I’ve been reading one of those daily “one-year” Bibles for a number of years. They walk you through the Bible in one year. They give you a little Old Testament, a little New Testament, a little Psalms and a little Proverbs each day.
This really gives one a clear contrast between the Old and New Testaments. The New Testament is full of the love of Christ. All about Him wanting to give us new life.
But the Old Testament seems to paint a very different picture of God. The God of the Old Testament seems to really be a jealous God who is not always that merciful toward His people when they go astray.
So as I read, I’ve been trying to see some sort of balance between the two seemingly different pictures of God.
Yesterday I ran across this in Jeremiah.
“My wayward children,” says the LORD, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” Jeremiah 3:22
This verse comes after a fairly lengthy description of how unfaithful Israel had been to God. In spite of that, God wanted them back.