Isaiah's messianic prophecy describes God's Anointed as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief ( Isa 53:3 ). Yet in grief and through grief he redeemed the world by his Son ( John 3:16 ). In judgment he condemned the creation of his own hands. Sin grieved the goodness of God and assailed his holiness. The punitive and salvific aspects of God's grief coalesced in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Yet his chastening hand relents and ultimately brings restoration ( Psalm 106:45-46 Jer 26:19 Amos 7:3-6 Jonah 3:10 ). He ceased to be their loving Father and became their enemy ( Isa 63:10 ). They grieved his Holy Spirit, which led God to become the very opposite of what he wished to be. God was grieved when Israel rebelled and forgot his special covenantal favors ( Psalm 78:40-55 95:10 ). This pattern occurs repeatedly in God's dealing with Israel. So in grief God punishes, identifies with the moral plight of his creatures, and accomplishes his redemptive purposes. The end of the ordeal is marked by a reaffirmation of God's covenantal faithfulness to his entire creation ( Gen 8:21-22 ). Thus, in grief, God responds in judgment against sin, yet bestows saving grace and mercy on Noah and his family ( Gen 6:7-8 ). The Hebrew root for "grieve, " nhm, communicates a mixture of divine indignation against sin and a heartfelt anguish concerning the plight of his creation. Genesis 6:5-8 serves as a paradigm in this regard. Although antithetical in nature, these aspects of God's grief work together for salvation. His anguished response to sin is evidenced in two main ways: divine judgment and compassion for the sinner. God is grieved when his covenantal love is rebuffed by human disobedience and sin. Right as Aristotle was in many ways, God is not an "Unmoved Mover." The grief of God testifies to that dynamic, living relationship that exists between God and humankind. Rather, the subject of divine grief addresses the very essence of God as a person and the image of God in all persons. Yet with regard to grief and grieving, the Scriptures are not simply explaining a divine action in human terms. The Bible often expresses the things of God in human form or with human feelings in order to accommodate our limited understanding. The Son of God is a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief ( Isa 53:3-10 Matt 23:37-39 Luke 13:34-35 John 11:35 ). The disobedience of Israel and the church grieves the Holy Spirit ( Isa 63:10 Eph 4:30 ). In Genesis 6:6-8 the Father is grieved because of the sinfulness of the human race. This holds true for each member of the Trinity. Scripture often speaks of God as being grieved or experiencing grief.
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