Surprising Mercy

I often bump into people, even those who are Christians, who think that the Bible is a book about two different gods.  One, in the New Testament, is Jesus, the God of love, friendship, compassion, kindness, mercy and grace.  He's warm and fuzzy!

In the Old Testament, you have a different God.  He's cranky.  He's mean and ornery.  He hates people, and loves judgment.  According to these folks, they think that Jesus is always staring down the Old Testament God and telling him to back off!

Closer study reveals that nothing could be further from the truth.  Firstly, often times when you see God revealed in the Old Testament, you have to remember that you are often seeing the second person of the Trinity. Consider Isaiah 6.  John tells us that Isaiah saw Jesus there in the temple that day.  Consider also the many passages of scripture depicting God in the Old Testament, begging His people to come back to Him. One such is in Psalm 81.

8  “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me!  9  “Let there be no strange god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god.  10  “I, the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. "

God is anxious to bless his people.  But if they will have none of them, he can't.  Consider the next words: 

11    “But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me.  12  “So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk in their own devices.

God sometimes gives us over to what we want if we want it more than Him.  All this so that we can see that what we want cannot satisfy us the way that he can!

13  “Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!  14  “I would quickly subdue their enemies And turn My hand against their adversaries.  15  “Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him, And their time [of punishment] would be forever.  16  “But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

As you read through the Old Testament, pay special attention to just how merciful God was in the Old Testament, and you will see how long suffering he really was. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

S/O to our friend Shana who is a huge help to us in making sure some young ladies got their Christmas gifts this year!  Yes, we shall call you Shana Claus.