This isn’t a new problem. The second century heretic Marcion saw this and decided the best explanation was that the God of the Old Testament was a different god from the Father of Jesus. Modern attempts to explain the difference have tended to assert that the OT is not divinely inspired scripture but merely a record of how people blamed God for the horrible things they did or saw. Jesus, in that view, would have come to make us understand that God really is all about peace, love, and forgiveness.
But what if the whole thing is a mistake? What if the OT God with his smite button and the Jesus with his lamb are both caricatures? Many who make this claim have never even read the whole Bible, but even those who have can suffer from a kind of confirmation bias — the passages that fit with the picture our society has created stick in our minds better than those that don’t. Let’s see if we can break down that caricature.
A God of Vengeance and Wrath
The usual complaints against the God of the Old Testament typically focus on the flood and the “genocide” of the Canaanites, so let’s look at those events.
The flood came about because “the LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Gen 6:5). Humanity had become so evil, so corrupt, he decided to reboot the species. So boom flood, right? No. He had Noah build a big boat. In an era without power tools. It took a long time, perhaps the 120 years mentioned in 6:3, but it certainly wasn’t quick. The building of the boat was a sermon to the wicked people around Noah — whether there was actual preaching or not — that God’s judgment was coming. They were given decades to repent and did not.
The various inhabitants of the Promised Land we usually call “the Canaanites” were also wicked people. Their evil got so bad they were burning their children alive as worship to their demon gods. Did God smite them immediately? No. He gave them 400 years to get their act together (cf, Gen 15:13-16). Four centuries in which to figure out that killing children is not worship.
Would God have forgiven them if they repented? Jonah seemed to think so. He went to a lot of trouble to avoid preaching to Nineveh because “I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (4:2). In saying this, Jonah quotes the way God described himself to Moses when he called himself “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished ...” (Ex 34:6-7).*
The picture of God in the Old Testament is of a God who judges. But he is not gleefully rubbing his hands together as he waits for the funniest time to hit the smite button. He says, “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? ... Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (Ez 18:23). The true OT picture of God is that he is eager to forgive but eventually judges the unrepentant.
Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild
The popular conception of Jesus is that he taught we should turn the other cheek and accept everyone. We’re not quite sure what to do, then, with the Jesus who whipped people in the temple and overturned tables (John 2:13-17). It’s easy to skip over peaceful Jesus saying, “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49).
Jesus was happy to be associated with the gluttons, drunkards, and prostitutes, but he was harsh with those who didn’t repent at his preaching and miracles (eg, Matt 11:20-24). And for all he says God is happy to forgive, he promises judgment for those who persist in their disobedience (eg, Matt 7:13-23, 13:47-50). And we should not forget that the New Testament picture of God and Jesus is not complete without considering Revelation and the wrath that is to come (see, for example, Rev 15, 16).
In reality both the Old Testament and the New describe God as longsuffering and eager to forgive, but he will eventually judge the unrepentant.
If you have struggled with this distorted picture of God, it’s time to reread the Old Testament. Take the time to really think about those passages that don’t fit the popular caricature of the angry, vengeful God. Don’t miss the Psalms that sing about his forgiveness and mercy. Don’t skip Leviticus, where God explains the reason he punishes. Don’t be afraid of the prophets; they do talk about God’s judgment, but they also tell of the God who is faithful to the unfaithful and eager to forgive. If you take the time, you will see in the OT the God who “demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8).
* Yes, I skipped the last line. I dealt with this passage in detail in: What Does It Mean to Fear the LORD?
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See also:
Pleading for Sodom
Wrath and Repentance
God is not a Monster
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