Figures of speech which describe God in human terms, sometimes referred to as anthropomorphisms. Since God is Spirit, these expressions help the human mind to understand God, and enable God to reveal himself to human beings. Passages gathered in the Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin H. Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen."
And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. "My lord," said Abraham, "if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant's way. After that, you may continue on your way." "Yes," they replied, "you may do as you have said." So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread." Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and he set them before the men and stood by them under the tree as they ate. "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked. "There, in the tent," he replied.
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, "Are You for us or for our enemies?" "Neither," He replied. "I have now come as Commander of the LORD's army." Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, "What does my Lord have to say to His servant?" The Commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man. From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him. The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.
may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.'
See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.
And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.
But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD."
After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.'
The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back?
"All this," said David, "all the details of this plan, the LORD has made clear to me in writing by His hand upon me."
But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.
O LORD our God, from Your hand comes all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy Name, and all of it belongs to You.
In your splendor ride forth in victory on behalf of truth and humility and justice; may your right hand show your awesome deeds.
Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand
who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.
For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war."
It is a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year.
Surely the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD.
For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel."
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
and He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place for the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the Israelites forever. The house of Israel will never again defile My holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and by the funeral offerings for their kings at their deaths.
Surely You love the people; all the holy ones are in Your hand, and they sit down at Your feet; each receives Your words—
Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king's foes; the nations fall beneath your feet.
The glory of Lebanon will come to you— its cypress, elm, and boxwood together— to adorn the place of My sanctuary, and I will glorify the place of My feet.
You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.
Therefore tell the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon?
The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted. So My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: "Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"
Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind."
They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.
but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: 'You are a priest forever.'"
The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: "You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek."
Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people."
And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is heard over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD strikes with flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in His temple all cry, "Glory!"
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this manner: "And on the seventh day God rested from all His works."
Sing to God! Sing praises to His name. Exalt Him who rides on the clouds — His name is the LORD— and rejoice before Him.
"There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to your aid, and the clouds in His majesty.
to Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old; behold, His mighty voice resounds.
Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation?
He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.
Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.
The angel of the LORD proceeded: "Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me."
During the days of Jesus' earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: "You are the God who sees me, " for she said, "Here I have seen the One who sees me!"
When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but will soon grant them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.
You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.
"Son of man," He said to me, "do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, 'The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.'" Again, He told me, "You will see them committing even greater abominations."
When God saw their actions—that they had turned from their evil ways—He relented from the disaster He had threatened to bring upon them.
The entrails and legs must be washed with water, and the priest shall burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing."
So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers,
For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.
No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be His bride.
See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Though the mountains may be removed and the hills may be shaken, My loving devotion will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be broken," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
So I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in loving devotion and compassion.
How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
For forty years I was angry with that generation, and I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known My ways." So I swore on oath in My anger, "They shall never enter My rest."
They burned incense on all the high places like the nations that the LORD had driven out before them. They did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger.
They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer.
"I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
And to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand now!" At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
Then God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented from the calamity, and He said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand now!" At that time the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations.
You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pottery say of the potter, "He has no understanding"?
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
For your husband is your Maker— the LORD of Hosts is His name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. For the LORD has called you back, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, like the rejected wife of one's youth," says your God. "For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer.
"Return, O faithless children," declares the LORD, "for I am your master, and I will take you—one from a city and two from a family—and bring you to Zion.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt— a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them, " declares the LORD.
In that day," declares the LORD, "you will call Me 'my Husband,' and no longer call Me 'my Master.'
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: "I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand."
They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel's Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn."
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. But the more I called Israel, the farther they departed from Me. They sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to carved images. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them in My arms, but they never realized that it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with ropes of love; I lifted the yoke from their necks and bent down to feed them.
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.
I will not execute the full fury of My anger; I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man— the Holy One among you— and I will not come in wrath.
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.
You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.