If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? – Psalms 130:3 NKJV
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. – Psalms 103:10 NIV
I recently read the book of Numbers and strangely it dawned on me how defiant the Israelites were. They grumbled, rebelled, prostituted themselves and God punished the culprits again and again. But instead of them learning from the incidences, others rose up doing the same very thing or even worse!
Unbeknown to the Israelites, while they were busy rebelling and opposing God, Balak was conspiring with Balaam to have them cursed. “…So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor…’Come now, curse this people for me… Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.’” Numbers 22:4-6 (ESV)
Surprisingly, God in His mercy was still protecting the Israelites, defending them and refusing their enemies to curse them.
Last week, we saw how God still provided for the Israelites even in their defiance and disobedience to Him. This shows how merciful God is and how He doesn’t treat us exactly how we deserve and just like the Psalmist says: “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”
We are only able to stand before God because He gave His only son to stand in the gap as a substitute. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)
God loves us so much that He demonstrated it through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Jesus also demonstrated God’s relentless love for us in some of the parables He told. Luke 15 illustrates how God goes out of His way to rescue us. The parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son describes God’s relentless willingness to chase us down and restore us back into fellowship with Him.
God demonstrated His love for us even though we are sometimes disobedient, stubborn, and rebellious. He still protects us even though we often choose to go our own way in defiance of His command and His will for us.
In saying all this, Paul says in the book of Romans: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Romans 6:1-3 (ESV)
Although God graciously lavished His grace and love on us, there are however, consequences if we continue to live in defiance of God’s word. For example, God allowed the Israelites to be taken into exile as punishment for their stubbornness. The Israelites had to endure the humiliation of leaving their families, homes and businesses and being slaves in foreign lands. But in all this, God’s love was never lost on them.
God still protects us from our enemies, even when we rebel against Him and defy His word. He covers us with His grace, love and mercy. God’s love never fails, He never stops loving us because His love is everlasting.
Stay blessed,
LaraLex
Hills and Valleys 