Inside Out Living

“All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” – Isaiah 64:6

In Ezekiel 14, the Lord patiently reveals to His people that they have no hope of avoiding His judgments. The point that He is repeatedly making is that your righteousness cannot save you from God’s judgment. He further strengthens the point by declaring that even the righteousness of Noah, Daniel and Job would not spare the people of judgment. This statement rings true for us as well because our righteousness is not sufficient to save us in the face of God’s judgment.

Praise be to God that the story does not end there, for we have a glorious hope in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because of the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus we can, through faith, have His righteousness credited to our account. This is the only way we can know and experience the hope of salvation. Attempting to avoid God’s wrath by our own righteousness is as futile for us today as it was in Ezekiel’s day.

(Because devotionals didn't get posted over the Labor Day weekend this is the first of two devotionals for today)

Our God is a god of justice and righteousness who cannot allow sin to go unpunished. This has been very evident in the readings of the law where we see God’s high standards of holiness and moral living. However, our God is also “the merciful and gracious God.” He is “slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). I think that the concept of the cities of refuge is a wonderful example of these character traits of God.

In the Noahic Covenant in Genesis 9, God declares that anyone who commits murder must be killed (Genesis 9:5b-6). Now in Joshua 20 we see God exercising grace and compassion on those who have killed unintentionally.

As Christian brothers and sisters we continue to live with a sin nature that creeps up on us now and then. Fortunately the Merciful and Gracious God who established the cities of refuge is that same God whom we can go to for grace and forgiveness when we sin.