God’s Love: Greater for Humans than for Angels

God loves humans so much that he weeps when they turn their backs on him and perish, but God does not have this sorrow for Satan in his fall and destruction. How amazing is God’s love for us!  He favors us, the fallen and frail humans, above the angels, even Satan who was once God’s highest ranking angel. Please join me as I explore Scriptures that show God’s delight in us, and his lack of sorrow over Satan’s demise.

Satan began as a beautiful and musical angel. Ezekiel 28:12b-17a says, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysollite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.  Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth.”  Some translations also state “timbrels and pipes” in verse 13, so Satan may have also lead musical worship in heaven. He was a source of so much beauty, but he spurned God and did not want to use that God-given beauty and music to glorify God.  In every passage I read about Satan’s disobedience and fall, I never find a note of grief on God’s part.  Yet in the passages I read about our sin against God and his need to punish us, I read of his grief over and over.

First, let’s look at some more passages about Satan’s sin and God’s punishment of him.  In Isaiah 14:12, we see no sorrow for Satan’s fall: “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations.” Then in verses14-15we read about what Satan said and how God responded, “I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High,’ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.” God does not grieve in 2 Peter 2:4a: “God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.” God does not weep in Rev.12:7-9 either: “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to earth, and his angels with him.” No grief precedes or follows this verse.  Yet we see a different tone in the next verse (10) “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” This verse sounds victorious, with no grieving about Satan’s downfall.

Jesus also spoke calmly to his disciplines about Satan in Luke 10:18 “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Jesus showed no sadness over this, and in fact expressed joy in the following passages (Luke 10:20-21a) “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit…” With no hint of sorrow, Jude:6 speaks about the demons (fallen angels) and Satan: “and the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the Great Day.” If you read beyond this verse, you will not find one word of grief over Satan’s fall. Finally in Rev. 20:10 we see, “The devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” The verses before and after this one reveal no words of sorrow on God’s behalf.

In fact, not only does God not grieve over Satan and the fallen angels, but God says he hates wickedness, which comes from Satan: Hebs. 1:9a “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.” And Proverbs 8:13a says: “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.” And Romans 12:9 says: “Abhor what is evil.” Look at 1John 3:8 “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”  God so hates evil, that he sent Jesus to destroy it and the Devil.

But do not confuse God’s plan to destroy Satan for a desire to destroy sinful people. Look at Ezek. 8:23, “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?’ declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” In Gens.6:5, we see God’s sorrow over men’s sin, “Then the Lord saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and he was grieved in his heart.” Lest we think this is sorrow over man’s sin alone, look at Isaiah 53:4a “Surely He has born our grief and carried our sorrows.” God grieves over us personally.  Look at God’s concern for us in Psalm 78:38-40,”Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. He remembered that they were flesh, a passing breeze that does not return. How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland.” Despite the sin of humans, God looks upon them with compassion and mercy.  We see this in full detail in Psalm 103: 8-14 “The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not deal harshly with us as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.”

Satan was the most beautiful angel. He had musical abilities, precious jewels, and power (enough to seduce one third of the angels to follow him in rebellion) and Satan is more powerful than we are. Yet God does not sorrow over this evil angel’s demise. We are weak and sinful, living in bodies that get sick and die, yet despite our lesser abilities (compared to Satan’s) we bring God joy. He eagerly and joyfully forgives us when we sin. We need to revel in the amazing fact that we, and not Satan, are made in God’s image (Gens. 1:27.) And God adores us. Of all the amazing things God created, he calls us his masterpiece (Eph.2:10.) We (with Christ in our hearts) are the best of all that God has created. We alone are his joy, and when we sin, we alone cause God grief, not Satan. God hates Satan and does not grieve over his demise. We are the ones who can grieve God, due to our sin.

Please believe and meditate on this wonderful reality! We are God’s joy and the ones he delights in.  As powerful as angels are, they are not the ones who can bring God joy, nor are they close to his heart the way we are.  We are his delight, and I pray I have blessed you with that good news. Thanks for joining me in this week’s post.