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Establishing Believers in the Christian Faith

from The Nature and Character of God

© 2020 Bert Davidson

Chapter 16: God can be Grieved

Figuratively speaking, God can weep.

If God never created beings who were capable of defying Him, every act would always conform to His will. How can the sun or planets rebel against God? They have no such capacity. But in man God created beings who are free to resist and rebel against Him.

When man rebels, God grieves. And there is a three dimensional aspect to this grief. God grieves over the suffering others are subjected to when one rebels. He grieves over the judgment He may have to impose on the offender. And He grieves over all the blessings the sinner forfeited on account of his rebellion.

God grieves over the suffering and misery man’s rebellion brings onto his fellow man. When a man steals, the owner experiences loss. When a vengeful man injures another, he brings pain and suffering on the victim. When men oppress, they cause heartache and exasperation to those whom they afflict. And even when men sin and there appears to be no negative consequence to another human being, even then the man has ultimately harmed himself. These are all cases where suffering is directly caused by human agency through acts which God did not morally approve. In all such situations, God grieves.

Suffering is definitely part of the human experience, but the fact is most suffering is directly related to the nature of the offense in relation to God’s created order. If a parent commands a child not to touch the fire, and the child rebels and reaches for the flame, that child will be burned. Even so, rebellion against God has immediate negative, harmful consequences to the individual and to others.

The story of Noah is a clear example of God’s capacity to grieve. We are told:

It is important to process this description of man’s corruption in light of God’s attributes. In this passage the corruption primarily consisted of violence for “the earth was filled with violence.” There were assaults, fights, rapes, robberies, murders and the like. God, who is always there, witnessed every single one of those violent acts first hand. Furthermore God, who knows all things, saw this outward violence flowed from a heart that was utterly corrupt. These acts were born of an illicit desire for power, money, prestige, vengeance, or sexual gratification. In other cases the violence was committed simply for sport and born of a depraved sense of amusement and diversion. Whatever the case, every intent of the thoughts of man’s heart; everything he desired and contemplated doing; every thought he conceived was only evil continually.

Man’s corruption is clearly laid out in these verses, but so is God’s reaction. He was “grieved in His heart” and “sorry” He had made man. God’s sorrow was not an indication He was unaware things would turn out that way, and it was not as if He viewed His decision to make man a mistake. God never makes a mistake; never. Rather God being “sorry” was simply another way of expressing God’s grieving over the miserable state of affairs man had placed himself.

Another account of God’s grieving over man’s rebellion is that of ancient Israel in the desert. It is written:

Examining the history of Israel to which this passage refers, one can read how the Israelites engaged in numerous evil acts: idolatry, sexual immorality, murmuring, blasphemy, hatred, covetousness, thanklessness, and the like. How was God affected by all this? He was “grieved” and “pained” by it.

These two accounts are considering God’s grieving only from the perspective of the destructive, built-in, negative consequences in relation to one’s fellow man. But in both these accounts God was also grieved other ways.

God grieves over the judgment He is obligated to impose on unrepentant sinners. God says:

God is just and righteous, and He will not let injustice go unpunished forever. Justice will be served. In the days of Noah God ultimately brought a flood to execute evildoers for their sins. And with Israel in the desert numerous judgments were imposed that took their lives. But in both cases, God grieved. He took no pleasure in imposing His righteous judgments.

God grieves over the blessings man forfeits through his rebellion. In one place God expresses His heart’s desire saying:

This verse reveals the heart cry of God towards man in general. God does not desire harm, hurt, disease, suffering, heartache and death. He desires things to “be well” with people. He desires life, goodness, fullness and wellbeing. But man’s refusal to live as God intends, his insistence on doing things his own way, and his obstinance in rejecting all appeals to turn around result not only in suffering in the present, but loss of potential blessings in the future.

How many parents drowned in the days of Noah who could have had their family lines remain if only those parents had repented? How many Israelites perished in the desert who likewise could have had joyful, fulfilling lives had they only turned? But they missed out on all God had for them. On account of that unrealized future, God grieved.

When you rebel against God, He grieves over that suffering and loss you inflicted on yourself and others that was inherent in the offense. He grieves if He has to judge you for that rebellion, and also over all the blessing you forfeited.

from The Nature and Character of God

© 2020 Bert Davidson

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