Read Jonah ch.4, go slow…
“Read through Jonah 4 again and mark compassion(ate). The Hebrew word for compassionatein Jonah 4:2 is rooted in the idea of the love of a superior, and it can also be translated as “mercy.” The Hebrew word translated “compassion” in Jonah 4:10-11 is “to look on with pity and have mercy.” These two attitudes produce the same result—mercy—but they are rooted in two different motivations.
Both are used of God, so read the following passages and note what you learn about the compassion of God:
- Deuteronomy 4:31; 2 Chronicles 30:9; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:15; Joel 2:13.
In the New Testament, the Greek word also reflects the idea of mercy.
- Read Romans 9:15; 12:1; Colossians 3:12; James 5:11.
What place, then, should mercy or compassion have in our lives if we are to reflect God’s nature?*
*From Kay Arthur’s “Discovering the God of Second Chances”