When the Israelites took the sword, thus rejecting God's way
in favor of their own, the Lord was faced with several possible
courses.
Firstly, He could have simply abandoned them to their own devices.
This would have been perfectly just and righteous on His
part, though it would have been justice without mercy. The result
would have been the speedy disappearance of the household of Israel
from the face of the earth. Their enemies were multitudinous,
highly skilled, and well equipped in the business of war. Satan desired
nothing so much as the extermination of Israel, and he
would have quickly seized upon the opportunity.
Secondly, God had the physical power to force the Israelites to
continue in His way, but He could not do this from the moral point
of view. He had given them, along with the remainder of humanity,
the freedom to choose. Therefore, under no circumstances,
would He attempt to insist on His way in preference to theirs. It
was for them to choose how it would be, and when they made that
choice, God could do nothing except respect it, which He did.
Thirdly, God could have simply ignored the sin, pretended that
it did not exist. To do this would be to condone it, and this God
cannot do.
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