Character of God

Who does God say he is? In this first episode of a new series, Tim, Jon, and Carissa look at the most referenced passages in the Hebrew Bible—a description of God’s character by God himself.

The golden calf story in Exodus shows us how all humanity tries to worship God on our own terms. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa examine the narrative context of Exodus 34:6-7 and discover how this description of God’s character is tied to the story of the golden calf.

God describes himself as "compassionate." But what does that mean? The answer might surprise you. The Hebrew word for "compassion" is closely related to the word for "womb," and in this episode Tim, Jon, and Carissa discuss the Bible's depiction of God's compassion.

Grace is such a familiar word that we often miss the depth of its meaning. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa look at how the Hebrew Bible uses the word "grace" to communicate one of the core attributes of God.

Thank you to our audience for your incredible questions. In this week's episode, we tackle your questions. Is God the same in the Old and New Testaments? Does the Bible support the idea of generational curses? Does Moses convince God to change his mind? Listen to hear the team answer your questions.

In Exodus 34, God describes himself as “slow to anger,” but many people are uncomfortable with the portrait of God as an angry or emotional being. How does the Bible talk about anger, and how does this help us understand God as slow to anger?

The flood is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible, yet this story of judgment seems to be missing something important: God’s anger. In the Bible, God’s anger and judgment are not always associated. Listen in as Tim, Jon, and Carissa review a familiar story with insight that helps us understand God’s anger and judgment.

Noses that burn hot. Turning your face away. Drinking a cup of wrath. These unfamiliar phrases are found in biblical passages about God's anger, but what do they mean? In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa explore how God's anger toward Israel and the nations is portrayed in the Hebrew Bible.

It seems like God gets angry all the time in the Hebrew Bible, but then Jesus arrives on the scene with a message of good news and everything changes! Right? It’s not quite that simple. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa survey the consistency between God’s anger in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament and the restorative promise of God’s anger.

Jesus saw himself as the one who would drink the cup of God’s wrath, which meant dying in Israel’s place at the hand of Rome. Yet the death of Jesus was about more than just Rome. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa talk about what it meant that Jesus drank the cup.

God demonstrates his wrath by handing his people over to the natural consequences of their own destructive decisions, which ultimately leads to death. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa discuss what it means to be saved from God’s wrath by embracing the life of Jesus and a whole new set of natural consequences: lives given over to love and righteousness.

Despite generations of rebellion and sin, God continues to pursue his people with his promise-keeping loyalty and generosity. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa explore the fourth attribute God assigns himself in Exodus 34:6-7, loyal love.

Are we called to have blind trust in God? Not exactly. People in the Bible trusted God because he had proven himself trustworthy and reliable again and again. In this episode, Tim, Jon, and Carissa explore God’s fifth and final attribute in Exodus 34:6, his trustworthiness.

Sometimes the Bible seems to contradict itself—God is slow to anger, except for the times he appears to get mad quickly. The biblical authors don’t give us a systematic explanation, but they invite us to wrestle through our deepest questions and encounter a clearer, more nuanced picture of God. Learn more as Tim, Jon, and Carissa respond to your questions!