Retelling Forgiveness
By Anthony Casperson
6-29-24

Alongside the episodic Star Wars movies, novelized versions of the story were released. While I’ve never read them, a number of people claim that the novels are even better than the films—particularly the prequels’ novelizations.

The reason why this claim is made often comes down to helping make sense of character development. In a book, the author can give readers the inner thoughts of a character in a way that no movie can. (At least, not without having some cheesy method of voiceover.) And novels can let the plot simmer a little slower than a film ever could.

It’s not that the novelizations are telling the tale from a totally different perspective. Or updating the story for some mythical modern audience. The fact that the novels released quickly after each film is testament to that latter point. Rather, the novels merely use the strengths of their medium to explain the originals’ point more clearly.

And I believe that the passage for this week’s blog in our summer series does something similar.

We’ve been attempting to tear down the heretical assumption that the “wrathful God of the Old Testament” and the “loving God of the New Testament” are two different beings. In truth, his proclamations of divine justice and his covenant loyalty/grace toward those who are his both unite into one complete whole of God.

According to Exodus 34:6, Yahweh’s self-proclaimed biography is that he’s “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” This is what our series is all about. And it sounds very much like the perceived “God of the NT” while still in the OT.

But those who would like to dichotomize God would point to verse 7, saying that it’s there where we find the wrath of God that they’re so quick to criticize. They would say that a God who says he “will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation” is a tyrant who sounds nothing like the loving God they wish to follow.

When our series began a couple of weeks ago, I attempted to explain how this is a part of the way that God offers forgiveness to those who refuse to accept it. The same forgiveness paralleled in the beginning of verse 7 where God speaks of himself, “keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”

God’s steadfast love/covenant loyalty/lovingkindness/grace is for everybody—who accepts it—as he forgives every type of sin. All the while, he doesn’t forfeit justice in that forgiveness. But will continue to offer forgiveness generation after generation, regardless of how often our ancestors rejected him.

But in the narrative of Exodus, many don’t see that same connection of forgiveness and justice. They can’t seem to understand how a God of love and compassion could also be wrathful in such a way, regardless of the fact that forgiveness is possible.

And regardless that both are who he.

I think that David understood this idea well. He not only wrote Psalm 86, a song of reaction to Exodus 34 and Numbers 13-14, but also wrote the psalm we’ll discuss today.

Psalm 103 takes Exodus 34:7 and expands upon it, meditating on how God’s forgiveness is an outflow of his lovingkindness and compassion. Which is made all the greater when viewed from a perspective of the righteous wrath from which we’ve been rescued.

This psalm is a song that begins a four-psalm medley of praise to God that ends the fourth section of the book. So, the idea of singing blessing upon Yahweh is obvious. I mean, if you couldn’t tell that when five of the twenty-two verses of Psalm 103 begins with “Bless the Lord,” I don’t know how much more David needs to give you.

But the core of the psalm is found in verses 7-19. The reason why the psalmist calls us to bless the Lord. This section starts by reminding us of Exodus 34 when he says that Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. We can be sure that David’s time in the writings of God landed in Exodus 34 and Numbers 13-14 quite a lot. He brings us back to this self-proclaimed bio of God in many of his songs of praise.

Then we come to Psalm 103:9-13 where David expounds upon Exodus 34:7’s perspective on compassion and forgiveness. While the Exodus passage comes from what appears to be a negative direction, the psalm shows us the same thing from the positive. Instead of focusing on generations of fallen human who reject him—and whose sins will not be acquitted without acceptance of forgiveness on their side—David focuses on the blessing of those who receive the forgiveness.

To a person that rejects God’s offer of life according to his precepts, wrath is the terrible consequence of their actions. And thus, it is something to be despised. That aspect of his judgement is intentional so that it might draw sinners to his offer of forgiveness.

Wrath is what God saves us from, when we accept his offer. Thus, witnessing the terrible end that we’d led ourselves toward beforehand, we praise God for leading us to a new path that we were incapable of by ourselves. Because, in his compassion, he chose to save us from it. For nothing that we’ve done. Only what he did.

And for we who are on this side of Jesus’ sacrifice, what he did on the cross.

Verse 9 says that God will not always chide. Yes, God stands as prosecutor against all sinners. But as soon as we accept his forgiveness, he drops the case against us. The second that we accept his hand of compassion, the wrath against us disappears. It’s been poured on the cross because we’ve accepted the terms of his covenant with us. And he’ll be forever faithful to that covenant.

Yahweh doesn’t keep his anger forever. Not against we who accept his terms. Because the covenant redirects that wrath to the cross. Because of Jesus, God doesn’t treat us like the embodiment of our sins.

Instead, he treats us as the embodiment of Jesus. He removes our sin from us. As far away from the earth that the sky is, that’s how much God’s grace swells for us. His covenant loyalty separates us from our sin as far as the east is from the west. We who humbly bow in acceptance of the terms of covenant have been totally removed from the wrath our sins deserved.

And that is worth praise.

No wonder David wants to shout forth the blessing of God. Yahweh is like the world’s best father having compassion on his children. He wants us to be the best human beings that we can be, with his power by our side.

And why does God do this? What is the reason for his compassion? Mostly it’s just a part of who God is. But as Psalm 103:14-16 points out, God understands our frailties. His compassion, his mercy, his grace is all because he remembers that we are dust. Walking dust that only lives because his spirit gave us breath. And so too, our spirit is dead unless he breathes eternal life into us.

Without him, we’d be nothing. Of course, his compassion leads him to offer forgiveness. And remove wrath from those who join him in this covenant.

As verses 17-18 say, Yahweh’s covenant loyalty/steadfast love/lovingkindness/grace are eternal. Unending. Never in question. For those who fear him. Those who keep his covenant. Those who remember to do his commandments.

The outflow of God’s grace and compassion is forgiveness that rescues us from wrath, without removing the existence of penalty. God doesn’t eliminate judgement upon the guilt. He transfers it to the cross of Jesus. To pay for it himself.

That is the true steadfast love of God. The willingness to offer forgiveness to those who join him. Wrath remains for those who don’t accept the terms. Both are the same God, because his love is what leads him to continue to offer forgiveness, even after generations of rejection.

As we come to understand this wrathfully righteous and justly loving God, there can be only two options. Keep rejecting him, finding the despicableness of our own sins meeting wrath. Or accept the offer of forgiveness, thankfully realizing how much love had to overcome.

Let those of us who have been rescued from that wrath join along singing, “Bless the Lord.”