Deuteronomy 4:31

 

For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

We are back with Moses, the great leader of Israel who first recorded God referring to Himself by His chesed--loyal love--in Exodus 34.  Moses spends many chapters in Deuteronomy summarizing the journey of the Israelites under his leadership, guided by the Presence of the LORD.  They have had great victories and great defeats.  They have faithfully followed God at times, and other times followed their own sinful ways.  They escaped plagues in Egypt, but were punished with plagues in the wilderness.  A whole generation has died in the wilderness, because the people broke covenant with God by worshiping other gods.  And not only worshiping, but yoking themselves to them.  😖 (Numbers 25)  But those who held fast to the LORD all made it out alive.  Moses teaches this new generation to be obedient and to keep the covenant of God, who loves and cares for them like no other.  Moses also warns the people that if they choose to act corruptly,  he promises them that God will be provoked to anger and they cannot survive the wrath of God--they will be destroyed.  (The actual translation would be "like destroyed destroyed"!)  And when they find themselves separated from God, there will still be gods to worship--gods of wood and stone, made with human hands; they can't see or hear or eat or smell.  They will find themselves in trouble and these gods will be no help.   But ....if they seek God, they WILL find Him, if they seek after Him with all their heart and soul. They can return to Him, because He is a merciful God, who will not leave them or destroy them or forget the covenant with their fathers.  Because He promised.  

Oh, how I wish I could say I do not see my own actions in the Israelites.  😓 As Jesus taught, I am so concerned with the sawdust in their eyes, without noticing the log in my own.  God has faithfully led me through my life, and often the only thing I could be counted faithful in is choosing my own way. I have felt separated from God, but not because He moved.  I chose it.  The wrath of God is a natural response by a just God to punish disobedience.  God cannot be untrue to His own character.  But we have to know it is OUR CHOICE that decides whether we live under grace or under wrath.  But even then, we have the choice to turn around and seek Him.  And He promises to be found,  if  we seek Him with everything in us.  He is the Promise Keeper.