The God of the Old Testament...
I don't know about you but I have struggled at times to reconcile the nature and character of the God in the Old Testament with the God in the New Testament. I sometimes find myself asking or being asked questions like "If God is a God of love how could He order nations to be wiped out?" or "Why did He favour one people over everyone else?". After having a conversation with a friend who has the same struggle as I do, the thoughts below emerged.
Now, this I believe is a place for me to start the processing of these questions. I am not a Bible Scholar but I strive to understand the heart of God and more importantly His heart for His people. As you read, please feel free to comment below or contact me on Facebook messenger or email to discuss further. I would really love to hear your thoughts on this.
The fall in the garden set a domino or ripple effect into motion. No longer was Yah in perfect communion with man. Sin had entered the world creating chasm between Yah and His beloved.
In order to redeem His beloved there would be things that needed to be done that most won’t understand. His dear one did not realise that one act of disobedience in the garden would require the shedding of blood of many and still that wouldn’t be enough to stitch the tear in the relationship between the Most High and His children.
His favouring of one people over everyone else was to secure the future of everyone else. In order for the great plan of redemption to take place, He needed a people holy and set a part for himself. You see, God is faithful and faithful to the point of keeping His word even if it means having to standby and witness His people in pain and turmoil. This I learnt from Dr. Myles Munroe through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. If Yah dared break the principle set in place we couldn’t trust Him to keep His word. He honours His word above His name.
He knew that the only way to reconcile us to himself, the only way to build the bridge back between Him and His beloved was to secure a holy people from which He could fulfil His plan.
Remember God is a spirit but the fall of man required a blood sacrifice greater than the lambs and doves that were being used in the old covenant to maintain our communion. Yah needed to become fully man in order to redeem His beloved.
Hence, the young virgin Mary from the line of David. Even in His selection of this fair maiden, His faithfulness can be seen. It was through this set a part nation that He secured His entry to execute His beautiful redemption plan. Now look at this love. Not only does He subject himself to the frailty of the human body, He then lays down His life in order to set the captives free. What manner of love is this, indeed!
As I said earlier, these thoughts came from me processing these questions relating to the nature of the God in the Old Testament. I am not Sway and I don't have all the answers but I believe questions that are not asked have a higher probability of receiving no answers than those that are asked. I will continue to ask the hard questions and try my best to listen to answers that come even when they may seem too hard for me to comprehend.
Until next time, keep livin da dream.
Photo by Cristina Gottardi on Unsplash