God Does Not Hate You

Deuteronomy 1:27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 

What an amazing statement.  What a twisted mentality.  Basically, they were saying…

“God delivered us from Egypt because He hated us…”

“God delivered us from Egypt so He could destroy our lives…”

Nothing could have been further from the truth.  The Lord redeemed His people from Egypt because He loved them (Deuteronomy 7:8).  The Lord brought His people out of Egypt so He could bring them into a land of blessing (Numbers 24:1). 

But their unbelief and their lusts had so clouded their minds that they soon forgot all of that and came to the absurd conclusion that God hated them. 

Do you ever remember thinking this way as a child about your parents?  When they wouldn’t let you do something you wanted to do – like waste your entire day playing video games or hang out at the mall like all your friends?  Or when they made you do things you didn’t want to do – like finish your homework or eat your vegetables or go to church all the time? 

“My parents must hate me.” 

“They don’t want me to have any fun.” 

“They’re trying to make my life miserable.” 

I hope we’ve all realized as we’ve gotten older that all those things our parents didn’t let us do and all those things our parents made us do were really for our own good.  They didn’t hate us; they loved us.  They really did have our best interest at heart.  They didn’t want us to be miserable; they just had a more long-term perspective on our happiness. 

I hope we never allow our view of God to be so childish. 

“What’s up with all these rules?”

“Why can’t I do that?”

“Why can’t I go there?”

“Why can’t I wear this?”

“Do I really have to go to church?”

“Do I really have to witness?”

“Do I really have to give?”

“Wow, God.  You’re just trying to make me miserable.”

“Come on, Lord.  Don’t you want me to have fun?”

No, God didn’t save us to ruin our lives, and His commandments aren’t proof of His hatred.  Quite the opposite.  Deuteronomy 6:24 says, “And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always…” 

Today, may we rest in His love and remember His love.  And may it cause us to return His love (1 John 4:19) and walk in His commandments (2 John 1:6), knowing that they really are for our good (Deuteronomy 10:13).