Looking back through the Old Testament, there seems to be several instances of God showing characteristics that don't exactly line up with the character of Jesus. However, if we read back through it assuming that it is all about the cross of Christ, then we can see how God adapted to the level of the cultural conditioning of the Old Testament authors, appearing violent as a result. In addition, when we read carefully, we can actually see the nonviolent character of God breaking through within the passages of violence themselves.