I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man. (Hosea 11:9)
There is great comfort to be derived from the simple fact that God is God and is not like us. Imagine you had created the heavens and the earth in all their beauty. As the highpoint of this work you created humans in your image so that you could relate to them. There were rules, though, to this earth. If things were done in a certain way then all would go well. Like any creation, we need an instruction manual to know how to operate it.
And then imagine that this was all thrown back in your face. These humans ignore your laws, and creation suffers as a result. Few remember you, and some even dare to suggest you never even existed. This creation you made is now “groaning together” (Romans 8:22). You even sent your son to this creation, but he ended up nailed to a cross. Surely in your anger you would rip up this creation of yours and throw it aside. Surely you would not stand for this staggering rebellion, this breathtaking lack of respect.
But “I am God and not a man”. With God there is great forgiveness, an enduring patience and an everlasting call to humans to return to him. None of us is perfect. We have all “sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) but God has, in Jesus, given us a way back. Given you a way back.
Thank goodness “I am God and not a man”!
