Bible Question:
I do not know if that person meant to ask a question, but the statement leads me to ask one. Why do we refer to God as our God? The query had hardly formed in my mind when I realized that that person is not the only one. Jacob decided (Genesis 28) that the Lord would be his God. Moses referred to him as his God. David, Paul, and the prophets did. Jesus cried, “My God! My God!” And Thomas cried, “My Lord and my God!” One is not surprised if Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2) would refer to the Lord as Daniel’s God, because he had another god. Paul says (Philippians 3) that some people have their belly as their God. The Psalmist says, “Blessed is the nation (Psalm 32) or the people (Psalm 144) whose God is the Lord”. Other nations had other gods. Ruth had another god until she decided (Ruth 1) that Naomi’s God would be her God. But now I wonder why the possessive in all those other cases. I checked and found that the KJV refers to “our God” some 195 times. It has “your God” 172 times, and “my God” some 137 times. Even God himself says, “It shall come to pass … that … I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, ‘You are my people;’ and they shall say, ‘You are my God’” (Hosea 2). There are times when people refer to God without the possessive. Then he is the Lord, the Lord God. When do they choose to say “My Lord” or “My God”? Who can tell? |
Bible Answer: Hi Aixen7z4, When people talk about the Lord they should say "my Lord" or "my God". Jesus on the cross said "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me", but He was the only One who is good and requires capitalization. Consider Psalm 22. The NKJ and the NASB differ in their interpretation of the Psalm. The NKJ considers it as totally prophetic and sees Jesus rather than David in the Psalm. The NKJ reads, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" The NASB in contrast, looks at it as a Psalm of David and reads, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Personally, I go with the NASB here for the Psalm. Psalm 22:9, "Yet Thou/ art He who didst bring me forth from the womb; Thou didst make me trust when upon my mother's breats. 10 Upon (Thee) I was cast from birth; Thou hast been my God from my mother's womb." Luke 11:27, "And it came about while He said these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice, and said to Him/, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breast at which You nursed." 28 But (He) said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it." 29 And as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah."" ******** Psalm 22:10, "Upon (Thee) I was cast from birth; **Thou hast been my *God from my mother's womb." Deuteronomy 10:21, "(He) is your praise and **He is your *God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen." The stars, slashes and parentheses are mine for comparisons. From the heart, Ray |