Reward & Punishment; Mercy
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Verse Observations: Ezr 9:13, II Cor 7:11, Jb 42:8, Ps 25:7, chps 38 & 39, 103:10, Jer 7:20, 46:28, Ezk 8:18
*When does God extend mercy? - Ps 32:6
Is this not contradictory? (Dt 7:9, Ex 34:7)
In the time of the judges, why did God save the Israelites when he knew they wouldn’t repent? In fact the bible even says that they would just get worse and worse. (Jdgs 2:11-19) Even Gideon in his own lifetime turned away from God. (Jdgs 8:27)
I Chr 21:12 Are these 3 choices really equal?
Lam 3:65 How can God ever give this as punishment, and/or how can this ever be prayed for, since it turns sins into a disposition, one that could even be eternal?
Jdgs 2:2-3, 20-22 Why would God punish them by allowing them to become idolators? Isn’t that the opposite of what he wanted? (Dt 4:28)
Zec 11:4-17 (see also Is 3:1-15) This is quite ironic, and yet also a paradox. On one hand, if the people are evil, what the people need, now more than ever, is good leaders. If God wants to solve the problem, this is what he should do to see change, so his decision makes no sense. On the other hand, it also makes sense to punish the people by making their lives worse, in which case, God's decision would be effective, and yet, this will only make the people more evil. Of course, eventually, something's gotta give and we know God is merciful and can be expected to be gracious. The question is -- after how long; at what point, and why at that point? When and for how long does God choose to punish or be gracious and save?
How could this punishment have been effective if Hezekiah didn't care that all these things would happen, so long as they didn't happen in his own time? (II Kgs 20:13-19)
Ps 83: 16 & 17 are contradictory, and one follows right after the other, so this needs an explanation.
Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O LORD. Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace
When God extends mercy, does he then not fully punish? Amos prayed to God to relent of the disaster that he was going to send, but whatever would be the point of this if they had to be fully punished anyway? Now or later, right. Sooner or later. The point is, it has to come. And it would be the same amount/degree of punishment no matter its timing. But if Amos’ prayer worked, because it was a true and righteous prayer, then this would imply that God does not fully punish, that you can be saved from this. (Am 7:1-9)
Should a person still be punished even though they've repented?
If God is kind to the ungrateful and evil, what makes him decide to finally punish? (Lk 6:35)
Jer 15:4 Manasseh repented, so why didn't God relent? Why is God sometimes merciful and sometimes not, even when a person repents?
Ezk 6:9-10 vs Rv 9:20-21 Why is it that sometimes people repent and sometimes they don’t?
Why should anybody be punished double for their sins?
punished doubly – Rv 18:6, Jer 16:18
If teachers are punished more harshly because a higher standard is applied to them, what’s the good of being better? You’ll be punished more harshly! (Jas 3:1) Look at what happened to Moses! (Nm 20:12)
Ps 102 If the psalmist is being punished for his sins, why bother to pray to God to alleviate his punishment? Would this even work? Will God shorten one's punishment?
Jer 9:17-21 Why here does God tell Jeremiah to mourn, but in 16:5 he says not to?
Can these punishments really be said to be equal? Famine is a slow death that worries the heart, death by the sword strikes terror, but pestilence is quick (and therefore it makes sense that this is the one that David picked). (II Sm 24:13)
Ezk 29:19-20 How could God pay them for evil, especially when he planned to punish them for it? (see, for example, Jer 50:17-18, 51:20-25 & chps 50-51 generally)
Why would God punish the one who killed Cain seven times instead of say, ½? The point is, why would the one who wanted mere vengeance be punished more than for what Cain did - murdering out of jealousy? In fact, why did God let Cain get away with murder? (Gn 4:15)
Not everybody has been cursed completely for their sins. Some people like their jobs. And then some people are hunter-gatherers who spend only about 3 hours a day on surviving. The rest of the time they can do whatever they want and they have tons of leisure time. Then how is God’s curse of work effective for these groups of people? And some women never experience childbirth, so how do they experience Eve’s part of the curse? (Gn 5:28-29, 3:16-19)
How is it possible that a good man could be cursed with evil sons? (Samuel) (I Sm 8:1-3)
Why would God want his own temple to be profaned? (Ezk 7:22)
How are the wicked a ransom for the righteous? (Prv 21:18)
Why would God make it so that people can only appreciate a certain aspect of his creation? Couldn't we consider this a form of punishment, a smaller radius of happiness, some having smaller radii than others?
*When does God extend mercy? - Ps 32:6
Is this not contradictory? (Dt 7:9, Ex 34:7)
In the time of the judges, why did God save the Israelites when he knew they wouldn’t repent? In fact the bible even says that they would just get worse and worse. (Jdgs 2:11-19) Even Gideon in his own lifetime turned away from God. (Jdgs 8:27)
I Chr 21:12 Are these 3 choices really equal?
Lam 3:65 How can God ever give this as punishment, and/or how can this ever be prayed for, since it turns sins into a disposition, one that could even be eternal?
Jdgs 2:2-3, 20-22 Why would God punish them by allowing them to become idolators? Isn’t that the opposite of what he wanted? (Dt 4:28)
Zec 11:4-17 (see also Is 3:1-15) This is quite ironic, and yet also a paradox. On one hand, if the people are evil, what the people need, now more than ever, is good leaders. If God wants to solve the problem, this is what he should do to see change, so his decision makes no sense. On the other hand, it also makes sense to punish the people by making their lives worse, in which case, God's decision would be effective, and yet, this will only make the people more evil. Of course, eventually, something's gotta give and we know God is merciful and can be expected to be gracious. The question is -- after how long; at what point, and why at that point? When and for how long does God choose to punish or be gracious and save?
How could this punishment have been effective if Hezekiah didn't care that all these things would happen, so long as they didn't happen in his own time? (II Kgs 20:13-19)
Ps 83: 16 & 17 are contradictory, and one follows right after the other, so this needs an explanation.
Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O LORD. Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace
When God extends mercy, does he then not fully punish? Amos prayed to God to relent of the disaster that he was going to send, but whatever would be the point of this if they had to be fully punished anyway? Now or later, right. Sooner or later. The point is, it has to come. And it would be the same amount/degree of punishment no matter its timing. But if Amos’ prayer worked, because it was a true and righteous prayer, then this would imply that God does not fully punish, that you can be saved from this. (Am 7:1-9)
Should a person still be punished even though they've repented?
If God is kind to the ungrateful and evil, what makes him decide to finally punish? (Lk 6:35)
Jer 15:4 Manasseh repented, so why didn't God relent? Why is God sometimes merciful and sometimes not, even when a person repents?
Ezk 6:9-10 vs Rv 9:20-21 Why is it that sometimes people repent and sometimes they don’t?
Why should anybody be punished double for their sins?
punished doubly – Rv 18:6, Jer 16:18
If teachers are punished more harshly because a higher standard is applied to them, what’s the good of being better? You’ll be punished more harshly! (Jas 3:1) Look at what happened to Moses! (Nm 20:12)
Ps 102 If the psalmist is being punished for his sins, why bother to pray to God to alleviate his punishment? Would this even work? Will God shorten one's punishment?
Jer 9:17-21 Why here does God tell Jeremiah to mourn, but in 16:5 he says not to?
Can these punishments really be said to be equal? Famine is a slow death that worries the heart, death by the sword strikes terror, but pestilence is quick (and therefore it makes sense that this is the one that David picked). (II Sm 24:13)
Ezk 29:19-20 How could God pay them for evil, especially when he planned to punish them for it? (see, for example, Jer 50:17-18, 51:20-25 & chps 50-51 generally)
Why would God punish the one who killed Cain seven times instead of say, ½? The point is, why would the one who wanted mere vengeance be punished more than for what Cain did - murdering out of jealousy? In fact, why did God let Cain get away with murder? (Gn 4:15)
Not everybody has been cursed completely for their sins. Some people like their jobs. And then some people are hunter-gatherers who spend only about 3 hours a day on surviving. The rest of the time they can do whatever they want and they have tons of leisure time. Then how is God’s curse of work effective for these groups of people? And some women never experience childbirth, so how do they experience Eve’s part of the curse? (Gn 5:28-29, 3:16-19)
How is it possible that a good man could be cursed with evil sons? (Samuel) (I Sm 8:1-3)
Why would God want his own temple to be profaned? (Ezk 7:22)
How are the wicked a ransom for the righteous? (Prv 21:18)
Why would God make it so that people can only appreciate a certain aspect of his creation? Couldn't we consider this a form of punishment, a smaller radius of happiness, some having smaller radii than others?
