Who's God is it Anyway?

Modern, contemporary Christianity has come a long way over the past few decades. Where there once a vast majority of teachings and bible studies focused solely on the "new covenant" portions of scripture, the church is now in the midst of a growing revelation of the significants of the Old Testament in relation to God's heart and the fulfillment of His promises. Although the concept of the Old Testament being outdated is sliding into a rapid decline there are still many, both within The Body and out, who are skeptical about whether or not these two testaments of scripture are even telling the same story. A great deal of this confusion is targeted towards God's seemingly duel personality; the wrathful, angry God of the old covenant and the forgiving, gracious God of the new covenant. This idea of God's divided character is by no means a new debate between believers and non believers alike and this centuries old question has echoed throughout history: is the God of the Old Testament really the same God that we worship today? In this post I hope to briefly shed some light on this subject and I offer to you that His perfect love for His creation has remained consistent and passionate throughout all of scripture and that God, "...Is the same yesterday, tomorrow and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

God is completely and totally in love with us, He always has been and always will be. His intense passion for us existed before creation itself, "For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight." (Ephesians 1:4) According to this verse God's love is not a distant one. When He created Man He wasn't looking down on His creation keeping His distance. In Genesis 1-3 He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden because nothing delighted Him more than face-to-face communion He had with His creation. Devoting His passion fully to them while Man stood before the fullness of the presence of God without blame. Unfortunately, Man sins and the result was the greatest divorce in history, severing us completely from His presence. However, God's love for us never changed and before sending Adam and Eve out of the garden, He made a promise to reclaim His creation and revealed His plan for Jesus to defeat sin so that we can be reunited with Him. (Genesis 3:14-15) With this in mind, another look at the Old Testament reveals God's burning desire to bridge the gap between Him and His beloved creation by gradually releasing His presence on the earth so that he can draw near to us as we are exposed to His love and desire to pursue Him in the same way he pursues us. "Draw closer to God and He will draw closer to you." (James 4:8) The fruition of His perfect will be fully realized when He is reunited with us forever in complete unity; Even Jesus, the physical manifestation of God, prays for this very thing more than once. (John 17:20-23 & Matthew 6:9-10) 

A notable example of this was the commandment for the Israelites to build the tabernacle so that His presence could rest on His people. He also gave very specific instructions on the construction of it, even the type of materials to use; the significance of this was very symbolic and each piece represents the promises God will fulfill and was but one step in His grand plan to be with us in the fullness of His presence. (Exodus Chapters: 26-30) Even with the Israelite's obedience and worship, I personally believe that no one in the Old Testament understood the desires of God more than King David, the man after God's own heart. He had an intimate insight into God's desire to rest His Spirit here on earth and started one of history's largest night and day worship and prayer movements to answer the call to participate first hand in the Kingdom of God to facilitate His return. After the reclamation of the Ark of the Covenant David immediately began work on a new tabernacle, not out of duty but with a genuine relationship, love for God and a reciprocated desire to be with Him. "They brought the ark of God and placed it inside the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in God’s presence. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh." (‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭1-2‬) He gathered hundreds of musicians, worshipers and prayer leaders to amass to the site of the Temple to raise a chorus pleasing to The Lord and woo His heart. "All these men were under their own fathers’ authority for the music in the Lord’s temple, with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the king’s authority. They numbered 288 together with their relatives who were all trained and skillful in music for the Lord." (‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭25‬:‭6-7‬)

There is example after example throughout the entire Old Testament were we see God actively releasing His presence on the earth and continue to fulfill His promise to rescue us and bring us back to Him. It is this driving force of love that ties the entire Bible together, giving it clear vision, and a linear story of a creator who desires to be with us more than anything. So I leave you with this: the same God who loved us in the garden, the same God who loved us in the wilderness, the same God who loved us before creation Itself is the same God who we worship today and He loves us now and forever. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (‭Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭13‬)