Why is the God of the Old Testament so Severe?
WHY IS THE GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT SO SEVERE?
Scripture says that God is and always was. He is the same today, yesterday and forever. God is love and He is good. However because God is both loving and good, He does not tolerate evil which is the opposite of loving and good. God is severe and fierce against evil. God is severe towards evil because He LOVES His family and wants nothing evil to dwell in heaven.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
Here is the way God describes Himself in the Old Testament:
Exodus 34:6-7 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
And here is His severity in the New Testament. He was speaking of Israel and Gentiles being grafted into one tree:
Romans 11:20-23 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Be not arrogant, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also not spare you. 22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness: otherwise you also shall be cut off. 23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
Before the earth was formed, there was a rebellion in heaven where satan fell with 1/3 of the angels. In Ezekiel 28, satan lost his home in heaven and took up residence in the 2nd heaven, which is the atmosphere. Scripture speaks of a time when the devil’s fallen angels in the 2nd heaven came to earth and had sexual relations with women. As a result they produced an offspring that had corrupted DNA. Scripture also refers to the book of Enoch which further speaks of this. Not only did they corrupt the human bloodline, but they corrupted the animal kingdom as well. God had to destroy all those who were corrupted with supernaturally evil DNA because of the mixture of both human and angels.
Genesis 6:1-7 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. 4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for I am sorry that I have made them.]
Enoch 7:3-5 Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another’s flesh, and drink the blood.
In the passing of time, there was no one left except Noah’s lineage whose DNA was still pure from corruption. In Hebrew, the word perfect means he was undefiled, without spot or blemish, upright and whole. God chose Noah to repopulate the earth.
Genesis 6:9-13 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
These evil offspring – the giants appeared once again after the flood. Perhaps they escaped living underground during the flood. Tribes began to spout up again. One of the more renown in scripture is Goliath who defied God and God’s people.
When Moses sent out spies to investigate their promised land, they discovered it was full of giants. These were half human, half angelic and known as gods in their day. In the book of Enoch it says they taught all kinds of evil to the people to corrupt them. Much of the Old Testament is filled with violence and destruction due to the giants and their influence. God wanted these tribes of giants destroyed.
Numbers 13:21-33 So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. 22 And they ascended through the South, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And they came unto the Valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it between two upon a staff; and they brought some of the pomegranates, and of the figs. 24 The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from there. 25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land where you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28 Nevertheless the people are strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan. 30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Enoch 8 Forbidden Teachings: Azazel taught men to make swords, knives, shields, and armor from the metals of the earth. He taught the women how to see behind them, how to make bracelets, ornaments, and other kinds of jewelry using precious stones and the beautifying of the eyes with makeup of various colors. 2This led them astray into fornication and ungodliness and they became corrupt in all their ways.
3Semyaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings. Armaros taught how to resolve enchantments. Barakel taught astrology. Kokabel taught the constellations (signs). Temel taught the knowledge of the clouds (astrology). Asradel taught the courses of the moon. 4As mankind began to perish, they cried out to Heaven.
The very fact that God is good and God is love explains why He also is severe to those who oppose such. Heaven would not be heaven if God allow any evil to dwell there. And when God created the earth and man He said it was GOOD. In His grand plan, we are praying that His kingdom come to earth just as it is in heaven. Therefore, no evil will be allowed on earth either.
1 Corinthians 15:24-25 Then comes the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he has put all enemies under his feet.
1 Corinthians 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
