The God of the Old Testament

“When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.” (Deuteronomy 30:1-4 NIV)

To the general public, and probably to many Christians as well, the Old Testament has an image problem.  It represents the “wrathful, judgmental” God, whereas the New Testament tells the story of the “loving, forgiving” God.  Jesus is always favored over the “God of the Old Testament,” and most Christians spend their time reading the New Testament, but little time in the Old, with perhaps the exception of Psalms and Proverbs.  

But as I have been reading through the Old Testament again during my devotional times, I am reminded once more that there is truly only one God of the Bible, not two.  Yes, there is a lot of talk about following the Lord’s commands and the dire results for failure, but if we look closely, there is also a lot of grace and mercy—as in this passage.

Moses has spent the last two chapters recounting the blessings for obeying God and the consequences of not.  Some of the consequences are quite harsh, scary, in fact.  Yet, in this chapter lies hope.  It is evident the Lord knows the Israelites are going to disobey Him and they will reap the consequences; however, that is not the end of the story. Moses speaks of God’s mercy on those willing to turn back to Him when desperation sets in.  In other words, grace and repentance—two very common words/themes in the New Testament—are on full display.

We are attracted to the New Testament because of these themes, but we often assume they don’t exist in the Old Testament—thus, creating a false belief that there are two Gods.  As the Hebrew writer says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NIV)  There is only one God and He is both a God of justice and a God of grace.  And we see these characteristics throughout the Bible.  

Today, know the God of the Old and New Testaments is the same. Even if you have strayed far away from Him and His commands, He longs for you to return and will be gracious and kind toward you when you do. He has always been this way and He will never change.  

© Jim Musser 2015