“Moses Receiving the Tablets of the Ten Commandments” by Gebhard Fugel (c. 1900), Source https://freechristimages.com/bible-stories/ten-commandments.html, (PD)
While it may be surprising to find the Old Testament discussed on a blog about abuse, spirituality and abuse are closely entwined.
Satan attempts to use the abuse we suffered as a weapon to destroy victims’ faith. Many of us do lose our faith as a result, seeing God as harsh and cruel, if we continue to believe in Him at all.
Even those who were never victimized may have difficulty reconciling the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New Testament. God, of course, has never changed.
Because of this confusion, it is worth examining God’s true nature.
Mercy and Justice
God described Himself to Moses in this way:
“And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation'” (Ex. 34: 6-7).
God is, therefore, both merciful and just. These two qualities are in tension with one another in human beings. Not so with God.
- The Hebrew word translated as “mercy” or “merciful” is associated with the love of a mother, with compassion from the very womb [1A].
- Graciousness refers to undeserved favor or grace [1B].
- Longsuffering refers to patience with our mistakes and sins [1C]. Indeed, God is not only willing to forgive our sins, but desires to take them upon Himself [1D].
The phrase “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children” will have special resonance for abuse victims, since it conveys the idea of generational sin or abuse. Children are not punished by God for the sins of their parents [2]. Patterns of sin often, however, continue from one generation to the next.
Tenderness
When Moses asked to see God’s face, God tenderly placed him in the cleft of a rock and covered Moses with His hand as He passed by, so that Moses would not die on seeing His glory (Ex. 33: 17-23).
The prophet Elijah, too, stood in the presence of God:
“Then He said, ‘Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice” (1 Kings 19: 11-12).
God, in other words, knows our frailties and takes them into account.
—
[1A through 1D] Perspective Digest, President’s Desk, “Where’s the Love in the Old Testament?” by A. Rahel Wells, Vol. 27, Issue 3, 7/1/22, https://www.perspectivedigest.org/archive/27-3/wheres-the-love-in-the-old-testament.
[2] Deuteronomy 24: 16 explicitly states, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers…” Similarly, Ezekiel 18: 20 states, “The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son…” These verses emphasize individual accountability before God.
Part 2 in this series will be posted next week
OR physician and local Mormon leader David Farley has been indicted on 11 counts of felony sexual assault. Complaints against him by 160 patients over the years included the taking of nude photos of children, unnecessary breast and pelvic exams of children, and ungloved exams.
FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: https://alawyersprayers.com
ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse and More 
This issue of how could a loving God allow, or in some cases command that innocent people be put to death (especially children) as happened in the Old Testament is a divine conundrum of sorts. Ultimately, as much as it flies in the face of human intellect and reason, we must accept Isaiah 55:9 as Truth.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts”.
Sufferings are one of His ‘tools’ to bring about in us what He has destined us to become, as difficult as that may be to fathom. At some point however we must conclude that the Lord knows exactly what He is doing, and by faith accept His will.
Looking forward to part 2!
You anticipate me, Ron. That is precisely the difficult issue I attempt to address in Part 2.
Great minds……..:)
Good points, Anna. I’m glad you wrote about, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.” That is just a fact, just the way the world works. It’s unfair and unjust but it is what it is. That’s not the same thing as saying, “God unjustly inflicts the sins of the fathers onto the children.” He does not.
I also think sometimes people struggle with the Old Testament because of some of the literary devices and styles that are used to describe the natural world. God is sovereign over all things and so saying something like, “the rain falls on the just and unjust,” makes perfect sense. That’s not the same thing as saying “God sent the rain today just to ruin your parade.”
A challenging and necessary topic. Kudos for tackling it, Anna.
It’s apparent you wrote this from a place of strong conviction borne of experience, an experiential faith that speaks volumes of how hanging on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God proves “man does not live by bread alone . . . .”
Anna, wow, thank you for talking about this. Of course you are well aware of my abuse as a child and I clung to my bible but I too, admit, that at 13 when I received my first bible I started studying the old testament and after a while I was confused and wondered how God could do many of the things He did. So I focused on the New Testament and tell myself that the things that I don’t clearly understand will be known to me when I get to heaven. Yet this is a wonderfully written piece about God’s love – why we can not believe that we are punished for our parents sin or even for our own sin if we believe as God has Mercy for us. He is indeed Merciful! I loved the way you used this verse to remind us of that.
““And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation’” (Ex. 34: 6-7).”
Thank you for sharing the references and talking about this subject as it was a difficult one for me – not the blaming of God – for as a child, I honestly felt God’s presence. I think as children with great faith we are more sensitive and some of us have seen angels too. I appreciate you breaching this subject and look forward to the 2nd part. Thank you my dear friend.
You are too kind, Joni. Blaming God for all the evil in the world — and specifically the abuse to which I, too, was subjected — turned me away from Him for many years. I raged at the apparent injustice. Thankfully, He did not give up on me.
That is the blessing my dear friend which you wrote about so eloquently, it is only by his Grace that any of us are wrapped in his loving arms. I believe we all have something in common with the person on our right and on our right no matter where we go. Thank you Anna. 🙏❤️🙏
Pingback: Mercy, Justice, and The God of the Old Testament, Part 1 – NarrowPathMinistries
for some reason, I thought I’ve already subscribed to your blog, but apparently I have not. I just sub to your blog by the way.
Many thanks!
=)