Is God compassionate or ferocious (Lamentations 3:22)?
This and many other verses in Scripture describe God as merciful and compassionate, slow to wrath, and plentiful in kindness (cf. Ps 103:8 ; James 5:11; 1 John 4:16). By contrast, numerous passages in the Bible reveal God as wrathful and vengeful. God told Moses, “You shall destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall not pity them” (Deut. 7:16; cf. 1 Sam. 6:19; 15:2-3; Jer. 13:14; Heb. 12:29).
Lamentations 3:1 - 66
ESV - 1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath. 2 He has driven and brought me into darkness without any light.
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Tim Maas
Supporter
From the analogy of a human standpoint, a parent may love his children more than words can express, but that does not prevent the parent from disciplining them for their own benefit, and even doing so in a manner that the children might regard as excessive, severe, or unnecessary, because the parent has a wider perspective that the children have not yet attained as to the behavior or attitudes needed for the children to ultimately succeed in life (or, from a Christian perspective, to attain eternal life), which the parent desires because of love for them. And God (again similar to a human parent) may also exercise such wrath in an external direction to protect His children from forces that will harm them. Also, in my opinion, any earthly chastisement that God might administer pales into insignificance contrasted with the eternal life that He made possible out of His love for sinful humanity for anyone who will accept the salvation that He has made possible through faith in the act of Christ (as God Incarnate) taking upon Himself the punishment for sin that each of us deserves.
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
I think God is mainly compassionate: Isaiah 54:10 says, quoting God, "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." And see Micah 7:18: “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.” I know there is a balance here though: Psalm 103 says in vv. 8-10, "The Lord is compassionate and merciful; he is patient and demonstrates great loyal love. 103:9 He does not always accuse, and does not stay angry. 103:10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve; he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve." We all just need God's grace because we are sinners: Romans 11:5: So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 11:6 And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
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