Articles
God, A Forgiving Bestower of Opportunities
Have you ever felt like you messed up the one chance God gave you? Exodus 34:6-7 reads, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” God gives mankind only one lifetime on this Earth. In that life, however, He gives an abundance of chances because He has never stopped forgiving His children.
In Exodus 34, God demonstrated His immense forbearance when He commanded Moses to remake the 10 Commandments tablets and renewed His covenant with the Israelites. Moses broke the original two tablets with righteous anger after he came down from Mount Sinai and saw the Israelites worshipping a golden idol. The nation convinced Aaron–their priest– to make the idol for them after Moses was on top of the mountain for an extended amount of time because they believed they’d been abandoned. God was ready to punish the Israelites, but Moses pleaded with God on their behalf so He relented. Before the covenant was renewed Moses said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance” and God did.
Unfortunately, these Israelites that God had freed from Egypt never reached the inheritance He promised during their lifetime. God had them wander the desert till they died because they remained a “stiff-necked” people who ultimately wouldn’t obey (Numbers 14:20-38). Punishment will arrive for those who refuse to truly repent and obey. However, Romans 15:4 reads, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” God’s children today can have hope through the Scriptures by learning from the Israelites and getting to know Jesus Christ (John 3:17). The Israelites' example as well as the Scriptures explain that God’s forgiveness of sin is intended to lead toward repentance (Romans 2:4). 2 Peter 3:9 reads, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” The Lord is patient, loving, and forgiving. As long as you do your best to obey Him, you will have many opportunities to glorify Him and gain your inheritance.
