“For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children [shall find] compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God [is] gracious and merciful, and will not turn away [his] face from you, if ye return unto him.” (2Ch 30:9 AV)
Considering who this was addressed to, this statement is incredible. Hezekiah, king of Judah, repaired the temple. When completed, he called for the observance of Passover. This had not been done in many years. Observance of the feasts and sacrifices had fallen silent over several reigns. For the first time in a long time, there would be revival in Jerusalem. When Hezekiah had brought revival to Judah, the ten northern tribes had already been carried away into Assyria. There remained a remnant to care for the land. The feasts and law were required of them regardless of the separation between them that existed for several hundred years. God did not relieve the ten northern tribes of worship simply because Jerusalem was in the territory of Judah. Hezekiah, we a heart of compassion, opened the temple and the Passover to the remnant of the ten northern tribes. His promise was that if they returned to the LORD, then the LORD would return to them. Including bringing back their tribes from Assyria. To me, that is remarkable. The territory of the ten tribes lay in desolation. Their cities were destroyed. They had no government or law. They were simple farmers living simply to keep the land from going back to the wild. They had every reason to repent. If they repented and returned, then the LORD would bless them all. Not just the remnant. What a statement of God’s wondrous grace.
That last phrase is incredible. After all they had done and suffered because of what they had done, God is still willing to show them mercy and grace. This is a hard concept for most to grasp. We live in relationships that are quid pro quo. They are not totally one-sided. It shouldn’t be that way. But it is. Even a newborn is expected to show some kind of reciprocation if he or she wants attention. If the baby is a non-stop screamer, Mom, or Dad might want to leave them in their crib for a bit as they go outside and collect their sanity. If a toddler will not listen, he gets a time out. There are limits. I have helped many families with a child or sibling who is an addict. I don’t say ‘suffering an addiction’ because that makes him or her a victim rather than a willing participant. They chose to take the drug. They chose to continue to take the drug. Families have a hard time dealing with a non-responsive addict. Lying, stealing, and even criminal behavior almost always accompany a non-functioning addict. To encourage families to forgive their addicted relative is almost impossible. They have been hurt too many times. They can never trust that individual again. I don’t blame them. I would probably react the same way. We have limits to our grace. We have a line when mercy becomes impossible. Sometimes that is needed. If the offender things mercy and grace are without limit, there is no incentive to make a change. The opposite is true, as well. If the individual thinks mercy and grace are impossible, there might not be any incentive to change, either.
God does have limits. His grace and mercy are without limit. But that does not mean they have no conditions. Justice must be exercised. The reason the sinner can receive grace and mercy is because God’s wrath for his sin was placed upon Jesus. When considering God’s grace and mercy, we must remember someone paid the penalty for our wickedness. God does not indiscriminately grant mercy and grace separate and apart from His justice and holiness. Wrath must be satisfied. But the passage above is still incredible. To think that after all that has transpired, and the length of it, God is still willing to forgive and restore blows the mind. It cannot be understated. Israel went so far as to offer human sacrifices. They went so far as to celebrate homosexuality. They went so far as to replace the Jewish houses of worship with places of pagan origin. They didn’t simply backslide. They did a 180! It wasn’t recent. It was from the time of Jeroboam until their carrying away. For hundreds of years, they thumbed their nose at God. This offer is beyond grace and mercy. This offer is off the charts. What was their reaction? They mocked the messengers of Hezekiah. They get one last chance to restore what they had lost and they couldn’t even care enough to be obedient for the sake of their families who were enslaved in Assyria. That is a special kind of depravity. I, for one, will stand amazed at the grace of God. He is merciful to all those who return to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment