A One-of-a-Kind Compassionate God

Do you ever wonder why God doesn’t give up on us because of our disobedience? Can our God really be this caring and compassionate? In the Old Testament, He is constantly rescuing the Israelites when they cry out to Him after their disobedience. In the New Testament, He went so far as to send His only Son to die for us, defeat sin and death, and redeem us! Still there is disobedience - even now in our own generation - but He rescues us when we cry out!

While reading the One-Year Bible, I was captured by the farewell address of Joshua to the Israelites before he died, and the warning he gave them:

Joshua 23:14-16 “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed! 15 But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”

Fair warning! But this is how Judges 2 begins:

Judges 2:10-12 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 11 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal. 12 They abandoned the Lord.

Well now...are we surprised at this? Does this sound familiar in our own generation? But wait...what does God do? Yes, he became very angry with them, and He even fought against them. He let them be defeated by every enemy. Then He raised up a judge to rescue the Israelites.

Judges 2:18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge over Israel, he was with that judge and rescued the people from their enemies throughout the judge’s lifetime. For the Lord took pity on his people, who were burdened by oppression and suffering.

After the Israelites’ behavior and lack of obedience to the Lord, the Lord STILL took pity on his people. I call Him a one-of-a-kind, compassionate God. When His people cried out for help, the Lord rescued them by raising up a “rescuer”.

When I think about it, this situation reminds me of raising our boys. You tell them what is expected of them, and they do the opposite. You tell them again and warn them, and once again they do the opposite. A parent can only take so much! It is time for a spanking to drive the point home, and that always seemed to work. (They are very nice and responsible young men now!) It seems that the Israelites needed a good spanking too! But God continued trying to rescue them! I call Him a one-of-a-kind, compassionate God.

The reason I bring this to your attention this morning is because of our current situation with COVID19 as well as our history of obedience and disobedience to God. I remember 9/11. What an awful and horrendous event that was, killing so many people - just under 3,000. Now this virus has killed over 50,000 people in the U.S. alone in just a few months. What a time to reach out to our Lord and Savior!

After 9/11, there was a tremendous surge in church attendance, but it waned after about 3 months. What do you think will happen first when our country is slowly reopened? Will people seek God; will they go to the beach; will they go out to eat at their favorite restaurants; will they greet their neighbors? Have we learned that God is giving us an opportunity to seek Him during this pandemic??

What will we do first and foremost? Will we repeat our “9/11” behavior and abandon God in a few months only to call on Him if/when the virus returns in the fall? God is ready to receive ALL of us whether we know Him or not. He is a compassionate God; he does take pity on His people when they suffer; He sent His only Son to bring us into a new covenant with Him. I call Him a one-of-a-kind, compassionate God.

As I have witnessed several deaths from my parents’ generation in the last couple of years, I wonder if we are telling/demonstrating God to the next generation - what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do if we will turn to Him and repent. It is now OUR responsibility - not just the preachers but ours. Are we going to be like the generations after Joshua and disavow or abandon God, turning away from Him in order to worship an idol which we can see and touch??

I pray not. Consider God’s track record: “every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!” (Joshua 23:14). He is the same now.

We have seen God’s people repeat these patterns of behavior in the past and all through the years to the present. Consider this scripture:

Ecclesiastes 3:14-15: And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. 15 What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.

What will we do first and foremost? I pray that we will continue (or begin) to worship God in the highest and most sincere way possible, filled with praises and prayer. Because I call Him a one-of-a-kind, compassionate God - our Ultimate Rescuer.

Thanks for stopping by,

Rachel