God According to God

compassionate gracious slow to anger abounding in love and faithfulness maintaining love to thousands forgiving wickedness rebellion and sin does not leave the guilty unpunished

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A Study of Exodus 34:6-7

Grounded

• Who was grounded as a child/teenager?
• Did you enjoy it?
• Did you think it was necessary to correct your behavior?
• If you have children of your own, how has your attitude toward punishment changed now that you are a parent?

Punishment

• Before looking at what punishment look like, we need to clear up what it does not look like
• “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:7

Jeremiah 31:26-30

• 26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.27 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the LORD. 29 In those days they shall no longer say: “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’30 But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Jeremiah 31:27-30

• We read about the future hope for Israel. God is doing something new among them
• “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”(29b).
• People will no longer say this under the New Covenant (29a).
• How, then, will the New Covenant work? “Everyone will die for their own sin”(30a).
• The ones who eat sour grapes will have their own teeth set on edge (30b).

Ezekiel 18:1-20

• This chapter begins by quoting the saying about parents, children, sour grapes, and teeth (2).
• The word from God is that “you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel” (3).
• The thesis statement comes next: “The one who sins is the one who will die” (4).

Righteous man and wicked son

• A righteous man who keeps God’s commands (5-9a)
• What’s the verdict for this man?
• The next story is about this righteous man’s violent son (10-13a).
• He will be “put to death” (13b)

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Righteous son with a wicked father

• A righteous son who has a wicked, violent father (14-17a)
• What’s the verdict on these two?
• The next two verses sum up the argument: the righteous son is not punished because he has “done what is just” (19).
• “The one who sins is the one who will die”(20a).
• “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” is not a part of the New Covenant

Luke 13:1-5

• There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:1-5

Luke 13:1-5

• There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:1-5

Punishment

• In these two examples, what is the point Jesus is trying to make?
• No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (5)
• Not all bad things are a punishment from God
• Give an example of someone you’ve seen jumping to conclusions about God’s punishment in this way.
• Why do we always seek a divine explanation for these things? Should we?

Punishment and consequences

• After David’s affair with Bathsheba, God decides that the baby born from this illicit union will die (2 Sam 12:14).
• Infant death is not a natural consequence of getting pregnant from an affair.
• When Ananias and Sapphira lie about money, God strikes them dead on the spot (Acts5:1-10).
• Lying about money does not naturally lead to sudden death.
• There are stories in the Bible where God intercedes and doles out a punishment that otherwise wouldn’t have happened

Punishment and consequences

• Sometimes punishment means we bear the natural consequences of our choices.
• Having an affair might mean you lose your marriage. This isn’t necessarily God arbitrarily punishing you; it’s a natural consequence of cheating on your spouse.
• Embezzling money from the company you work for, might get you fired or worse. The punishment is the consequences of your actions.
• What are some sins that have obvious natural consequences?
• Are there some sins that don’t have consequences that are as obvious?

Punishment

• Punishment seems harsh but …
• It means God is just
• If God’s nature is good, and his desire is for holiness and purity, God can’t avoid punishing.
• Letting evil and wickedness run unchecked is counter to God’s nature.

Hebrews 12:4-11

• Is there a difference between discipline and punishment?
• It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
• Why does God discipline?
• but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (10)
• but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness (11)

2 Thessalonians 1:3-10

• Paul is imagining the final “day of the Lord” when God will come back and punish those who “trouble” the Thessalonians and who “do not know God and do not obey the gospel.”
• Ultimately, this is the picture of a just God: on the final day, God’s people will be glorified, and the wicked will be punished.
• This is how things should look when God is in charge.
• Would you want to serve and worship a God who didn’t punish wickedness?

Application

• Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.11 On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. Obadiah 1:10-11
• What is the indictment against Edom here? Were they actively perpetrating violence?
• Simply not participating in wickedness is not enough.
• We must actively work against the wickedness

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Application

• Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. 4 And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. Ezekiel 9:3-6

Application

• God tells a man to “go throughout the city of Jerusalem” and mark those who are grieving and lamenting over the “detestable things” happening there (3-4).
• Everyone without a mark receives a death sentence (5-6).
• Basically, the people who are not grieving the sins of their people are implicated!
• What does it mean to grieve over wickedness?
• How do we work toward a balance of compassion and not overlooking sin?
• If the goal is to model God’s justice, what are some practices we should undertake?

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Next Week

• Forgiveness
• Do we forgive those who don’t ask for forgiveness?