What's your least favorite scripture?

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by seekerman

In the past, I've said the same things as you're saying, God can't be like that, the bible is corrupt, Israel was doing these horrible things and attributing them to God, ect. The conflict in the middle east prompted me to reconsider the why's of the OT stories and I found a new understanding of what was going on back then, placing myself in that era of time, living as they were living.

Using America as an example, time and time again if America had not entered into conflict with other nations, America would no longer be America. As bad as war is, it's necessary at times in order to protect the existence and values of a nation, a people. So it was in OT times, war was common, the mindset of the people was different than today and extreme measures were used in order to never have to face their foe again. Completely destroy them, wipe them off the face of the earth, and then you'll have peace.

It's not so much as God changing, as it is society's changing and God interacts differently with them.

All very true.

I want to highlight something. One cannot get to know God personally by studying the OT. Here we see God dealing with a nation in that cultural context. We don't see God sitting down and teaching them personally. However, we do see this in the NT when God comes to us in Christ Jesus. If one really wants to know God's heart, God's attitude, God's desire, study Jesus.

For example, we might study the statements made and laws passed by a President in time of war. However, we can't say that we personally "know" that president. Now, if we sit down with him for dinner, or he stays in our home for an extended period, and he tells us about events, what he personally thought about them, how he personally wished they had happened, etc., then we can say that we personally know that President.