Forgiving wickedness, rebellion & sin
He forgives them all
“…forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin…” —Exodus 34:7a
God doesn’t just forgive mistakes. He forgives everything, the selfishness, the defiance, the deep stains we try to cover up or explain away.
“Wickedness” speaks to our corruption.
“Rebellion” is willful disobedience—crossing a line we know is there.
“Sin” is the failure to live as we were created to—missing the mark.
God names all three. Not to shame us. But to show us that nothing is outside the reach of His mercy. He forgives it all.
The Hebrew word used here for “forgive” means to lift, to carry away. God doesn’t minimize sin—He bears it. He absorbs the weight of it so we don’t have to. And this finds its fullest expression in Jesus, who carried our sin to the cross and buried it in His grave.
This is who God is.
Not a deity keeping score.
Not a judge waiting to crush.
But a Father who forgives, not reluctantly, but gladly.
And yet, this doesn’t make Him soft on justice. The verse goes on to say He doesn’t leave the guilty unpunished. Forgiveness does not ignore sin, it deals with it.
In God’s economy, justice and mercy are not enemies. They meet at the cross.
Maybe there’s something you think disqualifies you from God’s love.
A sin too ugly.
A failure too final.
A past too dark.
But hear this: There is no category of sin that God cannot forgive.
He names them all and forgives them all.
Breath prayer:
Inhale: God, you are faithful and just.
Exhale: Cleanse me from all my sin.
Reflect on these passages:
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15)
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34)
Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-19)