6 Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. They served the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. They abandoned the Lord and no longer served him at all. 7 So the Lord burned with anger against Israel, and he turned them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites, 8 who began to oppress them that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites east of the Jordan River in the land of the Amorites (that is, in Gilead). 9 The Ammonites also crossed to the west side of the Jordan and attacked Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim.
The Israelites were in great distress. 10 Finally, they cried out to the Lord for help, saying, “We have sinned against you because we have abandoned you as our God and have served the images of Baal.”
11 The Lord replied, “Did I not rescue you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12 the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites? When they oppressed you, you cried out to me for help, and I rescued you. 13 Yet you have abandoned me and served other gods. So I will not rescue you anymore. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen! Let them rescue you in your hour of distress!”
15 But the Israelites pleaded with the Lord and said, “We have sinned. Punish us as you see fit, only rescue us today from our enemies.” 16 Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and served the Lord. And he was grieved by their misery. - Judges 10:6-16
This is our story. It is so familiar. We run from the God who loves us and cares for us deeply, the God who has delivered us and rescued us time and time again. We turn to lovers that won't satisfy, to waters that will never fill us.
Yet what strikes me about this passage in particular is how it says "he was grieved by their misery". Another version says " he could bear Israel's misery no longer". God's heart is broken for us so deeply when we turn away. It's not about guilt. His love for us is so deep, and when we run to other loves it just doesn't compare, and he knows it. He can't take our misery any longer, so he does something about it, he rescues Israel time and time again. He takes us back even though we've been a whore, giving ourselves to everyone but him. Not only does he take us back but he fights for us, he sends his son to die for us, to show us a perfect picture of how true his love really is. He is faithful, never abandoning us.
"Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more - no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries and divinity schools, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes.
And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God loves us less – no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder."
-Philip Yancey, What's so Amazing About Grace
"God loves us because of who He is, not because of who we are" -Philip Yancey, What's so Amazing About Grace
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