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Who is God? This question cannot be answered definitively and completely by any man. However, simply because we cannot understand all that He is does not mean that we cannot understand some of who He is. Today’s devotional will reveal a small part of who God is and how He yearns for His creatures to hear His voice. Today’s focus text is taken from a protracted prayer and confessional under the urging of Nehemiah. We learn much about God from this passage; read and consider!

“Therefore You delivered them [the nation of Israel] into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, They again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies, And testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, ‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’ And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear. Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.’” (Nehemiah 9.27-31).

Notice in the middle of the passage cited (above), the speaker makes reference to the fact that “…many times You [God] delivered them according to Your mercies.” Israel was not preserved due to their goodness or because God had respect to them; they were delivered over and over again simply because of His abundant mercy! Not only did He deliver them from their enemies and physical destruction, He also delivered them so He could “…bring them back to” His law. In attempting to bring them back, He took a direct hand, or as the text states, “[You] testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets.” Herein is a picture of God’s purposes in dealing with humanity; He did not wish to punish; He wished to save. He wanted this so much that He directly aided the prophets in their work; He aided them by means of His Spirit which was in them. This miraculous endowment enabled them to speak with absolute knowledge of past, present, and future as far as it related to Israel and her plight.

Life as an Old Testament prophet was not easy. The Hebrews writer captured a bit about their situation when he wrote, “…Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy.” (Hebrews 12.36-38). Time after time, God tried; He tried even when His prophets were summarily rejected and mistreated. God tried long after man would have given up; His mercy extended far beyond the limits of which we as humans are capable. If today’s text demonstrates anything at all, it demonstrates the tremendous blessings of mercy that emanate from God’s throne, day after day, year after year, century after century, and millennium after millennium!

We cannot take God’s mercy and patience for granted regarding tomorrow, but it is an undisputable fact that His character includes Divine proportions of these attributes. Godliness demands the same of us!

Questions:

1. What did God have to gain by allowing Israel to be destroyed? By helping them to survive?

2. Of what value would God’s Spirit have been in the prophets?

3. What does this say about God’s patience? His determination to save? His mercy?

4. How long will God’s patience and mercy withhold His hand of judgment from sinners? Is this delay of punishment infinite? Does God’s patience have an end? When? Under what conditions?

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

Milque-Toast Prayers