Mothers Group Reflection #33: Is the God of the Old Testament the Same as the God of the New? (Part 2 of 2)

Last week, I introduced the question of whether God is different in the Old and New Testaments. I spoke briefly about the purpose of the Old Testament laws and commandments within our own lives, as a means to teach us how to truly love, and to show us where we are falling short of true love, for Jesus says that we show our love and will be loved by God when we follow His commandments. God’s commands and character are unchanging, no matter the time in which we live, and these laws were also given so that we might know our need for a Savior and turn to Him in trust.

I think probably the most important thing to remember when comparing the Old and New Testaments or really, when we look at any question in our faith life, it context and setting. I liken it to precious jewels, such as diamonds. Each word and verse of God is like a precious diamond. Diamonds are very beautiful, but not very useful when left loose by themselves. We could even have a beautiful handful of them and pull them out to look at them, but that is about it. We would quickly have to lay them aside in order to go about the business of the day. Yet, if we put them in the proper setting, they can adorn our bodies and lives, and be worn for all to see and enjoy, in each place that we go.

To go back to my original source of this question, I will turn to the book of the prophet Jeremiah. This question began to arise in my heart as I was led to spend some time in Jeremiah over the summer. As I read, I saw God dealing with a rebellious Israel and doling out punishments to them for their sins, and it brought up some tough questions that I find are common to many of us. Why does God appear this way, and was that His nature back then? As I said before, I am not a theology major or a Scripture scholar. I am just a woman who loves God and His Word. So, here are my thoughts.

First of all, the Israelites were living in a time before grace and the Holy Spirit dwelling within. They were very stubborn in general (as we all are at times), and they had to learn things the hard way sometimes. But what I did not find in Jeremiah’s words was a God who was bent on giving punishments from a place of sternness or because of out of control emotions. What I found surprised me. What I did find was that God let the punishment fit the crime, and not because He is sitting up in heaven trying to control us or look over our shoulder like a big boogey man, but because He loves us so much that He had to allow difficult circumstances to get through to His people and pull them away from roads leading to death and destruction, but that’s not what He wanted to do.

He was asking His people to trust Him and yet they kept committing adultery against Him by forming alliances with other nations because they didn’t trust Him to keep His word and protect them on their own. They never should have relied on relationships with undependable and idolatrous people rather than on God. As a result, they fell into some really, really bad stuff. Child sacrifice for one (Jer. 7:31). So, off they went to foreign captivity under the Babylonians, only the story didn’t end there. God allowed that captivity for 70 years, most likely because it takes that long to get through to His people when sin has reached that large of a scale. Patterns need to be broken and thoughts and hearts changed.

God speaks to and through the prophet Jeremiah in 8:25,28, “From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day, I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets...This is the nation which does not listen to the voice of the Lord, its God, or take correction.”

Yet, God retains His very tender nature through it all. As I read through Chapter 42, His people, the remnant, sought the prayers of Jeremiah for direction on what to do next. They wanted to go back to Egypt because they thought things would be better for them there. God’s response was, “If you remain quietly in this land I will build you up, and not tear you down; I will plant you, not uproot you; for I regret the evil I have done you. Do not fear the king of Babylon, before whom you are now afraid; do not fear him, says the Lord, for I am with you to save you, to rescue you from his power. I will grant you mercy, so that he will be sorry for you and let you return to your land.” God warned them that if they went to Egypt because they thought they could avoid war, famine and death, that is exactly what they would find. I see a God who desperately loves His people, who, like a parent who has had to discipline His children, seems to say, “this hurts me more than it hurts you.” He even warned them that even though their ideas looked good on the surface, they would lead to the very things they feared. And yet, that is exactly what they did. They once again turned to their own thinking and trusted more in their own ideas of how things should go, and they disobeyed God, the only One who could see the whole picture.

I see this same idea in Hosea chapter 11. “When Israel was a child, I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they went from me, Sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; Yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer. He shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be his king; The sword shall begin with his cities and end by consuming his solitudes. Because they refused to repent, their own counsels shall devour them” (Hosea 11:1-6 NAB).

Jesus says this very same sentiment in the New Testament as He enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, amidst crowds cheering for Him and shouting “Hosanna,” the same people who would shout “crucify Him” only a week later. In Luke 19: 41-44, we see, “As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’”

Again in Matthew 23:37, Jesus says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” There is a consistent theme throughout the Bible, Old and New Testaments, that God desires so much to enter into relationship with us, yet He gives us free will to choose Him or not, to choose to love or not. And we, not God, are responsible for the fruit of our ways, the magnitude of the consequences that befall us. When we choose to go against His commandments, His letters of love, we will eat the fruit of our ways, no matter what time we live in. In His great love, He allows us to fail so that we might repent before it’s too late. He allows us to reject Him completely because He wants us to love Him out of our free will and not by force. But while some doubts are normal, if we continue in stubbornness and disobedience in choosing our own ways, we risk spiritual blindness and eventually the inability to turn back to Him.

Jesus tells us in John 14:9, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” God reveals Himself to us in the person of Jesus. What we see is what we get. God’s words to us are the same whether in the Old Covenant or the New because the old was always the plan to lead to the new, it was a time of preparation. But that does not mean that God had a different character then.

I see some of the most beautiful sentiments of God in the Old Testament, loving promises from a loving Father. Even in the book of Jeremiah, of all places, He tells us, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (29:11) and again in 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”

In our most recent meeting, we heard from Sonja Corbitt the deep value of learning how to use our Bibles and to dig into God’s words to us, and to marinate in them, to meditate on them until they become a part of who we are. I encourage you to do just that. To find a Bible that you are comfortable with and begin to read, wherever you feel like starting, but to read this beautiful love letter from our Father in heaven and to know that He is good and He has good things in store for you. He is ever the same, never changing. His love is a constant in our lives, the only thing that is constant in an ever-changing world. He has shown that He always was the same, regardless of how we may misinterpret events or His words. And He is inviting each of you to spend time with Him each day. He longs to lead you, to take care of you, and most of all, to love you always.

In closing, I think we also need to remember that not all bad things that happen are a result of our sin either. Yes, the Israelites went through some very difficult things, times of captivity, judgment, etc. Yet, we see Jesus heal a man born blind from birth, not because of his sins or those of his parents, but to reveal the glory of God (John 9:1-3). The very same thing is true in the Old Testament account of Job. His faithfulness to God no matter the circumstances was showcased in the book of Job. His troubles were not because of sin or personal failure, but again, simply to show God’s faithfulness and that of His chosen instrument.

God’s ways are not our ways, neither are His thoughts like our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). But one thing I do know for certain, He is constant (Num. 23:19, Heb. 13:8), loving (Neh. 9:17, 1 John 4:8), and good (Psalm 145:9, Matt. 7:11).

Questions for further reflection:

If you struggle with seeing God as having the same character throughout history, how does this affect your daily walk with Him? Does it cause you to hold back a part of yourself in fear? Does it cause you to downplay the importance of His commands and take an “anything goes” type of attitude toward life? Does it fill you with doubt about whether He can truly be trusted in the daily needs of your life? I invite you to take this to prayer. Ask Him to reveal His true character to you over time. He delights to answer this request.

Verses for the week:

“God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind. Has he promised, and will he not do it? Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? - Numbers 23:19 NRSVCE

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” - Hebrews 13:8