“The God of the Old Testament was so harsh.” It’s a common objection.
Here’s what the Old Testament says about God:
- “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Ex. 34:6)
- “The Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.” (Deut. 1:31)
- “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (Isa. 49:15)
- “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” (Isa. 42:3)
- “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Ps. 147:3)
- “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” (Isa. 40:11)
- “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (Ps. 103:13–14)
- “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” (Isa. 40:29)
- “His mercies never come to an end.” (Lam. 3:22)
Yes, there are some other hard verses that need careful attention in their original historical and cultural context, and there are some laws that seem weird and harsh to 21st-century readers. But there are also laws like Exodus 22:26–27, which forbids keeping someone else’s coat overnight as a pledge for a debt: “In what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.” That should tell us something about “the God of the Old Testament”!
And then there’s “the God of the New Testament”:
- “There will be wrath and fury for those who do not obey the truth.” (Rom. 2:8)
- “When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.” (Acts 5:5–6)
- “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (1 Cor. 11:30)
- “The Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance.” (2 Thess. 1:7–8)
- “Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’” (Heb. 10:28–30)
- “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:31)
- “Fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mt. 10:28)
- “Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.” (Jude 1:5)
- “He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.” (Rev. 19:15)
There is no “God of the Old Testament” or “God of the New Testament.” There’s just God.
Here’s the point: There is no “God of the Old Testament” or “God of the New Testament.” There’s just God. Absolutely unchanging. Utterly perfect in all his perfections. The same God who struck down Uzzah struck down Ananias. The same God who carried the cross carried Israel as a father carries his child.
Jesus came to more fully reveal Yahweh, not to reveal a different God.
Jesus came to more fully reveal Yahweh, not to reveal a different God. “With him there is no variation or shadow due to change” (Jas. 1:17). The God revealed in Jesus is “the God of the Old Testament.” Perfectly loving and kind. Perfectly holy and just. Then, now, and forever. Fear him. Love him. Honor him. Delight in him.
