'God' in the Bible

But I will have mercy on the house of Judah and will rescue them by the Lord their God, and will not rescue them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.”

And the Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi (not my people), for you are not My people and I am not your God.”

Yet the number of the sons of IsraelShall be like the sand of the sea,Which cannot be measured or numbered;And in the placeWhere it is said to them,“You are not My people,”It will be said to them,“You are the sons of the living God.”

“Therefore, behold, I [the Lord God] will hedge up her way with thorns;And I will build a wall against her [shutting off her way] so that she cannot find her paths.

“For she (Israel) has not noticed nor understood nor realized that it was I [the Lord God] who gave her the grain and the new wine and the oil,And lavished on her silver and gold,Which they used for Baal and made into his image.

“I will sow her for Myself in the land.I will also have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;And I will say to those who were not My people,‘You are My people,’And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

Afterward the sons of Israel will return [in deep repentance] and seek the Lord their God and [seek from the line of] David their king [the King of kings—the Messiah]; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness and blessing in the last days.

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel,For the Lord has a [legal] case with the inhabitants of the land,Because there is no faithfulness [no steadfast love, no dependability] or loyalty or kindnessOr knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge [of My law, where I reveal My will].Because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge,I will also reject you from being My priest.Since you have forgotten the law of your God,I will also forget your children.

My people consult their [lifeless] wooden idol, and their [diviner’s] wand gives them oracles.For a spirit of prostitution has led them astray [morally and spiritually],And they have played the prostitute, withdrawing themselves from their God.

When their liquor is gone [and their drinking parties are over],They habitually go to play the prostitute;Ephraim’s rulers continue to dearly love shame [more than her glory which is the Lord, Israel’s God].

The revolters have gone deep into depravity,But I [the Lord God] will chastise them all.

Their [immoral] practices will not permit themTo return to their God,For the spirit of prostitution is within themAnd they do not know the Lord [they do not recognize, appreciate, heed or cherish Him].

For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice,And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Though the pride of Israel testifies against him,Yet they do not return [in repentance] to the Lord their God,Nor seek nor search for nor desire Him [as essential] in spite of all this.

Then they will cry out to Me,“My God, we of Israel know You!”

For even this [loathsome calf] is from Israel.A craftsman made it, so it is not God;Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces and go up in flames.

Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation as do the [pagan] peoples,For you have played the prostitute, turning away from your God.You have loved prostitutes’ earnings on every threshing floor [attributing the harvest to the Baals instead of to God].

Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a [true] prophet [to warn the nation];But the snare of a bird catcher was laid in all his paths.And there is only deep hostility in the house of his God (the land of Israel).

My God will reject them and cast them awayBecause they did not listen to Him;And they will be wanderers (fugitives) among the nations.

The people of Samaria will fear and trembleFor the [idolatrous] calf of Beth-aven (House of Wickedness).Indeed, its people will mourn over itAnd its idolatrous priests will cry out and wail over it,Over its glory, because the glory [of their calf god] has departed from it.

Also the high places of Aven (Beth-aven), the sin of Israel, will be destroyed;The thorn and the thistle will grow on their [pagan] altars,And [in despair] they will say to the mountains,“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”

When it is my desire [to defend My righteousness], I will chastise them;And [hostile] peoples will be gathered against themWhen they are bound and punished for their double guilt [their revolt against the Lord and their worship of idols].

Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate];Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness.Break up your uncultivated ground,For it is time to seek and search diligently for the Lord [and to long for His blessing]Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.

I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;I will not return to Ephraim to destroy him again.For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst [who will not revoke My covenant],And I will not come in wrath or enter the city [in judgment].

Ephraim surrounds Me with liesAnd the house of Israel with deceit;Judah is also unruly against God,Even against the faithful Holy One.

In their mother’s womb he took his brother by the heel,And in his maturity he contended with God.

He wrestled with the angel and prevailed;He wept [in repentance] and sought His favor.He met Him at BethelAnd there God spoke with [him and through him with] us—

Even the Lord, the God of hosts,The name of Him [who spoke with Jacob] is the Lord.

Therefore, return [in repentance] to your God,Observe and highly regard kindness and justice,And wait [expectantly] for your God continually.

But I have been the Lord your God since [you became a nation in] the land of Egypt;I will make you live in tents again,As in the days of the appointed and solemn festival.

Is there wickedness (idolatry) in Gilead?Surely the people there are worthless.In Gilgal [they defy Me when] they sacrifice bulls,Yes, [after My judgment] their [pagan] altars are like the stone heapsIn the furrows of the fields.

Yet I have been the Lord your GodSince [the time you became a nation in] the land of Egypt;And you were not to know any god except Me,For there is no savior besides Me.

Samaria will be found guilty [and become desolate],Because she rebelled against her God;They will fall by the sword,Their infants will be dashed in pieces,And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

O Israel, return [in repentance] to the Lord your God,For you have stumbled and fallen [visited by tragedy], because of your sin.