Jesus said love your enemies. God hates his enemies in the OT. Should God take Jesus' advice?

Question

Jesus said love your enemies. God hates his enemies in the OT. Should God take Jesus' advice?

Answer 1

Jesus and God in the Old Testament are one and the same person, the Great I Am. And God does not change. You figure it out.

Answer 2

Alright, take a step back for a moment.

I read an interesting article recently, describing how love and hate aren't necessarily total opposites, and are not mutually exclusive.

It explained that, in a sense, the saying "God loves the sinner, hates the sin" is only half true.

The article made the argument that God loves the sinner, but also hates the sinner because of their sin. This makes some sense at least, since sin effectively stains the sinner. Jesus was the stain remover, that nobody deserved - but he came and did it for us nonetheless, out of an act of pure unconditional love. The idea that God hates people for their sin actually makes it so much more meaningful, forgiving and compassionate that he would still decide to lay down everything for us, to save us.

And, on a more relevant note, God is supposedly the supreme authority on everything. He can do no wrong. Surely his judgements are made from total perspective?



Also, Jesus commanded us to love our enemies... an instruction for us, not him. Not that he needs instruction, of course.



Interesting concept anyway. Not sure I agree with the love / hate thing (I believe God acted out of Love throughout history, regardless of what you think), but yeah.

Answer 3

God can't take Jesus' advice unless he can travel through time. I don't remember that being one of his superpowers. And if he did travel through time and (for example) NOT kill off the Midianites or NOT send she-bears to maul innocent girls to death, what would be the repercussions? How many alternate time lines would he be creating? How many Bananas and Kookoos would be immersed in other dimensional worlds, never to see our own reality again? Far better to let him continue to exist as a butthole in the OT and a reformed butthole in the NT. Then we'll know that we still exist.

Auntie Kookoo

Answer 4

He loved them so much that the only person whit skin problem that he healed in one time was the one from the enimes army.

The only poor woman that was hungry that He sended the prophet to feed was from the other nations as well.



He blessed the egipt womans that protetecd the childrens of israel.

He saved the prostitute of jerico, not destroyng her house.

The persian king was "his servent". He gave visions from the king of babilon, and showed Him that He was the king of kings.

He made a fish eat his preacher to him to go and save a enemy nation.



He himself said to david that even he killing enimies, that he had done it too much, and wanted someone else, the pacif sun of him, to construtc his temple.



He did loved other nations, not like he loved the ones that obeyed Him. It was always like that, and it did not changed so much, is just that now He is calling them. But still, the special love is to the ones that obey.

Answer 5

It seems you're equating God's judgments in the Old Testament with "hate". You have to first validate such an assumption.



"God hated Esau and others. Read your bible."

- And what makes you think that is the "hate" that you are trying to make it out to be? Jesus did say to love others, but then He also said to hate your family. Obviously, what is meant by "hate" is not what you'd like us to believe.



Further, if He hated Esau, where do you get the assumption that God "hates His enemies"? Where is your justification to extrapolate God's opinion of Esau to all His enemies in the Old Testament?

Answer 6

there is more to this verse than a contradiction. remember God is a "warrior" and Jesus is the prince of peace.

when jesus says pray for them that abuse you, he meant it. per chance it is better to be defrauded then it is to join the enemy and to defraud others.

its not the best scenario, but per chance wome will repent.

the same thing with loving one's enemy, per chance they will become a freind, and were only perceived as an enemy, thus if we stop treating people like enemies and treat them like freinds, ultimately we would have no need for wars or the military. its all about righteousness, and love. if so be that an entire nation will come to war, then mankind should defend themselves, but again the choice is up to the individual. as i understand it. war is not prohibited but if one wants peace he should renounce war. and if one goes to war, it had better be for the causes of righteousness.

Answer 7

God never hated anyone in the Old Testament. God did what He did in the Old Testament for the protection of the bloodline of Christ. It is through this protection that all of humanity has the opportunity to receive salvation through Christ Jesus. Those who threaten the bloodline of Christ, and thereby threatening salvation, were given the opportunity to repent from their sins. If they chose not to repent they were killed to protect our salvation.

Answer 8

Romans 12:19 "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord."



Psalm 5:5 "The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity."



Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."



Only Jesus can Save.

Answer 9

Seems fair to rely on what Jesus said, at least regarding our social behavior.

Answer 10

God is loving and forgiving.

The lord, of the old testament, is jeaous and vengeful.

These are opposites.

Answer 11

God hates His true enemies like satan and his dupes that infect this forum..do you know any? He says He's going to slaughter them all.

Answer 12

Yes, the character Yahweh should take Jesus advice, and a chill pill.

Answer 13

I guess seeing as his son is so very very young compared to him, he thinks he knows what is best and is safely disregarding wise advice - just as fundies do

Answer 14

Genocide is a pretty firm indication that you do not like a bunch of people.

Answer 15

I think it is wrong to think that because god would smite his enemies that he hated them.



God smited them as an expression of his love.

Answer 16

There is a righteous hate and there is a sinful hate. You are guilty of the latter in your past.

Answer 17

''your'' is not ''His"