Why is God so cruel in the OT?

[Elijah674]

Elijah, that was a nightmare to read.

HI, hope that, that is true for you to the point that you will study Matt. 4:4 + 2 Tim. 3:16 and then become a REAL Christian! Matt. 28:20

Think of your nightmare this way before you fall to sleep tonight... Obad. 1:16 is the Total Complete END of ALL SIN AND SINNERS. They & it (sin) will BE BLOTTED FROM ETERNITY. GONE! NEVER, NEVER TO EXIST AGAIN! The Word is, 'AS THOUGH THEY HAD [[[NEVER]]] BEEN! Got that??

And for all of these ones, there is still HOPE if this NIGHTMARE can find them doing what God REQUIRES! Gen. 4:7 + Acts 5:32's CONDITION!

--Elijah

 

[Theofilus]

Why is God portrayed so often in the Old Testament as a cruel tyrant? Cursing and dooming people? I don't understand and I don't want to serve a cruel God, but maybe I'm missing something...

The reason people see cruelty in the Old Testament and love in the New Testament is because that's what they want to see and that's what they've been taught to see. Here are a few examples of what the Old Testament says about God (all quotes from KJV):

Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. (Ex. 15:13)

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. (I Chron. 16:34)

Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. (Ps. 69:16)

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. (Is. 63:7)​

And here are some verses from the New Testament:

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Luke 3:7)

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. (Rev. 18:8)

And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. (Rev. 9:17-18)

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matt. 10:28)​

The Old Testament says a lot about God's love and mercy, while the New Testament also speaks a lot about His righteous wrath and judgement. People just see what they want to see. Jesus said "Seek and ye shall find". If you go through the Bible looking for God's wrath, then you will find it but, if you look for God's love, mercy and grace, then you will also find that, both in the Old and New Testaments.

 

[Alabaster]

Being murdered for consensual fornication, heterosexual or other, is not just.

Don't call God a murderer. Look at it as JUDGMENT for sin. Sin can be fun! Consensual anything, if it is sin, has a cost.

Romans 6:23 NLT
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.


Notice sinners get paid a wage. Sin must be hard work.

 

[montanaviking]

---
You agree with what??

I am just teasing you Elijah. ;-) We are brothers here!

Over the past year or so, God has really hit home with me on the verse Isa 55:8. My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts.

Many times we believers struggle with understanding how God works and we have the Spirit of God in us giving us faith. The unbeliever has no such help and so really has no way of even beginning to understand God. His ways are not our ways. He does not do things the way we would do things. He doesn't even think like we think.

God is holy-We are not
God is righteous- we are not
God is pure- we are not
God is just- we are not
God is love- we are not

How can we comprehend such a being? Well for starters we must acknowlege him as God. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

So, the answer to the question is.... God is not cruel. We just cannot understand his ways. He is holy and everything he does is right whether we understand it or not.

 

[Alabaster]

I am just teasing you Elijah. ;-) We are brothers here!

Over the past year or so, God has really hit home with me on the verse Isa 55:8. My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts.

Many times we believers struggle with understanding how God works and we have the Spirit of God in us giving us faith. The unbeliever has no such help and so really has no way of even beginning to understand God. His ways are not our ways. He does not do things the way we would do things. He doesn't even think like we think.

God is holy-We are not
God is righteous- we are not
God is pure- we are not
God is just- we are not
God is love- we are not

How can we comprehend such a being? Well for starters we must acknowlege him as God. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

So, the answer to the question is.... God is not cruel. We just cannot understand his ways. He is holy and everything he does is right whether we understand it or not.

Yes, God doesn't think like we think. We must adjust our thinking to appreciate and accept His. He sees us as holy. He sees us as righteous. Jesus' blood poured over us is all He sees---not the natural man, but the new creation. It is high time we free people in Christ began to believe that we live according to the exemplar---Jesus the sinless One.