Praise for the Lord’s Mercies
Psalm 103
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
There has been many instances in Scriptures, when God executed immediate or delayed punishement for the Wicked.
The Flood was one of those punishements. A cleansing because "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.", and a reset was done. In addition, God decreed “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”.
"You will not surely die", said the Satan to Eve. Well that was a lie. Adam, Eve and their descendants were to have eternal life, but behold, they did die.
The Tower of Babel: “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
Sodom and Gomorrah, were destroyed for their wickedness. But God sent two angels, to save Lot (cousin of Abraham) and his family, prior to the destruction. The daughters of Lot thought they were the only survivors in the World.
The Israelites were given Blessings and Curses in Deuteronomy 28. Blessings if they obeyed God's Laws. Curses if they disobeyed. And what happened?
The Kingdom was split. Then the Assyrians (From Ashur, son of Shem, originated the Assyrians) invaded the Northern Kingdom. God initiated punishement to the Northern Kingdom, because they became wicked and disobedient, worshipped strange gods. But the Kingdom of Judah was untouched, the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem ended in disaster for the Assyrians. One Angel of God killed the 185,000 Assyrian soldiers camped about the city, overnight.
But then, a few centuries later, the Kingdom of Judah also became wicked. This time God chose Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon rampaged through the Kingdom of Judah, killed, pillaged, captured Israelites of Judah, and Levi.
The Persian Empire succeded the Assyrians and the Babylonians, and the Israelite captives, saw it's rise and with it, Kings Cyrus and Darius. He will later do God's redeeming for the people of Judah. Forgiveness was near for the Israelites in captivity. Although, those who were sold and traded by ships, who never repented, the curses remained for centuries.
God is merciful towards those who fear him. The people survivors of Judah did return to God. Among them, the famous sons of Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
Ezra 1
7 King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods;
8 and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
Where there instances when God punished a single person for their actions? Indeed and it happened suddenly. Did Job offend God? The Bible doesn't mention it, yet...
Fact is that Israelites were held to a higher standard. They were tasked to be Holy People for the glory of God.
Leviticus 10
1 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.
2 So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
3 And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:
‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’ ”
Genesis 38
6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.
8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.”
9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.
God is ready to forgive his children. Until they die, he waits for their repentance. That's God's Mercy. He sent his only begotten Son, to die for us, as sacrifice for our sins. No longer are animal sacrifices necessary, he was the ultimate sacrifice. And we are instructed to stop sinning and repent of our inequities. Jesus Christ, is ready to intercede in front of the Father, and forgive any sin (Blasphemy?) should we call on him, and ask for his forgiveness.
Christ, the Son of Man, who was, is, and will be for ever, will someday, soon, come, not to preach, but execute judgement on humanity: The Day of The Lord is at hand.
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