The Mercy of God as Found in the Old Testament by Rich Deem Introduction Jonah and Gods Mercy Most Christians know Jonah as the reluctant prophet who was swallowed by a whale in order for God to convince him to go to Nineveh. Atheists often get caught up in the whale part of the story, not realizing that the story reveals that the ancients believed that God was merciful, although, at time, they often wished He hadnt been. Rich Deem According to Richard Dawkins, Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.1 Absent from any of Dawkins description of God is His mercy. People tend to think of the God of the Old Testament as cruel and unforgiving, whereas the God of the New Testament is seen as the God of mercy, who sent Jesus to atone for the sins of the world. The Old Testament prophets were always warning the people about the wrath of God should they stray from the path of righteousness. However, what is usually ignored by atheists is Gods mercy for those who did repent of doing evil. Yes, God judged many people groups, but not before warning them. Jonah and Gods mercy? For those of you who only remember the whale part of Jonahs story, here is a brief synopsis to get you a better background about Jonah. God called Jonah to travel to the city of Nineveh to warn them about their impending judgment, because of their wickedness.2 Jonah had different ideas, and attempted to flee from God by paying for passage on a foreign ship.3 However, God was not amused and sent a violent storm.4 The sailors were terrified and eventually figured out that Jonah was the cause of their endangerment, which he eventually admitted to them.5 Jonah was thrown overboard and God directed a great fish (or whale - the Hebrew is not that specific) to swallow Jonah and take him to the shore.6 Once expelled from the whale, Jonah decided to do what God had originally requested and travelled to Nineveh to preach repentance from their evil.7 A number of Christians assume Jonah was reluctant to go to Nineveh because they were known for their cruelty, and he feared for his life. However, the account gives a different reason why Jonah did not want to go. Jonah actually wanted God to judge the city of Nineveh and kill all their inhabitants. He was disappointed that the king and the people repented of their evil and were spared from Gods judgment.8 In fact, Jonah was so angry with God that he asked God to kill him.9 After that conversation, Jonah left the city and sat outside of it hoping that God would still destroy the city.10 God caused a plant to grow overnight to give Jonah shade during his watch, but then caused the death of the plant the next day. Jonah was furious about the plant.11 God pointed out that Jonahs priorities were completely messed up, since he was more concerned about a plant that gave him shade than the fate of 120,000 souls in Nineveh: Then the LORD said, You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals? (Jonah 4:10-11) So, it was clear to Jonah that God was merciful and He would reconsider His judgment of evil if the people repented.12 Since Jonah wanted no part in Gods mercy, he tried to avoid following Gods instructions to warn the people. Did God warn others? Atheists would like you to believe that the God of the Old Testament just randomly killed people for no good reason and without warning. It turns out that atheists often dont present the entire stories about Gods judgment. For example, in the greatest story of judgment, God sent a flood to kill all humanity except Noah and his family. However, Noah preached to the people of the coming judgment during the 100 years he was building the ark.13 In another famous example, God destroyed the cites of Sodom and Gomorrah, because of their evil. In fact, all the men of Sodom (including both young and old) attempted to rape the two angels who came to warn Lot of the impending judgment.14 Although warned,15 the men attempted to harm Lot, but were prevented when the angels caused them all to become blind.16 In many lesser known stories, God warned the people prior to executing judgment. Some of these warnings were heeded17 and others not,18 with the expected consequences. Gods own people were often recipients of Gods judgment, when they refused to heed His warnings.19 Here is a short list from the writings of the prophets: Prophet Warning to Result Isaiah Judah Judgment Jeremiah Judah Judgment Lamentations Jerusalem Judgment Ezekiel Jerusalem, Tyre, Egypt Captivity in Babylon Hosea Israel Judgment Joel Tyre, Sidon, Philistia Judgment Amos Israel Judgment Obadiah Edom Judgment Jonah Nineveh Repentance Micah Israel Judgment Nahum Nineveh Judgment Habakkuk Judah Judgment Zephaniah Judah Judgment Zechariah Tyre, and other cities Judgment It is a well known principle that God regularly warned people of impending judgment and He personally indicated that He would relent if they changed their ways.12 So, the atheists idea that God killed people without warning is false. Does God kill the innocent? Did God kill any innocent people along with the evil ones? In the two most famous examples of Gods judgment discussed above, the text clearly says that all the people God killed were evil.20 When God was about to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked God if He would destroy the cities if there were 50 righteous people in them.21 God said no. Then Abraham asked the same question if there were 45 righteous people. Every time he dropped the number and got the same answer. The fact is that God would not have destroyed those cities if there were any righteous people in them. The few righteous who were in those cities He warned ahead of time to get out.22 In another example, Abimelech, king of Gerar, took Abrahams wife because he lied saying that she was his sister.23 However, God prevented Abimelech from sleeping with her and warned him in a dream. Abimelech heeded Gods warning and was spared from death.23 Eliphaz the Temanite, in his discussions with Job, acknowledged that God did not judge the innocent with the guilty, but that those who act sinfully will incur Gods judgment.24 So, God does not destroy the righteous along with the evil. Conclusion Top of page In numerous instances, atheists cite the Old Testament for examples of where God killed innocent people. However, the texts show that the innocent are not judged, but only the guilty. In addition, virtually always, the guilty individuals were warned ahead of time about their sin. Jonah is often known as the reluctant prophet, although the reason for his hesitation was not due to the cruelty of Nineveh, but because he feared its people might repent and God might spare them. Jonah wanted God to kill all the people of Nineveh, but feared His mercy. So, Christians are not the only people who often seem to want to see God judge people for their evil, rather than praying for their reconciliation with God. Jonah reveals that God was known for His mercy even in Old Testament times. Even though God is merciful, His mercy extends only to those who heed His words of warning. There is no toleration for evil in Gods kingdom, so those who insist on testing Gods resolve toward sin will find themselves judged, and incarcerated in Gods jail.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 17:03:19 +0000
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