A God of Love

Key verse
Isaiah 30:18 - "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him."

Hebrews
I guess I got carried away yesterday talking about Melchizedek, as we read about him again in chapter 7.  Here is an online article on who Melchizedek might be; the author suggests that Melchizedek was God himself.

Luke
I also got ahead of myself on the reading of Luke yesterday, as I already commented on today's passage yesterday.

Isaiah
Chapter 30 of Isaiah (at least the second half of the chapter) was like an oasis in the desert!  After reading about the terrible punishments that God was going to inflict upon his people, the blessings and joys they will receive are quite welcome indeed.  Its hard to read about punishment from God.  I like to read about all the good things God will do for the Israelites, like the stuff mentioned in today's chapters.  For example, 30:21 "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it'."  God is really on their side, and it is so easy to see that when we hear about the good things.  But God is in the blessings and the curses.  How do we get a health view of God, knowing that he is above all a God of love, but also sends such harshness as well?