How Is God Portrayed in the Old Testament and Why?

How is God portrayed in the Old Testament and why?

The Bible is regarded by many people as the Word of God, and it carries God’s instructions for many believers as to how to understand the world and how to behave. However, the idea of God is not constant throughout the Old Testament, it changes a lot. The God change from one that is despotic, jealous and brutal to one is more benevolent and loving.

Before the birth of Jesus, God appears to be far more unattractive than what we probably think of god today. The Creation and The Fall can demonstrate it. God requires human beings to have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth, which shows God’s despotism. Then, in The Garden of Eden, God became jealous as Eden and Eve obtained the ability to know good and evil. In primitive times, God was perceives as an emperor, so the only thing that human beings need is obedience. God sees human aspiration, intelligence and entrepreneurial activity as a personal threat, which can be seen from the story of The Tower of Babel. In order to stop the building of the city and the tower, God confused the language of all the earth. The brutalization of God is the last aspect that I want to argue. In the story of Noah and The Flood, God unleashed a great flood and overwhelmed all living things except Noah and his family, because Noah wasn’t polluted by sin. However, why is God so brutal that he was even unwilling to save the innocent-children? Also, in the book of Exodus, God is ready to slaughter the eldest children of their parents and shows no mercy to other tribes.

Although God is unattractive in the former part of the Old Testament, he changes to be a more benevolent and loving one in the story of Exile and Psalms. During the exile, the Jewish God establishes its authority. Because the biblical writers believe the worship of the one true God is essential to sustain Jewish identity and survival. The Jews who suffered exile hoped that God would show his mercy and forgiveness, and God actually did so, he sent his own son to secure the salvation of all mankind. Moreover, the book of psalms combines an understanding of mankind with a view of God that is reassuring and comforting. In the psalms, the individual is aware of his weakness but confident in the direction and protection of a merciful and loving God. For example, God leads and protects human beings in the valley of the shadow of death, and he also anoints men and women.