Description
If we read Ezekiel 18:32, we’ll find that those who believe the Old Testament God to be viscious and vengeful, quite mis… (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 32. And this is God speaking and he says: "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone," declares the Lord God, "so turn and live."
God’s been speaking to the Israelites again. begging them to come back to him, to stop being so stubborn and sinful. And this reminds me a bit of how a parent might say to a child, "Now, I’m going to count to three." And the parent goes, "One", and then "Two", and then "Two and a half", and "Two and three quarters", and "Two and seven eighths"! And the parent really wants to give the child every possible opportunity to repent.
And this shows you if we as parents can be that gracious with our children, how much more so the God of all grace and lenience towards us. He is saying, time after time, "I want you to do the right thing, to make the right choice, and I am going to help you. I don’t want anyone to die. I take no pleasure from it. My natural justice demands that. But I am going to do everything I can to make sure that you have the best possible opportunity to live right ."
And God went all the way with that, didn’t he? The ultimate second chance was when Jesus came to earth and sacrificed everything for us.
This is a God who takes no pleasure in the death of anyone. We need to turn to Him.
Lord God, I thank you that you abound in mercy, that you are rich in love and that you give us every possible opportunity to turn to you up until and including sending your son to die for us.
We thank you, God. Please forgive us. Amen.
