Reveries and Passions
.PROFILE
sam.hsieh
twenty.two
biochem.uw
saved.by.Grace
.COMRADERY
.PREVIOUS
Saturday, May 27, 2006
to k.c. and b.c.:
Auberge du Pommier. summerlicious. dinner.
=D
[a passage from a post 2 yrs ago]
When the prophets complained loudly about God's hiddenness, God didn't argue. He agreed with them, and then explained why he was keeping his distance. To Jeremiah, God expressed his disgust with what he saw in Israel: dishonest gain, the shedding of innocent blood, oppression, extortion. He covered his eyes, he said, refusing even to see hands spread out in a posture of prayer, for those hands were covered wih blood. To Ezekiel, God explained that once Israel's rebellions had passed a certain point, he simply "gave them over" to their sins. He withdrew, letting the people choose their own way and bear the consequences. To Zechariah, he said, "When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen."
My slowness to act is a sign of mercy, not of weakness.
When God did not punish quickly, the people of Israel presumed he had lost his power: "He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine." They were wrong. God's restraint marked an interlude of mercy, a time of probation he was granting Israel. Reluctantly, like a parent out of options, God resorted to punishment.