God of the Old Testament
April 15th, 2008
One of the traps we can fall into sometimes is thinking that the God in the Old Testament (From creation to just before Jesus) was a harsh and judgmental God and the God of the New Testament (From Jesus and the early church period) was a loving and gracious God. The reality is it is both the same God and they are both loving and gracious.
Recently I was looking at the Covenant relationships God made with the people of the Old Testament. In particular I looked at the Covenants that God made with Abraham and Moses. It was interesting to study these and follow them over time. One thing that really stood out was that these Covenants were God’s idea and that no matter what the people did to break them and walk away from Him, He was always ready to bring them back to Himself. Yes at times He brought judgment, but this happened after sending prophets and great leaders to warn and correct the people over a long period of time. God’s correction was always out of His great love for His chosen people.
Looking at these Covenants reminded me of the great love God has for us and how He relates to us. First and foremost He is loving and caring towards us and wants what is best for us. Then secondly, when we stumble and do the wrong things or completely turn away from Him, He is always looking at ways He can restore our relationship. He never wants to let us go. As Jeremiah 30:22 tells us that He just wants to be our God and He wants us to be His people.