Is there one God or many; one Lord or many?

Scripture also recognizes fallen man's propensity to worship idols - false gods (Romans 1:18-25). These false gods are no gods at all but a mere product of man's fertile imagination (Isaiah 2:8, 44:9-20, Psalm 135:15-18, etc.).

So when we're reading the Scriptures, how do we know who is being referenced? The confusion is removed when we understand Scripture's use of grammar. For example, the following words: God vs. god, or LORD vs. Lord vs. lord.

Let's look first at God vs. god. Whenever Scripture uses the upper case (G) for God, it is always referring to the one and only Creator. Whenever the scripture uses the lower case (g) for god, it is always referring to an idol - a false god believed to contain power. (Of course the idol has no power in itself. The alleged power is attributed to the idol in the minds of those who worship it.) We see this use of the term "god" (lower case) in some of the passages you referenced. We also see the term "God" (upper case) in some of the passages you referenced.

To add confusion to the mix, a superior or dignitary was often addressed as lord (Genesis 42:10, 45:8-9, etc.). Some nations, like the United Kingdom, still do this today. This is what is meant by the term "lord of the Philistines," in 1 Samuel 6:4. They were five rulers over five cities.

Typically though, the use of the upper case, whether it is the "G" or the "L," always refers to the one and only true God. We see this very clearly in the New Testament when Jesus Christ is referred to as "King of kings" and "Lord of lords" (Revelation 19:16). Notice the upper and lower cases being used. Jesus is the true King over all others, and he is the true Lord over all others.

Why is he often referred to as the God of Israel? This is in fulfillment of the covenant he made with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-4). Abraham's grandson was Jacob. God changed Jacob's name to Israel. He had twelve sons that over time became twelve tribes. Collectively, these twelve tribes came to be known as the nation of Israel.

As God promised Abraham, he made his offspring a great nation. Since "in him" (his seed) all nations of the earth are to be blessed (the seed referring to Christ, see Galatians 3:16), God separated Israel from all other nations to be his treasured possession (Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2, 32:8-9, Psalms 147:19-20, etc.) until the promised seed arrived. When the promised seed (Christ) finally arrived, the covenant promise was fulfilled. Now all nations, Jewish and Gentile, are all called to repent and believe in Christ's New Covenant for salvation (Hebrews 9:15; Galatians 3:28-29, 6:15).

Steve Chapman