The most foundational thing in God is not some abstract quality, but the fact that he is Father. Again and again, the Scriptures equate the terms ‘God’ and ‘Father’: in Exodus, the Lord calls Israel ‘my firstborn son’ (Exodus 4:22; see also Isaiah 1:2; Jeremiah 31:9; Hosea 11:1); he carries his people ‘as a father carries his son’ (Deuteronomy 1:31), disciplines them ‘as a man disciplines his son’ (Deuteronomy 8:5); he calls to them, saying: ‘As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him’ (Psalm 103:13) and ‘ “How gladly would I treat you like
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