It is mine to avenge; I will repay.
In due time their foot will slip;
their day of disaster is near
and their doom rushes upon them."
The LORD will judge his people
and have compassion on his servants
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free.
He will say: "Now where are their gods,
the rock they took refuge in,
the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise up to help you!
Let them give you shelter!
"See now that I myself am He!
There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
I have wounded and I will heal,
and no one can deliver out of my hand.
I lift my hand to heaven and declare:
As surely as I live forever,
when I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and repay those who hate me.
I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
while my sword devours flesh:
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders."
- Deuteronomy 32:35-42 -
With imageries like these it is no wonder that some Christians say that the God of the Old Testament is less compassionate and loving compared to Jesus Christ in the New Testament. However most fail to notice that Jesus is equally strict, He talked about eternal punishment, cursed the fig tree and even said He came not to bring peace but division! On the other hand, the God of the Old Testament is just as loving. He didn't bring down ten plagues upon Egypt without giving Pharaoh numerous warnings. He accepted Abraham's bargain to save Sodom - but alas, there were not enough righteous people to save it. He wanted to punished Nineveh and had sent Jonah to warn them of their impending doom, but relented when the people of Nineveh repented. I would cite more instances but I think you got the idea I was trying to convey; seriously if that is not compassion and love, I don't know what else to call it.God said "It is mine to avenge, I will repay ... I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh" and He did. The lance was drenched in His blood as it pierced His crucified self on the side. He avenge it upon himself and paid it in full. Isaiah was right: by his wounds we are healed. As in Hebrews, God is consistent, He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
What has changed?
Our perception.
P/S: Many thanks to Meg and Chian Shen for inspiring this post :)
3 comments:
The whole scenario of Israel turning away, coming back, turning away, coming back... and the whole cycle of things shows God constantly forgave them.
Wow, thanks Celestine.
I belong to that group of Christians who wondered why the 'old testament God' is so different from the 'new testament God' but being what Fr OC calls a 'good Catholic', I never could see that He was consistent.
I do find it a bit curious, however, that sometimes the church teaches about God forgiving unrepentant sinners
And I also find it a bit contradictory when the Bible (the little I know of it at least) paints God as this mighty figure 'up there', but yet we also are taught that He's right here beside us, holding our hands, walking with us and stuff like that.
Hey Cel, I've tagged you for your fave food. ;-) Check out my entry.
What I do know is that God is ineffable. He is only contradictory because we try to understand him through the lens of human limitations. He is everything. The Alpha. The Omega. He can be a "mighty figure" but he is also next to you, your friend.
The question to ask perhaps is "what can I do to be more like what God wants me to be?" rather than "why is God contradictory?"
I think we can safely say that we would be here for a good long time if we were to debate the nature of God.
But when it boils down to what we need to do, i.e do everything we do out of love, it is, in essence, quite simple. Not always easy. But simple.
Post a Comment