“My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred. I will not give vent to my blazing anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again; For I am God and not a man, the Holy One present among you; I will not come in wrath.”
Hosea 11:8-9 (NAB)
The Lord describes His character in this scripture, and He has a heart of pity. Scriptures teach us that God feels anger, but His mercy is greater. He is Holy, and yet He desires to be present among us. We could never earn His mercy, but He delights in showing it to us. Some day, He will return to render justice, but for now, we live in the age of grace and mercy, and God wants us to keep seeking His merciful Presence.
Many years ago, while I was reading each of the prophets’ writings, I discovered a pattern, common to all of them, which opened my eyes to the love and mercy of God.
The writing of every prophet began with a reprimand for sin and a warning of impending punishment. Whether it was Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Hosea or the others, if someone read only the beginning of each prophet’s writing, they would think that God is all about wrath, but I would say, read on.
By the end of each prophet’s book, the words of wrath are gone, and God offers forgiveness, love and mercy. God is grieved by sin, but His heart is stirred with pity and love for us.
Isaiah starts out by saying he lives among a people of unclean lips, but ends his book with the promise of a Savior, who would come to suffer and die for us.
Ezekiel begins his book by describing visions of creatures in heaven, telling him to warn the people that sin leads to death. Toward the end of the book, God is promising to bring dry bones back to life, restoring people through spiritual regeneration and rebirth.
Zechariah begins by strictly warning people to turn from their evil ways, but ends with the prophecy that “God Himself” will one day set His feet upon the Mount of Olives. This was fulfilled by Jesus, whose feet stood on that mountain preaching the sermon on the Mount.
In the book of Hosea, God used the harsh example of having a wife who is a prostitute, to stress that the infidelity of His people deeply grieves Him, but by the end of the book, His heart is filled with pity, and He says, “I will love them freely; for my anger is turned away from them.”
(Hosea 14:5)
There is abundant mercy in the heart of God. I once heard a true story of how His mercy transformed a young woman’s life. She was never raised in any particular faith, and found a lucrative career as a professional escort or call girl. For years, she earned an incredible amount of money working as a high priced prostitute.
While she was driving, she would occasionally notice a bumper sticker on a car driving ahead of her. It was for a radio station called Relevant radio 95 AM. Her curiosity led her to turn on that station, and as she started listening, she became increasingly interested. It was a talk radio station, including various personal testimonies, scripture studies, with questions and answers about the Catholic Christian faith.
She listened until the Holy Spirit awakened a hunger within her, to change her life. She completely surrendered to Christ and left her old life of prostitution behind. The Holy Spirit called her to Jesus, through bumper stickers.
God’s mercy reaches people wherever they are, and He can change hearts through any means, even if He chooses to use bumper stickers. The heart of God is stirred with love and mercy for all people, and He invites all of us to be renewed in Christ.
In whatever way God has called us, we should be able to truthfully say with Paul,
”I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”(Galatians 2:20)
We are crucified with Christ, and we now live with the awareness that Christ lives in us. God had a plan since creation, to show His love and mercy to us. His prophets wrote all about it in those final chapters.
Isaiah foretold how He would be mocked and spurned by men. He describes the Lamb of God, who was pierced for our sins, and died for all mankind. (Isaiah 53:3-8)
Zechariah foretold that God’s feet would stand on the Mount of Olives, which will happen once more, when Jesus returns to stand on that same mountain, at His second coming. (Zechariah 14:4)
Ezekiel’s later chapters promise us that dry bones will come to life, both metaphorically and as God raises all believers after death. (Ezekiel 37:14)
It only requires reading to the end, to learn that the heart of God is filled with pity, love and mercy for all of us, embodied through the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
Lord, we love you and seek more of your presence in our lives, and thank you for having a heart filled with mercy and love for all of us. Amen