Observation concerning the God of the Hebrew Scriptures v. the God of the Greek Scriptures articulated on FB:“When I compare new testament with the old testament, I draw a conclusion that God in the old testament is cruel, evil and merciless.”

Christian response,

God in the Hebrew Scriptures is the very same God in the Greek Scriptures (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). Two-wholly different dispensations and Covenants. God in the Hebrew Scriptures was maneuvering through man’s wickedness and rebellion in order to bring forth His Messiah who would be a blessing to every family of the Earth (Genesis 12:3). The Noahic generation had become so vile and wicked (Genesis 6:5) that God refused to set-apart a people group through whom He would bring Messiah into the World; therefore, all but eight were destroyed and God began anew with Noah and his family.

God suffered through the obstinate and rebellious Hebrew Nation that He set-apart through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; these people rebelled against God and angered Him time and time again yet God remained faithful and through the Tribe of Judah, God brought forth Messiah as He had promised in Genesis 3:15 and pictured the Gospel in Genesis 3:21. Then the offspring of these very same people rejected their Messiah, falsely accused Him of blasphemy and had Him murdered upon a tree while demanding that His blood be upon them and their children (Matthew 27:25).

Far too often mankind incorrectly pictures God as a soft fellow sitting on a cloud, emotionless, observing the affairs of mankind but the truth is, our God is a WARRIOR GOD and you and I are in the midst of a cosmic war of unfathomable proportions that was initiated in the Kingdom of God before the beginning of Time; that rebellion-that cosmic struggle and its destruction was removed from the Kingdom (Luke 10:18) and this Earth was created as a repository for that war to partially constrain its warriors by Time and physics; in fact, the primary purpose for Messiah’s appearance in Time was “to destroy the works of the Devil” (1 John 3:8b).

If you understood God’s purposes and His dealings with Satan and the rebellious angels, a war that is manifesting around you this very day…you would understand God’s wrath and why He appears to be cruel and arbitrary when in actuality, God is merciful, loving, and has given Himself for our salvation through His own suffering and death on a Cross. God has given His all to provide mankind eternal life and defeat the works of the Devil via selfless love and personal sacrifice (John 3:16). Those who love God and have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Mediator for sin will understand these things in their fullness once we are free from the constraints of the decaying body of flesh (2 Corinthians 5:8; 1 Corinthians 3:12).