the safe fire

i read proverbs 10 today and as i read "the way of the LORD is a refuge for the righteous, but it is the ruin of those who do evil" i thought about that duality.

in Cornhill we were looking at Amos and we had to study this one section which is apparently the most famous chiasm in the Old Testament. Amos 5:1-17. and we went into groups to talk about teaching it and people were throwing all this stuff around and trying to come up with points at stuff. but i just kept looking at the structure.
there's God's judgment at the start and finish
there's His command to Seek Him and live
there's their obvious guilt
there's God's character as Creator etc
and in the middle is says "the LORD is His name"

and people talked about how we're learning about God and do we know Him and they said some things, but i thought that the thing is, as you step through the text you've got to start asking questions. if judgment is coming from God, how can He then also offer them life? and the next thing it spells out is how obviously guilty they are and then how magnificent God is and in the middle of it all "the LORD is His name". that has got to be the point. where else is there safety in the arms of the wrathful judge? how else can this perfect God forgive a guilty people? how do we hold all these things together? the LORD is His name. that is YHWH's character. He is all about justice, but He is all about mercy.

and if we're to escape the fearful judgment, the promises of destruction, the wrath of God, the lake of fire, the abolition of the unfaithful, we're told to run straight towards the danger. because the one who has wrath, also has our protection.

He is the safe fire

and i love that that is true. i love that the gospel is news of such ferocious danger and such free liberating life. and more than life; endless, full, perfect life. and they both come from the same source, they are from the same hand. if we have any fear of the wrath of God, we run to Him for safety. continually in His word, God commends those who take refuge in Him. our action of merit is fleeing to Him for safety. to run at the flames is to avoid being burned.