(“The University brings out all abilities, including incapability” – Anton Chekhov.)

How fickle they are:

Matthew 27.21

Crowds are fickle. They loved Jesus on Sunday because they thought he was going to inaugurate his kingdom.  Then they hated him on Friday when his power appeared broken.  In the face of the mass uprising against Jesus, his friends were afraid to speak up.

Faced with a clear choice, the people chose Barabbas, a revolutionary and murderer, over the Son of God [Wall]. Faced with the same choice today, people are still choosing “Barabbas”.  They would rather have the tangible force of human power than the salvation offered by the Son of God [Wall].

EXTRA

(Matthew 27.19. For a leader who was supposed to administer justice, Pilate proved to be more concerned about political expediency than about doing what was right.  He had several opportunities to make the right decision.  His conscience told him Jesus was innocent; Roman law said an innocent man should not be put to death; and his wife had a troubling dream.  Pilate had no good excuse to condemn Jesus, but he was afraid of the crowd.)

(Matthew 27.24.  At first Pilate hesitated to give the religious leaders permission to crucify Jesus.  He thought they were simply jealous of a teacher who was more popular with the people than they were.  But when the Jews threatened to report Pilate to Caesar (John 19.12), Pilate became afraid.  Historical records indicate that the Jews had already threatened to lodge a formal complaint against Pilate for his stubborn flouting of their traditions – and such a complaint would most likely have led to his recall by Rome.  His job was in jeopardy.  The Roman government could not afford to put large numbers of troops in all the regions under their control, so one of Pilate’s main duties was to do whatever was necessary to maintain peace.)

Must be motivated by love:

Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you attack me.

If it is true that I have gone astray, my error remains my concern alone.

If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and use my humiliation against me  – Job 19.3-5

It is easy to point out someone else’s faults or sins. Job’s friends accused him of sin to make him feel guilty, not to encourage or correct him.  If we feel we must admonish someone, we should be sure we are confronting that person because we love him, not because we are annoyed, inconvenienced, or seeking to blame him.

(He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors.  – Job 18.14.  The “king of terrors” is a figure of speech referring to death.  Bildad viewed death as a great devourer (18.13), but the Bible teaches that God has the power to devour even death (Psalm 49.15; Isaiah 25.8; 1 Corinthians 15.54-56).)

Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. – 1 Corinthians 4.15

In Paul’s day, a guardian was a slave who was assigned as a special tutor and caretaker of a child. Paul was portraying his special affection for the Corinthians (greater than a slave) and his special role (more than a caretaker).  In an attempt to unify the church, Paul appealed to his relationship with them.  By father, he meant he was the church’s founder.  Because he started the church, he could be trusted to have its best interests at heart.  Paul’s tough words were motivated by love – like the love a good father has for his children (see also 1 Thessalonians 2.11).

Be affirming in:

I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge – because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. –  1 Corinthians 1.4-6

In this letter, Paul wrote some strong words to the Corinthians, but he began on a positive note of thanksgiving. He affirmed their privilege of belonging to the Lord and receiving his grace, the power God gave them to speak out for him and understand his truth, and the reality of their spiritual gifts.  When we must correct others, it helps to begin by affirming what God has already accomplished in them.

Caring enough to correct:

For I wrote to you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you. – 2 Corinthians 2.4

Paul did not enjoy reprimanding his friends and fellow believers, but he cared enough about the Corinthians to confront them with their wrong-doing. Proverbs 27.6 says: “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses”.  Sometimes our friends make choices that we know are wrong.  If we ignore their behaviour and let them continue in it, we won’t be showing love to them.  We show love by honestly sharing our concerns in order to help these friends do and be their very best for God.  When we don’t make any move to help, we show that we are more concerned about being well liked than about what happened to them.

(So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. – 2 Corinthians 2.1.  Paul’s phrase, “another painful visit”, indicates that he had already made one difficult trip to Corinth (see the notes on 1.1; 1.15-17) since founding the church.  Paul had gone there to deal with those in the church who had been attacking and undermining his authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ, thus confusing other believers.  [e.g. Pembroke Oxford Alumni’s got my music “Copyright”])

Wrong approaches in confronting:

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. – 2 Corinthians 13.14

Paul was dealing with an on-going problem in the Corinthian church. He could have refused to communicate until they cleared up their situation, but he loved them and reached out to them again with the love of Christ.  Love, however, means that sometimes we must confront those we care about.  Both authority and personal concern are needed in dealing with people who are ruining their lives with sin.  But there are several wrong approaches in confronting others, and these can further break relationships rather than heal them.  We can be legalistic and blast people away with the laws they should be obeying.  We can turn away from them because we don’t want to face the situation.  We can isolate them by gossiping about their problem and turning others against them as well.  Or, like Paul, we can seek to build relationships by taking a better approach – sharing, communicating, and caring.  This is a difficult approach that can drain us emotionally, but it is the best way for the other person, and it is the only Christlike way to deal with others’ sin.

Paul’s farewell blessing invokes all three members of the Trinity – Father (God), Son (Lord Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. Although the term Trinity is not explicitly used in Scripture, verses such as this one show that it was believed and experienced through knowing God’s grace, love, and fellowship.  See Luke 1.35 – the angel Gabriel’s announcement of Jesus’ birth to Mary; Matthew 3.17 – the Father’s voice was heard at the baptism of Jesus; and Matthew 28.19 – Jesus’ commission to the disciples.

How Paul confronted Peter:

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles.  But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.  –  Galatians 2.11-12

Although Peter was a leader of the church, he was acting like a hypocrite. He knew better, yet he was driven by fear of what James and the others would think.  Proverbs 29:25 says, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare.”  Paul knew that he had to confront Peter before his actions damaged the church.  So, Paul publicly opposed Peter.  Note, however, that Paul did not go to the other leaders, nor did he write letters to the churches telling them not to follow Peter’s example.  Instead, he opposed Peter face to face.  Sometimes sincere Christians, even Christian leaders, make mistakes.  And it may take other sincere Christians to get them back on track.  If you are convinced that someone is doing harm to himself/herself or the church, try to direct approach.  There is no place for backstabbing in the body of Christ.

Antioch in Syria (distinguished from Antioch in Pisidia) was a major trade centre in the ancient world. Heavily populated by Greeks, it eventually became a strong Christian centre.  In Antioch the believers were first called Christian (Acts 11:26).  Antioch in Syria became the headquarters for the Gentile church and was Paul’s base of operations.

The Judaisers accused Paul of watering down the gospel to make it easier for Gentiles to accept, while Paul accused the Judaisers of nullifying the truth of the gospel by adding conditions to it. The basis of salvation was the issue – is salvation through Christ alone, or does it come through Christ and adherence to the law?  The argument came to a climax when Peter, Paul, the Judaisers, and some Gentile Christians all gathered together in Antioch to share a meal.  Peter probably thought that by staying away from the Gentiles, he was promoting harmony – he did not want to offend James and the Jewish Christians.  James had a very prominent position and presided over the Jerusalem council (Acts 15).  But Paul charged that Peter’s action violated the gospel.  By joining the Judaisers, Peter was implicitly supporting their claim that Christ was not sufficient for salvation.  Compromise is an important element in getting on with others, but we should never compromise the truth of God’s word.  If we feel we have to change our Christian beliefs to match those of our companions, we are on dangerous ground.

Warning those causing division:

But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time.  After that, have nothing to do with him.  You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful he is self-condemned.  –  Titus 3.9-11

A person must be warned when he or she is causing divisions that threatens the unity of the church. This warning should not be a heavy-handed action, but it is intended to correct the individual’s divisive nature and restore him or her to fellowship.  A person who refuses to be corrected should be put outside the fellowship.  As Paul said, that person is “self-condemned” – – he or she is sinning and knows it.  (See also Matthew 18.15-18 and 2 Thessalonians 3.14, 15 for help in handling such problems in the church.)

Paul warned Titus, as he warned Timothy, not to get involved in foolish and unprofitable arguments (2 Timothy 2.14). This does not mean we should refuse to study, discuss, and examine different interpretations of difficult Bible passages.  Paul is warning against petty quarrels, not honest discussion that leads to wisdom.  As foolish arguments develop, it is best to turn the discussion back to a helpful direction or politely excuse yourself.

The false teachers were basing their heresies on genealogies and speculations about the law (see 1 Timothy 1.3, 4). Similar to the methods used by false teachers in Ephesus and Colosse, they were building their case on genealogies of angels.  We should avoid false teachers, not even bothering to react to their pretentious positions.  Our overreaction can sometimes give more attention to their points of view.

Some reasons for:

“ ‘If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. – – Leviticus 26.18

If the Israelites obeyed, there would be peace in the land.   If they disobeyed, disaster would follow.   God used sin’s consequences to draw them to repentance, not to get back at them.   Today, sin’s consequences are not always so apparent.   When calamity strikes us we may not know the reason.   It may be (1) the result of our own disobedience, (2) the result of someone else’s sin, (3) the result of natural disaster.   Because we don’t know, we should search our hearts and be sure we are at peace with God.   His Spirit, like a great searchlight, will reveal those areas we need to deal with.   Because calamity is not always the result of wrongdoing, we must guard against assigning our accepting blame for every tragedy we encounter.   Misplaced guilt is one of Satan’s favourite weapons against believers.

(I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.  – Leviticus 26.13.  Imagine the joy of a slave set free.   God took the children of Israel out of bitter slavery and gave them freedom and dignity.   We too are set free when we accept Christ’s payment that redeems us from sin’s slavery.   We no longer need to be bogged down in shame over our past sins; we can walk with dignity because God has forgiven us and forgotten them.   But just as the Israelites were still in danger of returning to a slave mentality, we need to beware of the temptation to return to our former sinful patterns.)

(“ ‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it.   I am the LORD your God.  –  Leviticus 26.1.  This chapter presents the two paths of obedience and disobedience that God set before the people (see also Deuteronomy 28).   The people of the Old Testament were warned over and over against worshipping idols.   We wonder how they could deceive themselves with these objects of wood and stone.   Yet God could well give us the same warning, for we are prone to put idols before him.   Idolatry is making anything more important than God, and our lives are full of that temptation.   Money, looks, success, reputation, security – these are today’s idols.   As you look at these false gods that promise everything you want but nothing you need, does idolatry seem so far removed from your experience?)

Description of:

So the LORD sold them intothe hands of Jabin, a king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim.  Because he had nine hundred iron chariots and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.  – Judges 4:2-3

Chariots were the tanks of the ancient world. Made of iron or wood, they were pulled by one or two horses and were the most feared and powerful weapons of the day.  Some chariots even had razor-sharp knives extending from the wheels designed to mutilate helpless foot soldiers.  The Canaanite army had 900 iron chariots.  Israel was not powerful enough to defeat such an invincible army.  Therefore, Jabin and Sisera had no trouble oppressing the people – until a faithful woman named Deborath called upon God.

Egyptian war chariots:

So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.  The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.  The Egyptians – all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops – pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.  – Exodus 14.6-9

Six hundred Egyptian war chariots were bearing down on the helpless Israelites, who were trapped between the mountains and the sea. The war chariots each carried two people – one to drive and one to fight.  These chariots were made of a wood or leather cab placed over two wheels, and they were pulled by horses.  These were the armoured tanks of Bible times.  But even their power was no match for God, who destroyed both the chariots and their soldiers.

Why Israelites feared them:

The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had iron chariots.  – Judges 1.19

Canaanite chariots pulled by horses were among the most sophisticated weapons of the day. Israelite foot soldiers were absolutely powerless when a speeding iron chariot bore down upon them.  This is why Israel preferred to fight in the hills where chariots couldn’t venture.

(PLATE: mile high tree)

Given to us by God:

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”  – NIV Genesis 2:15-17

God gave Adam responsibility for the garden and told him not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Rather than physically preventing him from eating, God gave Adam a choice, and thus the possibility of choosing wrongly.  God still gives us choices, and we, too, often choose wrongly.  These wrong choices may cause us pain, but they can help us learn and grow and make better choices in the future.  Living with the consequences of our choices teaches us to think and choose more carefully.

Why God gives us the freedom to choose:

And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” – NIV Genesis 2:16-17

Why would God place a tree in the garden and then forbid Adam to eat from it? God wanted Adam to obey, but God gave Adam the freedom to choose.  Without choice, Adam would have been like a prisoner, and his obedience would have been hollow.  The two trees provided an exercise in choice, with rewards for choosing to obey and sad consequences for choosing to disobey.  When you are faced with the choice, always choose to obey God.

What seems wise vs. what is wise:

Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. –  Genesis 13:12

Good pasture and available water seemed like a wise choice to Lot at first. But he failed to recognise that wicked Sodom could provide temptations strong enough to destroy his family.  Have you chosen to live or work in a “Sodom”?  Even though you may be strong enough to resist the temptations, other members of your family may not.  While God commands us to reach people in the “Sodom” near us, we must be careful not to become like the very people we are trying to reach.

(Abraham made a good one, see Abraham’s Profile.)

Why God Chose Israel as a special nation:

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine –  NIV Exodus 19:5

Why did God choose Israel as his nation? God knew that no nation on earth was good enough to deserve to be called his people, his “treasured possession”.  He chose Israel, not because of anything they had done, but in his love and mercy he chose Israel in spite of the wrong the nation had done and would do.  Why did he want to have a special nation on earth?  To represent his way of life, to teach his word, and to be an agent of salvation to the world.

“All nations on earth” would be blessed through Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 18:18). Gentiles and kings would come to the Lord through Israel, predicted Isaiah (Isaiah 60:3).  Through the nation of Israel, the Messiah, God’s chosen Son, would be born.  God chose one nation and put it through a rigorous training programme, so that one day it could be a channel for his blessings to the whole.

Disobedience a foolish choice:

See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – NIV Deuteronomy 11:26

It is amazing that God set before the Israelites a choice between blessings and curses. It is even more amazing that most of them, through their disobedience, chose the curses.  We have the same fundamental choice today.  We can live for ourselves or live in service to God.  To choose our own way is to travel on a deadened road, but to choose God’s way is to receive eternal life (John 5:24).

(Making right daily choices, see Boaz’s Profile.)

May need to seek more options:

In it he wrote, “Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so that he will be struck down and die.”  –  NIV 2 Samuel 11:15

David put both Bathsheba and Joab in difficult situations. Bathsheba knew it was wrong to commit adultery, but to refuse a king’s request could mean punishment or death.  Joab did not know why Uriah had to die, but it was obvious the king wanted him killed.  We sometimes face situations with only two apparent choices, and both seem wrong.  When that happens, we must not lose sight of what God wants.  The answer may be to seek out more choices.  By doing this, we are likely to find a choice that honours God.

(The day to day choices we make are important, see Bathsheba’s Profile.)

Consider long-term effects of:

My son, if sinners entice you,

do not give in to them,

If they say, “Come along with us;

let’s lie in wait for someone’s blood,

let’s waylay some harmless soul;

let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,

and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

we will get all sorts of valuable things

and fill our houses with plunder;

throw in your lot with us,

and we will share a common purse” –

my son, do not go along with them,

do not set foot on their paths;

for their feet rush into sin,

they are swift to shed blood.

How useless to spread a net

in full view of all the birds!

These men lie in wait for their own blood;

they waylay only themselves!

Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain;

it takes away the lives of those who get it. –  NIV Proverbs 1:10-19

Sin is enticing because it offers a quick route to prosperity and makes us feel like one of the crowd. But when we go along with others and refuse to listen to the truth, our own appetites become our masters, and we’ll do anything to satisfy them.  Sin even when attractive, is deadly.  We must learn to make choices, not on the basis of flashy appeal or short-term pleasure, but in view of the long-term effects.  Sometimes this means steering clear of people who want to entice us into activities that we know are wrong.  We can’t be friendly with sin and expect our lives to remain unaffected.

Benefits of good ones:

Righteousness guards the man of integrity,

but wickedness overthrows the sinner. –  NIV Proverbs 13:6

Living in the right way is like posting a guard on your life. Every choice for good sets into motion other opportunities for good.  Evil choices follow the same pattern, but in the opposite direction.  Each decision you make to obey God’s word will bring a greater sense of order to your life, while each decision to disobey will bring confusion and destruction.  The right choices you make reflect your integrity.  Obedience brings the greatest safety and security.

Questions to ask to help us choose rightly:

Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.  Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.  For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.  Moreover, the Father judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father.  He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him.  –  NIV John 5:19-23

Because of his unity with God, Jesus lived as God wanted him to live. Because of our identification with Jesus, we must honour him and live as he wants us to live.  The questions “What would Jesus do?” and “What would Jesus have me do?” may help us make the right choices.

Following Christ means making difficult choices:

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  –  NIV Matthew 9:9

When Jesus called Matthew to be one of his disciples, Matthew got up and followed, leaving a lucrative career. When God calls you to follow or obey him, do you do it with as much abandon as Matthew?  Sometimes the decision to follow Christ requires difficult or painful choices.  Like Matthew, we must decide to leave behind those things that would keep us from following Christ.

Maintain an eternal perspective in:

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?  –  NIV Matthew 16:26

When we don’t know Christ, we make choices as though this life is all we have. In reality, this life is just the introduction to eternity.  How we live this brief span, however, determines our eternal state.  What we accumulate on earth has no value in purchasing eternal life.  Even the highest social or civic honours cannot earn us entrance into heaven.  Evaluate all that happens from an eternal perspective, and you will find your values and decisions changing.

God allows us to make them:

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is for ever praised.  Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.  In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.  Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Furthermore, since they did not think it worth while to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.  They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practise them.  –  Romans 1:24-32

These people chose to reject God, and God allowed them to do it. God does not usually stop us from making choices that are against his will.  He lets us declare our supposed independence from him, even though he knows that in time we will become slaves to our own rebellious choices – we will lose our freedom not to sin.  Does life without God look like freedom to you?  Look more closely.  There is no worse slavery than slavery to sin.

Trusting in God’s choices for you:

not by works but by him who calls – she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

What then shall we say? Is God unjust?  Not at all! –  NIV Romans 9:12-14

Was it right for God to choose Jacob, the younger, to be over Esau? In Malachi 1:2, 3, the statement “I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated” refers to the nations of Israel and Edom rather than to the individual brothers.  God chose Jacob to continue the family line of the faithful because he knew his heart was for God.  But he did not exclude Esau from knowing and loving him.  Keep in mind the kind of God we worship: he is sovereign; he is not arbitrary; in all things he works for our good; he is trustworthy; he will save all who believe in him.  When we understand these qualities of God, we know that his choices are good even if we don’t understand all his reasons.

What it was:

He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. – Leviticus 16:12

A censer was a dish or shallow bowl that hung by a chain or was carried with tongs. Inside the censer were placed incense (a combination of sweet-smelling spices) and burning coals from the altar.  On the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place carrying a smoking censer.  The smoke shielded him from the ark of the covenant and the presence of God – – otherwise he would die.  Incense may also have had a very practical purpose.  The sweet smell drew the people’s attention to the morning and evening sacrifices and helped cover the sometimes foul smell.

This event with the two goats occurred on the Day of Atonement. The two goats represented the two ways God was dealing with the Israelites’ sin: (1) he was forgiving their sin through the first goat, which was sacrificed, and (2) he was removing their guilt through the second goat, the scapegoat that was sent into the desert.  The same ritual had to be repeated every year.  Jesus Christ’s death replaced this system once and for all.  We can have our sins forgiven and guilt removed by placing our trust in Christ (Hebrews 10:1-18).

Why it is so terrible:

The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him.  I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. – LEVITICUS 20:1-3

Sacrificing children to the gods was a common practice in ancient religions. The Ammonites, Israel’s neighbours, made child sacrifice to Molech (their national god) a vital part of their religion. They saw this as the greatest gift they could offer to ward off evil or appease angry gods.  God made it clear that this practice was detestable and strictly forbidden.  In Old Testament times as well as New, his character made human sacrifice unthinkable.  (1) Unlike the pagan gods, he is a God of love, who does not need to be appeased (Exodus 34:6).  (2) He is a God of life, who prohibits murder and encourages practices that lead to health and happiness (Deuteronomy 30:15, 16).  (3) He is a God of the helpless, who shows special concern for children (Psalm 72:4).  (4) He is a God of unselfishness, who instead of demanding blood gives his life for others (Isaiah 53:4, 5).