Plugging away at Deuteronomy and stopped short at 4:31- For the Lord your God is a merciful god. He will not let you go and will not destroy you and will not forget your fathers’ covenant that He swore to them.

It felt a little like a blast of fresh, cold air on an oppressively hot day. After the lifelessness of cultic protocol and geneaology, and the bloodiness of battle and divine punishment, the word ‘merciful’ jumped out of the text. Thank you, Deuteronomist, for introducing a rhetorical pattern that is pleasantly familiar, achingly desired, long sought after. “For the Lord your God is a merciful God.”