¤ ¤
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¤ >> Dear
friend, over the course
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of the last few programs,
we have had the opportunity to
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explore the love of God.
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It is often misunderstood. It is
often mistaught. But now we're
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unpacking what does the Bible
really say about the love of
God? Once again I have with me
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guest Dr. John Peckham. Dr.
Peckham, welcome again to "It Is
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Written Canada." Happy to have
you here. >> Thank you. I'm very
happy to be here with
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you. >> Now, as we've been
unpacking this, we have learned
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some very key principles. Those
key principles -- number one,
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God is a God who freely chooses
to love us. Second, God gives us
free choice in responding to
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that love. Now, Dr. Peckham, as
we continue on in that journey,
a lot of people, when they talk
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about God, or their
understanding, their concept of
God, is that for lack of a
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better word that God is almost
this robotic, unemotional being
that has to love us, that has no
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choice but to love us. >>
Mm-hmm. >> So, let me ask you
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this. I mean, does God have
emotions? Where does this love
that He freely chooses to love
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us, where does
that all come from?
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>> Yeah. There's a
lot of people in the
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history of theology and even
today who have thought that God
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doesn't really have emotions,
at least responsive emotions.
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And then many other people
think, "Does God really care
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about us? Does he really have
concern for us?" And the Bible
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teaches that He does, and He
cares more deeply than we can
even imagine. Isaiah 49 is one
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of the best places to go first.
Isaiah 49, beginning in verse
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15. Isaiah 49:15. And these
are the words of God Himself.
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>> Okay. >> And he says
this... "Can a woman forget her
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nursing child and not have
compassion on the son of her
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womb? Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you." A
couple of things here -- first
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of all, I think it's safe to say
that the deepest kind of human
love that we know of is the love
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of a mother for her young child.
>> Mm-hmm. >> And that's what
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God is pointing to here. But He
says, "As deeply as a mother
loves and has compassion
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on her young child, my
compassion is exponentially
greater than that."
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>> That is phenomenal. And so,
we have Isaiah making this
comparison, but it's
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interesting. There are
some things going, though, where
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we're talking about forgetting
and not forgetting. And so, it
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not only speaks of that mother's
love, but it speaks of the
reality that God has
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intentionality in His love
toward us in this not
forgetting. >> That's right.
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There's a play on words even in
the Hebrew that you don't see in
the English here, where it talks
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about a woman having compassion
on the son of her womb.
Actually, the word for
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"compassion," which is one of
the major words for love in the
Old Testament, compassionate
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love, is derived from the
word for "womb." So, it actually
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gives the impression of a
womb-like mother love. That's
the way one commentator
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put it, that that's the kind of
love that's being spoken of in
almost every case where
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compassion is found in the
majority of them, I should say,
in the Old Testament.
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>> So, almost giving the idea
that this is love that is being
explored here is a love that is
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almost kind of ingrained as a
part of -- and I'm going to use
the word DNA, but it's a part of
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almost the DNA of a mother to
have that love for a child. And
we don't know the essence of
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God, so to speak, of what He is
made out of, so I don't want to
call it God's DNA, but for lack
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of a better word, it is almost
like this passage of Isaiah
saying is a makeup, a part of
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the very DNA of God. >> This is
His character, right? >> It is
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His character. >> Even humans,
even mothers fail. But God never
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does. His love never fails. The
depth of this love is seen just
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as clearly over in Jeremiah. >>
Okay. >> Flip over to Jeremiah
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31. You have the imagery that's
being used shows you the depth
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of God's love. Jeremiah 31:20.
Again, God's speaking. "'Is
Ephraim My dear son?'"
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And that's a
reference to Israel. >> Yes.
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>> Ephraim is another reference
to Israel. "'Is Ephraim my dear
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son? Is he a pleasant child? For
though I spoke against him, I
earnestly remember him still.
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Therefore My heart yearns for
him. I will surely have mercy on
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him,' says the Lord." The
language there for "My heart
yearns" literally translated
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from the Hebrew is like,
"My innards roar." This is very
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strong, visceral language of
emotion. >> And so, let's kind
of unpack that a little bit, Dr.
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Peckham. That heart yearning --
this is a description of God
Himself. So, there's clearly
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emotion. Let's unpack that
Hebrew a little bit, that inward
feeling that God's having toward
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humanity. >> Yes. It's
using the imagery of when
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you might have a very deep
emotional feeling. I don't know
if you've ever been
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so either concerned or upset
over something that it feels
like your stomach is turning.
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>> Yes. >> That's the imagery.
Now, it's not attributing
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that -- even when it uses of
humans it's not referring to the
literal stomach turning.
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>> Yes. >> It's referring
to the emotion that causes that
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physical response. Here,
it's not a reference to anatomy
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particularly. It's a reference
to the depth of God's emotion
over His people, that the way we
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feel deeply -- that's the
imagery that's being used. It's
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in His gut. It is a
gut-wrenching love, if you will.
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>> Wow. Well, that is
phenomenal. So, the depth of
God's love is this gut-wrenching
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yearning toward humanity.
Anything in the New Testament
that can help us understand that
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love, as well? >> Yes.
If we go over to Matthew 9.
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Matthew 9 gives us one example
of a great many passages, where
Jesus has the same kind of
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compassion for His people. So, I
already showed you -- and in
that verse we just quoted,
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the word for "compassion" was
the same one as the one from
Isaiah 49 about that womb of the
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mother. >> Yes. >>
So, you have this language
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that's really referring to this
gut-wrenching love. >> Mm-hmm.
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>> The New Testament word for
compassion, attributed to Jesus,
does the same thing.
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It talks about this
compassion in your gut. >> Okay.
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>> And over and over again, the
same kind of language is used of
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Jesus. Matthew 9:36.
>> Yes. >> Matthew 9:36.
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This is about Jesus. "But when
He saw the multitudes, He was
moved with compassion for
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them, because they were weary
and scattered, like sheep having
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no shepherd." And this is one
example of just many. And the
Greek word gives you the
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same imagery of gut-wrenching
compassion when He sees them. He
is stirred to His core.
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This is not just a human
response. This is His response
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of love, of the love of God for
His people. >> You know, that's
amazing. And I know you have
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passages like Mark 1:41, Mark
6:34, Mark 10:21 and Luke 7,
where you're having this same
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kind of response. >> That's
right. >> It's also interesting.
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I was thinking of John 11, when
Jesus goes to raise Lazarus from
the dead, and it's the shortest
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verse in the Bible.
>> Yes. >> "Jesus wept."
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>> That's right. >> And we often
ask the question, I've asked the
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question, at least, why would
Jesus weep? Jesus knew He was
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going to raise Lazarus from the
dead. Jesus knew what was going
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to happen. Why would He weep?
Well, clearly, there is only one
reason He would have been
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weeping, and that was there were
multitudes of people weeping
over the loss of Lazarus.
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And so, He's moved with that
compassion, that emotion that is
a driving force in His love
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toward us. >> That's right.
That's right. >> Now, what other
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illustrations, what other Bible
passages can we look at that
will help us to understand God
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actually having emotions? >>
Perhaps one of the most poignant
passages in Hosea 11.
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>> Okay. >> Hosea, this book
we've been in before already.
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>> We're going to back into the
Old Testament, get back into the
minor prophets, who have a major
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message. Hosea coming
right after the Book of Daniel.
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Hosea 11 and what verses are we
looking at? >> Verses 8 and 9.
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>> All right. >> And beginning
in verse 8. Again, God's
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speaking. "'How can I give you
up, Ephraim? How can I hand you
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over, Israel? How can I make you
like Admah? How can I set you
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like Zeboiim?'" Now, Admah and
Zeboiim are the two smaller
towns by Sodom and Gomorrah.
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>> Yes. >> So, this is language
referring to that judgment.
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In other words, "How can I
destroy Israel? They deserve to
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be destroyed. How can I do
this?" Right? "'My heart churns
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within Me. My sympathy is
stirred." Or "'All my
compassions are kindled.'"
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Then verse 9. "'I will not
execute the fierceness of My
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anger. I will not again destroy
Ephraim. For I am God, and not
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man, The Holy One in your
midst. And I will not come with
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terror.'" So, first of all,
verse 9 tells us that God has
gut-wrenching emotion, but it's
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not just like human emotion
because we overreact to the
wrong things. >> Sure.
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>> Our emotions are sometimes
improperly ordered and directed
in the wrong way, whereas God is
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not like a human. His emotions
are deeply felt, but their
perfect, and they are
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pure. Then you come back to
verse 8. Very interestingly,
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this combination of language --
"My heart churns within Me. My
sympathy is stirred."
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That language can be translated
"All my compassions are
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kindled." And there's two Hebrew
words there, one for the
compassions and one for kindled,
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which in this translation is
"Sympathy is stirred." Those two
words appear in only
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two other places in the Old
Testament in the entire Bible.
00:12:03.52\00:12:08.09
We're not going to go to them.
I'm just going to reference
00:12:08.09\00:12:10.23
them. >> Okay. >> But
one of them is in Genesis 43.
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And in Genesis 43, it's when
Joseph is meeting with his
brothers, and his brothers don't
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yet know who he is. They'd sold
him into slavery, and now
they've come asking for
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some provisions from the
Pharaoh's storehouse of food in
the midst of famine.
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And his brothers appear to him,
and this time Benjamin comes
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with them. And when he sees
them, it says the same thing,
the Hebrew language.
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All of his compassions were
stirred, so much so that he had
to leave the room, because he's
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overtaken with emotion, because
they didn't know who he was yet.
That's the depth of emotion
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described here. Perhaps even
deeper, in 1 Kings 3, you have
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this story of Solomon's wisdom
that is very well-known, where
two women come to Solomon with
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one child, one baby, and they
both claim that the baby is
theirs. And you remember
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Solomon, in his wisdom, to find
out who the real mother was, he
says, "Cut the child in half."
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And the response of the real
mother, who says, "No, no,
don't, don't cut the child in
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half" -- the response in
the language in 1 Kings 3 is the
00:13:12.19\00:13:16.83
same wording. "All her
compassions were kindled."
That's the kind of emotion and
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compassion that is attributed to
God in Hosea 11. >> And so, and
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I think there are some important
things you note. First of all,
it's very clear God has emotion.
00:13:27.37\00:13:32.21
God has this emotion, this
sympathy, this compassion that
He's driving toward us.
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But His emotions are
perfect and pure. >> Yes.
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>> Sometimes our emotions,
as humans, can be lustful or for
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the wrong reasons. >> Yes. >>
But God has pure emotion toward
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humanity. >> That's right.
>> And this is a powerful thing
00:13:52.16\00:13:57.07
that we're seeing. The sympathy
is stirred. And, once again,
what is it literally in the
00:13:57.07\00:14:02.14
Hebrew? >> All His compassions
are kindled. >> All of His
00:14:02.14\00:14:04.31
compassions... >> Yeah, His
innards are churning, and His
compassions are kindled.
00:14:04.31\00:14:07.08
>> What a phenomenal picture of
God and His love for us. >> Yes.
00:14:07.08\00:14:14.45
>> Now, verse 9 brings up
something that may be a little
bit disturbing in the context of
00:14:14.45\00:14:25.26
the love of God. >> Yes.
>> And that is, it seems to
00:14:25.26\00:14:29.46
reference that not only does God
have emotions of compassion,
emotions of sympathy, emotions
00:14:29.46\00:14:36.91
of love, but it gives us
the idea that He also has other
00:14:36.91\00:14:49.12
emotions. >>
Anger. >> Anger. >> Wrath.
00:14:49.12\00:14:51.59
>> Wrath. >> Yes. >> We
probably need to spend a
00:14:51.59\00:14:54.59
little bit of time talking about
anger and wrath and how that
fits into a picture of God's
00:14:54.59\00:15:00.40
love. >> Yeah. Yeah,
let's go to Psalm 78 to
00:15:00.40\00:15:04.00
start with on that. This is a
question that troubles a lot of
people, and there are
00:15:04.00\00:15:08.17
two passages. You can
really read the entire chapters.
00:15:08.17\00:15:10.64
We won't do that here. But if
you read Psalm 78 and Nehemiah
00:15:10.64\00:15:15.14
9. These are two of the passages
that show kind of from God's
00:15:15.14\00:15:20.22
perspective. Often when people
see language of God's wrath in
the Old Testament, they don't
00:15:20.22\00:15:24.42
realize that there are often
long periods of time in between
instances of God's judgment.
00:15:24.42\00:15:29.86
>> Yes. >> They're
not coming rapid-fire.
00:15:29.86\00:15:32.56
God is bearing along with His
people, and then, once there is
no remedy, then there is a
00:15:32.56\00:15:37.10
judgment that comes. But God
exhausts pretty much every other
option before that.
00:15:37.10\00:15:41.40
And in Psalm 78 and in Nehemiah
9, but Psalm 78 for now, you
00:15:41.40\00:15:45.27
have what some Old Testament
scholars call the "cycle of
rebellion," where God's people
00:15:45.27\00:15:51.88
continually rebel. They call out
to God. He forgives them and
comes back to them, and then
00:15:51.88\00:15:57.19
they do it again -- worse. And
then He comes back, and they do
00:15:57.19\00:15:59.92
it again. >> Interesting. >>
Over and over and over and over
00:15:59.92\00:16:03.49
again. And we see this, dropping
down to verse 40 of Psalm 78. >>
00:16:03.49\00:16:07.83
Sure. Psalm 78:40. God says,
"How often they provoked Him in
00:16:07.83\00:16:13.74
the wilderness, and grieved Him
in the desert! Yes, again and
again they tempted God and
00:16:13.74\00:16:21.04
limited the Holy One of Israel"
or tested the Holy One of
Israel. >> So, what we're seeing
00:16:21.04\00:16:28.35
here that I think is very
important, and we're going to
probe this deeper, is there's
00:16:28.35\00:16:32.59
some very core understandings
here. First of all, we talked
about the pure emotions of God.
00:16:32.59\00:16:38.39
What we are not seeing -- when
we talk about God's wrath, we're
not just talking about God
00:16:38.39\00:16:44.43
popping His top here, that He's,
you know -- for us humans, we
get angry, and some of us get
00:16:44.43\00:16:50.21
angrier quicker at different
things. >> That's right.
00:16:50.21\00:16:53.91
>> Sometimes we call that
"pushing our buttons." Somebody
knows how to push our
00:16:53.91\00:16:57.45
buttons. This is not Israel
pushing God's buttons, but
00:16:57.45\00:17:01.25
rather this is a length of time
where God's pouring out these
emotions of love and compassion.
00:17:01.25\00:17:06.12
>> Yeah. >> And then it comes to
a point where God's left really
00:17:06.12\00:17:10.09
with no other choice. >> Yeah,
and you just saying that made me
00:17:10.09\00:17:12.83
think of something else. What
you just said is beautifully
00:17:12.83\00:17:17.80
illustrated in the language for
God's long-suffering in the Old
00:17:17.80\00:17:20.44
Testament. >> Okay. >> In Exodus
34:6 or 34:7, many other
passages, it talks about
00:17:20.44\00:17:23.54
God being patient or
long-suffering, that He is the
God of long-suffering or
00:17:23.54\00:17:27.54
patience with His people. >>
Mm-hmm. >> The Hebrew language
00:17:27.54\00:17:31.75
there, literally translated,
means "long of nose." >> Yes.
00:17:31.75\00:17:36.18
>> Why? Because it's
using on the imagery.
00:17:36.18\00:17:40.36
When someone gets angry, their
face might turn red, and their
00:17:40.36\00:17:46.09
nose turns red. And the imagery
is that God's nose is so long
that it takes a long time for it
00:17:46.09\00:17:51.47
to get red, because he's so
long-suffering with His people.
It's amazing imagery.
00:17:51.47\00:17:55.07
>> Yes. >> And there's
long-suffering. We see the same
00:17:55.07\00:17:58.17
thing in Psalm 78, if we drop
down to verse 57 there. >> Okay.
00:17:58.17\00:18:00.88
>> Psalm 78:57. It says --
actually beginning verse 56 of
00:18:00.88\00:18:08.48
Psalm 78. >> Yes. >> "Yet they
tested and provoked the Most
High God and did not
00:18:08.48\00:18:12.35
keep His testimonies but turned
back and acted unfaithfully like
00:18:12.35\00:18:16.99
their fathers. They were turned
aside like a deceitful bow for
they provoked Him to
00:18:16.99\00:18:19.89
anger with their high places,
and moved Him to jealousy with
their carved images."
00:18:19.89\00:18:25.33
These high places of idolatry,
where they're even practicing
things like child sacrifices
00:18:25.33\00:18:29.27
sometimes -- I mean, horrible
things that they are doing. >>
00:18:29.27\00:18:32.27
Yes. >> Shouldn't God be
angry at that? >> Mm-hmm.
00:18:32.27\00:18:34.68
>> Absolutely. But first, we see
in verse 38 of the same chapter.
00:18:34.68\00:18:39.08
It says, "But He, being full of
compassion, forgave their
iniquity and did not destroy
00:18:39.08\00:18:46.09
them. Yes, many a time He turned
His anger away and did not stir
00:18:46.09\00:18:51.13
up all His wrath." Another
translation says, "He restrained
00:18:51.13\00:18:57.70
His anger." So, He didn't pour
out His anger or His wrath in
the way that they deserved.
00:18:57.70\00:19:00.80
>> Yes. >> He's always
pulling it back because He is
00:19:00.80\00:19:03.87
long-suffering. But people still
wrestle with the question,
"Should a God of love really get
00:19:03.87\00:19:07.98
angry at all?" Right? >> Yes,
yes. So, are there any other
00:19:07.98\00:19:10.85
passages that can help us
understand that? >> There's many
00:19:10.85\00:19:14.32
passages, but before we go to
those passages, I want to probe
that question so we can kind of
00:19:14.32\00:19:19.45
understand it from our
perspective a little bit. We saw
the passages about the
00:19:19.45\00:19:24.46
high places. All throughout
the Old Testament you see this
00:19:24.46\00:19:28.46
language of what Israel was
doing and the kind of horrible
things they fell into, including
00:19:28.46\00:19:32.90
child sacrifice. >> Yes. >> Now,
let me ask you. Should a God of
00:19:32.90\00:19:37.77
love and justice be angry at the
kinds of things that humans do
to one another? >> I would think
00:19:37.77\00:19:42.84
so. >> Would He really be love
if He didn't become angry? >>
00:19:42.84\00:19:46.01
Right. He should be angry at
injustice, absolutely. >> So, I
use this story in my
00:19:46.01\00:19:49.35
class with my students. Imagine
-- if you have children already,
imagine your child's at
00:19:49.35\00:19:53.02
the playground. Or if you don't,
if you have a younger brother or
00:19:53.02\00:19:56.49
sister. Imagine your young
child's playing on a playground.
They're swinging merrily.
00:19:56.49\00:19:59.53
And all of a sudden, out of
nowhere, some adult comes --
you've never seen him before --
00:19:59.53\00:20:03.90
and they knock your child off
the swing. They begin kicking
00:20:03.90\00:20:07.07
and punching them. Are
you angry? >> Yes, absolutely.
00:20:07.07\00:20:10.31
>> If you love them, your
response is anger. Now, how you
respond after that,
00:20:10.31\00:20:15.04
right? But the initial response
is what we call righteous
00:20:15.04\00:20:19.48
indignation. >> Yes. >> Now,
how many people in the world are
00:20:19.48\00:20:23.62
God's children? At least in the
broad sense, right? >> In the
broad sense, everyone.
00:20:23.62\00:20:26.76
>> Everyone is a child of
God. >> Yes. >> So, it makes Him
00:20:26.76\00:20:31.03
upset whenever there is evil
because evil always hurts
someone, even if it only hurts
00:20:31.03\00:20:36.40
the one who's practicing it.
It's always hurting at least one
00:20:36.40\00:20:39.27
child of God. So, His anger is
actually the appropriate
response of love. And yet, when
00:20:39.27\00:20:45.01
He does come in judgment, that's
not the response that He wants
because He doesn't want to have
00:20:45.01\00:20:50.08
to respond to evil at all.
Lamentations 3. Lamentations 3
00:20:50.08\00:20:56.85
is just beautiful on this point.
Lamentations 3. >> It's right
00:20:56.85\00:21:01.62
after the book of Jeremiah,
right before the book of
Ezekiel. Lamentations 3.
00:21:01.62\00:21:07.83
>> Yeah. And from this same
chapter is where we actually
00:21:07.83\00:21:12.67
great hymn, "Great is Thy
Faithfulness." >> Yes. >> Those
aren't the verses we're
00:21:12.67\00:21:15.14
reading. They're about
ten verses before, I think.
00:21:15.14\00:21:16.74
>> Okay. >> But before that,
that's the context, "Great is
00:21:16.74\00:21:18.54
Thy Faithfulness." But
then verse 33 of Lamentations 3.
00:21:18.54\00:21:22.28
It says -- actually, I want
to start with verse 32. >> Yes.
00:21:22.28\00:21:26.92
>> "Though He causes grief, yet
He will show compassion
according to the multitude of
00:21:26.92\00:21:33.32
His mercies. For He does not
afflict willingly, nor grieve
00:21:33.32\00:21:39.19
the children of men." Literally,
"He does not afflict willingly"
00:21:39.19\00:21:42.83
can be literally translated
"from His heart." He doesn't
want to bring any judgment or
00:21:42.83\00:21:46.67
affliction. This is the
appropriate response of love
when all other avenues are
00:21:46.67\00:21:50.67
exhausted. But then He will have
compassion on even those upon
whom He brings judgment.
00:21:50.67\00:21:55.14
>> So, what we're seeing
now is, we have a God who freely
00:21:55.14\00:22:00.25
chooses. We have a God who
invites us to respond. And then
that love is defined by
00:22:00.25\00:22:09.56
first, an emotional love. That
emotional love is a love that
God is yearning for man.
00:22:09.56\00:22:18.07
Yet that emotional love also has
the opposite, and that is, that
emotional love can also bring
00:22:18.07\00:22:25.94
about anger and wrath at
injustice, which seemingly would
be the correct response to the
00:22:25.94\00:22:32.85
injustice in the world. >>
That's right. God's wrath is the
00:22:32.85\00:22:37.29
appropriate response of love to
evil. Real love gets angry at
evil because evil hurts people
00:22:37.29\00:22:43.99
who God loves. So,
that's what is happening here.
00:22:43.99\00:22:46.66
But when God comes in judgment,
it's a last resort. We see that
00:22:46.66\00:22:50.33
in 2 Chronicles. >> Okay.
>> 2 Chronicles 36. And this is
00:22:50.33\00:22:54.17
leading up to the destruction of
Jerusalem, the destruction of
Jerusalem by Babylon.
00:22:54.17\00:22:59.61
2 Chronicles 36. And I think
we're going to verse 16 in 2
00:22:59.61\00:23:10.49
Chronicles 36. Yes, verse 16.
We'll start in verse 15. "And
the Lord God of their
00:23:10.49\00:23:16.39
fathers sent warnings to them by
His messengers, rising up early
and sending them, because He had
00:23:16.39\00:23:22.20
compassion on His people and on
His dwelling place. But they
mocked the messengers
00:23:22.20\00:23:27.00
of God, despised His words, and
scoffed at His prophets, until
the wrath of the Lord arose
00:23:27.00\00:23:32.64
against His people, until there
was no remedy." It doesn't arise
00:23:32.64\00:23:41.52
until there's no remedy left.
There's nothing else that he can
do -- very similar language in
00:23:41.52\00:23:45.82
Isaiah 5. There's this song, a
parable of God's vineyard, where
00:23:45.82\00:23:49.46
He says, "What more could I have
done for my vineyard," which is
a symbol of Israel, of Judah,
00:23:49.46\00:23:53.66
"What more could I have done for
my vineyard that I have not done
00:23:53.66\00:23:58.20
in it?" He's done everything
that He could, and when the
wrath comes, it's the
00:23:58.20\00:24:02.47
appropriate response of love
against evil because a loving
God will not let evil continue
00:24:02.47\00:24:08.41
forever and ever and ever. >>
And this reminds me of, and the
passage is not coming to my
00:24:08.41\00:24:13.11
mind, but in the Book of
Genesis, where there was a
certain nation where God says,
00:24:13.11\00:24:18.39
"No, don't do anything with them
yet because their cup is not yet
00:24:18.39\00:24:22.89
full." >> That's right, yes.
>> And so -- >> Genesis 16:18, I
00:24:22.89\00:24:26.39
think. >> Okay, Genesis 16. I
figured speaking with the
doctor, an expert on God's love,
00:24:26.39\00:24:34.54
that you would know that
passage. Genesis 16 demonstrates
00:24:34.54\00:24:39.11
this idea that God is this
long-suffering -- as we were
talking about -- the long-nosed.
00:24:39.11\00:24:42.48
>> That's right. >> He has this
long-suffering compassion where
00:24:42.48\00:24:47.58
He's doing everything He can do
to draw a positive response to
His love. >> That's right.
00:24:47.58\00:24:55.82
>> And it's only at the
continued decision of us to not
respond and not just not respond
00:24:55.82\00:25:05.83
but respond in a very negative
way that then God's wrath is,
for lack of a better word, I'll
00:25:05.83\00:25:10.84
use the same word, but just as
his compassion can be kindled,
His wrath can be kindled, as
00:25:10.84\00:25:16.61
well. >> Yes, but His
compassion outruns His anger.
00:25:16.61\00:25:20.05
It's always -- His compassion
goes beyond any reasonable
expectations, and God's anger is
00:25:20.05\00:25:26.32
never arbitrary. It's always a
response to evil. But God
restrains it in His
00:25:26.32\00:25:30.83
compassion. >> And I think
in Isaiah 7, it even refers to
00:25:30.83\00:25:34.93
that, His wrath as His strange
act because it's so outside of
His character. >> Yes.
00:25:34.93\00:25:40.17
>> So, this is a powerful,
powerful, what we've come to
00:25:40.17\00:25:45.11
here, Dr. Peckham. In our last
minute here, maybe summarize and
give us our kind of closing
00:25:45.11\00:25:50.65
points on understanding the
emotions of God in the context
of His anger, His wrath, and all
00:25:50.65\00:25:57.55
of that. >> Yes. So, Luke 15
the parable of the prodigal son.
00:25:57.55\00:26:02.39
>> Yes. >> Luke 15:20.
You see there -- remember, we
00:26:02.39\00:26:06.26
talked about Jesus having that
same kind of compassion as God?
00:26:06.26\00:26:10.73
>> Yes. >> The same language of
this gut-wrenching compassion.
In fact, I preach a sermon
00:26:10.73\00:26:14.90
called "The long-nosed,
gut-wrenching love of God." >>
00:26:14.90\00:26:20.38
Yes, yes. >> We see it here in
this parable, because Luke
15:20, in the parable of the
00:26:20.38\00:26:24.95
prodigal son, the son has run
away from home, taken his
inheritance early. Basically, he
00:26:24.95\00:26:28.58
disowned his father and said,
"I don't want your name. I just
00:26:28.58\00:26:31.49
want your money." Got out and
squandered it. And he decides to
come home, because he says,
00:26:31.49\00:26:35.79
"Even the servants in my
father's home are treated
better" than when he was eating
00:26:35.79\00:26:38.69
from a pig's trough, right? And
on the way home, before he even
gets there, we go to
00:26:38.69\00:26:43.87
Luke 15:20. "He arose"
-- this is the prodigal son.
00:26:43.87\00:26:48.64
"He arose and came to his
father. But when he was still a
00:26:48.64\00:26:50.91
great way off, his father saw
him and had compassion" -- same
language -- "and ran and fell on
00:26:50.91\00:26:57.48
his neck and kissed him." Which
was not a dignified thing for
the master of the house to
00:26:57.48\00:27:01.98
do -- to run out and meet
anyone. He runs out and meets
00:27:01.98\00:27:05.49
his son in compassion. This is
the God of compassion and love,
00:27:05.49\00:27:09.82
who loves us more deeply than we
can imagine. >> And that is the
love that He has for each of us.
00:27:09.82\00:27:14.03
>> Yes. >> No matter
how far we've drifted.
00:27:14.03\00:27:16.33
>> That's right. >> No
matter how close we've stayed.
00:27:16.33\00:27:18.33
>> That's right. >> This is the
God of compassion, emotion, who
00:27:18.33\00:27:22.80
loves us freely and just asks us
to respond in a positive sense.
00:27:22.80\00:27:27.24
>> That's right. And even our
sin, even though it grieves Him,
as it should, and makes Him
00:27:27.24\00:27:32.48
angry, we can always come home.
His compassion is greater, and
He has made a way for us to come
00:27:32.48\00:27:37.99
to Him in love. >> What a
fabulous way to end our program
00:27:37.99\00:27:43.26
today. Let's pray together about
this compassionate love that God
has. Heavenly father, the call
00:27:43.26\00:27:51.63
today is to come home. You love
us with an everlasting love.
00:27:51.63\00:27:56.44
You love us with a
long-suffering love. And we want
00:27:56.44\00:28:00.88
to respond in an affirmative
today and come home and receive
the love you have. We pray this
00:28:00.88\00:28:09.18
in Jesus' name. Amen." >> Amen.
>> Dear friend, the call of
00:28:09.18\00:28:15.42
Jesus is to come home, to
receive this love that God has.
Today, I want to offer you the
00:28:15.42\00:28:23.83
book "The Passion of Love." This
book covers the closing scenes
of Christ's life, the
00:28:23.83\00:28:30.81
outpouring of love that He has
for you. Here's the information
00:28:30.81\00:28:37.08
you need to
receive today's offer.
00:28:37.08\00:28:39.78
>> To request
today's offer, just log on to
00:28:39.85\00:28:42.55
www.ItIsWrittenCanada.ca.
If you prefer, you may call
00:28:42.55\00:28:48.29
toll-free at 1-888-CALL-IIW.
And thank you for your prayer
00:28:48.29\00:28:54.10
requests and your
generous financial support.
00:28:54.10\00:28:57.97
>> Dear friend, how remarkable
it is that God yearns for us,
that His compassion is kindled
00:28:58.03\00:29:07.58
toward us. I'm so thankful that
Dr. John Peckham has helped us
00:29:07.58\00:29:11.91
to understand that love more
deeply. Dr. Peckham, thank you
00:29:11.91\00:29:16.12
so much for being here. >> Thank
you, Chris. >> And, friend, for
00:29:16.12\00:29:22.99
you today that compassion, that
love, that kindling toward you
00:29:22.99\00:29:29.70
must be received. Today, I want
to encourage you. Reach out to
the nail-scarred hand of Jesus,
00:29:29.70\00:29:37.94
receive the love that He has for
you, and let Him enter your
life. You'll never be the same.
00:29:37.94\00:29:45.25
I pray that today's show was a
blessing to you. I invite you to
00:29:45.25\00:29:48.65
join us again next week. Until
then, remember, it is written:
00:29:48.65\00:29:54.49
"Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God."
00:29:54.49\00:30:02.16
¤ ¤
00:30:02.23\00:30:17.31
¤
00:30:17.31\00:30:19.38