Lesson Four: GOD IS PASSIONATE AND COMPASSIONATE
Introduction: We may have believed that God is only One of wrath in the Old Testament, One without emotions and yet on the other hand, He could have been seen as a God of Grace and love in the New Testament. However, we need to understand that God is a God who is filled with great love and compassion for His children, shown all through the Scriptures, loving them with a sympathising love.
Memory Text: Isaiah 49:15(NKJV)
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.
SABBATH; Often times, emotions are viewed to be a form of weakness and in ancient Greek philosophy, the idea of a good ruler was depicted in the fact that a man should rule, ruling out emotions. However, God created us with emotions and His emotions towards us as shown in Scripture are emotions that spring from perfectness and great wisdom. However, we should keep in mind that God’s emotions cannot be compared to our emotions experienced by human beings.
SUNDAY; God’s compassion is incomparable in greatness to the deepest and most beautiful human expression of the same emotion. God relates to us as His children and He draws an image of this love from the sweet intimate relation shared between mother and child. In as much as this relation might stumble, God’s love for us never fails for it’s an everlasting love. Despite Israel’s infidelity, God still loved His people, He showed them mercy and He yearned for them and promised to show His abundant compassion upon them. In the same way, we are no different from the nation, Israel.
(READ Psalms 103:13; Isaiah 49:15; Jeremiah 31:20)
MONDAY; God’s great love and compassion is greatly depicted by His command to Hosea to marry a prostitute, showing how loving and merciful God is to us, regardless of our unfaithfulness. Further more, His love is likened to a great Father’s love for His child as seen in Deuteronomy 1:31. God loving His people so much, in contrast to God’s unwavering faithfulness, they kept pushing God away and bringing judgement upon themselves which left Him deeply grieved.
(READ Hosea 11:1-9; Isaiah 63:9; Genesis 43:30)
TUESDAY; God went on and showed His love, manifested through Jesus Christ. Jesus was moved with compassion for all people in all sectors of life, the sick, the blind, the crowds and He went on ahead to minister to their needs. Further more, Jesus Christ, drawing an imagery of a hen gathering her chicks, He yearned so much to protect His people from the ultimate cost of sin and ultimate destruction, only if they allowed Him to be their guide. This compassion, relates to that of God in the Old Testament.
(READ Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 23:37; Mark 1:41; Mark 6:34; Luke 7:13; )
WEDNESDAY; God is not only compassionate, but He is jealous as well. His jealousy is that which is a form of care for His children, in that He does not want them to be lost to the leading of false gods that lead them away into destruction. His jealousy is righteous in nature, shown as the deep passion for the salvation of His children which is for their own good. God desires to be their Only God and we see His response to the infidelity and unfaithfulness of His people who do evil.
(READ 1 Corinthians 13:4; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Psalms 78:58)
THURSDAY; We see God’s great passion and compassion exemplified through and by Jesus Christ. We are called to show the same love we wish to receive from others to them as well. The beautiful love whose qualities we see in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. However, unable to achieve this on our own, we are to call on the Holy Spirit for it is by His power that these fruits can eventually show up in our characters. Worshipping God alone leads us to accepting His love for us, and in turn, enabling us to share this love to those around us for it is Only God can change our hearts. May we allow Christ to dwell in our hearts, that we achieve this great calling.
(READ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; 13:7&6; Romans 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:12&13)
FRIDAY; All who have a deep sense of their deep soul poverty and feel that they have nothing good in themselves, may find righteousness and strength by looking unto Jesus. We are not worthy of God’s love, but Christ, our surety is worthy and is abundantly able to save all who come unto Him. Does Satan plead loudly against our souls, accusing of sin and claiming us as his prey, the blood of Christ pleads with greater power.
(READ “The Beatitudes” pp 6-44 in Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing by Ellen G White)
CAPTIONS:
SUNDAY; More than a mother’s love
MONDAY; Gut-wrenching love
TUESDAY; The compassion of Jesus
WEDNESDAY; A jealous God?
THURSDAY; Compassionate and passionate
FRIDAY; Further thought
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS;
- Imagine how the mother must have felt in the case of the two women who came before Solomon claiming the same baby was their child. Consider again the language of emotion described in 1 Kings 3:26. How does this shed light on the same kind of language that is used to describe God’s emotions for His people in Hosea 11:8?
- Throughout the Gospels, we have seen that Jesus was moved by the needs of people. And what did He do? He acted in a way that addressed the people’s needs. In what practical ways can you as an individual, or even perhaps as a class, meet the needs of those who need comforting?
