You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:10-11 ESV)
Goodness
Our God, maybe particularly the God of the Old Testament is often seen by the ignorant or uneducated as an angry being. His wrath seems to be His primary characteristic. He seems to desire punishment, suffering, and human tears.
But God’s people know better.
And God’s choices and actions in the book of Jonah make it clear that while God does have wrath, He prefers mercy. In fact, Jonah is far more angry, mean, and grumpy than God!
I wonder, sometimes, if the reason that God has the reputation of cruelty because we, His people, display that characteristic. We are more often merciless against sinners than merciful. We are more often angry at sinners than hopeful. We are more often revengers, rather than redeemers.
But we know better.
We are peculiar, we know God’s goodness.