I’m reading Ezekiel 32 and realize that somehow I distance myself from the Old Testament image of God because of the seeming ruthless punishments He rains down on the disobedient. I disconnect because I don’t want to realize that I am like those people who deserved that. I am so alienated from those punishments to an extent that I can’t even realize that those people got less than they deserved.

How can I reconcile my images of God into one God. The God of the Old Testament (OT) is the God of the New Testament (NT). I have both softened Jesus and hardened God, seeing Jesus as the forgiver when He is also the judge. I see God in the OT as the punisher and not the forgiver He also is. I have separated them because I don’t know how to look at myself in the true scheme of things. My struggle with the image of God is the same as my struggle with my image of myself. I like to see myself as better than I am instead of seeing the truth of what I really am without Jesus.

The OT God is my God, worthy of respect and honor. He is the terrifying truth of what has happened to this world, what sin does, and what outcomes sin produces. He gave many chances, warnings, and opportunities. He rewarded the faithful and worked continuously to build relationship with His people and His individuals. He was a parent to a child who was young, completely immature, and chose rebellion over the parent.

The OT is raw and open and obvious. I can see with great clarity the rebellion of the people. I can see their hatefulness and abuse of God and what He has given them. But I can also see Him crying out to them for repentance so that He can heal them. I see the preachers and prophets laying down the obvious truth of the entire Bible – sin produces death and repentance opens the door to God for life and healing.

The OT is direct as a parent is to a new child. A new child has to know the difference between “no” and “yes.” The message has to be clear or the child will get injured or killed. “Don’t touch the stove,” has to be powerfully reinforced to a child who is only at the doorstep of understanding. “Don’t run out into the street,” has to be commanded with extreme prejudice to a child who has no comprehension of the danger of the mistake. The parent punishes out of the deep desire to protect and keep the child in safety, far from the harms, worse than the punishment, which might truly harm or kill their beautiful child.

The OT God is my God. I don’t understand Him. I fear Him because He commands respect. I know He must be the God I love because all the Old Testament was preparation so Jesus could come and complete the work. I learned the truth of the hot stove through the burns I received. I learn respect for God when I see the true dangers and devastation that sin causes and when I learn to recognize my own nature. Jesus only becomes real in the true context of what life on this planet is really about.

It takes time and training to learn. I learned as a child, but I learned more and better as I aged. How many severe/emphatic warnings does it take for a child to grow to the point of only needing to receive the warning in a word? The OT brought us from spiritual birth and the beginning of spiritual awareness to Jesus. Jesus now takes us the rest of the way. https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.13.11.ESV “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” 1 Corinthians 13:11 ESV