Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty…
Why then are those two statements of pardon, and non-pardon juxtaposed to each other? They are put together in the same passage so that persons would harbor a balanced and realistic perspective of God’s grace. In fact, God finds it necessary to be careful in how He offers grace, lest the human agent becomes too presumptuous, and may begin to take unwarranted liberties.
A Christian parent understands that grace, mercy, and much pardons would have to be exercised as the children are growing, but the same parent has to be very careful in telling the children that they will be pardoned. Think about it in reality! The parent knows that he will pardon the son or daughter numerous times, so how does the parent convey those offers of mercy to the child, without the kid getting the wrong idea?
Should the parent only say to the child, I will forgive you numerous times for repeated offenses, over and over again, even to seventy times seven, or should the parent add in a caveat to bring about a balance to the equation? If parents only offer mercy with no caveat, it is most likely that children will abuse the grace, and mercies offered, especially if they were told by the parents that they have 490 offers of pardon.
Ecclesiastes 8: 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!