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Notes:
God keeps His promises – unfortunately, man generally breaks the covenant first. The author of this chapter (Ethan the Ezrahite) wants some very real answers for why God has turned His back on His people. God, literally being the attributes listed above cannot look upon sin. He can forgive, He can cleanse but only the repentant heart. At the time of this writing Israel as a whole was living outside of God’s design. Idol worship was being permitted and a whole slew of other violations of the Ten Commandments. Is God to not be lovingly just? If He is Sovereign should He not wax hot with wrath when His people turn their backs to Him? The blessings of God are a result of living in His will and being obedient to Him. In turn, the absence of His blessings would likely bring about ruin, despair, defeat, hopelessness….etc Without God – there is no hope, no good, no righteousness and of course no justice.
Ethan asks a very pointed question of God in verse 49 “Where is your former great love, which in your faithfulness you swore to David?”
I believe the answer lies in 1 Chronicles 28:9 where David is warning his son, Solomon that if he forsakes the Lord, he will be rejected forever. Another passage is 1 Kings 8:23 – then as the progression towards the reasons for Ethan’s desperate state of affairs unfolds we can read 1 Kings 9 (God makes a covenant with Solomon) and next in chapter 11 where Solomon ultimately breaks the covenant and Israel begins to unravel.
God IS faithful to keep His promises and while His love is certainly unconditional – His blessings are not. Thus, enters His sovereignty and why He is God and worthy of our praise and worship.
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