In the Psalms: Part 2
Commentary for the May 31, 2025, Sabbath School Lesson
Jesus heals the sick"And the Lord said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.'"
Exodus 33:19, NIV
When I was a child very long ago, in the 1950s, children's television programs tried to give social lessons on fair play, and if two boys were in a squabble that resulted in a fight during a program, the stronger boy would always relent and help his opponent to his feet once the loser cried, "Uncle!" This kind of programming did not necessarily achieve the desired result as some boys who watched the scenario play out on the TV screen then took it to the schoolyard where they then went about seeing how many other boys they could get to cry, "Uncle!" Instead of inducing fair play, it produced a whole new crop of bullies who felt entitled because their favorite television program had endorsed it. They got the message and reinterpreted it to further their desire to control others. It also meant that once informally crowned king of the schoolyard, no one would come to the defense of those the bully would attack because they had experienced the bully before and had no desire to repeat the humiliation. For his part, the bully never remembered the part about showing respect for his opponents. Everyone learned that there are two different opponents, the fantasy opponent who was always respectful and humble, even towards those he had beaten, and the real-life opponent who was more interested in utterly disgracing his victim than in treating them respectfully. Intimidation of others becomes an acquired skill for manipulating victims for one's own advantage. Even on social media, we see this play out, and Christians are no late comers to that party.
We find two diametrically opposed characterizations of God in the Bible. The one most believed by modern Christians is God the bully. He reigns through fear and intimidation. It can be heard in common catch phrases like "God is going to get you for that," or God saying, "Don't make me come down there!" with the implication we will regret it if he does. Fear is an easy tool to use to manipulate people, so people are told to fear God, fear hell fire, and fear his wrath. Pastors are manipulated by those over them through this kind of fear, and they in turn manipulate their congregants, passing on the fear. This leaves the impression that God delights in tormenting humanity. Like a child with a magnifying glass, using it to burn ants by creating concentrated light from the sun at them until they become tiny, crisp corpses, God would hold us like bugs at the end of a strand of a spider web over hell fire to watch us squirm in the heat from the flames.[i] And if that were not enough, God would derive joy from doing this for all eternity. This is the God too many are manipulated into fearing and serving through that fear. Little wonder so many want nothing to do with God and refuse to acknowledge his existence.
I encountered the preaching about this kind of God myself when visiting a university campus years ago. Some young men were standing in the quadrangle waiving Bibles and telling all who passed by that they would burn in hell if they did not succumb to fear and join the "church" the men were part of. They wanted nothing to do with a God of forgiveness and compassion. For them God was all about revenge. Revenge is the watchword for many when it comes to their idea of God. It is a simple concept that even bullies buy into. I once was sharing a Bible study about God's love with a friend when his girlfriend came into the room. Hearing what we were talking about, she said that if God is not going to cast everyone who ever hurt her into hell, then she wanted nothing to do with God. She also added that she wanted nothing to do with any boyfriend who did not feel the same. The boyfriend then told me he did not want to hear anything more about the love of God and terminated our friendship. Fear of what his girlfriend might do caused him to shut down.
Fortunately, although proof texts can be found in the Bible to support living in fear of God, there are examples of compassion and grace that reveal the true character of God. He is not a bigger bully stronger than John Wicke, Jack Reacher, and Rambo combined, capable of beating us into submission and more than willing to do so. This was the kind of God that the Jews had come to believe in. After all, wasn't he responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the murder of thousands of women and children along with the men who had defended the city? Was he not responsible for those who survived the destruction being marched off to slavery in Babylon? Naturally, they expected a powerful Messiah that would do violence to the Romans who ruled them. Loving Jesus must have been a terrible disappointment to them. They overlooked the compassionate pleading by God through the prophet Jeremiah that would have spared the people and the city if they had followed the prophet's guidance. God had no desire to see Jerusalem burned to the ground. Despite its wickedness, God would rather save the city than see it destroyed. God's will shone through in the tears Jeremiah wept over the Jews refusal to let God heal them and compassionately bring them through to safety. (Jeremiah 9:1)
The patriarch Abraham also knew God as defined by love and compassion and was not afraid to plead for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah despite their overwhelming depravity on the chance some good persons could offset all the evil. (Genesis 18:16-33) He hoped that the cities might survive for the sake of his nephew Lot and his family. It was the same trust in God's love that caused him to say when taking his son, Isaac, to Mount Moriah to be sacrificed that allowed him to say when Isaac asked what was going on, "God will provide the lamb." (Genesis 22:8) And Abraham was right for not only did God provide the sacrifice at Mount Moriah, but this story was the type for the lamb one day dying on the cross, Jesus the antitypical fulfillment of God's love providing. That this was understood in some fashion by Abraham is seen in his reference to God as Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides.(Genesis 22:14)
Moses understood God's true nature when God tested him over the constant rebellion of the Israelites in the wilderness. He offered Moses the chance to become the start of a better line of descendants, wiping out all the troublemakers. (Exodus 32:9-14) But Moses pled for the people just as Abraham pled for Sodom and Gomorrah, and because God was compassionate and loving, Moses' faith in that love prevailed.
Our understanding of God appears in how we relate to the story of the Fall. If we see God as wanting to burn Adam and Eve to cinders because of their error, then we are in the majority who live for revenge, whether we are seeking it or encouraging God to seek it. That path has a very broad gate and does not lead to anywhere most would want to go if their eyes could see their destination. But those who understand the character of God can see the tears in his eyes as he searched for the first couple in the garden and then had to close the garden to them. Those tears were like the tears Jesus wept at the death of his friend, Lazarus (John 11:32-36) and that he wept over Jerusalem. (Matthew 23:37) God does not seek the torture or the death of anyone. He wants us to live fulfilled lives so badly that Jesus gave his life to make it possible. It was his love for us, not his desire to judge and condemn us that was responsible for that gift. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17)
We should not be afraid to approach God, for "God is love." (1 John 4:8) Despite all the false images of God, he is still wherever compassion, empathy, love, respect, gentleness, and kindness without expectation of reward can be found. When you find these things, know that the kingdom of God is near. He will not have his hand out for money, for he owns the cattle on a thousand hills. (Psalm 50:9-12) Those who come to you demanding such things are only serving their bellies. (Isaiah 56:11) Their motives are telling when they say to you what evil God is going to do to you if you do not give to their cause. They come preaching fear, but God is love, and love is the enemy of fear. Fear flees in its presence. (1 John 4:18) However, the most important truth of all is that you cannot decide to be loving. Love only comes when we recognize that God is love and loves us. Only then will our cup be full to love others. (1 John 4:19)
[i] "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Jonathan Edwards, 1741
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