He is a good God!

Nehemiah 9:17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou[ art] a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

God should have forsaken them. They earned it. Notice they refused to obey, didn’t even think of how good He had been to them, they resisted whatever He wanted, and made a plan to rebel and return to their previous life of bondage.

So often we are given a picture of the God of the Old Testament as being hard and cruel but that is not what we see here. This is His character.

He is ready to forgive, full of grace and mercy. He is kind, doesn’t get angry easily and would not forsake His people even if they deserved it.

What a God! I am so glad I get to serve Him!