God does not have a retaliatory nature

When we are having trials and suffer disappointments in our lives, it is often difficult to resolve within ourselves why these things happen. At times like these it helps to read about God’s nature. In today’s lesson we will look at His nature through the eyes of Moses, for God revealed His glory to His friend (Ex 33:11).


“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming the ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation’.” (Ex 34:5-7)

As we read the history of God’s walk with His people, we see His long-suffering, forgiveness, and pain over the rejection by those He loved. Yet, by His very description of Who He is, God is not retaliatory. He did not cause suffering and calamity at every opportunity when His people sinned. Neither does He today.

I am surprised at the popular advice of the teachers who cause Christians to believe that their every sadness is due to some disappointment they have caused God, or that the tragedies in their lives are from some personal sin. They have failed to see that the One Who was perfect also suffered, and had tragedy in His life.

We make a mistake in looking at part of God’s nature and ignoring the rest. Some read only the last sentence in God’s revelatory statement to Moses (Ex 34:7). Because they think that God will bring misery for their every error and misdeed, they exhaust themselves trying to be perfect. When the next sorrow comes, they blame God for being unfair. And this is where the enemy wants us; frustrated and angry with God for not making our lives come out “right.” Our bad attitude becomes the perfect smoke screen for what all that satan is doing in our lives.

There are other forces at work in our lives besides God. If this seems unfair, then consider how many times Jesus addressed satan’s work on this earth. Jesus did not blame God for the inconveniences in His life, nor expect to have a “good outcome” according to the standards of Man. He was familiar with the life of the Spirit, where the hand of His Father worked in unseen ways. Jesus trusted God, His Father, and did not see personal disappointments or sorrows as punishment from Him. Why should we?

It should be no surprise to us that God knows we are not perfect. He is, therefore, long-suffering towards us. If He were retaliatory, as some men think, then who would He have left to love Him? It is God’s nature to limit His anger and bring healing; He doesn’t want the people He created to become faint-hearted (Is 57:16). Since we have this example in the Old Testament, why then would He retaliate each time we erred now?

It is difficult for us to conceive of God being both disappointed in our behavior, and still loving us. Perhaps we fail to see the value of Jesus continuing on as our High Priest in intercession for us personally. “Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” (Heb 7:25) As long as we believe God’s nature is like ours, we will fail to grasp the complexity of Who He is, and the great provision for us that continues daily.

God is anything but retaliatory. Let us look upon His goodness today, and if there be any bitterness against Him, repent. He will forgive and restore us. As for the sorrows in our lives, they will come as long as we live in a fallen world ruled by a fallen prince. Let us hasten the day of Jesus’ reign with prayers, worship, and lives lived in trust of the One who continually saves us. Amen.