COMPASSION OF GOD

WHAT IS COMPASSION?

Compassion is the deep feeling of concern for suffering and needy people. Compassion is as similar as mercy; the only slight difference is that mercy is the undeserved kindness and compassion. That is the kindness shown to someone from a fellow brother who does not really deserve it. While compassion on the other hand is that deep feeling, the urge deep down someone’s heart to help a needy person and it becomes one’s business of concern to see that the needs of the suffering and needy are meet. I hope we are together here.

A COMPASSIONATE GOD

The God of the Bible is a compassionate God (Exod. 3:7) “And the Lord said, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of the taskmasters, for I know their sorrows,” who feels with us in our hurts and needs and takes appropriate steps to help us. This is evident already in His message of hope to Adam and Eve when they sinned; God’s expression of compassion is first mentioned explicitly in His attitude to the oppressed Israelites in Egypt, who He delivered through the Exodus. And He similarly showed the same compassion during the exile.  God’s heartfelt compassion went out to the alien (Exod. 22:21) “You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt,” the needy and the oppressed. See (Deut. 24: 14-15, 17) “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun goes down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cries out against you to the Lord, and it will be sin to you.” “You shall not pervert justice due stranger or the fatherless, nor take a window’s garment as a pledge.” See also (Deut. 15:1-4) at the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release. Of a foreigner  you may require it ; but you shall give up  your claim to what is owed by your brother, except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord Your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance.”

BEING COMPASSIONATE

For our Lord responds to our suffering with a heart bursting with deep love (Lev. 25:35-38) “If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him; but fear Your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit.  I am the Lord Your God who brought out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God,” with a compassion that moves Him to step in to our lives (V. 39-43) “And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel to serve him as a slave.  As a hired servant and a sojourner he shall be with you, and shall serve you until the Year of Jubilee. And then he shall depart from you- he and his children with him- and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. For they are My servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear Your God.”  In imitation of Him, we are to respond to needy around us with a compassion that cares enough to become involved in the lives of others. Job showed us this perfect example by being everything (Job 29:11-17) “When the ear heard, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw, then it approved me; because I delivered the poor who cried out, the fatherless and the one who had no helper. The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, and I cased the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame, I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the case that I did not know. I broke the fangs of the wicked, and plucked the victim from his teeth.” This was the suffering Job who became everything to those who needed his help.

SHARING WITH THE NEEDY

God was so much concerned about the poor and the strangers that He gave them a command through His servant Moses how the people ought to do their harvest. The Israelites were not to harvest everything from their lands but leave purposely for the poor and the strangers among them (Lev. 19:9-10) “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them to the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.” The poor, the needy and the strangers are indeed the apple of God’s eye. God continues to give laws concerning the strangers thus (V. 33-34) “And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you, shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”  Because the children of God were strangers in Egypt and God took them out from that bondage, they were not to mistreat any stranger but have compassion on them as God Himself showered them mercy.

THE WAY OF JONAH

Jonah became exceedingly angry and was displeased with God (Jon. 4:1-3) “But it displeased Johan exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country?” Therefore I fled previously to Tar shish; (Jon. 1-1-3) “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Johan arose to flee to Tar shish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tar shish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tar shish from the presence of the Lord.” So Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord for he knew that God is full of compassion, gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, one who relents from doing harm (Jon. 3:10) “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”

GOD RELENTED

Because our God is a compassionate, merciful, loving and kind, He did exactly how Jonah thought He would relent from doing harm to the city of Nineveh; for the entire city had humbled themselves before the Lord with their king and the beasts as well (V. 3-9) “So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came from the king of Nineveh; and he arose from His throne and laid aside His robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And He caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, “Let neither man nor beast, either herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat nor drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?” Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” Jonah did feel offended when the Lord relented from His wrath against Nineveh exceedingly that  the only option left with him as do many of us is to opt for death. But the righteous God answered him (Jon. 4:4) “Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?

JONAH’S ARROGANCE

 And because Jonah was not as compassionate and merciful as God, his wish was that the city be destroyed (V. 5-7) “So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city.” And because God was not going to do what Jonah was expecting; He made him a plant to cover his head (V. 6-8) “And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Johan, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint.  Then he wished death for himself and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah was disappointed and felt angry with the entire situation and again wished if he would be dead instead of living; but the Lord continued to challenge him by putting some senses on his empty head (V. 9-11) “The God said to Jonah, Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right and their left and much livestock.” Even prophets disobey God. Jonah was commissioned by the Lord to deliver a massage to the great Assyrian metropolis of Nineveh. He was to announce the impending revelation of the wrath of God on its idolatry, injustice and arrogance. Instead, he went down to the seaport and took a ship destined for the opposite direction. Churches and individuals that misconceive their mission and fail to carry out Christ’s great commission are also guilty of going to Tar shish when God sends them to Nineveh. A similar disobedience is evident in the misconduct of anyone who refuses to do what God commands in His Word. Husbands who do not love their wives, children who do not honor their parents, pastors who do not feed their flocks, governors who do not punish the lawless and protect the law-abiding, are choosing Tar shish instead of Nineveh. Such disobedience displeases God and deprives us of the joy of service.

May You help us O God.

“Grace to you and Favor from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen and Amen and Amen.”