Osama bin Laden is dead. And the death of the most famous terrorist aroused several opinions and questions:
We want to help you understand the topic and guide your emotions in a biblical way.
- Are God’s emotions complex.
- Similar to yours.
- Just a million times more.
- Right now.
- Your emotions about Bin Laden are not simple.
- That is.
- They are not unique.
- There are several and they mix.
- That’s a good thing.
- You are the image of God.
In response to Osama bin Laden’s death, many tweets and blogs quoted the biblical truth that “God does not rejoice in the death of the wicked. “It’s true.
It is also true that God is pleased in the death of the wicked. There are things about every death God approves of and things about every death God disapproves of himself.
This is not a pointless conversation. All thoughtful people make such distinctions. For example, if my daughter asks me if I liked a movie, I could say yes or no to the same movie. Why? How can a film be evaluated by its 1) acting, 2) plot, 3) cinematography, 4) nudity, 5) profanity, 6) suspense, 7) complexity, 8) loyalty to the source, 9) reverence to God, 10 ) accurate portrait of human nature, etc. , etc. , etc.
So my answer is almost always ‘yes, in some respects, and no, in others’, but sometimes I just say yes, and sometimes not, due to exaggerated circumstances.
That is why I say that God approves and disapproves of the death of Osama bin Laden:
In a sense, God does not take pleasure in human death
Would I wish, in any case, the death of the wicked?”The Lord GOD said; Don’t I want you to become your habits and live?For I have no pleasure in the death of those who die, said the Lord, the Lord; therefore become and live (Ezekiel 18:23, 32).
In another sense, God is pleased in the death and judgment of those who do not repent:
Thus shall my wrath be fulfilled, and I will satisfy my fury in them, and comfort myself; (Ezekiel 5:13)
[Wisdom cries:] Before you reject all my counsel and do not want my rebuke, I too will laugh at your undoing and mock your fear (Proverbs 1:25-26).
Rejoice in this, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets; because God has already judged your cause for it (Revelation 18:20).
And just as the Lord was pleased in you, doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will rejoice in destroying you and consuming you (Deuteronomy 28:63).
We should not ignore any of these passages, but think about how everyone can be true.
My suggestion is that the death and misery of those who do not repent are not in themselves a pleasure for God. God is not a sadist. It is neither malevolent nor bloodthirsty; death and suffering alone are not their pleasure.
On the contrary, when a rebellious, evil and unbeliever is judged, God is pleased in the exaltation of truth and justice and the defense of his honor and glory.
When Moses warns Israel that the Lord will be happy to ruin and destroy them if they do not repent (Deuteronomy 28:63), it means that those who rebelled against the Lord and are beyond repentance will not rejoice in the fact that they have made the Almighty miserable.
God is not defeated in the triumphs of his righteous judgment, but quite the opposite. Moses says that when they are judged, they have unknowingly given God the opportunity to rejoice in the manifestation of their righteousness, their power, and the infinite value of their glory (see also Romans 9:22-23).
Let this be a warning to us: we do not mock God, he will not be arrested, cornered or coerced. Even on the way to Calvary, there were legions of angels at his disposal: “No one takes my life, but I give it of my own free will,” for the joy offered to him.
At one point in the history of the universe in which God seemed cornered, was he responsible, doing exactly what he wanted?Dying to justify the bad guys, like you and me.