Why could God continue to deal with Israel in mercy and grace after they rejected Jesus at the cross?
God could continue mercy and grace because Israel rejected Jesus in ignorance, not with knowing who He was. Under the Law’s cities of refuge, an unintentional killer was released if the act was done in ignorance. Had Israel knowingly rejected Him, God would have had to destroy the nation.
Les explains this by going back to Israel’s Law of Cities of Refuge. If an Israeli farmer accidentally killed someone while throwing rocks from his field, he could run to a city of refuge and plead that he did not know anyone was there. If the city fathers believed him, he was sent back totally set free because the act was done in ignorance. Les applies that to the cross: if Israel had rejected Him knowing who He was, God would have had to put the nation to death and destroy them. But since they acted in ignorance, God could continue to deal with them in mercy and grace. Les then points to 1 Corinthians 2:7–8.
More Questions
Why did God continue to show Israel mercy and grace instead of destroying them for rejecting Jesus?
Israel, at the cross, rejected Jesus in ignorance rather than with full knowledge of who He was, so God was not obliged to destroy the nation and instead could continue to deal with them in mercy and grace.