Deuteronomy 8:19, then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day, you shall surely perish.
I don't know how many times I have heard that the God of the Old Testament was cruel. Life back then was a series of God destroying innocent people. At one time I used to think that too. When I got into the Word and thought about it, the picture looked different.
People have always had gods, because they needed to explain life and everything in it. At one time, probably anything you could name was someone's God.
When our God made a covenant with Abraham, that became the beginning of His chosen people. God said He would be their God, and Abraham and his descendents would be His people.
When the Hebrews left Egypt they were going to a land that God promised them. Along the way they received the 10 Commandments. As Moses was receiving the commandments from God Himself, some of the people made and worshiped a golden calf. The people complained about everything and were a real problem. So God decided to let the original people that left Egypt die off and give the land to their descendents.
God knew that His people were weak, and would follow false gods in the new land, because the people living there already, worshiped other gods. So He told the Israelites to take the land and destroy every person animal and false God, so that they would not be corrupted.
The history of the Hebrew people was sin, punishment, and forgiveness. After a number of times in this cycle, and several hundred years, they were finally destroyed and scattered all over the world by the Romans.
God is the creator, so He gets to decide what happens. He loves everyone and wants them to get to Heaven. Tough love is because you love someone and want to help them. Then as now people can choose to follow the one true God or not. In life when laws are broken, there are consequences, even capital punishment, and God's law was pretty plain. God sent the prophets to explain what God wanted from His people, and what would happen if they didn't follow those laws.
We are all fortunate, especially in these times, that God doesn't give us what we deserve. Have a blessed day. Praise the Lord!
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You Lord
Amen
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