When I ask people why they don’t believe in God, I get a lot of different answers. One being, “if God is so loving, how can he judge?” Or, “if God is so loving, how can he punish people for sin?”
The book of Nahum is a great place to ask that question. We find ourselves in the point of Israel’s history where the prophet Nahum is warning the Ninevites about their impending doom and destruction, which God is going to bring on them. Judah, the Southern Kingdom of Israel at the time, finds themselves in slavery by the Ninevites. The question is, how can a loving God enslave His own people, and threaten to destroy another and be just?
For Example
Let’s make a personal case scenario. Pretend that someone broke into your house. They stole your coins, guns, jewelry, and your family heirlooms that had been handed down. You catch them on camera, and know who it is. You report it to the police, and they know who the guy is. Weeks later, you ask the police how long the guy went to jail for. The officer says, “O, we didn’t want to judge him, and punishing him doesn’t seem just.”
How would you feel? You would be furious. This is not justice at all. In fact, not only was justice not served, but this is not just for others in your neighborhood as well. Most likely, since this criminal knows the police will not punish him, he is going to steal from them as well. In fact, it is not even loving to the criminal, because instead of turning his life around, he will continue his life of crime.
When God Punishes Sin
Yet, when God needs to punish sin, all of a sudden, people think this is unloving. Is it really though? Often punishing sin does two things. It brings believers closer to God, or back to Him. Hebrews 12:6 says, “the Lord discipline’s the ones He loves.” This was the case with the Israelites. At this point in their history they had run very far from God.
II Kings 17 tells us the story of their sin before they were enslaved by the Assyrians. They chased other gods, hated God’s commands, and even sacrificed their children to Moloch by burning them in fires to try to manipulate this false god. God punishing them was just. It was just to stop their evil, and even gracious in attempting to turn their hearts back to Him.
We also know about the Ninevites at this time. They were the capital of Assyria, who was the powerhouse of the world at the time. They also had much guilt upon their heads. They were running around the world stealing land, slaughtering people, enslaving them, and torturing them. Some historians believe they were the worst the world had seen yet.
And while the Israelites were God’s specific people, God still loved and was patient to the Ninevites as well. A century earlier He was going to destroy them for their evil, but sent a prophet Jonah instead. Upon receiving Jonah’s message, they repented and turned to the one true God.
When God exacts punishment, His judgment is just.
However, they turned back to their wickedness, and the rejection of God. God again was gracious to send Nahum to them to warn them. In fact, not only did they receive the warning, but God would wait almost 40 years from the time Nahum gave the prophecy until they would be destroyed. As Nahum says in verse 3, “the LORD is slow to anger.”
When God exacts punishment, His judgment is just. It is justice for God to punish evil. It is justice for God to try to correct His people to bring them back into the right relationship with Him. What would be unloving is if God let more of this evil spread, and to let His people stray from Him.
Think About It
Do you believe all evil should be punished?
Do you see God’s judgment as just?
Do you see how it can be loving to punish evil and stop it?
Thanks for taking time to read this Maddening Theology post. If you enjoyed this content you can find Pastor Tim’s sermons at www.cornerstoneforestcity.org. You can also join us at 520 Marion St. Browndale, PA 18421 on Sundays at 10 AM. To make following the blog easier you can also register. You can also join us on Facebook at Cornerstone Forest City. Also, don’t forget to download our APP on iTunes or Googleplay.