God’s Relentless Love

 

“Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.”

Deuteronomy 30:4 

So many times mankind uses the word “love” in a generic, empty fashion. Spouses say, “I love you,” but soon thereafter turn around and hurl verbal barbs at one another with great frequency and appalling accuracy. Parents tell their children they love them, but often ignore their children’s expressed desires and refuse to adequately allocate the time to become intimately involved with their children’s interests or hobbies. When it comes right down to it, humanity does not know what love is outside of a relationship with God. We talk about love, but rarely do we exercise it. Our warped version of love is a conditional sentiment that quickly vanishes the second another is unable to meet our preconceived, lofty expectations.

Scripture affirms that God’s love is unconditional. It is not rendered to us because of any noble work we have done. After all, the well-intentioned efforts that we temporarily engage in are overwhelmingly upset by all the self-centered efforts that consume our thoughts day in and day out. But this is not how the Lord operates. He loves us regardless of the shameful behavior that plagues us. This consideration sharply highlights how radically different God’s love is compared to what mankind refers to as love.

 

With this contemplation before us, let us briefly review Deuteronomy 30. At this point in Scripture, Moses’ ministry was winding to a close. God had informed his prophet that his tenure as Israel’s guide and messenger was nearly over.  The Bible does not indicate that Moses took exception to God’s decree. He accepted it and spent many days encouraging the Hebrew people with great passion and fervor. And so the latter part of Deuteronomy contains an emotional testimony from Moses. He essentially praised God that He would provide a life instruction that is not out of reach. He adored the Lord for making His word available to be consumed and absorbed. In essence, Moses recognized the collection of God’s teachings as a means to experience righteous application. Although many things remain a mystery, God’s wisdom is not for it is evident in His written Word.

It came about in Deuteronomy 30 that Moses was divinely inspired with a glimpse into Israel’s future. He predicted that God’s covenantal people would someday become smitten with a life devoid of God. And the price for their spiritual harlotry would be steep. Israel would be overrun by distant nations and scattered across the world. But just when the prophecy seemed hopeless, Deuteronomy 30:4 came along and illuminated God’s relentless love. In this verse, the Lord determined to gather the Israelites back from the corners of the earth and honor the promise to give them a land and heritage, thus clearly signifying God’s ultimate benevolence.

Through Deuteronomy 30:4, we see a persistent love and a faithful commitment on God’s part. He knew that the Hebrews would turn their backs on Him in short order. They would come to chase and yearn for foreign, false gods. And yet God still led them into the land of promise, not for Israel’s glory, but for His own. It is truly remarkable that in our moments of weakness we can better recognize how strong God is. That in our moments of wickedness God’s goodness is so much more obvious. God’s holiness abounds and abides, despite our miscues and failings. In short, God’s relentless love is an unending love. It is like a mighty waterfall whose current remains steady. To the parched soul, God’s love refreshes. It revives. And it should generate unending praise from a truly grateful people.