Why was God so mean in the Old Testament?
God has NEVER been mean once, not in the Old Testament, and not in the New Testament. Not ever. Also, the only reason he flooded the earth was because everyone was sinning and doing terrible things. Noah even warned the people about what was going to happen, and that they could be saved, but what’d they do, they didn’t listen, and even though they all did those terrible things, God forgave them and still loves them today because they were all his children. He has never once been mean and I hope you can see that because it is really true. He really loves all of us, he does.
He wasn’t mean and your brother was wrong. It was up to Adam, Moses, Job and Abraham to either be obedient to him or suffer the consequences. That’s why I have to wonder about all the people I hear say, “Well if God’s so forgiving then he’ll forgive me when I get there.” They don’t even realize that they won’t get there if they reject Jesus Christ now. They view God just like they view their parents who spoiled them rotten and kept saying things like “now Johnny, you stop that or I’m going to really get mad”. God is no enabler, he has made it very clear what He expects from us and he’s made it clear what the consequences are if we reject Him and we’re disobedient. That people have and continue to ignore God’s warnings is evidence only of their bad choices.
The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, the New Testament is the Old Testament reveled. You have to diligently study the Bible, in prayer, asking for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the will of God. Let me suggest that you acquire a copy of the Message Study Bible, it is easy to understand, and Eugene Peterson has done an excellent job of paraphrasing the Scriptures.
