When Jehovah Showed Compassion To A Nation

The compassion of Jehovah is clearly seen in the way he dealt with the nation of Israel. By the end of the 16 century B.C.E., millions of Israelites were enslaved in ancient Egypt, where they were severely oppressed. The Egyptians "kept making their life bitter with hard slavery at clay mortar and bricks." (Exodus 1:11, 14) In their distress, the Israelites cried out to Jehovah for help. How did the God of tender compassion respond?

Jehovah's heart was touched. He said: "Unquestionably I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and i have heard their outcry as a result of those who drive them to work; because I well know the pains they suffer." (Exodus 3:7) Jehovah could not see the sufferings of his people or hear their outcries without feeling for them. As we saw in chapter 24 of this book, Jehovah is a God of empathy. And empathy-the ability to identify with the pain of others-is akin to compassion. But Jehovah did not just feel for his people; he was moved to act in their behalf. Isaiah 63:9 says: "In his love and in his compassion he himself repurchased them." With "a strong hand," Jehovah rescued the Israelites out of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 4:34) Thereafter, he provided them with miraculous food and delivered them into a fruitful land of their own.

Jehovah's compassion did not stop there. When settled in the Promised Land, Israel repeatedly lapsed into unfaithfulness and suffered as a result. But then the people would come to their senses and call out to Jehovah. Again and again he delivered them. Why? "Because he felt compassion for his people." -2 Chronicles 36:15; Judges 2:11-16.

Consider what happened in the days of Jephitah. Since the Israelites had turned to serving false gods, Jehovah allowed them to be oppressed by the Ammonites for 18 years. Finally, the Israelites repented. The Bible tells us: "They began to remove the foreign gods from their midst and to serve Jehovah, so that his soul became impatient because of the trouble of Israel." (Judges 10:6-16) Once his people manifested genuine repentance, Jehovah could no longer bear to see them suffer. So the God of tender compassion empowered Jephthah to deliver the Israelites out of the hands of their enemies. -Judges 11:30-33.

What do Jehovah's dealings with the nation of Israel teach us about tender compassion? For one thing, we see that it is more than just a sympathetic awareness of the adversities that people experience. Recall the example of a mother whose compassion moves her to respond to the crying of her baby. Similarly, Jehovah is not deaf to the outcries of his people. His tender compassion moves his to relieve their suffering. In addition, the way Jehovah dealt with the Israelites teaches us that compassion is by no means a weakness, for this tender quality moved him to take strong, decisive action in behalf of his people. But does Jehovah show compassion only to his servants as a group?

Next time: Jehovah's Compassion For Individuals

Draw Close To Jehovah, 2002