Brief Answers to Common Objections to the Old Testament

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Here are some brief answers to four common objections that people raise against the Old Testament. Almost all of the objections people make against the OT are the result of misunderstanding the OT. We will address some of these issues in more detail later in this course, and some in other courses. But for now, we will provide some brief answers.

1. The God of the OT is not the same as the God of the NT.

   The God of the OT is a God of wrath and justice; the God of the NT is a God of mercy and grace.

   When people say this, they are partly right. The OT certainly shows the wrath and justice of God, and the NT certainly emphasizes the mercy and grace of God.

   But that is not the complete picture for either the OT or the NT. The OT also teaches that God is merciful and gracious. And the NT also affirms that sin arouses the wrath of God, and that God will ultimately bring about his final justice.

   Here are some passages in the OT that highlight the love & mercy of God:

   • Gen 18:20-33

     God will spare the entire city of Sodom if He can find just ten righteous people in it.

   • Exod 34:6,7 [This verse is quoted in part or whole a dozen times in the OT: Neh 9:17; Ps 103:7; Ps 145:8; Jonah 4:2.]

     Then the Lord passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “Yahweh, Yahweh, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. He maintain love to thousands, and forgives wickedness, rebellion, and sin.”

   • Psalm 51

     1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. [ … ] 17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite spirit, O God, you will not despise.

   • Psalm 103:10-17

     10 God does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his unfailing love for those who fear him. [ … ] 17 Indeed, from everlasting to everlasting is the Lord’s unfailing love with those who fear him.

   • Hosea 11 - The entire chapter describes God’s tender love for Israel, esp. verses 1, 3, 4, & 8.

     Here are some passages in the NT that highlight the wrath & justice of God:

   • Matt 10:28 (Jesus speaking)

     “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

   • Romans 1:18-32

     18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness … [ … ] 30 [They are] slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil. They disobey their parents. 31They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32And although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but they also approve of those who practice them.

   • 2 Thess 2:9,10

     The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

   • 2 Peter 2 (the entire chapter)

   • Revelation – The main focus of chapters 6-20 is the wrath of God that will be coming upon the earth. These chapters climax in the Great White Throne judgment in ch. 20, which concludes with these sobering words:

     15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

   We see, then, that both the OT and the NT speak of God’s love and mercy (to those who repent and believe), and yet also of God’s justice and wrath (to those who scorn God). So it is not correct to say the NT presents a different picture of God than the OT did. The God of the OT and the NT is the same God. “… the Father … does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17).

2. Didn’t God command Joshua & the Israelites to exterminate the Canaanites? Would a loving God do such a thing?

   The claim that is not accurate.

   If we carefully read the commands that God gave concerning the Canaanites, we find the following:

   • The most basic command that God gives Israel concerning the Canaanites is: Do not become like them. This means: Do not live among them, do not inter-marry with them, do not adopt their ways; and certainly: do not worship their gods.
   • After that, the main command is: Drive them out; do not let them continue to live in the land.
   • But if the Canaanites would not leave, if they fought Israel, then Israel was to kill all of them.
   • So in brief, the command is: Drive them out, or wipe them out. If they will leave, they may live, but if they stay and fight, then they die.
   • Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute mentioned in Joshua chs. 2 & 6, honored and served the

   Lord God, and was permitted to live. Reading Joshua chs. 2, 6-8 shows that God approved sparing Rahab. This establishes the principle that a Canaanite who turns to Yahweh God as the one true God, and who serves him, can be spared(!) with God’s approval.

   Therefore, the idea that is not true. Yes, God commanded Israel to drive them out. And the general rule was that Canaanites who stayed and fought were to be killed.

   But the example of Rahab establishes the principle that: a Canaanite who turns to Yahweh God as the one true God, and who serves him, can be spared(!) with God’s approval.

3. The NT encourages us to “turn the other cheek,” but the OT teaches “an eye for an eye” – doesn’t it?

   Yes, the phrase “an eye for an eye” does occur in the OT. But it is important to note the context in which it occurs.

   It only occurs 3x in the entire OT (Exod 21:24; Lev 24:20; Deut 19:21). And in the contexts where it occurs, it is not(!) making “eye for an eye” the recommended way of life in the OT. Rather, “an eye for an eye” describes the punishment given for reckless or deliberate bodily harm to a fellow human-being.

   Again, “an eye for an eye” is not the way of life in the OT; consider the following OT verses:

   • Exod 23:4-5 Help someone’s ox or donkey, even if(!) the person is your adversary (see also Deut 22:1–4).

   • Lev 19:17,18 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”

   • Prov 12:16 “… a prudent man overlooks an insult.”

   • Ps 37:21,26 21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously. [ … ] 26 They are always generous and they lend freely; their children will be blessed.

   • Prov 20:22 Do not say, “I will return evil for evil,

   • & 24:29 I will do to him as he has done to me.”

   • We have already seen Ps 34:12-16 in H/O #01.

     Whoever would love life and desires to see good days, must keep his tongue from evil, and keep his speech from being deceitful. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who commit evil.

   What do we find when we look at these OT verses?

   We see that the Old Testament calls upon people to be generous, to be merciful, to seek peace, and to not(!) repay evil for evil (Prov 24:29). So no, “an eye for an eye” is not the Old Testament’s prescription for a way of life. Rather, it is the punishment specified for reckless or deliberate bodily harm to a fellow human being.

   The truth is, in general, that the Old Testament commends the same basic manner of conduct, the same basic way of life, as the New Testament does. There is no great change in this area from the OT to the NT.

4. No one abides by all the weird rules from the OT, especially those from the book of Leviticus. And if we ignore those rules, then how can anyone claim that we should obey the rest of the teachings in the OT?

   This is a fair question. But we are not left to simply guess at the answer. We will see that the Bible itself explains what does apply to Christians from the OT, what does not, and why. We will address this in later handouts in this course, and again in other courses. We will find that the historic views and practices of the church are sound, and have their basis in the Bible.

In Summary:

Almost all of the objections that people make to the OT are the result of misunderstanding the OT. As we learn more about it, we will see that, although there are differences between the OT and the NT, nonetheless → the basic teachings of the Old Testament are in agreement with the basic teachings of the New Testament.