Judges 13:1-5 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD… The heaviest judgments in human history have been secretly charged with such merciful provisions. This circumstance alters the character of the infliction; it ceases to be mere vengeance, and becomes discipline. I. INSTANCES OF THIS IN SACRED HISTORY. The Fall and promise of the Seed. In Joseph's sale and slavery we see the anticipation of an evil not yet experienced. Esther is raised up in the Persian captivity. The age of the destruction of Jerusalem was the age of the gospel. II. WHAT THIS PROVES. 1. God does not "afflict willingly and for the sake of afflicting, but for ultimate good. 2. The wrath of God exists at the same time as his love, and is penetrated and overruled by it. 3. The mercy of God is far-seeing, wise, and painstaking. - M. Parallel Verses KJV: And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. |
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