“The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.” – 2 Chronicles 36:15-16
These words, in the final chapter of the history of Israel’s kingdom are an elegant theological summary of the centuries since King Solomon. The kingdom was about to end, but not because God is a short-tempered, thin-skinned, angry deity. That’s a myth invented and spread by people who simply haven’t read or understood the Old Testament. Quite the opposite…
The long centuries of the kingdom and the words of the writing prophets are proof of God’s long-suffering patience, love, mercy, and compassion. For 400 years, Israel and Judah had radically rebelled against God, mocking and abusing His messengers, while delighting in the pursuit of false gods, social injustice, and empty, hypocritical worship.
God truly is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, while perfect in justice. The Old Testament is an extended demonstration of God’s beautiful nature. Time and again, He spoke through the prophets to try and bring His people back to covenant faithfulness. Time and again, He used measured discipline, including natural disasters and enemy empires, to try and bring His people back to covenant faithfulness. Through it all, God was far more gracious than the covenant required Him to be. Nonetheless, in the end, it was only through exile and the destruction of Jerusalem that a small fraction of Israel finally turned back to covenant faithfulness. But they did turn back and God graciously restored them.
God is merciful and gracious by nature. He is extraordinarily patient with us in our stubborn foolishness and prideful rebellion. He did everything necessary to bring us back to Him by sending His Son Jesus into the world to take our sins upon Himself. He offers salvation as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus because that is His nature.
Understand these truths about your Father in Heaven. Rejoice in them but do not presume upon them. Do not scoff at the commands of Scripture, especially those that reveal your own sins and failings. Be quick to repent and turn back to His grace and mercy rather than taking advantage of them on the assumption that you can always turn back to Him “later”. #FollowJesus