by Zipporah

Created on: January 28, 2009

God is both a God of wrath and a God of compassion. Because of his love and his desire for justice God is both a God of compassion and a God of wrath. God's love is demonstrated in his compassion. He is deeply aware of the suffering of his children and desires to relieve it as evidenced when he sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt. God's compassion was exemplified when He sent his son, Jesus into the world. John 3:16 says "for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." God's love and compassion is demonstrated through the Bible.

God's love for his children and his hatred of sin is exemplified by his wrath. Because of God's love for his children, He chastens (wrath) them when they disobey him and engage in activities which he knows will harm them. He warns them, but they do not heed his warnings and they therefore experience the consequences of their disobedience. God's chastening (wrath) is beneficial because of its demonstration that our actions have consequences whether good or bad. During their stay in the garden, Adam and Eve disobeyed (sinned). Because of their failure to obey God, they lost the protective covering which God had provided. Their eyes were opened and they were now aware of their nakedness. Although God provided them clothing to cover their nakedness, He did not allow them to remain in the garden. Allowing them to remain in the garden would not have been an act of love. Love decreed that they experience the consequences of their actions. God's love and compassion did not end when they left the garden. God followed them.

Before the foundations of the world, God had planned to send Jesus into the world to deliver the world from evil. Before he created the first man and woman, God knew that in their desire to be like him,i.e. god, they would disobey him. He allowed them to disobey because he wanted them to understand their limitations. Although they desired to be like God, they did not understand the consequences of their actions. He allowed them to live without His protective covering to show them their need of his protection. The law given to the children of Israel made them aware of sin. Even though they tried, they were unable to fulfill the demands of the law. Although God knew of their inability to fulfill the demands of the law, they did not. Why did God give them the law if He knew they would be unable to fulfill its demands? A loving parent, God wanted them to be made aware of their limitations and their need for Him. Because of His love for them he wanted them to become aware that their actions have consequences that must be experienced whether good or bad. God wants us to become like his son Jesus. Like God, parents who love their children display both compassion and wrath. God is a God of both WRATH and COMPASSION.

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