Stephen
Terry, Director
In
the Psalms: Part 2
Commentary
for the May 31, 2025, Sabbath School Lesson
"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)