Remind Me of This (Gen. - Rev.)

I find I often need reminding of what I already know. The fact I need reminding often discourages me, but God in His mercy sends me reminder after reminder like fresh rain falling on the dry ground of winter. Just like that blessed rain, God’s reminders, His compassion and mercy, His truth, falls on me and causes me to respond.

When I read the Old Testament, I see that God called a people out of a pagan nation in order to make a peculiar people of His own (Gen. 12), that He gifted them with His blessing and presence over and over again, that He rescued them from a captivity that He designed for their own good (Gen. 37-Ex. 14), that He created a way for people who couldn’t enter into His presence to worship Him and be forgiven (Gen. 24-40), that He lowered Himself to place His name in a temple in a city on the earth He created (2 Chron. 7:1-2), that He forgave again and again when that same stubborn, rebellious-hearted, people peculiar to Him wandered faithlessly away from Him time after time.

As I wrap up my reading of the O.T. through 2 Chronicles and Ezra (so far), the irony becomes readily evident. The kings (in their frail human nature, full of pride, repeatedly failing to live in light of God’s love and obey His commands) died or were carried into exile one after another, and their unfaithfulness, combined with the unfaithfulness of the officials, the priests, and the people, and their union with idolatry of the nations around them defiled the house which He had sanctified for His name in His city, Jerusalem. Even then, God continued to say what needed to be said to people who didn’t want to hear because of their stubborn, rebellious hearts:

And the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place, but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, into there was no remedy. (2 Chron. 36:15-16, NASB Revised)

Oh, and did you catch that? They continued in the stubbornness of their sin until there was no remedy for them, until they had used up every ounce of compassion. Not only that, He brought a people (the Chaldeans) group against them who had no compassion on any man, woman, or child, and “He gave them all into their hand” (v. 17). He dispersed the treasures of His own house, which He had provided, to Babylon, and then allowed His house to be burned, the wall of the city to be broken down, everything destroyed, many killed by the sword, and the rest carried away to Persia as servants. He did all of this in order to be faithful to Himself and His word “to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths” (v. 21), which His people had long denied, thinking their way better than God's. The destruction of Jerusalem and His house was actually an act of faithfulness by a faithful God willing to have compassion on His children through suffering in order to restore them to true fellowship. 

But how often does God speak to us through His word and His spirit and those around us and we stubbornly fail to hear, to repent, to obey His truth? And then how often do we cast blame on Him thinking Him terribly unfair? Yet in His faithfulness and compassion, He continues doing what is best for us even when we cannot see it.

How incomprehensible is it that after a period of silence He repaid His own people’s  persecution of His only beloved son with compassion and forgiveness and a way to be washed clean; that He now dwells with us—in us even—and has gone to prepare a place for us that we might dwell with Him in that place forever? These things fall so far beyond the reach of my comprehension, but God describes Himself to Moses as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin (Ex. 34:6-7a).

I, too, want to respond as Moses did, by immediately falling on my face in His presence, making haste to bow low toward the earth and worship God. 

My prayer is that the Lord will let me continue to see Christ in the writings of the Old Testament that point to Jesus, who says of Himself, “I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star” (2 Sam. 7:12-16, Is. 11:10, and Rev. 22:17). 

There is a king who is faithful (1 Cor. 1:9). There is a king who can save (Heb. 7:25). There is one who can stand in the presence of the LORD, who not only sees God's glory, but bears it (John 13:31-32). There is a priest who bears away my sin (Heb. 10). There is a king who prepares a heavenly city for me to dwell in with Him (Heb. 12:22-24). There is one who says He will return for me (John 14:3). 

Come, Lord Jesus, but keep reminding me of who you are until that day, and help me remember to keep speaking the truth of your gospel for your glory! (Heb. 6:13-16)