Bible Explanations
11. No Pleasure / Grieve
No pleasure
This
is equivalent to God's anger.
Ezekiel 33:11 -
"Say unto
them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no
pleasure
in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his
way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will
ye die, O house of Israel?"
In this verse we may be
inclined to think
that the opposite of God's pleasure is His sadness at the death
of the wicked. But:
(1) God can never be "sad", He performs ALL his works.
(2) The opposite of "pleasure" is "anger":
Psalm 5:4,5 - "For
thou art
not a
God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell
with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest
all workers of iniquity."
Malachi 1:10 - "Who
is there even among you that would shut
the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar
for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts,
neither will I accept an offering at your hand."
Hebrews 10:38,39 - "Now
the just shall live by faith: but if
any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But
we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that
believe to the saving of the soul."
Grieve
This is also equivalent to God's anger:
Genesis
6:6 -
"And it repented
the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him
at his heart."
Judges
10:16 - "And
they put away the strange gods from among
them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery
of Israel."
1 Samuel 20:34 - "So
Jonathan arose from the table in fierce
anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he
was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame."
1Chronicles 4:10 - "And
Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying,
Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and
that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep
me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God
granted
him that which he requested."
Psalm 78:40 - "How
oft did they provoke him in the wilderness,
and grieve him in the desert!"
Psalm 95:10 - "Forty years long
was I grieved with this
generation,
and said, It is a people that do err in their
heart, and
they have not known my ways:"
Psalm 112:10 - "The wicked shall
see it, and be grieved;
he shall
gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked
shall perish."
Isaiah 58:3 - "Wherefore
have we fasted, say they,
and
thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our
soul, and
thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find
pleasure, and exact all your labours."
Lamentations 3:33 -
"For
he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve
the children of men."
Ephesians 4:30 - "And
grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby
ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."
James 5:9 - "Grudge
not one against another, brethren, lest
ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door."
God cannot be "saddened," as He is never sad or frustrated at anything.
Rather when the Bible talks about God being "grieved"
it means "angered":
Mark 3:5 - "And
when he had looked
round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness
of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand.
And he stretched it
out: and his hand was restored
whole
as the other."