Reconciling an Old Testament God with a New Testament Jesus (Good Cop/Bad Cop?)

My daughter approached me this morning with a very serious question. "Dad, why does God seem so mean in the Old Testament?" I'll be honest and say that I wasn't expecting that. However, her question did lead to a wonderful conversation that allowed her to work through what a lot of people have to work through: Reconciling an Old Testament God with a New Testament Jesus.

Hebrews 1:3, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being..." What often gets lost in this type of discussion is the fact that Jesus was the exact representation of the Father. While most people tend to view God in the Old Testament as mean, judgmental, angry, etc.; Jesus comes on the scene and says "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father."

What does this mean for us? It means that we need to go back and read the Old Testament and see the Father through the lens of the Son. It means that we have to be willing to reconcile our understanding of the nature and character of God. Of course, this means we may have to change the way we perceive God. But who wouldn't want to do that?

My conversation this morning reminded me of a conversation we read in The Shack:
Mack - "But I always liked Jesus better than you. He seems so gracious and you seemed so..."
Papa - "Mean? Sad, isn't it? He came to show people who I am and most folks only believe it about Him. They still play us off like good cop/bad cop most of the time, especially the religious folk. When they want people to do what they think is right, they need a stern God. When they need forgiveness, they run to Jesus."
Mack - "Exactly"
Papa - "But we were all in Him. He reflected my heart exactly. I love you and invite you to love Me."
[page 186 - The Shack by William P. Young]

It's amazing to me that while most people in the Christian community believe in a Triune God (3 in 1), they have failed to allow their understanding of the nature of God to follow suit. God's Word tells us that He is the Lord and that He changes not [See Malachi 3:6]. In other words, what you see in the life of Jesus has always been consistent in the Father. He didn't change all of a sudden. He has always been this way. When God revealed Himself to Moses on the mountain this is what took place: "And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the Name of the LORD. and the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, the LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth . . ." [Read Exodus 34] Folks, if we fail to see the goodness of God through the Old Testament it may be because we are looking through the wrong lens.

Think about the times God revealed Himself through His name. Remember...the names of God reveal the nature of God:
Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner)
Jehovah Raah (The Lord My Shepherd)
Jehovah Rapha (The Lord That Heals)
Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There)
Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness)
Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You)
Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide)
Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace)
Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts)
Do you see anything here that would lead you to think that God isn't merciful, gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth? Where our understanding of God often gets lost is when we allow others to define Him for us. Jesus' representation of the Father was radically different than what the religious leaders of the day were providing. The question you will have to answer is whose portrayal of the Father was correct? I think you know the answer.

I pray that over the coming days, weeks, months, and years that you will continue to reconcile your understanding of the nature of Father and find it totally consistent with the representation of the Son. Enjoy the journey!!!