JUDGEMENT AND LOVE
Jeremiah 32:1-44
“I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.”
In his judgement of Israel, God did not mince his words: “The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the Lord. From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight.”
Surely there is no turning back from such a fierce indictment. Israel has so aroused God’s anger that he must remove it from his sight! Yet, a few sentences later, God said: “I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.”
It is incomprehensible to us but in God, judgement does not preclude love nor does love preclude judgement. You cannot think, because he loves me he will never judge me; nor can you think, since I have done wrong and am now suffering the consequence of my sin, there is no return.
The greatest power of God is not his ability to change the external reality—after all, he created the external reality; the greatest power of God is that he is at all times in control of himself, to will and to do that which expresses his glory, the fullness of all that he is and stands for.
“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”