What is God like? The disconnect between the God of the Old and New Testament.
Here’s my confession: I have often struggled to read the entirety of the Old Testament. I read the New Testament at least once a year. This past January, I chose a new bible reading plan from Alabaster Co. that includes passages from the Old and New Testament each week with a short reflection on how these passages, linked together, reveal a theme about what God and humanity are like. As we near the end of the year, I’d love to say that I’m through the 52 weeks but, it’s been a slow process. And savoring God’s word is slow work. I am, however, committed to the plan and will keep at it into the new year!
I’ve noticed that there’s sometimes a disconnect when we think about the God of the Old Testament and Jesus of the New Testament.
When you think of God in the OT…..what comes to mind? We often think of God as the one who insists that we keep all the rules. We see God as the punisher, the disciplinarian, the one who is easily agitated and brings the thunder! We tend to picture him as an angry God instead of a loving God.
When you think of Jesus….what comes to mind?Jesus, on the other hand, is the one we often associate with love, peace, mercy, and patience. We think of him as gentle and humble. He’s the one who knows what it’s like to be US…..to be human.
Then you throw in the wild part of the Trinity who shows up with tongues of fire, puts new words in peoples mouths (Acts 2) and gives the gift of prophecy (1 Corinthians 14). The Holy spirit feels like the most unpredictable part of the three. When He shows up…..what will happen?
How can these three beings be the same one, true God?
If these three make up the Trinity? Then what is HE really like?
There’s a passage in Exodus 34 where God Himself tells us what He is LIKE.
Let’s set the stage of what’s happening in Exodus just before God describes himself. Moses (and everyone else who was seeking the Lord) would go out to the Tent of meeting. Moses would enter the tent and God would descend in a cloud to speak with Moses. Exodus 33:11 describes it like this:
“The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his FRIEND.”
God asked Moses to bring him two new tablets to write the Ten Commandments on (they had been written down once and then, the tablets were broken). As Moses brings the tablets, the Lord comes down in a cloud and passes before Moses and He says, Let me tell you what I’m LIKE:
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Exodus 34: 6-7 (NIV)
The ESV says “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin.”
Compassionate and Gracious
The first Hebrew word that God uses to describe Himself is “rahum” pronounced “rak-hoom” and is translated compassionate. The second word is “hannun”, pronounced “khan-oon” and it’s translated as gracious.
Here’s something interesting about these two words: they almost ALWAYS go together, side by side in the scriptures. And…..they are ONLY used in reference to GOD and his character! God’s compassion and grace is such a unique part of His character, these Hebrew words are only used in reference to Him, no other persons.
Exodus 34: 6-7 is the most quoted verse in the bible by the bible…meaning the authors of the bible keep circling back to this passage all the time. If you know me, you know that I love the Psalms! The Psalms are where I have learned so much about what God is LIKE.
Psalm 86:15 says: But you, O Lord, are a God merciful (compassionate) and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Psalm 103:8: The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Sound familiar? The psalmist is repeating God’s description of what He is LIKE!
Psalm 103, vs 13 reads, “As the Father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.”
Turning towards God
We don’t just experience compassion and grace because we have received Jesus as Savior, we experience compassion and grace because it’s who God is! The writers of the Old Testament believed and declared that God is compassionate based on how they had experienced Him over the years. They received discipline from God because of their rebellious actions and turning away from Him. But, they also experienced His grace and compassion when they turned towards Him.
The bible tells one big story. The individual stories all fit together to tell us about God and humanity, and they point us to Jesus. The entirety of the OT is the story of humanity turning towards God, then turning away from God and then turning back to Him again. And, when they are turned towards God, they experience His compassion.
God gives this self-description to Moses of “here is what I am like” to Moses and then over 1,000 years go by. Waiting and waiting until…..Jesus is born.
Moved with compassion
Jesus, in human form, embodies the very characteristic that the Jewish people have been saying God is like. Numerous times in the gospels, we read that Jesus is “moved with compassion.”
He’s moved with compassion when he sees the multitudes who are weary and scattered.
He’s moved with compassion by those wandering, lacking guidance and He teaches them.
He’s moved with compassion when He sees the sick, in desperate need, and He heals them.
Jesus is moved with compassion by two blind beggars and opens their eyes, restoring their sight.
He’s moved with compassion to touch the hand of someone who was untouchable, a leper, and heals him with that touch.
And Jesus teaches His disciples about the heart of the Father through a story of a father who had two sons. (Luke 15: 11-31) You likely know this story, famously called the prodigal son. But, it could be argued that it’s MORE about the heart of the Father.
Heart of the Father
Jesus tells the story of the younger son returning home, sorrowful and repentant. And He describes the actions of the Father: “while he was a long way off, his father saw him and was MOVED WITH COMPASSION, and ran and embraced and kissed him.”
He’s compassionate towards the younger son who left, spent all that he had, lived his own way and realized that the life WITH his Father, was the better life. The father RUNS to him, embraces him and offers mercy and forgiveness before the son says a word!
God is compassionate towards the older son, who stays near the father, loyal and obedient. And, when he becomes angry and resentful, feeling like the younger son doesn’t deserve the Father’s compassion and mercy, God’s compassion towards the older son is the gift of always being WITH him. The older son has constant access to all that the Father has!
I imagine the disciples noticed the word “compassion” as Jesus described the Father and they were able to connect it to the character of God from Exodus 34, passed down through generations!
For over 1000 years, passed down through every family line, they repeatedly acknowledge this specific characteristic of God. Reminding each other that this is who God is and what He is like. God is compassionate and gracious!
Jesus is the tangible form of God, as a human, living out the heart of the Father with grace and compassion. The disciples bear witness to Him living from this heart of compassion. And, we get to experience this heart of grace and compassion from God, the Father, because Jesus has made a way for us to be beloved daughters!
This IS who God is and what He is really like.