Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Leader Guide - Week Three: Violence
In many people’s opinion, the flood of Noah was a violent event. The question is raised, “How can a loving God condone and commission such violence?” This is a difficult question to answer because it is nearly impossible to understand the pure actions of God with impure minds and hearts. In our weekly services, we began addressing the reasons some of God’s actions appear violent. In this study we will look at two examples, Jonah and Abraham, to better understand how we should view the kindness and severity of God. Begin by reading Genesis 7:20-23.
What Do You Think?
Have we become desensitized to violence in our culture? Why does some violence bother us and some seems to roll off our backs?
When you encounter violence (whether you hear about, witness, or experience it), do you attribute it to God, people, or something else? Why?
What is the difference between violence and justice? What understandings and experiences have molded your view of what is just and unjust? Does everyone agree?
“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” Jonah 3:10 (ESV)
What Does God Say?
Jonah and Nineveh
Read Jonah 1:1-3. What does this tell us about Jonah’s mindset and heart? If Jonah could have chosen justice for Nineveh, what would it have been? In what situations might people have the same reaction today?
Leader Note: Nineveh was a very wicked city. Its remains are found across the Tigris river from the modern city of Mosul, Iraq. At this time, it was one of the largest cities in the world. Jonah does not appear to want the city to be saved. It seems his desire was that God’s judgment come down on them. Today, there may be people, groups, cities, etc. that we also would like God’s judgment for. ISIS may be a very current and relevant example for some.
Read Jonah 2:7-3:10. Jonah decides to obey God and we see the result. What does this event teach us about God’s desire and character? How can this understanding change the way we look at people and situations right now?
Leader Note: God’s desire is always mercy, but it requires repentance. Even the hardest sinner can come to repentance. Are there people today that we consider a lost cause? Is that our decision to make?
Read Jonah 4:1-11. What lesson is God trying to teach Jonah? What lesson is He trying to teach us?
Leader Note: Jonah does not get to decide who receives mercy; he is to be obedient to God. Although they turned from sin, Nineveh was still not worthy of God’s kindness as their repentance didn’t last long. Just 150 years later, the book of Nahum is written. It is a book entirely dedicated to the prophecy of Nineveh’s destruction (which would happen at the hands of the Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes in 612 BCE) as a result of the wickedness of the city. Worthy or not, God chose to show mercy. God chooses; we do not.
“So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.” Genesis 19:29 (ESV)
Abraham and Sodom
Read Genesis 18:16-33. How is Abraham’s mindset different than Jonah’s? If Abraham could have chosen justice for Sodom, what would it have been? Why?
Leader Note: Abraham wanted God to spare the city, but why? Certainly it had to do with his nephew (Lot) and his family living in Sodom. Abraham had a personal connection with the city. He may have wanted the entire city to be spared, but at the very least, he wanted his relatives to be spared. He had concern and hope for people that Jonah did not.
Read Genesis 19:12-13 and 23-25. Why was the end result for Sodom different than for Nineveh? What does this teach us about God’s justice and mercy?
Leader Note: This is a fairly clear answer; the difference was repentance. God’s desire is repentance, but when we refuse, he delivers justice. For those who trust in Christ, justice is executed on Jesus; for those who don’t, justice is executed on us. Jesus, when discussing sin, mentions both Sodom (Matthew 10 and 11) and Nineveh (Matthew 12).
Read Genesis 19:27-29. How does Abraham’s reaction differ from Jonah’s? Which do you think is the right attitude and why?
Leader Note: Jonah disagrees with God’s decision. Apparently, Abraham does not. It seems he accepts God’s actions as just. We should commit to an attitude like Abraham, not Jonah.
What Will You Do?
Clearly our view of justice does not always match up with God’s. Read 2 Peter 2:4-9. The Lord knows how to rescue and how to judge. He is holy and can do it rightly. If God is the one who justly determines the outcome, what is our responsibility?
Will you choose to be like Jonah or like Abraham in the way you respond to God’s justice? What are some practical steps you could take to align your heart and view with God’s?
God is ultimately merciful. Read 2 Peter 3:5-13. Each of us, like Nineveh, has the opportunity to repent and be saved. God allowed His own son to endure violence on the cross to administer justice meant for us, and then He raised Jesus from the dead to give us hope. Do you know someone who needs to accept the mercy of God? Maybe you had written them off as a lost cause and God is pushing to you offer them hope. What will you do to spare them from pain and introduce them to hope?