O foolish Galatians! Who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth, crucified among you? (Apostolicon, cf. Gal 3:1) Return to the pure Gospel of Christ crucified—let no one bewitch you away from the grace that saves.

YHWH’s fickle incompetence vs. the unchanging love of the true Father. YHWH anoints Saul king—then regrets it, saying, “I regret that I have made Saul king” (1 Sam 15:11). Grants Solomon wisdom—then rejects him for foreign wives. Threatens to destroy Nineveh—then relents when they repent (Jonah 3:10). Regrets creating mankind before the flood (Gen 6:6–7) and repeatedly grows angry with those He chose and blessed (Solomon, Israel over and over). Capricious, regretful, shortsighted. Christ’s Father never wavers, never regrets, never changes His mind.

Jesus wept. (Evangelion, cf. John 11:35) In the shortest verse, behold the deepest love: the Saviour weeping for His own.

YHWH tempted Abraham to sacrifice his son (Gen 22:1), hardened Pharaoh’s heart to bring about the slaughter of Egypt’s firstborn (Ex 10:27), incited David to sin so 70,000 Israelites would die for it (2 Sam 24:1), and sent a lying spirit to deceive prophets (1 Kgs 22:22). He gave laws impossible to keep perfectly, then punished the inevitable failure. Far from the benevolent Father revealed by Christ, the Old Testament deity rigs the game and damns the players.

I was thinking the other day: if a modern Happy Days were made today, it would be set around 2005–2015. It would feature flip phones, MySpace and Facebook exploding, the iPhone just arriving, Wii parties, early YouTube, the George W. Bush and early Obama years, pre-smartphone malls, etc.

YHWH’s stingy, legalistic power vs. the Father’s instant, universal grace. YHWH’s prophet Elisha heals one foreigner—Naaman—after 7 ritual dips in Jordan (2 Kings 5). Christ heals ten lepers (Jews & Samaritan) with one word, no water, no ritual (Luke 17:12–14).