Questions: Is the God of the Old Testament different than the God of the New Testament?
One of my favorite Batman villains is Harvey Dent, also known as “Two-Face”. Before becoming disfigured, Harvey Dent was a Gotham City district attorney helping bring many criminals to justice while keeping the streets of Gotham safe. However, after an accident which left his face half disfigured, Harvey Dent became crazy and evolved into the criminal we now know as “Two-Face”. This psychopath flips a coin, letting fate decide who he will kill and who he will spare. He became one of Batman’s most know enemies; killing hundreds in Gotham City while making it a goal to destroy the Caped Crusader.
Sometimes I think that God can seem similar to “Two-Face”. He can seem cruel and vengeful in the Old Testament while appearing loving and gracious in the New Testament. Indeed, this apparent character split is the reason many avoid reading the Old Testament altogether. Could it be that the God of the Old Testament is not the same s the One of the New Testament? Could it be that the writers of the Bible changed their descriptions of God as time went on, making him seem more approachable as history slowly moved forward? Or, could it be that the God of the Bible is the same throughout, not changing in character but remaining rock, a constant base, upon which we can choose to stand?
I have now read the Bible from beginning to end twelve different times and as I dive more into the Old Testament, I become more convinced that the character of God never changes. The Old Testament is a story of redemption, God saving a nation out of slavery due to his divine mercy, not because they somehow deserved it. Does this sound familiar to the story of redemption we sin in Christ? It tells about the beginning of mankind, how we chose to sin and how God used that to bring about the crazy plan of redemption. That is the focus of the narrative from Genesis to Malachi, a tale of how God plans to save all of mankind. We see that in the life and calling of Abraham. We follow the redemptive story in the lineage of King David. The prophets tell us about how that plan of redemption is not forgotten even though David’s lineage seems to be destroyed during the Babylonian exile. Every page continues the story, every moment capturing the mercy and grace of God, a God that will not let humankind wallow in defeat but instead be raised to newness of life.
A wise pastor once compared the Bible to a “Where’s Waldo” book. When you look through “Where’s Waldo” you see a variety of different images. Some take place in space and some are on the beach. Some pictures are from prehistoric times while others are in the future. These books are full of random images that only have one common theme, Waldo. Without Waldo, the book is no longer cohesive. He is hidden in every image, sometimes easy to see while other times quite difficult. But, nonetheless, Waldo is in the picture. He always looks the same, wearing his red striped sweater and crazy hat. He never changes, page to page, even when everything else may change around him.
In the same way, Jesus is the glue that brings the Old Testament and the New Testament into one cohesive unit. He was there in the moment of creation and is promised in Geneses 3 as the one who would finally destroy the serpent that brought about sin. We see in Genesis 22 that God provided a substitute so that Isaac would not have to be sacrificed. We see that substitute again provided in Exodus 12, bringing about another story of redemption. Do you see Waldo yet in these passages? Do you see Jesus in them?
In Joshua 2, we see that the faith of a Gentile brings about salvation for her and deliverance for her non-Jewish family. In Judges 7, God uses only 300 men to destroy the entire Midianite army, prefiguring one sacrifice that would end up saving millions. We read of Samuel being raised up as a prophet, judge, and priest, prefiguring a future leader who would be the King of Kings, one True Prophet, and Perfect Sacrifice for our sins. In 1st Samuel 24, David saves Saul’s life though Saul certainly deserved death. David’s son, Solomon, is given wisdom in 1st Kings 3 and later his lineage will give rise to the One that is, “The Wisdom of God” (1st Corinthians 1:24). Friends, do you see Waldo yet? Do you see Jesus?
We could go on and on! In 2nd Kings 2, Elijah is taken to heaven in a whirlwind, prefiguring One who would live a perfect life and ascend to heaven. Yet, because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, He is able to also raise us into heaven as well. We see Him speaking to Abraham (Genesis 18), leading Joshua (Joshua 5), and in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3). His birth is proclaimed by the prophet Micah while His death is foretold by Isaiah. Indeed, Jesus is the Waldo of the Old Testament, always there in symbolism, being, and prophecy.
So, we come back to our original question: Is the God of the Old Testament different than the God of the New Testament? As we read the Old Testament we can confidently proclaim that He is the same throughout! He is always working, bringing about redemption and salvation that the New Testament makes plain to us. His character is unchanging, showing mercy, grace, patience, and love while also being completely just and holy. Norman Geisler interestingly points out that the word “mercy” in the King James Version of the Bible is found 261 times in the Bible, 72% of those occurrences are in the old Testament. He also found that the word “love” occurs 322 times in the Bible, 50% of the time in the Old Testament. In other words, God has never changed, His attributes are the same, though sometimes in His plan that can be hard to see. However, when we look to Jesus it makes more sense; we see God clearer and understand the story of the entire Bible.
Thus, take confidence in the fact that God never changes. Take confidence that due to that fact, He is a constant rock and foundation for you to rest your life upon. Most of all, be amazed at the beautiful story of redemption the Bible tells, a story that not only changes our life now, but also our eternal fates. God never changes, and the sooner I realize that fact the sooner I allow Him to save the wretched sinner that I am.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
