Such an interesting talk by God. Moses finishes writing the Law (the first 5 books of the Bible), and God tells them to place it beside the ark and it will “remain a witness against you.” God knew that there would be times that the people would falter and go their own ways. God knew there would be times in which he would have to punish Israel. God knew there would be leaders in Israel that would lead the people into the arms of other nations and other gods. However, I want you to look at what God did— he gave them the land he promised anyways, and he gave them the Law which not only shows them their sin, but promises of the future Messiah (that is Jesus Christ).
When things get tough and we fail, it is human for others to hold things against us to punish us. It is also human for us to punish ourselves and not forgive ourselves for years. However, God will punish the ones he loves, but it is not a punishment that he holds over your head. God’s punishment is one meant for righteous correction, and he separates us from our sin as far as the east is from the west.
So, two things; first we need to learn to forgive ourselves. When we hold onto things and carry the weight of our sin after Christ has taken it away from us, is ridiculous. It is like paying for trash pickup but then carrying your bags of garbage everywhere you go. We must throw off the weight of sins and run the race God has put before us. Second, we must stop guilting people when they wrong us. The Bible says that the wrath of man does not bring about the righteousness that God desires. In other words, we can’t guilt and manipulate people into righteous behavior. No, we must be willing to forgive and forget. We may not be as good as God is with it, but we must get away from hurting others when we are hurt. We must practice forgiveness and strive to separate people’s past from how we should treat them today.
When things get tough and we fail, it is human for others to hold things against us to punish us. It is also human for us to punish ourselves and not forgive ourselves for years. However, God will punish the ones he loves, but it is not a punishment that he holds over your head. God’s punishment is one meant for righteous correction, and he separates us from our sin as far as the east is from the west.
So, two things; first we need to learn to forgive ourselves. When we hold onto things and carry the weight of our sin after Christ has taken it away from us, is ridiculous. It is like paying for trash pickup but then carrying your bags of garbage everywhere you go. We must throw off the weight of sins and run the race God has put before us. Second, we must stop guilting people when they wrong us. The Bible says that the wrath of man does not bring about the righteousness that God desires. In other words, we can’t guilt and manipulate people into righteous behavior. No, we must be willing to forgive and forget. We may not be as good as God is with it, but we must get away from hurting others when we are hurt. We must practice forgiveness and strive to separate people’s past from how we should treat them today.