Wow, that sounds merciful, loving and full of grace to me. Very Old Testament.
>>Wow, that sounds merciful, loving and full of grace to me. Very Old Testament.
The Old Testament God is the same as the New Testament God. He just gave us a means of grace in the form of Jesus. He still doesn’t like being told that worship has to fit in between the morning jog and kickoff. A big part of our problem is that we’ve convinced ourselves that God exists to serve us. A father can still love you and take you to the woodshed from time to time.
Hebrews 12:4-8 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh to you as children, My son,despise thou not the chastening of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord loveth,He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.
Our Father is a real “hands on” teacher. Those who refuse to learn pay the price.
Jesus talked about judgment and hell extensively. His birth and atoning sacrifice were not random thoughts of God a couple of thousand years ago, but a plan from the beginning for sinners in need of a savior.
Israel, after Jesus died, went through terrible times but God saved a remnant who miraculously returned there. God judged Israel for their idolatry and their failure to recognize Jesus as the awaited Messiah. Christians who believed in Jesus as Lord and Messiah went through the same circumstances.
The threads of judgment and mercy run through both Old and New Testaments. If you study both, you will be blessed and amazed at how much Jesus, God’s mercy, God’s judgment and the need for atonement show up.
God speaks often of the nations - at this point as a nation, we are defying God, we are idolaters, we are murdering innocent children and considering doing so to helpless elderly, have allowed homosexuality to become acceptable, have many apostate churches.
God talks about the nations many times in scripture. Like all those before us, we are subject to His mercy and His judgement, in the time of His choosing.