“In That Day”

Sunday, August 30, 2020

I occasionally hear people saying they prefer the God of the New Testament over the God of the Old Testament, on the grounds that the Old Testament God is vengeful, judgmental, and ruthless, while the New Testament God is loving and forgiving.  This notion ignores, of course, that they are the same God, and ignores that Jesus pronounces judgments in the New Testament that are far more severe than anything in the Old.  Jesus foretells about the day of judgment that the King “will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Mt 25.41).  This severity is seen even more clearly in John’s Revelation, in which Jesus appears wearing a blood-soaked robe, with eyes “like a flame of fire,” slaughtering his assembled enemies with a sword that comes from his mouth and then calling all sorts of animals to feast on their remains—and that’s just chapter 19!  Afterward, the souls of the dead are judged, and those whose names aren’t written in the Book of Life are thrown into the lake of fire.

So, the general impression that God somehow changed, or softened up between the Old and New Testaments is mistaken.  However, it is not terribly difficult to see where people have gotten this impression.  For one thing, most of them simply haven’t read the whole Bible.  For another, they generally focus on the physical, and the punishments incurred in the Old Testament are generally much more physical than those in the New.  Finally, the Old Testament prophets tend to devote the majority of their words to judgment, and less space is reserved for restoration and reward.

But in practically every case, God does turn from his wrath.  He does explain his long-term goals of peace and restoration, for those who turn back to him.  The examples are too many to list, but we can see the pattern by looking at a couple.

In the book of Ezekiel, God tells the Israelites during the early stages of being taken captive to Babylon that worse things are coming, as a result of their sin.  The city of Jerusalem will be destroyed (ch5), the idolaters will be killed by sword, famine and pestilence (ch6), the evil rulers will be killed for their sins against the people in their charge (ch11), God will remove his remaining protections from the people of Judah and allow the surrounding nations to treat them in horrible ways (ch23), and then he will turn his wrath against those surrounding nations and punish them for all their evil acts, as well (chs 25-32, 35).  Then, beginning in chapter 37, God tells the Israelites, “I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.  Then you shall know that I am the Lord” (Eze 37.14).  This goes on for the rest of the book, with chapters 40-48 describing in detail the new Temple he will cause to be built in Jerusalem, and the abundant blessings that will flow from its center, his throne.

In Hosea, God describes himself as husband to an adulterous wife, and spends nearly all of the first 13 chapters describing Israel’s sins against him, their spiritual adultery, and many punishments he sends to turn her around, culminating in the most extreme results listed in 13.16:

Samaria shall bear her guilt,
because she has rebelled against her God;
they shall fall by the sword;
their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,
and their pregnant women ripped open. (Hosea 13.16)

Yet, this isn’t what he wants, or where he intends to leave matters.  Rather,

I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. (Hosea 14.4-7)

This pattern continues in Joel, Amos, Micah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, and Malachi, often introduced with some version of the phrase, “in that day” (e.g. Jl 3.18, Am 9.11, Mi 7.11, Zc 3.10).  That's not the only way the phrase is used, but it highlights the ultimate plan, the goal that God is pursuing, even in the judgments he pronounces, and the protections he withholds.  Over and over again, he reminds his people, it doesn’t have to be this way.  It won’t always be this way.  There are much better things coming, for those who are patient, who trust the Lord and do his will.

The year 2020, still only two-thirds completed, has been the most tumultuous in several decades, prompting many striking (and often hilarious) comparisons to the Ten Plagues in Exodus, and the Seven Seals in Revelation.  Yes, it has been a crazy time.  Yes, it seems to be unending.  Between political uncertainty, a worldwide pandemic, murder hornets, hurricanes, wildfires, lockdowns, domestic insurrection, rioting, looting, and arson, some days I think I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Ohio River running red (cf. Ex 7.20), or footage of three frogs hopping out of some politician’s mouth (cf. Re 16.13).

But remember, as God repeatedly told his people over the centuries, this will all end.  We don’t know the day or the hour beforehand, but it will come.  And in that day, none of this will matter anymore.  The unrest, the uncertainty, the violence, the strife, the natural disasters, the unnatural disasters… it’s all a tied to the evil of this world, but God is not bound by such things. 

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6.19-21)

Be ready for that day.

Jeremy Nettles

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