Is the God of the Old Testament the Same God of the New Testament?

The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament!

In the time of Mosaic Law, there was a precept that the sons of one who sins would bear the guilt of the father’s iniquity. God had declared that disobedience would be dealt with severely, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation…” (Exodus 20:5b) Presumably the stain of sin stays around long after it is exercised. It could be that the threat of punishment continuing on into their generations offered added gravity to encourage the Israelites to obey God’s code of ethics. But later the visions of Jeremiah and Ezekiel promise each person will be responsible for their own sin, not that of their family. So what happened, did God change His mind? Why is the condition removed of generational punishment for sin? The good news is God is making a new covenant with Israel and Judah, that continues to apply to us.

I think of it as God’s plan unfolding over time. A certain amount of training and history, including prophecy, came during the time when Mosaic Law ruled. Just as I treat my children differently now that they are grown, so has God entered into a new relationship era with us, post-Jesus. Now that the burden of sin has been satisfied, through Jesus' sacrifice we live in grace.

We hear a lot about the exacting, furious God of the Old Testament. How Joshua was ordered to kill everything associated with certain people groups. How can this be the same God who sent His own Son, Jesus, to save the world?

While the slaughter of entire people groups is horrific to comprehend there is a difference between justice and genocide. The peoples God had removed from the land Israel was to possess, were wicked and evil and beyond the help of even the touch of the Holy Spirit. They had so grievously transgressed any semblance of decency that the only merciful option left was to remove them. Today we do this through our justice system. If a person persistently chooses to break the law of the land, they are removed from the general population. When an entire society is at fault, the entire population needs to be removed. (There is evidence that if innocent were among the populations they may have been spared. That is way above my pay grade, so we can leave that to the experts.)

What Evidence Shows God to Be Concerned about People in the Old Testament?

Was God a cruel and exacting dictator during these days? Let’s look at just one of the visions, promises, and prophecies that came during the time of the Prophets. According to the warning accompanying Ezekiel’s vision the transgressions mentioned were:

• Eating on the high mountain (participating in idol worship)
• Defiling a neighbor’s wife
• Oppressing anyone
• Exacting a pledge (Extortion)
• Commitimg robbery
• Not giving bread to the hungry
• Not covering the naked with a garment

By today’s standards these do not seem to be the highest level of crimes against the ten commandments. Would murder be on your list if you created it? It would be on mine. But the grievances named in Ezekiel eighteen have a common thread, a condition of the heart. The Bible tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” (John 3:16)

All of these offenses, except for idol worship, are directly contrary to God’s heart for people. God protects and provides for people who are in need, and He expects His children to do likewise. God has allowed us to participate in His love for this world when there are people around us who are in need.

Participating in idol worship is also a condition of the heart, but it is directed at God Himself. It is a direct violation of the first and highest commandment to “have no other gods besides me.” (Exodus 20:3 & Deuteronomy 5:7) If we put anything in the place or even alongside God it is idol worship, thinking we know better than what God has for us. (Sounds familiar, Adam and Eve. See Genesis 2:17)

One God Gives Both of the Covenants

Given that all these commandments and precepts came directly from God it may be confusing to understand why He would seemingly change His mind and personality. But scripture reveals that God had long sent Judges, Kings and Prophets to attempt to bring His children back into the right relationship with Himself and each other.

We as humans cannot satisfy the Law, so God gives a new and more gracious covenant, and He provides the required sacrifice to accompany it. One that completes and fulfills His law.

The new covenant is foretold long before it arrives, promising a new relationship for God’s people to live under. In the Mosaic covenant, God gives Israel the law to set them apart from the hard-hearted people living around them. They were to show God’s true character, His care for the less fortunate and powerless. In Old Testament days the lack of care for the poor and downtrodden was staggering. People who owed a debt were enslaved or thrown in prison. People who were of meager means were cast out of society. It was truly a survival of the fittest economy. Then the long-awaited promise was realized: The new covenant came through Jesus.

In the old covenant, sacrifices must be brought to God by the high priest. In the new covenant, Jesus, the highest priest, gave Himself as an eternal sacrifice, it was God bringing Himself to the people. This merciful and loving God has throughout human history made every possible provision to rescue people from ourselves. A careful reading of the Old testament with a heart looking for God’s love for the world reveals this truth.

Happy Honeymooning!

“For I, the Lord, do not change, therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.”

(Malachi 3:6)