything that the king commanded, God responded to prayers for the land.

He is my God, my strong stone in him I will find my refuge my shield, the strength of my salvation, my high tower, my way of escape, and the one who is saving me. You will save me from violence.

I cried out to the LORD in the middle of my troubles; I cried out to my God. He listened to my voice from his sanctuary, and my call for help was heard.

because I have kept the LORD's way I haven't willfully abandoned my God

By you I devastate armies, by my God I scale walls.

This God! His way is perfect! What the LORD declares proves true. He shields everyone who flees for protection to him!

For who is God apart from the LORD? And who is a Rock, apart from our God?

This God is my strong place of valor! He has made my life blameless.

The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock, and may my God be exalted, the Rock who is my salvation!

The God who keeps on avenging me, subjugating people beneath me,