God's Love in The Old Testament

Lord, in Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy abiding place. (Exodus 15:13)

The Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he called upon the name of the Lord. Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness, mercy, and truth; who keeps lovingkindness and mercy for thousands of generations, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; He forgives the guilty and limits the consequences of their actions to the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34:5-7)

The Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing. (Deuteronomy 10:17-19)

The Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you. (Deuteronomy 23:5)

Indeed, the Lord loves the people. All His holy ones (saints) are in His hand. (Deuteronomy 33:3)

May the Lord show lovingkindness and truth to you. (2 Samuel 2:6)

The Lord makes salvation and deliverance evident and shows lovingkindness to all His people forever. (2 Samuel 22:51)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34)

The Lord's lovingkindness is everlasting. (1 Chronicles 16:41, 2 Chronicles 5:13, 7:3, 7:6, 20:21)

Our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, You are a gracious and compassionate God who keeps lovingkindness and in Your great compassion does not forsake. (Nehemiah 9:31-32)

You God have granted me life, mercy, and lovingkindness; And Your care has preserved my spirit. (Job 10:12)

All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth (Psalm 25:10)

I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness, Because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul (Psalm 31:7)

Lovingkindness surrounds those who trust in the Lord (Psalm 32:10)

The Lord loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord. (Psalm 33:5)

Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. (Psalm 36:5)

The Lord loves justice and does not forsake His godly ones; They are preserved forever. (Psalm 37:28)

You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me; Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me. (Psalm 40:11)

The lovingkindness of God lasts all day long. (Psalm 52:1)

God accomplishes all things for me. He will send from heaven and save me. God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth. (Psalm 57:2-3)

You love is so great it reaches the heavens; your trustworthy faithfulness reaches to the clouds. (Psalm 57:10)

Your love O Lord is better than life (Psalm 63:3)

In Jesus lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (Psalm 85:10, New Covenant Paraphrase)

For You, Lord, are good, and eager to put your forgiveness on display. You are abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. (Psalm 86:5)

You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, patient and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. (Psalm 86:15)

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You. (Psalm 89:14)

If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up. (Psalm 94:18)

The Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His loyal trustworthiness extends to all generations. (Psalm 100:5)

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; He pardons all your sins, He heals all your diseases; He redeems your life from the pit, He crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; He satisfies your years with good things. (Psalm 103:2-5)

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, patient and abounding in lovingkindness. He no longer strives with us, Nor does He retain His anger towards us. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our faults. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who trust His Son. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our sins from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord, our Father, has compassion on those who trust Him. (Psalm 103:8-13, New Covenant Paraphrase)

Consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord. (Psalm 107:43)

The Lord's lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 117:2)

Put your hope in the Lord Jesus. He has lovingkindness and has abundantly paid for our debt with His blood. He has delivered all His people from all their guilt. (Psalm 130:7-8, New Covenant Paraphrase)

Give thanks to the God of gods, the Lord of lords, for He is good. He gives food to all beings. He alone does great wonders. The Lord has remembered us in our low estate and has rescued us from the adversary. Give thanks to the God of heaven, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. (from Psalm 136)

The Lord is gracious and merciful; Patient and great in lovingkindness. The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works. (Psalm 145:8-9)

The Lord executes justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind & raises up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord protects the strangers, He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked. (Psalm 146:7-9)

My son, do not lightly regard the guidance of the Lord, nor be irritated or grieved when refuted by him. For the Lord teaches the one he loves like a father instructs a son he is pleased with. (Proverbs 3:11-12)

By lovingkindness and truth guilt is removed. (Proverbs 16:6)

Thus says the Lord, your Creator, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! I am the Lord your God, The Holy One, your Savior. You are precious in My sight. You are honored and I love you. Do not fear, for I am with you. You are My witnesses and My servants whom I have chosen, So that you may know and trust Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior besides Me. It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and I am God. Even from eternity I am He, and there is no one who can deliver you out of My hand; I act and no one can reverse it." (from Isaiah 43)

"With everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you” says the Lord your Redeemer. "I have sworn that I will not be angry with you nor will I reject you. For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” says the Lord who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:8-10)

God has given us great things and done many great things for us by His compassion and from the abundance of His lovingkindnesses. (Isaiah 63:7)

In God's love and in His mercy He redeemed us. (Isaiah 63:9)

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth because I delight in these things,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

The Lord appeared saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness." (Jeremiah 31:3)

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses certainly never cease because His compassions never fail. His love, kindness, and compassion are new every morning. Great is Your loyal trustworthiness O Lord. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Where there is sorrow & grief the Lord will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness. (Lamentations 3:32)

In that day I, the Lord will make a new covenant, “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ and they will say, ‘You are my God!’” (Hosea 2:18-20,23)

I will heal your backsliding. I will cure you from turning away. I love you freely. I have no anger towards you. (Hosea 14:4, New Covenant Paraphrase)

There is no God like you. You pardon guilt and do not hold rebellious acts against us. You did not retain anger against us beyond the cross of your Son. You delight in unchanging love. You have compassion on us. You crushed our sinful deeds under foot. Yes, You cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You have given truth and unchanging love to us with your Son. (From Micah 7:14-20, New Covenant Paraphrase)

The Lord your God is gracious and compassionate, patient, abounding in lovingkindness. (Joel 2:13)

You are a gracious and compassionate God, patient and overflowing with lovingkindness. (Jonah 4:2)

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. (Malachai 1:2)


Continued in..
God's Love in The New Testament & Grace is God's Love for You

The Purposes of The Law & Its Punishments

The Purposes of The Law

To Lead People to God
Just before the law was given people didn't realize they had the problem of sin. The main purpose God gave the law was for people to recognize their problem and go to God for help. It was like a spotlight on a need that was hard to see for the people of the time. The law was like a test that revealed the cancer of sin and God is the doctor who offers the cure. Sadly the people misunderstood the law and tried to follow it to the exclusion of relating to God. The law was thought to be a personal way to gain favor with God (cure themselves) instead of a spotlight to show our need for God & His mercy. While it may not seem like it the purpose of the law was actually relational.

The laws God gave were in a sense "too perfect" for all people to keep. Thus the New Testament says in 2 places (Romans 3:19 & Galatians 3:24) that the purpose of the law wasn't 100% obedience but to lead people to God. In another sense no law can really be perfect because it does not empower people to obey the law. Having laws doesn't mean people can or will keep the laws just like receiving a large credit card bill doesn't mean you can pay the debt.

Which is better for a child - a standalone list of rules or a loving parent who guides their child? With Jesus God officially removed the list of rules so now He relates to people on an individual basis as His children. He guides those who trust Him by living inside of them and bringing love through them. God allows mankind freedom so the law was the perfect way for God to relate to people in the time frame it was in effect (Moses on Mt. Sinai to Jesus). Jesus came in the perfect time in human history and one of the things He did was fulfill/end the law at the perfect time.

To Teach People to Love
The secondary purpose of the law was for people to know how to treat each other lovingly. Romans 13:10 in the New Testament says, "Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." If you love someone you won't harm them. I have heard it said that "the law shows you how to treat people you don't love." Love prevents harm and makes the world a better place to live.

Now we have the spirit of God, the spirit of love, living inside of us to tell us how to love. We are no longer burdened by laws but blessed by God to behave lovingly. Christians are to live by a spiritual relationship with God and not by the commands and principles of scripture. While scriptures & the law may give us helpful advice they are not meant to be standards that Christians live by.

The Bible is an aide that helps us relate to God & know Him better. The Bible is not a replacement for a relationship with God. Many Jews made that mistake, replacing relationship with God with the scriptures & the law causing them to miss the Messiah when He came. May we not miss Him in our day-to-day lives by making the same mistake.

To Govern the Nation of Israel
The third and most archaic reason for the law was to govern the nation of Israel. Some laws and punishments were for governing the nation of Israel. There are reasons that the laws were good for the people of Israel and why they were better than what the other cultures at the time had. Just as today the United States has laws with punishments & sentences Israel did as well.

Instructions were given to help the judges know how to govern. The laws and judges prevented the society from being overrun with criminals. God gave that ancient culture the best system of government they could handle. God only wanted what was best for Israel but they were often unwilling to cooperate with God and live the blessed lives He offered them.

Why Did the Law Have Such Harsh Punishments & Curses?

To Provide A Safe Society
Because God is all wise and knew the people He was dealing with some laws were more preventative and some punishments more severe than those we are accustom to today. The surface reason for this was to provide a safe society. People were punished for what we would call smaller crimes to prevent them from entering a life of crime and doing more harm to society as a whole. God perfectly understood how one sin leads to another so for the sake of His people as a whole He gave instruction for some very severe punishments.

To Lead People to God to Appeal for Mercy
Often we try to justify the Old Covenant laws & punishments with our logic but perhaps these laws were to speak to the people's hearts about the need for forgiveness. Perhaps this was God's second inroad into people's hearts. The first being the failure to keep the law.

Jesus said the second greatest law was to "love your neighbor as yourself." If you were caught in a sin that was punishable by death you would want to be forgiven. You would not want to have stones picked up by others to kill you. If you love your neighbor as yourself you wouldn't pick up stones to kill Him. You would instead say, "Lord have mercy on us all!"

Loving parents wouldn't want to stone their children no matter what the law said (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). A loving father would cry out for his children, "Forgive them Lord! They know not what they do." These punishments should disgust us, they were meant to. God commanded sacrifices & offerings but in Psalm 40 and Hebrews 10 God said that He does not desire the very offerings and sacrifices that He commanded. His commands weren't always His will or His desires [see this post for more:  Did God Desire for All of His Laws to Be Obeyed?].

Again the law was never about perfect obedience it was about leading people to God. God appealed to whatever part of men that was "made in the image of God" that sin didn't destroy. With these stomach turning consequences people would not only seek God's mercy for themselves but His mercy for others as well. God even made stoning a public affair so multiple consciences could be involved creating a better chance for someone to cry out to God for His forgiveness & mercy. Remember Jesus' response to stoning was "He who is without sin throw the first stone." God never wanted anyone to be stoned for sinning. He wanted humility, mercy, love, and forgiveness to spring out of people's hearts and pick up their stones only for the sake of dropping them as a show of forgiveness from the community.

To Show Us The Depths of Christ's Love in His Suffering.
God had punishments and curses for breaking the laws. Reading these today we can see the depth of what it meant that "Jesus became a curse for us" & that "Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the Law" (Galatians 3:13). They show us the depth of His suffering for our sins. He took upon all the curses, punishments, & judgments that sin has ever been earned and ever will earn by mankind. What a wonderful God!

The Law is Finished

The Law is over and has been since the cross. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law by being obedient to God's desires through it & by becoming a curse for us, taking on all the negative consequences of not keeping the law. He took care of the positive side of the law on our behalf and the negative side of the law on our behalf.

Talk about "It is finished!" That very term refers to the law and its judgments against us. Jesus had not yet sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat in heaven nor had He resurrected so His redemptive work was not finished at that moment on the cross. What was finished was the law. Colossians 2:14 tells us that Jesus, "Wiped out the written ordinances (God's Old Covenant laws) that were against us and that stood opposed to us. He took them away and nailed them to the cross." Where were they taken away? On the cross. Ephesians 2:15 also tells us that "Jesus abolished in His flesh by His death on the cross the Law of commandments contained in ordinances." When did He abolish them? At the cross.

God is finished with asking people to keep the law and God is finished with punishing people for not keeping the law. The Law is Finished! It served its purpose. Now we are made right with God by trusting Jesus and we live life by trusting Jesus.

Goodbye rules hello relationship! So long principles hello Prince of Peace! Goodbye condemnation welcome Christ! It is finished! It is finished indeed!