When Heaven Is Stunned by Evil

We live in a world where evil is constantly visible. Every day, videos of violence, cruelty, and injustice fill our screens. We witness war, abuse, racism, and countless acts of inhumanity often captured and shared in real time. It’s enough to make any heart grow weary.

But as horrifying as these acts are, they are not the evil that most stuns heaven.

Scripture presents a deeper, more sobering reality one that confronts even those who consider themselves “good people.” In Jeremiah 2:12–13, God speaks through the prophet with a thunderous indictment:

“Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

Heaven isn’t just appalled by human cruelty. Heaven is shocked when we turn our backs on the Creator Himself.

The Greater Offense

We often think of evil in terms of how we treat one another war, murder, oppression, abuse. And certainly, these are evils that grieve the heart of God. But Scripture reveals that these actions are the fruit, not the root, of a deeper corruption.

The root of evil is not merely horizontal (man harming man), but vertical: man turning away from God.

Jesus summarized the greatest commandment this way: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Evil, therefore, is failing to do exactly that.

In Romans 1:23, Paul writes that humanity has “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images.” And in Romans 3:23, he concludes, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The essence of sin is not just doing bad things it’s treasuring anything more than God.

This is what truly horrifies heaven: we’ve rejected the fountain of living waters in favor of broken cisterns that cannot satisfy. That’s not just a mistake it’s treason against infinite majesty.

Why We Need a Savior

It’s tempting to think, like many do, “I’m a decent person. I’ve never committed a terrible crime. Surely I don’t deserve eternal punishment.” But that line of thinking reveals a distorted view of both sin and God.

Sin is not primarily measured by how much harm it causes others, but by how much honor it robs from God. And when we understand that God is infinitely holy, beautiful, and worthy then failing to love Him with all our heart becomes an infinitely serious offense.

No human judge would allow someone to walk free just because they “didn’t think their crime was that bad.” Justice isn’t determined by the criminal’s perspective but by the standard of the law and the worth of the one offended.

In this case, the One offended is infinite in worth. Which is why the punishment hell seems so extreme to us. Because our view of God is too small.

The gospel tells us that our sin is so serious, only the death of the Son of God could deal with it. And that’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t die just to make bad people better. He died to reconcile rebels to their King. Only someone both fully God and fully man could bear the infinite weight of divine justice and offer us eternal life.

The Cross Is the Measure of Sin

To understand the cross rightly, we must first understand the gravity of our sin. Why did Jesus suffer so intensely? Why was the price so high? Because the offense was infinitely great.

1 Peter 3:18 explains it this way: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” We weren’t simply misguided. We were guilty running from the One who made us.

The cross reveals the horror of sin and the hope of salvation. At once, it is both the greatest indictment of humanity and the greatest display of God’s mercy.

God’s Appalling View of Sin

In Jeremiah 2, God doesn’t say, “Be appalled, O heavens, at murder.” He doesn’t say, “Be shocked at oppression.” Instead, He calls heaven to shudder at His people forsaking Him.

That’s the true scandal of human history not just what we’ve done to each other, but what we’ve done to God.

And yet, the God we betrayed is the same God who sent His Son to take our place.

Romans 5:8 declares, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Even in our rebellion, God’s love pursued us. Jesus didn’t die because we were worthy. He died because He is merciful.

Returning to the Fountain

Every human heart is thirsty. We chase love, success, comfort, and pleasure, hoping they’ll fill us. But these are broken cisterns they leak. Only God is the fountain of living water.

To turn back to Him is not merely to adopt a religion it is to come home. It is to say, “You alone are my satisfaction.” And in doing so, we find the very purpose for which we were created.

You don’t need to be “good enough” for God. You need to admit that you aren’t and receive the grace that only Jesus offers.

As shocking as sin is to heaven, grace is even more stunning. That the Holy One would suffer for rebels, that the offended would bear the penalty for the offender that is the mystery of the gospel.

This is why we need a Savior. Not just because we’ve made mistakes, but because we’ve exchanged glory for garbage. And the only way back is through the One who never turned from the Father, yet bore the punishment for all who did.

If this shifted your view of sin or deepened your gratitude for Christ, share it with someone you care about or subscribe to our newsletter to stay grounded in gospel truth.