The God of the old testament was vengeful and full of wrath, and Hippie Jesus is the kind and loving God. Is that true?

“The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, The Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.” – Chuck Missler

PART 1: FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH — GOD’S UNCHANGING CHARACTER

• Malachi 3:6 – [Mal 3:6 NKJV] 6 “For I [am] the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
• Exodus 34:6-7– [Exo 34:6-7 NKJV] 6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 “keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
  • This is God describing Himself! It’s the most quoted verse about God’s nature in the Old Testament.
    

PART 2: EVIDENCE OF GOD’S LOVE AND GRACE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

We’ll go through different books and group key scriptures into categories like:

1. God’s Covenant Love for Israel

• Deuteronomy 7:7-9[Deu 7:7-9 NKJV] 7 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; 8 “but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He [is] God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; – God’s love is based on His covenant, not Israel’s merit.
  
• Isaiah 54:10 [Isa 54:10 NKJV] 10 For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the LORD, who has mercy on you. – God’s steadfast love will not depart.
  
• Hosea 11:1-4 [Hos 11:1-4 NKJV] 1 “When Israel [was] a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. 2 [As] they called them, So they went from them; They sacrificed to the Baals, And burned incense to carved images. 3 “I taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them by their arms; But they did not know that I healed them. 4 I drew them with gentle cords, With bands of love, And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped [and] fed them.– Tender imagery of God as a loving parent.
  

2. God’s Forgiveness and Mercy

• Psalm 103:8-14 [Psa 103:8-14 NKJV] 8 The LORD [is] merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9 He will not always strive [with us], Nor will He keep [His anger] forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, [So] great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, [So] far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father pities [his] children, [So] the LORD pities those who fear Him. 14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we [are] dust.– Full of compassion and forgiveness.
  
• Isaiah 1:18 [Isa 1:18 NKJV] 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.– “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”
  
• Micah 7:18-19 [Mic 7:18-19 NKJV] 18 Who [is] a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights [in] mercy. 19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.– God delights in showing mercy.
  

3. God’s Patience and Longsuffering

• Nehemiah 9:17 [Neh 9:17 NKJV] 17 They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage. But You [are] God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them. – God is ready to forgive, gracious and merciful.
  
• Ezekiel 18:23 [Eze 18:23 NKJV] 23 “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “[and] not that he should turn from his ways and live?– “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?”
  
• Joel 2:13 [Joe 2:13 NKJV] 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He [is] gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.– Return to the Lord, for He is gracious and merciful.
  

4. God’s Provision and Care

• Genesis 22:14 [Gen 22:14 NKJV] 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said [to] this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”– “The Lord will provide.”
  
• Psalm 23 [Psa 23:1-6 NKJV] 1 A Psalm of David. The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You [are] with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.– The Lord as a Shepherd.
  
• Exodus 16 [Exo 16:2-18 NKJV] 2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat [and] when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. 5 “And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 “And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what [are] we, that you complain against us?” 8 Also Moses said, “[This shall be seen] when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what [are] we? Your complaints [are] not against us but against the LORD.” 9 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your complaints.’ ” 10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I [am] the LORD your God.’ ” 13 So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, [as] fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw [it], they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it [was]. And Moses said to them, “This [is] the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. 16 “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, [according to the] number of persons; let every man take for [those] who [are] in his tent.’ ” 17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. 18 So when they measured [it] by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need.– Manna in the wilderness — daily provision.
  

5. God’s Justice Tempered with Compassion

• Lamentations 3:22-23 [Lam 3:22-23 NKJV] 22 [Through] the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 [They are] new every morning; Great [is] Your faithfulness. – “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…”
  
• Jonah 4:2 [Jon 4:2 NKJV] 2 So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You [are] a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.– Even Jonah complains that God is “too gracious”!
  

PART 3: JESUS REVEALS THE SAME GOD

• John 14:9 – [Jhn 14:9 NKJV] 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
• Matthew 5:17 – [Mat 5:17 NKJV] 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

This shows continuity, not contradiction.