I have heard it said many times that the God of the Old Testament was one of vengeance, but the God of the New Testament is one of mercy. Many people struggle with these two seemingly opposite depictions of God. His very character comes into question. How could the same God who said, 'love your enemies' and 'turn the other cheek' also have commanded violence against other nations, including their infants and children?
There are many theories on this. Some have argued that you have to put the violence of the Old Testament within its historical and cultural contexts. Israel was a young nation in comparison to others, and much smaller and weaker. God was attempting to create a people of His own who would fill the earth with His glory and bring others to Him. Therefore, some acts of violence were necessary, this theory states, in order to cleanse the nation of Israel and to keep them pure from the influences of the pagan nations around them.
In the book, Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence by Gregory A Boyd, the author proposes a different view - that the violence we see depicted in the Old Testament are all acts of man or of the Destroyer, not of God. He believes it is the violence in the hearts of men or the influence of other nations that makes the people of God go way beyond what God intended, committing acts of violent murder and annihilation. In some cases, a careful reading of the text reveals that the people did go much farther than what God had commanded or that they even enacted their own acts of vengeance without His say-so.
Boyd also claims that the acts of violence which are supernatural or disaster-related are evidence of God withdrawing His hand of protection, not personally carrying out the destruction. He allowed the event to occur, or allowed the enemy to commit the event, but did not have His hand directly in it. It is true that the devastation that often befalls the people of God is a direct result of their sin and rebellion. The consequence, we could say, of their actions, which God had warned them about ahead of time and which they could have avoided. There is some comfort in this, as a parent who allows a child to experience the natural consequences of their actions is sometimes doing the most loving thing he/she could do. Boyd writes that these "extreme" examples are "what collective human sin looks like when God withdraws his merciful restraints to allow it to run its self-destructive course."
What I appreciated about Boyd's book is the concept of reading the Old Testament with "cross-vision." If we understand that the ultimate act of violence - the beating and hanging of the Son of God on a cross to die - was redeemed by God to save the world, we can use that same understanding to view the violence of the Old Testament.
God's desire for mercy is not just something we find in the New Testament. Deuteronomy 4:31 says God is a "merciful God." Psalm 145:8 notes God is slow to anger and abounding in love. Psalms 72:14 says our blood is precious to God. Ezekiel 33:1 even states that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but wants all to turn to Him and live. We see multiple examples of God's incredible mercy on individuals at different points in the Old Testament, both within the people of God and without (Preston Sprinkle's book, Charis, covers this well). Now that sounds more similar to the God of the New Testament!
In the psalms and the prophets, we see God grieving for the violence and the injustices that plague the community. He is brokenhearted. When we look at the violence of the Old Testament, or even the violence of today, we should see it the way God sees it - through tears, lament, and great grief.
We see this reflected in Jesus. Jesus, the all-powerful God in a fleshly, earthly, limited body. Jesus, who could have taken the world by storm, defeated the great Roman army with a single exhale, and sent every human being to their knees... didn't. He walked humbly. Served others. Spoke out against injustice. Loved the unlovable. Embraced the outcast. Mourned when His people turned away from truth. And, ultimately, defeated sin and death by going willingly to the cross.
As Boyd says, "The crucified Christ is not only the supreme revelation of God's perfect character, He is also the supreme illustration of a perfect human character - the kind of character God created us to have and the kind of character we shall have when we are fully transformed into the image of Jesus Christ."
Today as the news is covering the devastating bombing of Iran, I saw a meme on social media depicting a photo of the destruction in Iran and the words over it in bold: Who would Jesus bomb?
Ultimately, is that not the question?
We cannot use the violence of Scripture to justify bombing or destroying anyone. We cannot use the violence of Scripture to justify genocide, as many have done before. The person and servanthood of Christ do not allow us to. Not if we truly consider ourselves Christians - Christ followers. The early Christians had all the reasons in the world to draw their swords as they faced increasing levels of persecution, but they did not. They believed following Jesus meant walking a path of peace.
Should we not follow in their example? As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Imitate me, as I imitate Jesus."
Violence is the way of the world, not the Kingdom.
It breaks God's heart.
May it break ours as well.
FOR MORE...
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- Pick up my book, "Letters to the Jaded Evangelical: Finding Jesus in the Shards of Religion."
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