In this passage the justice of God rings loud. God hates cheaters, it says. Does he really hate them? We know from the Gospels that God loves everyone so this statement should be read more as a human expression of how God views injustice. The Old Testament prophets talked more about justice issues in their own day than about what was going to happen in the “end times.”

Human interaction is not without its difficulties. Given enough time there will eventually be disputes which pit one person against another. Many, but not all, human disputes have to do with property. For example, people dispute the rightful possession of property, who is responsible if property is stolen or damaged or goes missing, and many more questions besides.

If there is one thing that the Bible declares about God from beginning to end it is that he is sovereign over all. There is nothing he does not know, nowhere that he is not, and nothing he cannot do. He is Lord of all and no area of life is outside of his authority. This truth is woven into the very fabric of scripture and so it is not surprising that we see it here as well.

When our first parents rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) they ceased to be God-centered in their perspective but instead attempted to make sense of life from their own perspective. This was a fatal mistake and one we continue to make. We need God’s perspective if we are going to live wisely – which is another way of saying that we need to be God-centered instead of relying solely on our own judgment.

Many years after these words were written the apostle Paul asked the rhetorical question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Paul then went on to emphatically assert, “no one!” (see Romans 8:31-34) This should not come as a surprise given all that God has done for his people down through the years. In the New Testament the greatest evidence of God’s power is the redemption he accomplished in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

This passage tells us about the confirmation of the covenant that God made with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. It is an important part of God’s progressive revelation of himself to Israel and the world. The account involves three different groups of people: the people of Israel; Aaron and his two sons Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel; and then Moses and his aid Joshua. All of them are part of this confirmation ceremony.

If you ever want to grasp the breadth and depth of God’s love for you in one sitting, just read Psalm 103. David can’t contain his joy or gladness of spirit. “With all my heart I praise the LORD, and with all that I am I praise his holy name!” he begins.

Without pausing for breath David continues to describe who God is and what he does.