Is God portrayed differently in the Old Testament than in the New Testament? Many claim that the Old Testament God is harsher than the loving God in the New Testament. Even in Exodus 20:5 God describes Himself as jealous: “For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.” In isolation, this verse indeed paints a picture of “fire and brimstone.” But read the next verse. It continues by saying, “… but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
How could God describe Himself as both jealous and merciful? It seems inconsistent but, as with any Bible study, one must look further into the context and translation of the verse.
The word “jealous,” as used in this scripture, has a different meaning from what we usually think. The Hebrew word qannâ is actually used to describe the “justice and holiness” of God (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1996). This tells us that human jealousy and godly jealousy differ greatly.
The use of the word qannâ denotes God’s desire to have us put Him first in our lives. God feels jealous for our attention because He wants to bless us in a way that is only possible when we follow His laws. On the other hand, human jealousy results in resentment and envy, possibly even leading to the breaking the 10th Commandment—written in the same chapter in Exodus!
Malachi 3:6 states that God does not change. In both the Old and New Testaments our Creator expresses an abundance of love and mercy for His creation. He desires all of mankind to turn to His ways so that they may take part in His eternal promises. To learn more about this topic, take a look at the article “Jealous God? What Does That Mean?”
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