I have spent the past several months in the Old Testament. Right now, I am reading Nehemiah. Most who do not adhere to the Christian faith, and even some who do, struggle with the God of the Old Testament. He is stereotyped as the God of wrath, and they are put off with what they see as the wholesale slaughter of people groups and nations, as is seen in the book of Joshua. The God of wrath is in contrast to what they see in Jesus, the God of love. Whereas in the Old Testament, God is seen as wrathful and judgmental, in the New Testament, he is seen as full of grace and full of love.

Typically, these impressions are gleaned from a perusal of the Old Testament rather than a deep dive into its books. If this is your view or one that others you know hold for which you have no answer, I encourage you to do a word search on your favorite Bible app. (Mine is Bible Gateway) Type in these words: “slow to anger, abounding in love;” “gracious;” “compassionate,” and “merciful.” I think you will be surprised by the number of verses that come up in the Old Testament containing these words, many of which are attributed to God.

And if you read the Old Testament, as I have been doing, you will not only find these descriptive words about God, but also you will find actions that validate the words. Think about Adam and Eve, who were given everything by God, even their very lives, and yet rebelled against him. He placed upon them a curse (basically, what was about to happen to them and their offspring) and then expel them from Eden. However, before he did, we are told he made clothes for them. (Genesis 3:21)

When God promised Abraham and endless number of descendants, he made this interesting statement:  “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” (Genesis 15:16) The Amorites were one of the nations destroyed 400 years later when the Israelites entered Canaan. The Amorites were known for their worship of Molech, which included sacrificing their own children on an altar of fire. Why would God delay punishing them for this and other egregious sins? Could it be that he was giving them an opportunity to repent? Why else would he allow so many innocent children to be slaughtered?

Ahab was one of the vilest kings of Israel. He and his wife, Jezebel, led the Israelites to worship Baal. He also allowed Jezebel to convince him to have Naboth executed in order that he might gain possession of his vineyard. (I Kings 21) The writer of Kings, in a parenthetical statement, describes him this way:  “There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.” (vss. 25-26) Yet, once Elijah pronounced God’s judgment upon him, Ahab humbled himself before the Lord. The Lord took notice and decides not to punish him as he had planned.

The same radical grace was also shown to the Israelites. Time and time again, they rebelled against God, but he was very slow to punish them with the disaster he promised after they left Egypt if they forsook him for other gods. It was approximately 900 years before they were taken in captivity to Babylon!

Time and time again, we see the radical grace of God toward those he created. It’s culmination was in Jesus. God is just; he is just very slow in exercising his judgment because, as both Paul and Peter note, his desire is that all people are saved and that no one will perish. 

So, in light of his radical grace, we must ask ourselves this question: Do we exhibit the same grace toward others, both believers and unbelievers? Are we patient with them, even in the midst of obvious sin? Do we long for their salvation more than their judgment? In light of the polarization, not only of our culture, but also among believers, these are excellent questions to be asking and meditating upon, because our culture, and our world, is in desperate need of people who will demonstrate the radical grace of God.