IN WRATH, REMEMBER MERCY! (2)

“O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy” (Hab 3:2). Habakkuk lives in a time of national corruption and looming judgment. He knows God must punish sin. He does not deny God’s justice. Yet, he appeals to God’s heart of compassion who has repeatedly saved His rebellious people. This short prayer for revival balances two divine attributes that never clash: God’s righteous wrath and His steadfast mercy. Habakkuk remembers God’s mighty acts in Israel’s history: the exodus from Egypt, the covenant at Sinai, the wilderness provision, and the conquest of Canaan. God’s past deliverances assured His people that He remained sovereign over nations and faithful to His covenant. These were not just memories; they revealed God’s unchanging character and gave hope in a time of national crisis. The prophet responds with holy fear before the Almighty God who judges evil and saves His people. With Babylonian judgment approaching, Habakkuk asks the Lord to display His saving power anew in his own generation. He pleads that God makes His righteousness, power, and faithfulness visible among His people and before all the nations. God’s judgment through Babylon would not cancel His promises. His mercy will be revealed by bringing back a remnant. Ultimately, God’s mercy would be displayed in the salvation He provides through Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord!

Mercy is defined as showing kindness, compassion, or forgiveness to your enemy when it is within your power to punish him. Compassion means helping those who are suffering, the poor, or the vulnerable. In the legal system, a judge can reduce a prisoner’s sentence (who is throwing himself on the “mercy of the court”). There is difference between Mercy and Grace. Mercy is not getting the punishment that you actually deserve. Grace is receiving a good gift or blessings that you did not earn or deserve.

Sin is real. God’s mercy is equally real and freely given. Why is God’s Mercy certain?

*Because it is grounded on God’s nature and not on human merit. God is indeed merciful! “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. He will not always accuse, nor harbor His anger forever” (Ps 103:8,9). “Because of the LORD’s loving devotion we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning” (Lam 3:22,23).

*Mercy is promised to all who truly repent of their sins and turn to God. “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm” (Joel 2:12,13).

*God’s wrath and mercy coexist in perfect harmony. “In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loving devotion I will have compassion on you” (Isa 54:8).

*God’s justice and mercy met at the Cross. Jesus died so that God’s Mercy flows to sinners. “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4,5)

GOD’S WRATH AND MERCY IN THE WILDERNESS (Numbers 11:1-35)

In the first 10 chapters of Numbers, Israel was ordered, organized, cleansed, blessed, taught how to give, and given God’s presence to lead them. Now, after just a few days the people started complaining. We do not know the reason, but as a people, they had no reason to complain at all. God was with them leading them to the Promised Land. To complain or to grumble, means to express anger, dis-content. You say that something is not good enough, or wrong. Their complaining “displeased” God. Complaining hearts often displease God, because they reveal unbelief and ungratefulness. The fire of the LORD came down. Israel had valued the pillar of God’s fire with them every night. It gave them light, warmth and protected them from their enemies. Here, the fire and presence of God became a two-edged sword. God’s fire dealt with their sin. The fire did not spread to the camp itself but at the edges. This was God’s Mercy warning them to repent from grumbling and ingratitude. The people cried to Moses. Moses prays and the fire stops. That is God’s mercy again!

“A mixed multitude [of non-Israelites from foreign nations] also went with them, along with both flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock” (Exo 12:38, AMP). Not everyone in the great crowd that came out of Egypt was an Israelite. Some were foreign slaves in Egypt who took advantage of the Exodus, impressed that the God of Israel showed Himself more powerful than the Egyptians gods. Other were wealthy, having much livestock. It means they were not just some adventurers. They had some interest in migrating to a better land. Their wealth was possibly the reason why the Israelites allowed them to follow. But now, because of the harsh conditions in the desert, and not knowing God personally, they started grumbling. This rebellious attitude spread to the Israelites.

The mixed multitude “yielded to intense craving”. This is a sinful desire of covetousness manifested as grumbling. They remembered the times in Egypt when they prepared food for their Egyptian masters. That desire now became an sinful obsession and the grumbling started. They said: “Who will give us meat to eat?” This is a strange question. All this time, God provided food (Manna), water, protection and guidance for them. It means that they were looking for another Provider. And they started weeping… Tears of repentance or joy in the LORD can be beautiful. However, it is also possible for God’s people to shed tears over childish disappointments. God did not stop them to hunt animals in the wilderness. They also had flocks, which could be slaughtered. But they wanted to keep their cattle so that they can breed them in The Promised Land. They did not want to do anything about their desire for meat, except to grumble and weep about it!

The first thing they complained about was the fish they occasionally ate in Egypt. This is because fish cannot be found in the desert. As the people claimed to remember their so-called good life in Egypt, they sinned with ingratitude, selective memory, and twisting the past to justify their present complaints. There was no doubt some good meals in Egypt, but in general their masters made their lives “bitter with hard bondage” (Exo 1:14). They forgot that! Lessons: It is a trap to remember only the good (or only the bad) from the past and not be balanced in your memory. Covetousness is never happy, always wants something else, like Ahab, dreaming of eating salad because of Naboth’s plot of land next to his palace. We need to forget the past, endure the present hardship and looking to the glory ahead. Apostle Paul said: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:13,14).

They also complained about Manna, called Bread from Heaven or Angels’ food. God gave them Manna to test their obedience (Exo 16:4). Manna was eaten by Israel for 40 years until they entered Canaan (Exo 16:35). It was an excellent provision. It tested like bread-like pastry cooked with oil (like a donut or pancake). They thought that Manna was too boring. “Now our whole being is dried up”. These words sound over-dramatic from a people who ate manna that morning. God provided for their every need, but not their every desire. They didn’t have the fish and vegetables. However, they completely forgot what they did have, the daily, miraculous, nutritious provision from God that fed a nation in the desert. God said that they “despised Him” (Nu11:20). To despise what He provides is to despise Him. It is not God’s job to entertain or excite us. God saves us in His own way. We either submit to His leading and provision, or we can’t be saved! Selah!

Moses gets frustrated with the people complaining. God tells Moses to pick 70 leaders to support him. These are men already known as elders because of their wisdom, conduct, and ministry to others. Elders are made by God but recognized by men. God’s mercy comes to Moses through sending helpers, by the support of godly men. This is the usual way God meets our needs even now.

God has heard the people’s weeping. He knew that these were tears of doubt, selfishness and ingratitude. God will give them meat to eat. But this is not a blessing. It was judgment. Sometimes God disciplines His people by giving them what their intense craving cries out for. God promised to give them so much meat that they will become sick of it. God sent the quail. These birds came all around the camp. The scene must have been like a riot; people screaming, birds everywhere, catching them like crazy. During this mad exercise. They forgot God. “But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague”. People died. Even now, God’s mercy restrained His judgment. Sometimes the worst discipline is getting what we insist on. “But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. 15 And He gave them their request But sent leanness into their soul” (Ps 106:14,15). God did not even wait for them to finish eating. The judgment came at once. God sent “leanness into their souls”. The word “leanness” means wasting, something offensive, feeling like vomiting. They hated the meat! God said: You will eat it “for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and is disgusting to you—because you have rejected and despised the LORD who is among you, and have wept [in self-pity] before Him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?” (Nu 11:20; AMP).

God’s judgement came because of their constant complaining. This complain was not done occasionally. It was like a spiritual plague that affected all people. This demon did something to them. They became bitter, wicked, ungrateful. It climaxed at the edge of the Promised Land, at Kadesh Barnea. When the ten spies brought a negative report they all started crying and complaining, saying that they want to go back to Egypt. Because of indulging in complains for such a long time, at the point of testing, they crashed. God was angry and sent them back into the desert for 40 years. Lesson: becoming bitter, complaining, rebellious, ungrateful, disqualifies you to fulfil God’s destiny for you. God is still going on with His plan to bless them, to give them the Promised Land. He does not give up on them. But this generation missed something. God called Isreal to be a special holy nation, God’s own people. This was the greatest blessing given to any nation. But Isreal did not appreciate God’s plan for them. They turned their backs to their destiny. Discontent with your spiritual calling is dangerous!!!

The fire that fell from God was a form of mercy and a warning to the complainers. But they ignored it. It is true that the mixed multitude started the grumbling, but God was angry especially with Isreal. He punished His people not just the false brethren because they rejected the manna and their spiritual calling. Manna, the Word of God, is a taste of heaven to a believer and a taste of hell to the unbeliever. To appreciate heavenly food, you must have a heavenly appreciation for it, you must be born again! Selah!

LESSONS:

*God’s hatred of sin calls us to repentance rather than presumption. Confess sin quickly, trusting God’s to forgive and show mercy.

*Meditate on the mighty works of God in history and in your personal lives. It leads to deeper reverence and trust in God’s sovereignty.

*Pray for Revival in your personal life, families, church and communities.

*Like God, we must Balance Justice and Mercy, showing compassion while still standing by the truth.

*Seek God’s help even in trials. Trust God’s timing and His ultimate plan. Even under discipline, we can appeal to God’s compassion.

*For His people, Divine wrath is temporary, but His mercy is everlasting. “For His anger is but for a moment, His favour is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning” (Ps 30:5)

*Extend mercy to others. “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:32)

*When God forbids something for our good, this is an act of mercy. Unbelief and ingratitude can lead to spiritual and physical decline.

*The same word “spirit or wind” is used for both coming on the elders to help Moses, and for bringing quail to the people. See the difference: When the Holy Spirit was poured out, it drew men into the centre of the camp. To get quail, they had to go outside the camp!

*God defends His honor and disciplines His people for stubborn unbelief. There is big difference between humble petition and rebellious complaint. Job cried to God because of his pain. God did not punish him. But complaining is a bitter negative speech, rejecting God.

“And do not grumble, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel” (1Cor 10:10). “These are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage” (Jude 1:16)

*Be content with God’s provision. Jesus proclaimed that He was God’s true or ultimate bread from heaven (John 6:29-35). Like the manna in the wilderness, this was God’s provision and there was nothing else to eat. Israel was sustained only by manna in the wilderness, and the disciple is sustained only by Jesus and nothing else. It is better to be spiritually fed and lack in fancy physical food. Worship the Lord!

JESUS HEALS BLIND BARTIMAEUS (Mark 10:46-52)

Bartimaeus was a blind beggar sitting by the roadside in Jericho. His physical blindness symbolizes spiritual blindness, and his cry for mercy represents a deep faith in Jesus’ power to heal and save. To others, Jesus was just a teacher. But The Blind man addressed Jesus by His Messianic name. Bartimaeus appealed not to personal merit but to Jesus’ compassion and authority. His request included physical healing, but mercy from the Messiah reaches deeper than bodily need, bringing restoration to those who come in humble faith. Lessons:

*Mercy is power. Bartimaeus cried: “Have mercy on me!” This was not a demand for wages earned, or for a reward, but a plea for undeserved compassion. Mercy assumes power: only someone able to heal can bestow it. Mercy is an ultimate expression of power because it requires the absolute ability to punish or harm someone, coupled with self-control to forgive instead. A judge can show mercy. You cannot show mercy if you lack the authority, means, or position to execute justice or Retaliation. Mercy operates on freedom, meaning the person holding power decides to pardon completely on his own terms. God has all power and He is merciful. With men, power without mercy becomes oppression. It is destructive. Mercy balances and elevates power.

*True faith is Humble and Persistent. Bartimaeus was persistent in calling out to Jesus despite being rebuked by the crowd. He did not let obstacles stop him from seeking help from Jesus. Be persistent in your prayers. God hears you and will respond in His perfect timing.

*Faith has Healing Power. Jesus tells him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Bartimaeus’ complete belief in Jesus’ ability to heal him resulted in his sight being restored. We should have faith in God’s power and mercy, trusting that He hears our cries and responds to our needs.

*Faith lets go of the comfort zone. His cloak was his identity and security as a beggar. He threw away his cloak and went to Jesus!

*The miracle happened “immediately”. There was no partial healing, no delay.  Jesus has full authority over everything.

*The Joy of Following Jesus. After receiving his sight, Bartimaeus “followed Jesus along the road.” Walking with Jesus brings purpose, joy, and a sense of belonging that nothing else can provide. Sight leads to worship! Worship the Lord!