Hate

The 6^th commandment (“You shall not murder,” Ex 20:13) seems pretty simple at first glance. Many assume that, if they have never taken a life, they have fulfilled this law.

Yes and no.

Hatred of any human being is never an option for a believer in Jesus Christ.

It is easy to sinfully justify hatred, especially when the world, the community around us, encourages it. Hatred, a lust that already exists in the human heart in seminal form, doesn’t need a lot of stoking to bring it to a raging flame.

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We’re exploring God’s foundational description of himself, on the assumption—well founded in Scripture—that we ought to treat others the way he does. We’re getting to the end of the list, where there’s a cluster of attributes that we really need to discuss together.

Exodus 34.7 puts it this way:

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The fourth characteristic that God emphasizes about himself is that he is “abounding in lovingkindness.”

If you’ll compare the different ways that last word is translated, you find that it has a broad range of meaning and significant theological depth—

• KJV “goodness”
• NASB “lovingkindness”
• ESV “steadfast love”
• NIV “love”
• GW “always faithful”

In other passages it’s rendered widely: kindness, mercy, devotion, favor, loyalty.

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God’s primary description of himself begins with his compassion, and then his grace. Next is the phrase “slow to anger” (Ex 34.6). The KJV renders that as “longsuffering”; the God’s Word translation says “patient.”

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In his foundational self-description, the first thing God tells us about himself is that he’s compassionate. By nature, he feels deeply for the hurts and trials of his creatures—even the animals (Jon 4.11), but most especially those in his image.

He cares.