A History Of Mercy

Israel's history as recorded in the Scriptures is bookend by some 400 years of slavery in Egypt and centuries later they spent 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Sandwiched between these years of bondage is the years spent in the Promised Land. These are the years of judges and kings including many writing prophets.

As Paul writes, "Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." (I Corinthians 10:11, KJV). We can glean many spiritual and practical principles from Israel's journey out of Egypt through the wilderness and into the Promise Land.

Later, we read of the Northern Kingdom falling to the Assyrians and the Southern Kingdom of Jerusalem and Judah being dragged off to Babylon.

When we take a bird's eye view of Israel's history we see a similar pattern in our spiritual lives. How many of us relate coming out of the world (a type of Egypt)? A terrible place where we were under the influence of a cruel taskmaster, the Devil. Then God visited us in our darkest hour and brought us out to bring us into a place of new life (Promise Land).

Interestingly we don't hear many sermons on Babylon though we are familiar with lives of Daniel, his friends and Esther who lived through this period of captivity. How many of us mishandled the things of God only to have the Lord correct us? Sometimes He has to remove us from what was once a place of blessing now turned into idolatry (self focused worship). He brings (or perhaps drives) us out into a hard and difficult place to speak to us.

If this is anything we can learn from history is that it will always speak of God's mercy for us.

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Bring her into the wilderness And speak kindly to her. Then I will give her her vineyards from there, And the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. (Hosea 2:14-15, NIV)