Is the loving God of the New Testament the same as the vengeful God of the Old? This is a popular criticism. But this attitude reveals more about the critic than it does about God. Like the Pharisees these critics try to remake God in their own image, so they see a fickle God, harsh and judgmental at one moment, loving and forgiving the next.
There is no contradiction in scripture. God does not contradict Himself. When two passages seem irreconcilable the fault lies in our incomplete understanding of the Word.
The parables of Jesus refer to a God that cares so deeply about us that He goes out of his way to bring us back to the fold. He searches for us not because He does not know where we are but because He seeks the most effective path for us to return, even if that path is though the sacrifice of His Son.
By contrast Moses appears to argue with a vengeful God, bent on destroying Israel. But even here there is no contradiction. Moses appeals to God’s innermost being, His deeper attitude, His faithfulness to the patriarchs and the nation of Israel. This goes beyond God’s justifiable anger at a people who have rejected Him and appeals to what is most Godly in God.
More often than not we are the source of our own destruction, but the heart of God does not stop beating. “If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” (2Timothy 2:13)
Pax Vobiscum
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time