1. God in the Old Testament Comunicación y Gerencia

2. The Wrath of God There were few displays of God’s wrath that was released in the Old Testament Is God mean and vengeful? His wrath and anger were always justified God is not like us humans The Bible actually says that God is "slow to anger"

3. The Flood of Noah God didn’t destroy Noah and his family God will judge each one individually His wrath is always released for a certain reason & a certain purpose Back then, the people were so evil This would be no different than when all of the evil people have to face Him on judgment day

4. The Flood of Noah However, in this case, He just did it before they actually died "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil CONTINUALLY. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6) These people had become so evil that they apparently had no intention whatsoever to repent God’s wrath was released due to the severe evil that was in this particular generation

5. God Defends the Jewish People The other times God manifest maximum wrath is when He is defending the Jewish people God has an incredible War Side to His personality What would you do if you found out that somebody was going to try to kill one of your children? This is why the Old Testament is so bloody in all of the battles that are described in it God is not weak - and He will protect and defend His own if He is forced to engage!

6. God Defends the Jewish People “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth.” (Joshua 5:13-14)

7. God Defends the Jewish People “And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.” … And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword. Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD

8. God Defends the Jewish People delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge upon their enemies… And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.” (Joshua 10:8-14)

9. Wars of the Old Testament There are many complaints that the God of the Old Testament arbitrarily ordered the destruction of entire cities How could a loving God command the destruction of all those "innocent" people? This is what the Bible says about the people who were destroyed…

10. “It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 9:5) Wars of the Old Testament

11. “Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.” (Leviticus 18: 24-30) Wars of the Old Testament

12. "You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. (Deuteronomy 12:31) Wars of the Old Testament

13. “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) Wars of the Old Testament

14. So we see that these people are not quite innocent For these reasons, God ordered the destruction of these people whom the Jews dispossessed But, did God kill any innocent people along with the evil ones? In Genesis, Abraam first asks about possessing the land, God tells him that the time is not yet right "for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.“ (Genesis 15:16) God was going to give the nations of Canaan additional time Similarly, God used Assyria and Babylon to judge Israel later in its history Wars of the Old Testament

15. Also when God was about to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah So, God does not destroy the righteous along with the evil There are many examples of opportunities for forgiveness even during the conquest of Canaan In Jericho there lived an evil woman, a harlot, but she aligned herself with the people of God (Joshua 2) Another example: the people of Gibeon (Joshua 9) Wars of the Old Testament

16. But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked craftily... And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?” But they said to Joshua, “We are your

17. servants.”… So they said to him: “From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.”’

18. This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.” (Joshua 9)

19. The book of Wisdom of Solomon (Ch. 12) For your immortal spirit is in all things. Therefore you correct little by little those who trespass, and you remind and warn them of the things through which they sin, so that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in you, O Lord. Those who lived long ago in your holy land, you hated for their detestable practices, their works of sorcery and unholy rites, their merciless slaughter of children, and their sacrificial feasting on human flesh and blood.

20. These initiates from the midst of a heathen cult, these parents who murder helpless lives, you willed to destroy by the hands of our ancestors, so that the land most precious of all to you might receive a worthy colony of the servants of God.

21. But even these you spared, since they were but mortals, and sent wasps as forerunners of your army to destroy them little by little, though you were not unable to give the ungodly into the hands of the righteous in battle, or to destroy them at one blow by dread wild animals or your stern word. But judging them little by little you gave them an opportunity to repent, though you were not unaware that their origin was evil and their wickedness inborn, and that their way of thinking would never change…

22. Deeming it alien to your power to condemn anyone who does not deserve to be punished. For your strength is the source of righteousness, and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare all.

23. + HOMEWORK Please search for the idea of Evangelism in the following: 1. 2Kings Chapter 5 2. Jonah Chapter 1 3. Ruth Chapter 1 4. Esther Chapter 4