El Rachum (Speak the Names of God)

For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. —Deuteronomy 4:31 ESV

Do you ever wonder if you’ve blown it too many times or wandered too far from God for Him to forgive you? Maybe you loved Jesus a lot when you were little, but you’ve been doing things your own way for so long, you can’t imagine Him taking you back. Or maybe you’ve been pushing Him away for so long, you’re certain He is out of reach.

As the people neared the end of their journey, Moses delivered a speech that was both a warning and a promise.

Deuteronomy 4:15-31 ESV
Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. For I must die in this land; I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of that good land. Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

God’s people were entering a land filled with temptation, and he knew their devotion would be divided. Moses warned them of the consequences of turning away from God, but he also assured them that even when they blow it, El Rachum, the “Merciful God,” would never forget them or destroy them. Wherever they ended up on their journey, they could search for Him with their whole heart and soul, and He would be there. He would not turn them away.

Jesus shared a beautiful example of the merciful and compassionate love of God in the parable of the prodigal son. Although the son had left his father and broken his heart, the father eagerly awaited his return. And when his wayward son finally came to his senses, the father mercifully welcomed him back.

Luke 15:22-24 ESV
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

He didn’t punish him for leaving. He didn’t dwell on how far the son had wandered or what he had done when he was gone. Instead, he ran to meet him and threw him a welcome home party.  Our merciful and compassionate God will do the same for us.

You are never too far from God to turn around and come home. 

Luke 19:10 ESV
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

When you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. (See James 4:8.) He is merciful and compassionate. He will not turn you away, no matter how far you may have wandered.

DECLARE

The Merciful God will never turn me away.

PRAY

God, forgive me for wandering away. I want to remain in Your will, fully devoted to You. Thank You for Your mercy and compassion, even when I fall short.

PONDER

However far you may think you are from God, He is as close as one heartfelt prayer. Cry out to Him today, and He will welcome you home with open arms.