LONGSUFFERING AND MERCIFUL
Numbers 14:18
‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth, taking away lawlessness, wrongdoings, and sins; but He would not cleanse the guilty by repaying the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’
Encouraging Words
Once again, context is so important when reading the Scriptures. This quote is not coming from Moses or any other human. In this passage, God is so fed up with the nation of Israel for their stubbornness and self-focus that He is ready to walk away from them as His chosen people. They have consistently broken the covenant with Him. Then Moses steps in on their behalf. Here he is quoting what God Himself had said about His relationship with mankind. God, Himself claims that He will be longsuffering with us as we continually reject Him and His love for us. He alone is abundant in mercy and truth, and because of this, He will take away our lawlessness, wrongdoings, and sins. He promises to not punish us for the sins of our fathers but will deal with each of us for our own personal sins. God promises to love us so much that He will provide for us a way to be cleansed of our sins and to have our hearts softened toward Him and our fellow human being. He did this by sending His Son to become one of us, to live a life in the flesh without sin, to die for us, and to be resurrected victorious over death for us. Glory be to God?
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