Bible Question: Thank you Cheri. But maybe I need to rephrase the question . instead of believers in Jesus Christ I probably should have used believers in the Messiah I know the Hebrews were looking forward to the Messiah, and we look back to the Messiah, which we now know is Jesus Christ but I don't seem to find any reference to the people like the Canaanites or the Philistines or any others that were not Hebrews and or believers in God in the Old Testament were God referred to himself as their father or heavenly Father as he refers to himself in the New Testament. Yes he created all mankind but he also created the earth the universe and all the animals, birds and fish in that sense yes, he is the father of all things, but that's not heavenly Father I'm referring to as used in the New Testament. I hope this is not confusing the question even more I'm not sure how else to ask it. I truly thank you for your help. |
Bible Answer: Hi Little Butch, As far as I can see, God the Father, had His purpose in the Israelites. He was not known in a personal way by the other peoples of the day, they worshipped idols and whatever else struck their fancy. Jehovah was doing a work in His people that would culminate in Messiah. Where it impacted His people and His promises to them He would reveal Himself to some outside of His nation, but we are not given that much information. How they perceived Him, how they spoke to Him, we don't know (or I haven't found it yet). I find that the Old Testament is God's story of His people's journey to that upper room on the day of Pentecost (and for anyone who is not of the Jewish heritage - it has become our story too). I'm very new to all this. But it appears to me that that is one of the things Jesus did. He showed to all who would see that God is not far away, He is ever as near as a Father's heart can be. Deu 18:18; Jn. 8:28; Job 9:32-33; 1Tim. 2:5; Col. 1:20-21; Isa. 59:16; Mat. 10:32; Rom. 5:10; 2Cor. 5:18-21 There are actual scriptures that state that God is no longer afar off, but I cannot find them. I know someone else on this forum will be able to provide them for you. But I pray this will get you started on your search. There will be others here who will supply more information for you. cheri |