“Come now let us reason together says The Lord” Isaiah 1:18
The Old Testament God is harsh
My mother, younger sister, brother, nephew and I were watching TV. My youngest brother and nephew made it hard to follow the program, as they joked and were engaged in horseplay. My mother lost her patience and said, ‘I will punish you”’. They both looked at each other and started laughing. They rolled on the sofa and went hysterical. Me and my younger sister looked at each other in disbelief. We grew disciplined and for us such a warning was the last strike before the rod. Now my younger brother and nephew found it as the best joke they had heard in a long time. And my mother smiled as they called her bluff openly. What happened?
In most areas of life, it is the firstborn, the earliest generation, and the first founders that get the harshest treatment, the hardest jobs, and the most difficult conditions of living. Research shows that the firstborn are disciplined more by parents than the second, third or the last-born.
Rules are established through reward and punishment. Once they are established, those who are born into that society or culture can grow without experiencing punishment, because the rule is what they know as everyday life. In the same way, God must establish the rule in this world through reward and punishment. God must set us an example for us to follow and tell us what to do and not to do. Otherwise, the world would have been the most unlawful and the worst place to live in. God punished wicked kings to show no kingdom stands for long without righteousness. We have applied this method and founded better governments, raised disciplined children and become less tolerant to oppressive regimes.
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