I’m guessing it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to you when I say that there is a lot of mystery surrounding God. If God is truly God, the one who created the entire universe, then He is hugely bigger, wiser, stronger, more creative and more capable than we are or could ever be. Am I right about that? How could we possibly understand everything about Him: how He thinks, how He creates, what He plans, why He does what He does, how He breathes life into His creation? There are so many mysteries… and yet, in an amazing act of love toward us, He has given us at least SOME idea of who He is. He does this in three ways: the Bible, our experience of Him and what other believers throughout the ages share about their experiences with Him. With these three things, some common themes come to the surface and give us a bit of clarity about this great God of ours.
The question is often asked: if the Bible is the inspired word of God, why is the Old Testament so different from the New Testament? In some ways they seem to present a different God altogether. In the Old Testament books like Joshua and Judges, God can be seen as a punishing, vindictive, even blood-thirsty warrior and judge intent on wiping out pagan unbelievers. Sometimes not just the warriors of those nations, but even the women, children and animals. How could this be the same God that Jesus presents in the New Testament as the God of love who would ask us to even love our enemies? To turn and give the other cheek to one who slaps us? To be a peacemaker who will inherit the kingdom of God?
How about this possible explanation of why the two written Testaments of the Bible seem to present such different descriptions of God: Could it be that we have an over-zealous understanding of what it means that the Bible is “inspired by God?” What is inspiration and what does it mean when applied to the writing of the Bible? It is clearly stated in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Since the New Testament hadn’t even been written at the time Paul is writing this letter to Timothy, he must be referring to the Old Testament. Aiyaiyai! Does this mean God really is the punishing, killing Warrior God?
But wait. Jesus spent much of his teaching time in correcting, or reinterpreting what was said in the Old Testament. Remember in Matthew 5 when he says multiple times “You have heard it said, but I say…” It’s not just “do not murder,” it’s “do not even be angry with a brother or sister.” It’s not just “do not commit adultery,” it’s “do not even look with lust on a woman.” It’s not “an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth,” it’s “do not resist an evil person. Turn to him the other cheek.” And it’s not just “love your neighbor and hate your enemy,” it’s “Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.”
Is Jesus saying that the Old Testament was not inspired? Or might he have been saying to read the inspired Old Testament like stories with a deeper, symbolic meaning, not necessarily a literal one. Maybe he was saying not to take all Scripture at face value, but rather as parables like he used a lot in his teaching. Remember how his disciples would get confused because Jesus taught in parables so often? Did he like to use parables because God truly IS so mysterious, and literal words don’t help us understand Him as much as pictures in our souls do and/or the inner witness of the Holy Spirit’s presence?
We humans are interpreting all the time. We can’t help it. It’s how we make sense of what we’re seeing, hearing, and experiencing. It’s not surprising that the writers of the Old Testament were writing what they understood. They were experiencing God in the middle of a culture of warfare, a time of kill or be killed. They were living in a time when child sacrifice was rampant in their part of the world. They knew they were set apart by a different kind of God, a good God, a powerful God. They knew they were special. They told their stories about God around their campfires as they moved around the deserts, mountains and valleys of the Middle East. They interpreted what happened to them as best they knew how from their worldview. And then eventually these stories were written down for us to read… thousands of years later in a very different culture!
What this shows us is that the people in Jesus’ time and before him had the propensity for misinterpreting the Scripture, just as all of us do. They were often missing the point. Sometimes we miss the point. So what is the point?
I believe it is summed up beautifully and succinctly in 1 John 4:16 “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” And in John 15:12 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” And in John 15:14 “You are my friends if you do what I command.”
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I’d put all my money on following HIS interpretation of Scripture and of the corresponding witness of the Holy Spirit that promises to lead us into all Truth. May my interpretation of Scripture, Old and New, always be submitted before these deep truths: God is Love! God loves me! God loves you! And God loves all that He has created!
About the Author
John lives in Pleasant Hill with his dog, Gunnar, and a multitude of guests who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Cascade foothills. With three children and three grandchildren all living in Oregon, he is continually blessed with their company and the good food that always accompanies their get-togethers!