SCRIPTURE
COMMENT
I am still thinking about the idea that mercy is a gift from God, and not something that we should expect because we deserve it or because He owes it to us. And that God will withhold His mercy if He needs to. He does this out of love. That is a hard one for me to accept. But I have to think about mom's letter.
My mother wrote a letter to her children, and put it in her safety deposit box. She wrote it when we were still children living in her home. We did not read it until after she passed. I was in my 40's at the time. In one part of it, she explained that she would have given us everything she owned if she thought it would be the right thing to do. But she know that it was not. she knew that such a gift would spoil us and end up being wasted. I believe she was right. So she withheld it. And I appreciate her for it. I truly believe that if she thought it was the right thing to do, she would have done it. I also believe that if she had done that, I would have misused my portion, and might have even blamed her for wasting it. She chose to withhold, an act of love.
In this passage, I believe we see the abuse of God's mercy. Even today, some say that because God is merciful, I can do whatever I please and God will forgive me. God equates such an entitled attitude by equating it with being a whore. He removes His mercy because of this attitude. But not as purely a punishment, but also as an act of love, to lead them back to Him.
In verse 7 she states, "I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now." The start of the journey home? She still has to endure the consequences of her actions. Repentance is more than a return to home because it is a better place than where we currently are. It appears this still needs to be discovered, as God's mercy has yet to return.
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