No Divine Grudges

“In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.” (Isa 54:8 AV)

What great news!  God holds no grudges!  This promise is given to Israel.  They are facing many years of captivity among those who hate God.  They disobeyed God for centuries.  They neglected the Sabbath, which was the greatest of errors.  Neglecting the Sabbath and worship, which was naturally a part of it, brought on much worse behavior.  Israel fell into deep sin from immorality to idol worship.  It was so bad that God stated they were worse than the lost nations around them.  Israel was brought to almost nothing.  First, the ten northern tribes went into Assyria as captives.  Then Judah and Benjamin followed to Babylon decades later.  The city of Jerusalem was burned to the ground.  The temple was destroyed and the city walls broken up.  There was nothing left but a small remnant who would care for the land by farming and herding.  But note what God tells Israel.  The wrath He exercised was but for a moment.  Because He redeemed Israel from the world and Egypt, His mercy and kindness would be everlasting!  They will be restored as the Messianic kingdom arrives.  Israel will be, once again, the declaration of God’s holiness to a lost world!  God redeemed them.  He will never forsake them.

The New Testament saint has been redeemed to the Father by the blood of Christ.  We are His, and He is ours.  Correction is a part of life.  We were corrected by our parents.  We were corrected by our teachers.  We were corrected by our employers.  It is part of being a fallible and rebellious soul.  What God promises to do is to always affirm after He has corrected.  When my sons were little, there were many times correction was needed.  Sometimes it was harsh.  Most of the time it was meager and gentle.  In those harsh times, the inclination of my son would be flight.  Being harshly corrected was not something that brought joy.  His first instinct would be to flee my presence and process what had just happened.  But a wise pastor once advised his congregation that the moment after correction is inflicted, hold your child tight.  Comfort him or her.  Love on that child so he or she knows that correction is temporary and never changes his or her standing before Dad.  This is great advice.  I have used it several times.  Correction without affirmation breeds insecurity.  Correction with corresponding affirmation fosters humility and security.  God in no less understanding!

Here is something that will blow a few brain cells.  Compare the adjectives before wrath and kindness.  God’s wrath is little.  His kindness and mercy are everlasting.  Now, consider how we perceive His wrath.  We perceive it as something that is almost impossible to endure.  We experience the wrath of God (a saint can experience this. Just not eternal wrath) and think we will come to our end because of it.  The measure of His anger is more than we can quantify.  Yet God calls His anger little.  That would make sense.  He possesses all of His attributes without limit.  They are without measure.  By meting out His wrath by measure, it is by definition little.  Yet His mercy and kindness are everlasting.  They are in duration, unlimited.  In quantity, they are without measure.  So, if we feel that the correction of God is more than we can bear, just consider His kindness and mercy.  They are infinitely greater than His displeasure!  Hallelujah!