Jesus shows us the way. Just as the cross shows us our violence, so these OT passages reflect our violence onto us. We all have it. But the call is toward a nonviolent ethic that we see on the cross. What looks ugly is actually love. It is God coming toward us … it is God allowing us to do to God what we want. And in doing so, discovering the Love that is beneath all the ugliness.
For in the moments that we see a bleeding, naked, crucified God - we at the same time see the monstrousness of our violence. God chose to not return violence for violence, but instead absorbed the violence in God’s self in Jesus. This is the invitation to us (in part) when we are invited to pick up our cross.