GOD Is Very Nice Indeed, Let Me Count The Ways by: William R. Nabaza of www.Nabaza.com
Genesis 33:5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.
graciously given from the Hebrew word: chanan - khaw-nan - properly to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor; to bestow; to implore; beseech; have pity upon
cha?nan
khaw-nan'
A primitive root (compare H2583); properly to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causatively to implore (that is, move to favor by petition): - beseech, X fair, (be, find, shew) favour (-able), be (deal, give, grant (gracious (-ly), intreat, (be) merciful, have (shew) mercy (on, upon), have pity upon, pray, make supplication, X very.
75 times it occured in King James Version
16 times appeared as "mercy", 12 times as "gracious", 12 times as "merciful", 10 times as "supplication", 8 times as "favour", 4 times as "besought", 4 times as "pity", 3 times as "graciously"
chanan
Total KJV Occurrences: 75
mercy, 16
Deu_7:2, Psa_6:1-2 (2), Psa_9:13, Psa_25:16, Psa_27:7, Psa_30:10, Psa_31:9, Psa_37:21, Psa_51:1, Psa_86:16, Psa_123:2-3 (3), Pro_14:21, Pro_14:31
gracious, 12
Gen_43:29, Exo_33:19 (2), Num_6:25, 2Ki_13:22-23 (2), Job_33:24, Isa_30:18-19 (2), Isa_33:2, Jer_22:23, Mal_1:9
merciful, 12
Psa_26:11, Psa_37:26, Psa_41:4, Psa_41:10, Psa_57:1 (3), Psa_59:5, Psa_67:1, Psa_86:3, Psa_119:58, Psa_119:132
supplication, 10
1Ki_8:33, 1Ki_8:47, 1Ki_8:59, 2Ch_6:24, Est_4:8, Job_8:5, Job_9:15, Psa_30:8, Psa_142:1, Hos_12:4
favour, 8
Deu_28:50, Psa_102:13-14 (2), Psa_109:12, Psa_112:5, Isa_27:10-11 (3)
besought, 4
Gen_42:21, Deu_3:23, 2Ki_1:13, Est_8:3
pity, 4
Job_19:21 (2), Pro_19:17, Pro_28:8
graciously, 3
Gen_33:5, Gen_33:11, Psa_119:29
entreated, 1
Job_19:16
fair, 1
Pro_26:25
favourable, 1
Jdg_21:22
favoured, 1
Lam_4:16
given, 1
Gen_33:5
pray, 1
2Ch_6:37
For lack of a better word, GOD IS VERY, VERY, INFINITELY AND ABSOLUTELY NICE INDEED, Let us count the ways.
1. HE FEEDS THE 5,000 AND 4,000 PEOPLE, HE DOESN'T WANT THEM TO GET HUNGRY (Matthew 14:15-21)
Look carefully at the KING OF KINGS, and LORD OF LORDS, "Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, and they gave it to the people." (Matthew 14:19)
Matthew 14:15-21
Mat 14:15 That evening the disciples came to Jesus and said, "This place is like a desert, and it is already late. Let the crowds leave, so they can go to the villages and buy some food."
Mat 14:16 Jesus replied, "They don't have to leave. Why don't you give them something to eat?"
Mat 14:17 But they said, "We have only five small loaves of bread and two fish."
Mat 14:18 Jesus asked his disciples to bring the food to him,
Mat 14:19 and he told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, and they gave it to the people.
Mat 14:20 After everyone had eaten all they wanted, Jesus' disciples picked up twelve large baskets of leftovers.
Mat 14:21 There were about five thousand men who ate, not counting the women and children.
2. HE WASHES THE DISCIPLES FEET. (John. 13:5)
John 13:5
He put some water into a large bowl. Then he began washing his disciples' feet and drying them with the towel he was wearing.
My LORD JESUS don't need to do it, I don't see the need since He already came to us in the form of a man, what other humility there is to show that HE's so Gracious to us.
John 1:10-12
Joh 1:10 The Word was in the world, but no one knew him, though God had made the world with his Word.
Joh 1:11 He came into his own world, but his own nation did not welcome him.
Joh 1:12 Yet some people accepted him and put their faith in him. So he gave them the right to be the children of God.
3. HE WAITED ON ABRAHAM TO FEED HIM (Genesis 18:1-5)
Genesis 18:1-5
Gen 18:1 One hot summer afternoon Abraham was sitting by the entrance to his tent near the sacred trees of Mamre, when the LORD appeared to him.
Gen 18:2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He quickly ran to meet them, bowed with his face to the ground,
Gen 18:3 and said, "Please come to my home where I can serve you.
Gen 18:4 I'll have some water brought, so you can wash your feet, then you can rest under the tree.
Gen 18:5 Let me get you some food to give you strength before you leave. I would be honored to serve you." "Thank you very much," they answered. "We accept your offer."
Well in these day and age, with the technology and the food lavished with preservatives, we can accurately and confidently say that we can prepare dinner for about an hour or less, but in those days, it nearly took like three hours or more. Think about this. While we when hungry needs to eat in thirty minutes, the LORD never bothered calling up or hurrying up Abraham to hurry His food since He's scheduled to destroy sodom and gomorrhah, what a NICE GOD we have!
4. WHEN THE 10 COMMANDMENTS WERE BROKEN BY MOSES, HE MADE ANOTHER ONE AGAIN (Exodus 34:1)
Exodus 34:1
One day the LORD said to Moses, "Cut two flat stones like the first ones I made, and I will write on them the same commandments that were on the two you broke.
I remember how often I commit mistakes and GOD in HIS GRACIOUSNESS and KINDNESS to me, just cleaned up my messes and mistakes in life and wants me to start all over again on His expense. What a WONDERFUL GOD we have! He had the same patience with Moses, as Moses got angry and he broked the first 2 tablets containing the handwriting of GOD just because He was angry at the calf-worshippers?!
5. GOD LONGS TO BE GRACIOUS TO US. (Isaiah 30:18 )
Isaiah 30:18
The LORD God is waiting to show how kind he is and to have pity on you. The LORD always does right; he blesses those who trust him.
Wow, I thought I was hurrying up GOD, I thought His time is very slow, but in reality I'm the turtle here and He's all so ready to bless us, He's waiting for us because we're the ones too slow to ask His Grace, Kindness and Pity! Oh What a Nice GOD we serve!
6. THE POWERFUL PERSON MAKES SOMEONE WHO IS LESS POWERFUL AS POWERFUL BEINGS.
GOD IS the All-Powerful One who does not need any friends at all, because He's also Self-Sufficient, yet in His Kindness, Mercy and Graciousness and He's Very Nice he called Moses His friend.
Exodus 33:11 - GOD treats Moses as His friend
In this way the LORD spoke to Moses face to face like a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would go back to the camp, but his helper, Joshua son of Nun, always stayed in the tent.
James 2:23 - GOD called Abraham as His friend
This shows the full meaning of the Scriptures that say, "Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God." Abraham was called "God's friend."
Imagine the pressure, if we are all called GOD's friend, yet we really are GOD's friend since our father in the faith, Abraham, is GOD's friend. Not only that but He called us His sons.
Ephesians 2:3-8
Eph 2:3 In the past all of us lived like that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God's anger just because of the way we were.
Eph 2:4 But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much.
Eph 2:5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God's grace.)
Eph 2:6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places.
Eph 2:7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace.
Eph 2:8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.
Romans 8:15
The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God's chosen children.
John 1:12
But some people did accept him. They believed in him, and he gave them the right to become children of God.
1 John 3:1-2
1Jn 3:1 The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don't understand that we are God's children, because they have not known him.
1Jn 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him just as he is.
Galatians 4:4-6
Gal 4:4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, who was born from a woman and lived under the law.
Gal 4:5 God did this so that he could buy the freedom of those who were under the law. God's purpose was to make us his children.
Gal 4:6 Since you are now God's children, he has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, "Abba, Father."
Galatians 3:26
You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This shows that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
7. HE WALKED IN THE COOL OF THE DAY WITH ADAM AND EVE, HOTNESS AND COOLNESS OF DAY DOESN'T AFFECT GOD, BUT HE VISITED ADAM AND EVE AT THE TIME THEY'RE COMFORTABLE. (Genesis 3:8)
Genesis 3:8
During the cool part of the day, the LORD God was walking in the garden. The man and the woman heard him, and they hid among the trees in the garden.
GOD is very Powerful GOD, heat of the sun does not affect Him obviously, sun is one of his creations but to comfort His creatures: Adam and Eve, He visited them at the time of day when the latter will be comfortable. Can you understand that? His Kindness, Goodness, Mercy and Grace allows Him to do this, to treat us with respect. Oh My Wonderful GOD, my Saviour forevermore, HALLELUJAH!!
8. HE CALLS THE SHEEP BY NAME (John 10:3)
John 10:3
The man who guards the gate opens the gate for the shepherd. And the sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd. He calls his own sheep, using their names, and he leads them out.
GOD never have to do this, since we are only lowly creatures of the Almighty GOD, all His creations are subjected to Him, but instead He Himself subjected Himself to His creations by knowing even their name, or even the number of their hair.
Romans 8:20 Everything God made was allowed to become like something that cannot fulfill its purpose. That was not its choice, but God made it happen with this hope in view: (ERV)
Romans 8:20 New Living Translation (©2007)
Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope,
Luke 12:7 Yes, God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don't be afraid. You are worth much more than many birds.
This passage is talking about the Pharisees and their hypocrisy. Jesus is making a point of our worth. Our Creator knows each and every one of us so well that he knows the number of hairs on our heads. Which means he knows what we say and what we do when we think others aren't watching. Our God cares.
Matthew 10:30 God even knows how many hairs are on your head.
If you're about to take your own life by suicide, think again, to yourself you're not valuable but with GOD you are very valuable so don't do it.
9. HE WILL TELL THE ANGELS HOW IMPORTANT YOU ARE. (Job 1:8)
Job 1:8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him. He is a good, faithful man. He respects God and refuses to do evil."
Luke 22:31 "Satan has asked to test you men like a farmer tests his wheat. O Simon, Simon,
You see angels are just GOD's messengers and Lucifer was one of them but he fell from pride. Still the enemy has to ask JESUS for us like what he did to Simon Peter but before the enemy can tempt and play with Simon Peter, he needs to ask his permissions, I believe if JESUS will not agree, the enemy can't even touch ur or blow a wind against us.
Job 1:12 The LORD said to Satan, "All right, do whatever you want with anything that he has, but don't hurt Job himself." Then Satan left the meeting.
10. GOD MADE A SACRIFICE AND MADE CLOTHES FOR ADAM AND EVE. (Genesis 3:21)
Genesis 3:21
The LORD God used animal skins and made some clothes for the man and his wife. Then he put the clothes on them.
Adam and Eve has already fallen from sin, and they don't deserve GOD's goodness but still because GOD is very NICE, and INFINITELY/ABSOLUTELY NICE, instead of saying or commanding them to sew leaves and cover their nudity which after all is their fault, GOD made a sacrifice for them and clothed them.
11. THEY WERE AMAZED AT HIS GRACIOUS SPEECH. (Luke 4:22)
Luke 4:22
Everyone there said good things about Jesus. They were amazed to hear him speak such wonderful words. They said, "How is this possible? Isn't he Joseph's son?"
GOD is very Gracious, even people at time of the LORD JESUS can sense His graciousness in the manner of His Speech. The people can know what is in GOD's heart, the very moment the LORD JESUS spoke and taught them.
12. JESUS KNOCKS ON THE DOOR OF OUR HEARTS, HE WILL NEVER FORCE HIS WAY IN. (Revelations 3:5)
Revelations 3:5
Everyone who wins the victory will be dressed in white clothes like them. I will not remove their names from the book of life. I will say that they belong to me before my Father and before his angels.
Because of this so-called freewill, we have made a fool of ourselves and does not want to give ownership to GOD, but because GOD is very, very NICE, He will never force His way to us, but even knocks at the door of our heart, What a LOVING, GRACIOUS, KIND, NICE GOD! Words are not enough to give Him Praise, Honor and Majesty.
13. HE CALLS US SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHEN WE DON'T DESERVE IT.
1 John 3:1-2
1Jn 3:1 The Father has loved us so much! This shows how much he loved us: We are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world don't understand that we are God's children, because they have not known him.
1Jn 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him just as he is.
2 Corinthians 3:18 And our faces are not covered. We all show the Lord's glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings more and more glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
14. AS SOON AS HE HEARS OUR PRAYERS, HE WILL ANSWER. (Isaiah 30:19)
Isaiah 30:19
You people who live in Jerusalem on Mount Zion will not continue crying. The Lord will hear your crying, and he will comfort you. When he hears you, he will help you.
Jeremiah 33:3
'Call to me and I'll answer you, and will tell you about great and hidden things that you don't know.'
15. GOD HIMSELF WILL RESTORE US PERSONALLY. (1 Peter 5:10)
1 Peter 5:10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you by the Messiah Jesus to his eternal glory, will restore you, establish you, strengthen you, and support you. (ISV)
1 Peter 5:10 Yes, you will suffer for a short time. But after that, God will make everything right. He will make you strong. He will support you and keep you from falling. He is the God who gives all grace. He chose you to share in his glory in Christ. That glory will continue forever. (ERV)
1 Peter 5:10 But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation. (GNB)
Whenever we fall into temptation, GOD is there to restore us personally, He will do it and will not command His angels to do it for Him, He likes us, and He's so very, very nice.
