Wrath and Pardon

I will be the first to admit the writings of prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, and Amos can be difficult to read.  More than just a few times I have nodded off with the Word open in my lap.  And even more times have I read sections and wondered what was being said and how much I was missing. When someone says they like reading the Old Testament prophets, I always give them a second look and silently applaud them.    

Judgement is never easy for any of us to hear.  To hear judgement is to find ourselves standing in the midst of our sins.  Those Old Testament prophets did not mince words.  They did not soft pedal what they had come to understand as the wrath of God rising up against the people for their sins.  At times it seems that God is ready to wipe His people from the face of the earth.  The one thing always clear as we hear those prophetic words thundering forth is that God does not tolerate sin and disobedience.  His mercy and love may provide for a cushion of time to repent, but at some point it becomes clear that the day of judgement has come.    

But, as surely as there is judgement for sin, so is there pardon and restoration.  Regardless of the depth of the sin and no matter how terrible the punishment, God acts to restore His people.  At the end of the book of Amos there are comforting words spoken to a people who have endured holy wrath because of their sins, "I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel...I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I shall give them, says the Lord your God."  (Amos 9:14-15)  There was always a remnant.  There was always pardon and forgiveness,  And such is still true for me and you.