Isn’t Our Punishment Far Less Than We Deserved?

Ezra 9:13 (NIV) – “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this.

Ezra speaks to God. He is in prayer mode. He acknowledges guilt. He confesses that Israel is wrong and rebellious. Then he mentions that they have been punished by God because of their sins. 

Ezra doesn’t plead for a lighter punishment as many would do. He looks at their punishment vis-a-vis their sins, and he makes a trues statement. He tells God that their punishment is less than what they deserve. Far less than what their wickedness deserves.

Ezra 9:13 (Message Bible) – “And now this, on top of all we’ve already suffered because of our evil ways and accumulated guilt, even though you, dear God, punished us far less than we deserved and even went ahead and gave us this present escape.

Isn’t God gracious? That in punishing us, He was so merciful to punish us far less than we deserved. Where Israelites deserved extinction like other wicked nations, He only sent them to captivity for seventy years. What is seventy years compared to extinction? Isn’t that far less than what they deserved?

Can’t we also acknowledge that we have been punished far less than we deserved? We have been irreverent during worship, we deserve instant death like Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus chapter ten. Yet instead of instant death we have been punished by a scathing sermon. Isn’t that far less than we deserved?

Haven’t we also been punished far less than we deserved? We have robbed God by failing to return or by returning less tithe and offering. We deserve withdrawal of God’s blessings and a subsequent life in abject poverty. Yet we have been punished by a struggling income. Isn’t that far less than we deserved. A life in abject poverty replaced by irregular income? Isn’t that far less than we deserve?

Isn’t our punishment far less than we deserve? We have disobeyed parents, teachers, leaders, pastors, etc. We have hurled insults and cast aspersions. In the past God has punished these actions by death, even when that person deserved our disobedience, God never gave the right to us to avenge. God has punished us by letting our children disrespect us in equal measure that we used to disrespect others. Isn’t this far less than being killed instantly by God? Isn’t this far less than we deserved?

We have been punished far less than we deserve. We have hated others. We have schemed against others to make sure they don’t get this or that, so that we and our friends get it. We have held meetings day and night. We have made long phone calls. We have made up false stories. We have even visited witches to be witch them. We have gossiped and spread wrong information about others. We deserve the worst possible punishment that can be meted out – a short life. Yet God allows us to thrive but only witness the ones we hated thriving. Isn’t our punishment far less than we deserved?

We are active online spreading the most negative news about the church. Those who read and hear us online decide to never get baptized. We feel nothing about it and we don’t care. Don’t we deserve the worst possible punishment for working against God’s mission in the pretense of indignation. Shouldn’t we be punished with banishment from God’s kingdom? Yet we still have a church to repent and be positive about God’s mission. Isn’t our punishment far less than we deserved?

We are all sinners by birth and by choice. We are either outright sinners or hypocritical. Some sin from outside the church. Others sin from within the church. We are all sinners who deserve the wages of sin, which is eternal death. Yet God has punished us with a temporary death to be followed by a resurrection. Yet even some of us will not die and will instead see Jesus return. Our punishment is the struggles and pain of this life, instead of instant eternal death. Isn’t our punishment far less than we deserve?

We thank God that we are alive today. This is the clearest evidence that our punishment is far less than we deserve. May God help us to appreciate this grace, in Jesus name, Amen!

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