The Violent Promise Keeper

Love is...

... God, who chose to save people who hated Him when He would have been perfectly just to merely destroy them.  But He didn't stop there, because as time went on, He perfectly, faithfully, and willingly granted mercy to His people, the Hebrews, over and over again, in spite of the fact that they betrayed Him repeatedly.

God's love permeates the Old Testament.

"Wait... what?!  Did you say 'God's love permeates the Old Testament'?"

Oh, yes, my friend.  Although folks often want to focus on the Hebrew invasions and killings of the Gentiles and accuse God of cruelty, what would have happened if He had not commanded them to do those things?  He would not have been able to fulfill the promises He had made to them - to His own people.  And that would have been very unloving, indeed.  But instead, He was willing to be accused of being evil, of being unloving, and ultimately, of not existing, in order to show undeserved, yet tremendous love, mercy, and grace to His children.  And actually, it is because of the very fact that He was willing to do such things that His children can always trust Him to make good on His promises to them.

God is the perfect promise keeper.  God. is. Love.