In church forums, in conversations with friends and colleagues, even in family conversations I have heard the statement: "There is a huge difference between the Old and New Testament God. In the Old Testament we see a strict, serious, very demanding God and in the New Testament we see a very loving, patient and very peaceful One.". The question is: is this statement true and/or accurate? Is it really the case that the character of God differs from one portion of the Bible to another? After all, the Bible does say about God:
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."- Hebrews 13:8
So what then? Is the Bible lying? Have you asked yourself this question?
For as long as I can remember, in church and amongst christians friends I've heard statements about God's character and how He appears to be a radically different God between the Old and the New Testament. After all, a quick read throughout the first few books in the Old Testament show a loving yet stern, strict and jealous God all the while the New Testament shows a God that's merciful, compassionate, loving, peaceful, patient. Which section of the Bible shows the "true God"?
For some time, I even asked that question myself. As I said... a "quick read" left me with that impression. Some time later, an in-depth read took away all doubts :)
God, Bible and Character
Once I heard a very wisdom-filled phrase that although I forgot the exact wording, I never forgot the lesson. It goes something like this: "by reading the Bible for the sake of reading the Bible you can find endorse murder". In other words, reading the Bible with the wrong intentions, purpose or attention can be as useless as reading about unicorns and elves. I'll be the first one to admit that reading books 2-5 of the Old Testament can be a little too much; rules, regulations, restrictions and family trees are just some of the things you find there. Still, when I really thought about it I realized that the rules and restrictions in the Bible say a lot about WHO GOD IS. In the end, that's the main purpose of the Bible... to help us get to know Him better, no? It took me many years to take those books seriously and sit down with the full intention of understanding and absorbing information. I had asked God to please help me focus and so He did. By the end of the book of Leviticus I realized that the character of God is truly immutable.
I believe that none of us who study Bible or at least have heard about Jesus disagree that the character of Jesus in the New Testament is just beyond this world kind and loving, right? Most of us who question God's character do so on the basis of what we read in the Old Testament... Well, let me share with you the chapter that changed the game for me in the Old Testament:
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 ‘Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 ‘Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the Lord your God. 5 ‘And if you offer a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, you shall offer it of your own free will. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it,and on the next day. And if any remains until the third day, it shall be burned in the fire. 7 And if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination. It shall not be accepted. 8 Therefore everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned the hallowed offering of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people. 9 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. 11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 13 ‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord. 15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. 17 ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. 19 ‘You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you. 20 ‘Whoever lies carnally with a woman who is betrothed to a man as a concubine, and who has not at all been redeemed nor given her freedom, for this there shall be scourging; but they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, a ram as a trespass offering. 22 The priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed. And the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him. 23 ‘When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. 24 But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the Lord. 25 And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the Lord your God. 26 ‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor shall you practice divination or soothsaying. 27 You shall not shave around the sides of your head, nor shall you disfigure the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord. 29 ‘Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness. 30 ‘You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord. 31 ‘Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God. 32 ‘You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord. 33 ‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. 35 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. 36 You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 ‘Therefore you shall observe all My statutes and all My judgments, and perform them: I am the Lord.’ ”
Tell me that you don't see the same kindness and moral behavior that Jesus taught in the New Testament? God was strict in the Old Testament just as He was strict in the New one when people were selling and trading in the city temple. In the Old Testament God was trying to create a people that would be a beacon of light to a world filled with darkness and in order to have a group, a nation of holy people, evilness cannot be tolerated... same case in the New Testament. God's temple was not to be used as a trading center for scheming and profiting.
Friend that read me, I could go on and on about how God is immutable but nothing that I say will be as impactful as you asking God to direct you and read your Bible with His guidance. God doesn't change and God loves you. He's strict sometimes... but only because He wants what's best for you and, more importantly, He KNOWS what's best for you.
Until next one!
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