Characteristics of God

If you look at a single tile in a mosaic, you see a color; but if you step back, you see a masterpiece. The Old Testament is exactly like that. We often get caught up in the laws and the lineages, but the real picture of these 39 OT books is the unfolding revelation of who God is. In Genesis, we see His hands at work as Creator; in Exodus, we hear His heart for the suffering. Today, we’re tracing the character of God through every book of the Old Testament to see the full, breathtaking picture of who He is.

Throughout the Old Testament, God reveals Himself not through abstract definitions, but through action: He creates, He delivers, He listens, and He remains faithful.

I am guilty of seeing the God of the Old Testament as more of a judgmental and wrathful God. More of a fighter and than the lover of a God we see in the New Testament through Jesus. But i'm here to tell you that God is both the fighter and the lover, and you better be glad that he is. He loves you so much that he will fight for you.

We see God keep promise after promise, it is the actions of the humans in the story that bring wrath and judgement. We want God to keep his promises about a savior and salvation, but we don't want him to keep his promises about discipline and judgement. You can't have one without the other. God is a promise keeper through and through.

I hope you take some time to read through the attached document, meditates on the characteristics of God that you have witnessed and experienced first hand. The ones you have not, think about them and ask God to shoe you this side of himself.

"If any of you lacks wisdom let his ask God who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him" James 1:5.

The Old Testament: A Portrait of the Creator

When you read the Old Testament, don’t just read is as a history lesson, but as a treasure hunt for the attributes of God.

Why start here? Because when you see His character in each book, the "big picture" finally clicks. You begin to see how the holiness of Leviticus meets the faithfulness of Lamentations, and how every story points back to the same unchanging Father. You will love him more and more.

Your Study Companion

I’m sharing a resource for you. My group has this Character of God Cheat Sheet that lists His attributes across the Old Testament.

I encourage you to download it, print it out, and tuck it into your Bible.

Save the photo or download the pdf here:

Charachters of GOD.pdf

Download PDF • 634KB

My prayer is that as we study these pages, we don't just gain head knowledge—we gain a deeper intimacy with the One who created us, and who knew and loved us before we ever were.