If you’ve never read through the Bible before, or even the Old Testament, the last few weeks of walking through Genesis and Job have no doubt left you with a myriad of questions. Why did these men live so long? Where did these strange practices come from? How did the population come to be so vast when it began with a family that only had two living sons?
While we know that God does not change, why does the God of the Old Testament seem so different than the God of the New Testament?
I often hear from Christians, both those who are relatively new to the faith and those who have been followers for a long time, that it seems difficult to reconcile the God of the OT to Jesus of the NT. Part of the difficulty comes from our own generalizations and reading what we desire into the text–Jesus came to preach love and grace, while God in the OT sends floods to wipe out humanity, destroys cities, and turns people into pillars of salt. When we try to categorize the God of the universe into these literary tropes, we not only dishonor him with our deliberate misunderstanding, but we deceive ourselves into classifying God as something he’s not.
While it is true that God manifests himself differently in the book of Genesis and throughout the Old Testament, it is just as true that his desire is still to reconcile humanity to himself, for the sake of his glory.
We see evidence of our so-called “New Testament God” regularly throughout the readings we’ve had in the past few weeks. Here are just a few from our readings since January 16th:
- The Call of Abram — as Pastor Scott pointed out in his sermon on January 19, Joshua 24:2 tells us that before Abram was called, his family served other gods. Instead of leaving Abram to his pagan traditions (and ultimately damnation), God mercifully calls Abram to a life of worshipping Him.
- God’s Covenant with Abram — again, the sermon this past week helped us to see that not only did God make a promise to Abram, but that He regularly reminded Abram of that promise, and showed patience when disbelief began to cloud Abram’s mind. God gave Abram an indication of His plans. and entered into a covenant with him in Genesis 12:1-3, 13:14-16, 15:1-6, and 17:1-8.
- God listens to Abraham’s Appeal for Sodom — Genesis 18:22-33 tells us that not only was God willing to show mercy to the righteous in Sodom, but He was gracious enough to even entertain Abraham’s questions. We later learn in chapter 19 that God did in fact save a righteous one from Sodom, that being Abraham’s nephew, Lot. This act of mercy should not be overlooked, as Lot chose to live in Sodom as well as stay there, although he likely knew of the depravity of his neighbors.
- God Protects Abimelech — Genesis 20 details an account where fear and lack of faith in God again put Abraham and Sarah into compromising positions. God is merciful to all of the people involved in this mess and warns Abimelech not to touch Sarah, intervening before anything worth punishing could even take place. A very similar story also takes place in 26:6-30 with Isaac and Rebekah.
- God Protects Hagar and Ishmael — Genesis 21:8-21 tells the story of God showing grace to Sarah’s slave woman and Abraham’s other son. Although this offspring is technically borne out of lack of faith in God’s plans, he does not punish Hagar and Ishmael, and instead promises greatness for Ishmael and stays with him (v. 18-20).
- God Shows Compassion to Leah — Later in Genesis 29, we read the story of Jacob with Rachel and Leah. God’s compassion on Leah has always struck me, because of how heavy the weight of rejection must have been for her. God “saw that Leah was hated, [and] he opened her womb” (v. 31). Leah gives birth to three sons, finally declaring with the birth of Judah that “This time I will praise the Lord” (v. 35). In a seemingly hopeless situation, where Leah knows she is neither wanted nor loved, God shows a kindness to her that only he has the power to provide, and that still allows his plan and purpose to be accomplished through Jacob.
All of these situations remind me of the parables in Luke 15, where God goes after “the one” to bring them back. Our God has always been the same! His desire is for His own glory and for His disciples to make that glory known, and often this comes from one or two people sharing their rescue story. Yes, God does bring forth judgment in the Old Testament, and oftentimes it is gruesome and hard for us to read…but He is also a God of love, grace, mercy, and compassion, and we can see that clearly in the Old Testament.
As you continue your readings in Genesis this week, consider how you view God when reading. Is your reaction to His actions correct? Are there aspects of human depravity that you want to excuse, or do you see the justification for his righteous judgment? Where can you find God’s love and mercy amid the narratives of the OT? He is a good God, and he has made that plain for us to see in his Word.
Photo by Jenny Smith on Unsplash
