读经: 以西结书12章21-28节 金句: 「归向耶和华你们的上帝；因为他有恩典，有怜悯，不轻易发怒，有丰盛的慈爱，并且后悔不降所说的灾。」（约珥书2章13节） 全年读经: 出埃及记14-15章 马太福音17章 |
同样的情况也发生在以色列的儿女身上。当他们违背上帝，却没有立刻承受后果时，他们说：「耶和华已经离弃这地，他看不见我们」（以西结书9章9节）。这表示他们相信上帝对他们已失去兴趣，而不管他们错误的行为。但是他们错了，上帝受够了他们的败坏，终于说：「我的话没有一句再耽延的，我所说的必定成就。」（12章28节）
当上帝延迟管教，不是出于忽视，而是出于祂的本性，因为祂有恩典又不轻易发怒。有些人将之视为上帝容许犯罪，事实上，上帝的本意是要领人悔改（罗马书2章4节）。JAL
主啊，谢谢祢满有怜悯，不轻易发怒。
愿我不要因祢的怜悯而以为犯罪不须承受后果，
帮助我认罪悔改。阿们。
As a child, I learned to behave properly when adults rewarded my good behavior and punished my bad behavior. This worked pretty well because the reward or punishment generally came quickly after the behavior, making the relationship between the cause and effect unmistakable. When I became an adult, however, life got more complex, and the consequences of my actions were not always immediate. When I behaved badly without getting in trouble for it, I began to think that it didn’t matter to God what I did.
Something similar happened to the children of Israel. When they disobeyed God and didn’t suffer any bad consequences right away, they said, “The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!” (Ezek. 9:9), indicating their belief that God had lost interest in them and didn’t care about their bad behavior. But they were wrong. Weary of their waywardness, God finally said, “None of My words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled” (12:28 niv).
When God delays discipline, it’s not due to indifference; it’s due to His very nature—He is gracious and slow to anger. Some see that as permission to sin, but God intends it to be an invitation to repent (Rom. 2:4). — Julie Ackerman Link
A Prayer: Lord, thank You for being slow to anger and filled with compassion. May I not presume upon Your mercy by assuming that there will be no consequences to my sin. Help me instead to confess it. Amen.
The only way to make things right is to admit you’ve been wrong.
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