Father, Day 1
God Has Revealed Himself as Father
“Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
Exodus 4:22-23
“Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people?
Isn’t he your Father who created you? Has he not made you and established you?
For the people of Israel belong to the Lord; Jacob is his special possession….
Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions,”
Deuteronomy 32:6, 9, 11 (NLT)
“With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”
Jeremiah 31:9
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.”
Hosea 1:10
And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
Luke 2:48-51
Thus far in our study of God’s nature, we have kept most of our focus on His character as revealed in specific attributes—adjectives that attempt to describe His being. But we have also touched on the significance of names in the Bible. To know someone by name often included knowing a person’s character and nature. God uses many names for Himself throughout Scripture, each of which reveal something of who He is. Yet there is a strong argument that the most significant name for God in Scripture is the name that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, used for Him—Father. A study of the ways that God has revealed Himself to be Father in Scripture will yield rich results in a search to know Him more deeply.
Even in the Old Testament, God is occasionally referred to as Father, both by prophets and by His own words. These Old Testament references usually portray Him as a Father to the nation of Israel collectively. In Exodus 4, as the Lord gave instructions to Moses on what he was to say to Pharaoh, He referred to Israel as His “firstborn son.” God remembered His covenant with Abraham and heard the cries of His people, who had been enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years. And the Lord intended to set His son free. By referring to Israel as His firstborn son, the Lord demonstrated His commitment to the nation that He had called out as first priority to reveal His faithfulness to the whole world. Near the end of his life, Moses reminded the people that God is their Father, even comparing God’s care of Israel to that of a mother eagle hovering over her young. The psalms provide guidance to sing of the God who is a Father to the fatherless (Ps. 68:5) and the God who shows compassion to His children like a father (Ps. 103:13). The prophet Jeremiah spoke on behalf of the Lord to remind Israel that God would lead the nation back from exile because He is their Father and they are His firstborn. And the book of Hosea, which teaches of Israel’s continuing unfaithfulness and God’s persistent redeeming love, shows that even Israel’s failure to obey the covenant, though it brought discipline from the Lord, would not remove their status as children of the living God.
The New Testament revelation of God as Father greatly expands on the Old Testament revelation and also adds an unexpected turn. Jesus Christ referred to the God and Father of the nation of Israel as His Father. In Luke 2, Scripture gives us one brief glimpse into Jesus’ early adolescent years. Jesus’ parents had traveled with Him to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. When they left Jerusalem, they discovered that Jesus was no longer with them. It took them three days of searching to find Jesus in the temple conversing with the teachers. As He addressed His parents, He referred to the temple as “my Father’s house.” Even though He was only twelve years old, Jesus was already revealing His unique relationship with His Father in heaven. His parents did not understand Him, but Jesus expanded on the truth throughout His life that He was the Son of God, continuing to address God as His Father and then teaching His followers to do the same.
Action Step: Deuteronomy 32:11 was part of a song composed by Moses at the end of his life to prepare Israel to enter the Promised Land. These verses are not a scientific commentary on the way that an eagle cares for its young, but a reminder to the people of Israel that they are God’s special possession, and He will provide and care for them as He faithfully fulfills His promises to His children. If a powerful bird with predatory instincts can stoop gently to care for its young, how much more will our loving Father care for His children? Pray and praise the Father for His care for you.