Monday, July 07, 2014

I thought you were going to judge me

What hesed teaches us is that the arms of Yahweh are wide open, waiting. Sometimes it is difficult to reconcile scripture with scripture. For instance, the prophet Jeremiah will say that Judah has come to the end, that the Babylonian conquest is inevitable; but a few verses later he will be calling upon the people to repent so they can escape the coming judgment. Likewise in the Psalms, you will find one that begins with seemingly inevitable judgment, but then throws the door wide open for repentance and return. He says, “I have to punish you, I have to chasten you, I have to deal with your sin,” and then before He finishes the sentence His arms of compassion and forgiveness are spread wide open. Why is this? Because it is His will that none of us should perish. The reason for the election of the Hebrew people in the Old Testament is that God has elected the whole world. And hesed is at the heart of that.— Lectures in Old Testament Theology, page 181

<idle musing>
Are you getting this? Mind you, this is God in the Old Testament! Sounds a lot like Jesus, doesn't it? It should, because Jesus is the "the exact representation" of God (Heb 1:3).
</idle musing>

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