God's Standards

When I first became a student of the Old Testament, I read how God killed a man who touched the Ark of the Covenant as he tried to stop it from falling to the ground.  Imagine that, a man simply wanting to help out and what does God do but kill him.  Later I noticed that when the nation of Israel conquered some land, the Lord told them to kill every man, woman, child, and animal from the area.  Another time God killed everyone except Noah and his family in the great flood. And what about Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities that God leveled with fire from the heavens.

Wow, what a strict God!  Or so I thought, until a teacher at school had me look at God’s plan from a different perspective.  “You see” he said, “the plan for our salvation began in the Garden of Eden.  God loved us so much that all of history was a part of His plan for His people to attain forgiveness.” 

I questioned, “But, why did God have to kill all those people?  Didn’t He love them too?”

The wise professor responded, “Of course he loved them, but they chose to turn away from God, to serve Satan, and they suffered the consequences for their actions. Originally the plan for God’s people to deal with sin was through sacrifices and offerings of animals of pure bloodlines”  He explained further,  “Jesus was to be the ultimate sacrifice and therefore, had to be a descendant from the pure bloodline of Abraham to guarantee God’s promise.  God’s requirement for keeping the bloodline pure meant that the followers of Satan could not intermarry with God’s chosen people, Israel.”

It was then that I realized that God’s standard for life was based on His love for us.  Everything commanded by the Lord was to protect the promise of our salvation. 

In Zechariah, God tells us that His standard for life is that of love.  We should respect His power and realize that there are consequences to our actions. We must understand that it is not His anger with us that result in our consequences, but a reminder of His ultimate love.

While we are seeking a relationship with the Lord, we need to know that Jesus reflected His Father’s standards.  His law is love and His gospel is peace.

So, if it wasn’t for such a perfect plan that began in the Garden of Eden, we would all be in trouble today. 

That’s just another reason to praise God!