Though God is immutable (Malachi 3:6), His character is
demonstrated very differently upon different people. Romans 11:22 describes
this phenomenon well, "Behold the goodness and severity of God: on them
which fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His
goodness: otherwise you also will be cut
off." In Deuteronomy 7 we see, in strong contrast, the goodness of God
toward His children... and the incredible severity of God toward His enemies.
Why is this important for us? Well, think of this...
generally Christians think of God as primarily holy, just and ridged in the Old
Testament, but gracious, merciful and generous in the New Testament. And, in
some ways, I suppose that there is some truth in that perspective. But, let's
not forget Revelation. Of course, there are many places in the NT... even in
the Gospels ... where the wrath and judgment of God is emphasized, but John's Apocalypse
is the most obvious place where the worst serving of unfettered justice EVER to
be meted out is described. In other words, as we preach "hell hot and
heaven real" in these modern times, these OT accounts (of the
relentlessness of God's wrath against sinners) are invaluable in demonstrating
the fact that (though He doesn't enjoy punishing evildoers) God definitely has
the staunchness necessary to divvy out damnation (Deuteronomy 7:10). If He did
it in the past, we can certainly expect that He will do it in the future too.
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