Then listen vv. 37-38,
Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant. Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.
God atoned for their sin and did not destroy them when He had every right to do so. Why? Because of his covenant and promise with their forefathers--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because of his promise to Adam and Eve of One who would come from the woman and crush the head of Satan. That One would come from Israel and so God was faithful to preserve a remnant of His people and not destroy them completely so that the One would come to crush Satan.
The One was God's Son, Jesus Christ. But in order for Him to crush Satan and his works of sin and deception God had to crush His Son. "It pleased the LORD to bruise him." God did not stir up all of his wrath against Israel and destroy them and unleash the full force of His anger against them because that would one day be reserved for His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ on the cross bore the brunt of the unrestrained anger and fully stirred up wrath of God against the sin of all who would repent from their sin and believe in Him.
That is amazing and amazing grace for which I and no one deserves.
3 comments:
i despise your angry creator, because according to you, he is infinitely angry with everyone that is not perfect like he is. screw your creator. love does not want to punish imperfection, but your creator seems to want to.
your creator wont get a moment of my attention if all he is constantly angry with all that is imperfect. why should i pay attention to your god.
"Your creator wont get a moment of my attention if all he is is constantly angry with all that is imperfect. Why should I pay attention to your god?"
If your premise were true, I would agree with you. If God is always just an angry Creator against all that is imperfect, that would not be a very welcoming God. However, that is not all that the Bible presents Him as. Yes, God is angry at sin and sinners because He is holy. He made us and so we owe Him our devotion and obedience.
However, the Bible is also very clear that God is patient and abounding in steadfast love towards those who believe in Him. He is so loving that the way he manifested that love was by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins on the cross; to take the punishment we deserve. Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead for our sins and now all who will confess and turn away from their sins and believe in Jesus can be forgiven and with a gracious, loving, and glorious God forever and ever.
So, yes, He is holy and He cannot be in the presence of sin. But He is loving and HE is gracious and He is kind. And He showed all of who He is by giving His Son for sinners just like you and me.
That's pretty attention-grabbing. Praying for you.
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