Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Ezekiel 20:24;
Isn't the affectionate part of 1John a show of a shepherd's heart talking under grace (little children or children of God), whereas, in the OT they were priests/judges/prophets etc talking to the whole of Israel (not all of Israel were of the saved) according to the law, and therefore, you wouldn't find a parallel verse hold the same affection? IDK, it just sounds that way to me.
You have to read between the lines a bit, but I think God's dealings with Jacob's family in Genesis 31-35 have that affectionate feel. Rachel steals the family idols from Laban, but there's no immediate or harsh condemnation from God. Instead God teaches the family through providence and encounters with him: through the worry about Esau, the wrestling with the Lord, and the horrible incident with Dinah after they got too friendly with the pagans. At the end of all that God tells Jacob to go to Bethel and worship him there (ch. 35), and Jacob responds by getting rid of those idols. I sense God's care in all this. Without ever giving a direct scolding, God patiently yet firmly brings Jacob's family to a point where they see his care and how being devoted to him alone is better than anything they may have been trusting those idols to give them.
I realize that's not a single, neat verse, but it's what came to mind when you asked the question.