Isaiah 38:17 KJV
Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but
thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou
hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
Hezekiah had been a good king but not a sinless king. He had led Jerusalem through some
terrible times and had done so admirably. Having recovered from a deadly
illness and being promised fifteen more years of life it is no wonder he burst
into this song. God had thrown his sins behind his back, never to be remembered
again.
But neither:
- His spared life
- The miracle sign to prove it or
- The promise of sins forgiven
absolved him from
the responsibility to make good and wise choices in his future. When Hezekiah
made a foolish decision in regard to the Babylonian messengers he was as
soundly rebuked as he would have been before his miraculous recovery.
Often Christians
mistake God's mercy as God's approval of their foolishness and sin. Nothing
could be farther from the truth. That God is gracious to us is a proof of His
grace and not our worthiness. No matter what we have "gotten away
with" as a people, the Bible is still and will always be the guide of
right and wrong. Despite God's grace, we still do best to abide by it.
No comments:
Post a Comment