The God Who Loves Without Restraint

The Lord told His people even though they had been knee-deep in idolatry, He still loved them with a love that would never cease. His strong, outstretched arms pulled His people to Himself with a covenant of restoration.

This promise is relevant today.  We might say, “Oh, I ain’t no virgin! I’ve done some pretty bad things in my life.”  When the Lord calls His people a virgin, He lets them know He sees them without the grit and grime of past decisions.  They have been exonerated and embraced.

One might say, “They asked for forgiveness.  That’s why God said that.  He blotted out their sins.”  As you read this text, you will see the people had not asked for forgiveness; they had not repented or turned away from idolatry.  Yet the Lord called them a virgin… at the time, something they were not.  He does the same for us now.  Regardless of our past, He sees and wants us just like we are. His viewpoint is not based on our actions or requests for forgiveness but on His steadfast love and desire for a relationship with us. In His presence, hard hearts melt, and repentance happens - minds change. (Ezekiel 11.19; Ezekiel 36.26; Jeremiah 31.33-34; Hebrews 8.6-13; Psalm 51.12; Isaiah 61.7; Jeremiah 30.17)

“I will build you again, and you will be built, O virgin, ___.”  Go ahead and put your name in that blank. The Lord is talking to you and me!  His invitation is sealed with a blessed assurance of acceptance.  He promises to rebuild and restore all that is broken.