“This disaster came upon the people of Israel because they worshiped other gods. They sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them safely out of Egypt and had rescued them from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt” (2 Kings 17:7).

Israel was falling apart, and God let it happen.

Should we think God is mean then? Is he a big judgmental bully in the sky, waiting to smite us for our mistakes?

God can’t be a bully. Bullies aren’t patient, and God waited and waited and waited (generations!) for Israel to stop their evil ways, and now God would allow them to experience many of the natural consequences of their sin.

God is not a bully, but this is clear: God is a judge. It’s just that when we call someone judgmental, we mean that they hold presumptions about others without empathy. That’s not a real judge.

A real judge is someone who righteously protects a community and a perpetrator by ensuring that a crime never happens again. If a judge sentenced a fraudster to a few years in prison after stealing massive amounts of money, nobody would say that judge is unfair.

God is a righteous judge. He doesn’t hold presumptions about us without empathy, but he does allow us to experience righteous consequences. Now, here’s the best part…

God never stopped loving his people. He said that he would never abandon them, and he’s yet to break a promise, but how can we reconcile this with consequences?

My parents love me, and they also allowed me to face consequences for my actions so long as the consequences were within their control. They sent me to my room because they could bring me out. They took away my driving privileges because they could give them back. The punishment felt like the end of the world for me, but it wasn’t scary to my parents.

The same is true for God. God isn’t afraid of our consequences because no matter how deep we slip into trouble, his grace runs deeper, and he never loses the ability to redeem us.

Question for reflection:

  • Do some of the consequences throughout your life make you feel ashamed? Keep reading your Bible and see how God continued to love Israel. The same is true for you. God’s grace runs deeper than the consequences of your sin.