Is God Merciful?
Romans 9:25-26 NASB
25 As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ ” 26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
If you were to ask a stranger, “What do you think God is like?” how do you think they would answer?
Is He happy? Is He angry?
So often, I think people would describe God as angry.
It’s easy for our world to paint God as an angry, tyrannical God—always looking to judge and strike down those who have rebelled against Him. From television shows to movies, we’ve created this picture of a God who is constantly angry and waiting to punish.
But how do you picture God?
Here’s an honest thought: we’re often looking for someone to blame for the chaos of this world.
We look around, and we know the world is not as it should be. Even in our own lives, we experience suffering. There is calamity in our cities and across our world.
And in our pursuit to blame someone, we often end up pointing the finger at God.
But Paul has spent much of Romans making something clear: it is not God who has failed, but humanity.
Humanity has rebelled. Humanity has rejected God. And yet, somehow, we often look at the brokenness around us and ask, “God, why haven't You done something?”
Which brings us to an honest question:
Is God merciful?
Because Scripture is clear: Yahweh gets angry. God judges. He responds to rebellion and evil.
So how can God be merciful if He also gets angry?
I would argue that we actually want a God who gets angry.
A God who is apathetic toward war, violence, abuse, greed, and oppression is not a loving God.
We often think the opposite of love is hate. But perhaps the opposite of love is actually apathy.
And Yahweh is not apathetic.
We want God to respond to evil. We want justice in our world. We want those who oppress others to be held accountable. We want justice for those who have been abused.
We want a God who cares enough to be angry.
So when God acts in judgment, does that mean He is no longer merciful?
No.
God is righteous, and He acts rightly. His anger is not unwarranted or unpredictable. It is the proper response of a loving God toward the things that destroy the people He loves.
But here is what makes Yahweh so different from the angry caricature we often imagine:
God does get angry—but He is slow to anger.
This is how Yahweh describes Himself in Exodus 34:
“The Lord [YAHWEH], the Lord [YAHWEH], the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness
The same God who judges is also compassionate.
The same God who gets angry is gracious.
The same God who responds to sin is slow to anger and abounding in love.
And this is exactly what we see in Israel's story.
Israel was not judged because God suddenly lost His patience. God had been patient with them. Again and again, they violated His commands. They turned toward idolatry. They rejected the God who had called them to represent Him to the world.
Eventually, judgment came.
And yet, judgment was not the end of their story.
Paul quotes the prophet Hosea:
25 As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’ And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’ ” 26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”
Israel had become a people called “not My people” and “not beloved.” They had to carry the consequences of their rebellion.
But Yahweh promised that it would not be forever.
There would come a day when those called “not My people” would once again be called “My people.”
Those who were called “not beloved” would once again be called “beloved.”
Do you see it?
That is mercy.
Israel did not deserve restoration. They had not earned their way back into God's favor.
And yet, God responded with mercy.
Despite Israel's utter and corporate failure, God, in His mercy, preserved a remnant.
This is why Paul goes on to quote Isaiah:
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved;
God preserved a people to continue His work. Not because they had earned it. Not because they had somehow proven themselves worthy.
But because Yahweh is merciful.
And that is the story of the gospel. The gospel is God's radical mercy toward humanity.
We were a lost people, lost in our sin. We had rebelled against the God who created us. And yet, God did not abandon us. In His mercy, He sent His Son. Not because we were anything special. Not because we had earned it. But because of His great mercy.
Jesus is God's mercy toward humanity.
And now, the question before us is not whether God is merciful.
He has already shown us.
The question is: Will we receive His mercy?
