Correction sprinkled with mercy

By: Carole L. Haines

There is an amazing demonstration of God’s mercy amid one of the greatest events in all of History.  In the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from the land of Egypt, God offers mercy amid correction, kindness amid the consequences of our own bad choices.

¹⁸ Therefore, at this time tomorrow I will send the worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded till now. ¹⁹ Give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a place of shelter, because the hail will fall on every person and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will die.’”

²⁰ Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. ²¹ But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field…
So the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; ²⁴ hail fell, and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. ²⁵ Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. ²⁶ The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were…
³¹ (The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed, and the flax was in bloom. ³² The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later. (Exodus 9:18-32 NIV)

God says this about Himself:

Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; (Exodus 34:6)

For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them. (Deuteronomy 4:21)

Then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. (Deuteronomy 30:3)

And the list goes on and on and on, not the least of which is this one:

Therefore, the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. (Isaiah 30:18)

BEHOLD YOUR GOD AND WORSHIP, REJOICE WITH JOY AND THANKSGIVING. God sprinkles mercy even in the times we need correctio. Praise  you,  Lord.