grace

Grace and mercy

The terms grace and mercy are used frequently in the Bible, but these words may be misunderstood with respect to how they relate to God’s plan of salvation. Noah was the first person that benefitted from God’s grace (Genesis 6:8). He and his family were saved from the flood that killed everything that was living on the earth. Grace is something we obtain, or are given by another person, and is equivalent to saying in English, I like you or I love you (2580). Grace is an attribute of God, meaning it is a part of his character, something he does naturally. “However, God extends His ‘graciousness’ in His own sovereign way and will, to whomever He chooses (Ex 33:19)” (2603). A proper translation of the Hebrew word that is translated gracious would be “to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior” (2603).

Mercy or in Hebrew, chesed (kheh´ – sed) means loving-kindness. “The term is one of the most important in the vocabulary of Old Testament theology and ethics. In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: ‘strength,’ ‘steadfastness,’ and ‘love.’ Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. ‘Love’ by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet ‘strength’ or ‘steadfastness’ suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation. The word refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel)” (2617). One way that mercy has been described is, not getting what you deserve. Lot was the first person in the Bible associated with God’s mercy (Genesis 19:19). He and his daughters were rescued from Sodom before the city was destroyed by God and later conceived two sons through incest.

Ezra, the priest’s description of the situation in Jerusalem centered on God’s grace and mercy in returning his people to the Promised Land after they had blatantly rejected him and turned to idol worship. Ezra said, “And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage” (Ezra 9:8). God caused circumstances to work out so that his people could return to Jerusalem. In particular, he prompted two kings of Persia, Cyrus and Artaxerxes, to issue decrees that made it possible for anyone that wanted to return to go back without any negative repercussions. The phrase Ezra used, “give us a little reviving in our bondage” meant that God had even provided sustenance for his people through the freewill offerings of king Artaxerxes and his counsellors (Ezra 7:15).

Ezra was appalled when he found out that some of the Jews that had returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon had married foreigners that were idol worshippers (Ezra 9:2). The Jews knew this was illegal, and that it had been the cause of their downfall, and the primary reason they had been taken into captivity in the first place. In his intercessory prayer for the Jews, Ezra declared, “And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?” (Ezra 9:13-14). Ezra pointed out that God had punished his people less than they deserved. In other words, God showed them mercy; his loving-kindness was still at work in spite of the Jews continual failure to live up to his standards.

 

The nation of Israel

God’s promise to Abraham to make a great nation of his descendants was only partially fulfilled when the twelve tribes of Israel settled in the Promised Land. Abraham’s grandson Jacob was the father of the twelve men from whom the twelve tribes became established. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel after he was overpowered by him in an all-night wrestling match (Genesis 32:28). The name Israel means “he will rule (as) God” (3478). When the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Assyria and its people sent into exile, it appeared that God’s effort to establish a nation from Abraham’s descendants had failed, but the nation of Israel was never intended to be a political institution. God wanted his spiritual kingdom to be manifested physically on earth.

A nation is similar to a body in that its individual members are considered to be a single unit that functions interdependently. The real purpose of a nation is to give its people a shared identity. When God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, he was giving him a new identity, one that would remain in tact until God’s kingdom was manifested on earth. In order for the nation of Israel to look like God’s kingdom, all of the twelve tribes had to be included. Speaking of the final outcome he was working towards, God told Jeremiah, “The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it. At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 30:24-31:1).

The issue that had to be resolved in order for Israel to be restored to a single united kingdom as it had been in king David’s day was its people had to turn away from their practice of idolatry. Isaiah described the situation as a covenant with death (Isaiah 28:15). God’s remedy was Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross. He said, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation…And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand” (Isaiah 28:16,18). God’s love for his chosen people was so powerful that his grace became a way for him to turn them away from their idols. He said, “For I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow… And my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 31:13-14).

God’s restoration of the nation of Israel was identified as a “new thing.” Isaiah declared on behalf of the LORD, “Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you them” (Isaiah 42:9). The voluntary return of God’s people to their homeland was considered a new thing because they had rejected him over and over again. The only way to adequately describe the difference between the former things and the new that was expected to take place was a transformation of the heart. The once proud and rebellious people of the northern kingdom of Israel would become like an adoring bride (Jeremiah 31:22). All of Israel will one day embrace with tender and unfailing love the one they crucified.

Grace

God’s concern for the people that were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar was evident when he told Jeremiah to write them a letter to remind them of his plan to bring them back to the Promised Land after their 70 years of captivity was completed. Jeremiah began by instructing the people to settle down and make the best of their difficult situation. He said, “Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished” (Jeremiah 29:5-6).

A key aspect of God’s plan for the remnant of his people that went into captivity in Babylon was the restoration of their relationship with him. Many false prophets, including Hananiah the son of Azur, were telling the people they would be brought back to Jerusalem shortly (Jeremiah 28:3-4). The false hope that was being instilled in their hearts made the captives vulnerable to disappointment and discouragement in the face of great trials. In his letter, Jeremiah told them specifically when they could expect to go home. He wrote, “For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10).

The period of seventy years represented the average person’s lifespan. By establishing that number as the length of their captivity, God was essentially assuring that none of those who left Jerusalem would actually return, unless he granted them an extension of their life on earth. The hope of a return to the Promised Land was really meant for the next generation, but they would only make it back if those who were taken captive believed in the LORD and followed his instructions. In order to stir up their faith, Jeremiah wrote these familiar words:

For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

An expected end is one in which the outcome has already been decided. Each person in his own heart had to know and believe the truth of Jeremiah’s message or God’s plan could not be carried out. Therefore, to say that the outcome was already settled and God could guarantee a certain result, meant the people’s faith had to be based on God’s decision, not their own. Although Jeremiah’s letter to the people exiled to Babylon did not specifically use the word grace, his message implied it. The only way God could cause his people to return to Jerusalem was to “grace” them, make them want to return by way of his divine influence upon their hearts.

The power of the grave

In the book of Hosea, God used the analogy of a marriage to depict his relationship with the nation of Israel so that his people would understand he wanted a personal relationship with them. The prophet Hosea was chosen to model that relationship and was told to marry an adultress because Israel had been unfaithful to God and did not deserve his mercy. The only way Hosea could model God’s love effectively was to forgive his wife and redeem her from a life of prostitution.

The story of Hosea’s wife was meant to portray God’s redemption of his people, but it also showed his people that God’s love was not dependent on their behavior. In spite of their wickedness, God intended to fulfill his promise to king David that he would establish David’s throne for ever (1 Chronicles 17:12). In order to do that, God had to not only forgive his people, but provide a way for them to live eternally. Through Hosea, the LORD declared, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave: I will redeem them from death” (Hosea 13:14).

As when Hosea bought his wife Gomer for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley (Hosea 3:3), God planned to ransom his people. The Hebrew word translated ransom, padah indicates that some intervening or substitutionary action effects a release from an undesirable condition…When God is the subject of padah, the word emphasizes His complete, sovereign freedom to liberate human beings” (6299). Rather than taking away his children’s freedom to choose sin, God intended to take away Satan’s ability to punish them for it.

The power of the grave was the power of Satan to separate someone from the love of God. Sin was the key that enabled Satan to lock a person in the prison called hell, or the grave. Satan was given the key to hell when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:5-6), but God told them he would one day take that power away (Genesis 3:15). The message God communicated through Hosea was that the day of their redemption was about to arrive.

Although Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection was still hundreds of years away when Hosea spoke to Israel, the events were relatively close compared to the thousands of years that had transpired since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden. As if Hosea had a clear picture of the process of salvation, he stated, “O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously” (Hosea 14:1-2).

Gift of grace

Elijah, the prophet, arrived on the scene at a time when the northern kingdom of Israel and Judah were at opposite extremes in their obedience to God. In the north, king Ahab had formally instituted Baal worship (1 Kings 16:32), but in the south, Jehoshaphat had removed the high places and groves out of Judah (2 Chronicles 17:6) that were being used for pagan worship. The initiation of Elijah’s ministry was linked to the rebuilding of Jericho. “This violated God’s intentions that the ruins of Jericho (Josh 6:26) be a perpetual reminder that Israel had received the land of Canaan from God’s hand as a gift of grace” (note on 1 Kings 16:34).

Elijah’s first act was to confront king Ahab with the reality that God was alive and well and still in control of his kingdom. “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1). The drought which lasted three and a half years (Luke 4:25) was a sign of God’s sovereignty over his creation and an indicator of the powerlessness of Baal and all other false gods to control nature.

Elijah’s primary credential as a man of God was his ability to perform miracles. Much like Moses, Elijah got the attention of the people by showing them there was no limit to God’s power. Even in the worst of circumstances, God was able to protect and sustain those whom he chose to and without his help, the Israelites would have perished. In order to make this clear, the LORD chose to sustain a widow who took care of Elijah during the famine. The widow and her son had no means of support and were about to die when Elijah arrived at their home (1 Kings 17:12). In spite of her lack of resources, the widow’s household, including Elijah, survived the famine (1 Kings 17:16).

The interesting thing about the widow who took Elijah into her home was she was not an Israelite. She was a citizen of the kingdom ruled by Jezebel’s father, Ethbaal of Tyre and Sidon (Luke 4:26). Jesus’ explanation of why this woman was helped makes it clear that it was not because God had compassion on her, but because she had faith, she was a believer (Luke 4:25-26). Her survival of the famine was a testimony of God’s grace to all believers.

God’s grace

“And the LORD sent Nathan unto David” (2 Samuel 12:1). As a prophet, it was Nathan’s job to speak on behalf of the LORD. Typically, the prophets received messages of judgement that they had to deliver to God’s people. In David’s case, Nathan was given a parable to share with David in order to get David to judge himself. God wanted David to see the seriousness of his sin without becoming defensive about it.

Nathan told David the story of a rich man who took a poor man’s lamb in order to feed a traveler that came to visit him. (2 Samuel 12:1-4). After hearing the story it says in 2 Samuel 12:5-7, “David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die…And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.”

According to Mosaic Law, the penalty for adultery and murder was death, so David was deserving of the death penalty, but that is not the punishment he got. After David heard what his punishment was going to be (see 2 Samuel 12:10-12), “David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Samuel 12:13). David knew he deserved death and realized that God was being merciful to him. His confession of being a sinner was an acknowledgement that God was right in judging him. “And Nathan said unto David, the LORD hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die” (2 Samuel 12:13).

It says in 1 John 1:8-9, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Although David confessed his sin, he could not be forgiven because Jesus had not yet paid the penalty for it. The term put away or ‘abar (aw – bar´) in Hebrew, “is sometimes used of ‘passing over’ a law, order, or commandment as if it were not binding” (5674). In this instance, God made an exception for David and did not act according to his own law.

What God did for David could be considered a miracle. When God does something miraculous, he goes against the laws of nature; what would normally happen does not. Up until this point in his life, it can be assumed that David had not broken any of God’s commandments. In spite of his perfect track record, David’s sin would have cost him his life if God had not intervened.

God, in his wisdom, chose to make an example of David’s life. The message the LORD brought to David through Nathan was harsh and yet David saw God as merciful and wanted his relationship with him to be restored. In the end, David lost the child that was conceived through his act of adultery. After he was told of his child’s death, David said:

While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

Immediately after the child’s death, we see that David’s favor with the LORD is restored. Two events mark another turning point in David’s life. First, his son, and successor to his throne, Solomon is born by Bath-sheba and second, the children of Ammon are destroyed completely.

And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him…And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. And he took their king’s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with precious stones: and it was set on David’s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance. (2 Samuel 12:24, 29-30)