Does the God of the Old Testament show an interest in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion? We may be familiar with the love and generosity of the Jesus in the New Testament*, but the early Bible stories are harsh and seem to favor exclusivity to Israel and inequity to women and minorities. Is that true? Let’s take a deep dive and find out.
In Genesis we see the creation is very diverse (Gen 1). But soon, the people sin and then there consequences for sin (Gen 3) that cause an imbalance and conflict between man and nature (Gen 3:18), women and men (Gen 3:15) a major catastrophe (Gen 7), and linguistically separated groups (Gen 11) and ultimately discord between humans and their God.
Those conflicts aren’t the end of the story, nor desired outcome. Those are the obstacles to love and righteousness that must be put back to right. Man is not meant to destroy the earth but steward it, men and women aren’t meant to fight for control, but serve one another. The Israelites are meant to be a blessing to the world (Gen 12). The story of the Bible is the mostly the journey both physically and spiritually of the people of back to God.
While people gravitate to men of strength and power (1 Sam 9:2), throughout the Old Testament you see God both blessing and utilizing children, women and people of different ethic backgrounds. God spoke to Samuel as a child, and used a servant girl to speak to power (2 Kings 5:2). The stories of Hadassah (Esther), Ruth, Abigail, Deborah are examples of righteous women. There are people outside of the accepted society. Rahab (Joshua 6), was a sex worker whose faith saved herself and her family. Jacob, Joseph and David were all younger sons that became leaders in a society that favored first borns.
Righteous non-Jews apear throughout. Melchizedek and Jethro are non-native priests who are wise. God cared for the non-righteous too. He sent Jonah to the Ninevites because he did not want them destroyed, but saved. Both nations of Nineveh and Israel later get punished by God.
The repeating theme of the Old Testament is humility over pride, wisdom over folly, and care for the weak and marginalized. David was a man after God’s heart not because of his physical strength or musical talent, but his willingness to repent. Israel is punished for not for military or financial weakness, but its poor treatment of people. They were supposed to leave the corners of their fields unharvested for the poor. They supposed to show foreigners hospitality. (Isaiah, Ezra, Jeremiah) Their punishment was loss of status, control, wealth and could be ours as well if we don’t learn from their story.
