God Isn't Fair

In Jeremiah 32:28-35, God tells Jeremiah what is going to happen to the Israelites.  They would be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, and the capitol city of Jerusalem would be burned to the ground.  God was going to judge the Israelites because they as a nation turned their back on God, worshiping pagan, man-made gods.  They put pagan idols in the Temple of God, built pagan shrines, and even offered human sacrifices to these pagan gods.  God "diligently taught them," but "they would not receive instruction" (v.33).  

God was infuriated with Israel (v.30), and understandably so!  But the story does not end with God being angry at Israel.  It was fair for God to judge Israel for their sin.  Just as a human judge executes judgment on physical matters, so does God regarding matters of the heart (spiritual matters).  Because God is just, He must judge sin - that's only fair.  But what God does next is actually quite unfair.  

In verses 36-44, God goes on to explain His plans for a future restoration of Israel.  He says, "I will certainly bring my people back again . . . I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety.  They will be my people and I will be their God.  I will never stop doing good for them . . . I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land . . . Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised them . . . I will restore prosperity to them.  I, the Lord, have spoken!"

Did you catch that?  God said, "I will find joy doing good for them."  God enjoys blessing people!  And He doesn't enjoy judging people for their sin.  God told the prophet Ezekiel, "As surely as I live, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked.  I want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live" (Ezekiel 33:11).  

These verses remind me of just how amazing my God is.  Yes, He judges sin, and He judges severely (as a perfect judge should), but His justice is so beautifully balanced by His love.  God wants to bless us!  He doesn't enjoy punishing sin, but He loves to "do good" to us.  All we have to do is listen to His instructions (and He often blesses us even when we don't!).  The ultimate example of God's love for us, of course, is His death for us, paying the penalty that was ours to pay - the punishment that was ours to receive.  Have you accepted Jesus' payment for your sin?  If you haven't, you should seriously consider it!  Know that God doesn't want to boss you - He wants to bless you!  No matter what you've done, God wants to bless you - that's not fair, but that's God.