The perception that the God of the Old Testament appears jealous and wrathful, while the God of the New Testament seems loving and merciful, is a common one. However, this perspective oversimplifies the consistent and complex character of God as revealed throughout the entire Bible. God’s nature is unchanging; He is the same “yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The Bible reveals God as both just and merciful, righteous and loving, holy and compassionate, from Genesis to Revelation.

Jealousy: The term “jealous” as applied to God in the Old Testament (e.g., Exodus 20:5) reflects His demand for exclusive loyalty and faithfulness from His people, which is rooted in His love and commitment to them. This is not jealousy in a petty or selfish sense but a desire for His people to worship Him alone, the one true God, for their own good and to protect them from the harm of idolatry.

Judgment and Mercy: Both the Old and New Testaments depict God executing judgment as well as offering mercy. In the Old Testament, God’s acts of judgment, such as the flood (Genesis 6-8) or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), are responses to extreme wickedness and are preceded by warnings and opportunities for repentance. Simultaneously, the Old Testament is filled with instances of God’s mercy and patience, such as His covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, 17), His forgiveness of the Israelites despite their frequent rebellion (Exodus 34:6-7, Nehemiah 9), and His messages of hope and restoration through the prophets (Isaiah 54:10).

In the New Testament, the love and mercy of God are profoundly manifested in the person of Jesus Christ, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, offering salvation to all humanity (John 3:16, Ephesians 2:4-5). Yet, the New Testament also speaks of judgment, emphasizing the final judgment to come (Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 20:11-15) and the serious consequences of rejecting God’s offer of salvation through Christ.

The Unity of God’s Character: The Bible presents a holistic view of God’s character, where His love and justice, mercy and righteousness, are perfectly united. God’s love motivates His desire for none to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). His justice ensures that sin and evil are rightly addressed, upholding the goodness and order of His creation.

Understanding the full character of God requires viewing the entirety of Scripture as a unified revelation of God to humanity, where His justice and His mercy, His wrath against sin, and His love for sinners, are all aspects of His holy and unchanging nature.