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The statements of Scripture describing the character attributes of Yahuwah come alive when we know what they mean. Learn how these words are defined and you will discover promises where you never saw them before! |
Take just a moment to think about your best friend. What makes you best friends? Is it because you share common interests? Is she kind? Is he loyal? Do you have fun together?
Yahuwah is sometimes referred to as “The best friend you will ever have,” but hardly anyone takes the time to analyze precisely what personality attributes make the heavenly Father a good friend.
Scripture lists a number of beautiful personality traits. Understanding the definitions of each of these attributes provides a breath-taking glimpse into the beauty that is at the very heart of the divine nature.
It was this that Moses longed to see when he said, “I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory.” (Exodus 33:18, KJV)
And Yahuwah passed before him and proclaimed, “Yahuwah, Yahuwah Adonai, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin...” (Exodus 34:6-7, NKJV)
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“But the mercy of Yahuwah is from everlasting to everlasting.” |
Mercy is “That benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart which disposes a person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries and to forbear punishment, or inflict less than the law or justice will warrant.”1
This is how the Father treats others. He has a mild disposition. When wronged or insulted, His first reaction is to overlook the offense and treat the one who wronged Him better than he or she deserves.
“But the mercy of Yahuwah is from everlasting to everlasting.” (Psalm 103:17, KJV)
To be gracious is to be kind, friendly. Yahuwah is friendly! He’s warm, interested in others, and easy to get along with. Gracious can also be defined as “benevolent.” Someone who is benevolent has a genuine desire to do good to others. Benevolence is an integral part of Yahuwah’s gracious personality. “Yahuwah is gracious.” (1 Peter 2:3)
This is good news for sinners for sure! Being longsuffering means to bear “injuries or provocation for a long time … not easily provoked.” It’s being patient! We all make mistakes. However, true friends are quick to forgive when we do, and Yahuwah is the truest of friends. “Yahuwah is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, NKJV)
Yahushua asked the rich, young ruler: “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, Yah.” (Matthew 19:17, KJV) Throughout Scripture we are told that Yahuwah is “good,” but the actual definition of “good” is far deeper and richer than most people realize.
Goodness is defined as “That which contributes to diminish or remove pain, or to increase happiness or prosperity … [it is] opposed to evil or misery.” Yahuwah works hard to diminish or remove pain. He actively seeks to increase the happiness and prosperity of all. What a beautiful trait to have in a friend!
Psalm 103:13 declares: “Like as a father pitieth his children, so Yahuwah pitieth them that fear him.”
The quality of pity gets a bad rap. People struggling through trials will sometimes angrily declare, “Don’t pity me!” But pity goes hand-in-hand with empathy. Pity is defined as: “Sympathy and sorrow aroused by the misfortune or suffering of another.”2
Believers are acquainted with Hebrews 4:15 which states: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” In other words, Yahuwah feels what we feel. Literally. But that’s what pity is! Pity is “the feeling or suffering of one person, excited by the distresses of another.” So, every time you read a text that speaks of the Father’s pity, understand that it is saying He feels what you feel, and when you suffer, He suffers, too.
Psalm 145:8 tells us: “Yahuwah is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” But the beauty of this character trait is lost because compassion is not a word that is used very often. Most people do not know precisely what it means.
Compassion is defined as: “Suffering with another; [a] painful sympathy; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration. Compassion is a mixed passion compounded of love and sorrow; at least some portion of love generally attends the pain or regret and is excited by it.” This is what best friends do: they feel for each other. This is part of what makes Yahuwah such a great friend. He loves you so much that whatever hurts you, hurts Him.
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“Turn unto Yahuwah, your Eloah: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness...” (Joel 2:13, KJV) |
“Turn unto Yahuwah your Eloah: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness...” (Joel 2:13, KJV) Kindness is one of the most beautiful character traits anyone could ever have.
A person who is kind is someone who is “disposed to do good to others, and to make them happy by granting their requests, supplying their wants or assisting them in distress; having tenderness or goodness of nature; benevolence; benignant.”
Yahushua prayed: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true Eloah, and Yahushua Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3, KJV) To know Yahuwah is to fall so deeply in love with Him that sin loses its power.
Satan knows this. He has made it his focus to instill fear of Yahuwah in the minds of believers and unbelievers alike. He emphasizes Yahuwah’s justice, as though Yah is harsh and unforgiving. But justice is simply fairness. Someone who is just is “Honorable and fair in one's dealings and actions.”3 As a loving Father, Yahuwah is just. Remember, injustice is not loving. As your best friend, He’s fair! In fact, as a merciful Creator, He is always careful to “treat an offender better than he deserves.”
When we truly know Yahuwah as it is our privilege to know Him, sin will lose its power over us. Get to know the Father personally for yourself. Catch a glimpse of the heart hidden behind Satan’s accusations, and you will discover the best friend you could ever have.
1 All definitions quoted from Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828 ed., unless otherwise noted.
2 The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed.
3 Ibid.
