What is God like? #11 - The Justice of God

The Justice of God


    I don't know about you, but I grew up with a high sense of justice. I was always concerned with things being fair. My poor mother, God bless her, had to endure many frustrating moments of refereeing to make sure that my brother and I had exactly the same amount of cake. I laugh about it now, but we were serious about things being fair, especially when it came to chocolate cake. Sad to say, I grew up with a great level of bitterness in my heart over the lot I had been handed in life. The effects of rejection, divorce and the constant shame of poverty led me to conclude that life is just not fair. So in college I decided that this pointed to a universe with no God in it. Just like the people in Ezekiel's day, I was crying out "the way of the Lord is not fair." In the midst of this spiritual turmoil I read a passage of the Bible that I really liked at the time. All of the rest of the Thee's and Thou's didn't make much sense to me at the time, but I really liked it when Jesus told the rich young ruler that  "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God(Matt. 19:24).” It was the early morning hours after a late night , but I yelled out, "Yes!, That's the way to tell 'em, Jesus! Yes!" Of course, this was spoken out of the most bitter gall imaginable, but somehow I got something out of it. It was the beginning of the idea for me that God actually does see all of the junk that goes on on this seemingly God-forsaken dirt ball, and that He is not fooled one minute by whatever fake righteousness people put up to one another, and that the evil that goes on that people don't see, or just ignore, will eventually be dealt with. 


    Maybe you've felt like that, too. Maybe you've wondered, either secretly, or out loud, that the inmates are running the prison, that those who ought to be in jail are running it. That would pretty much make you...normal. Yep, just plain old normal. I think that to be a real honest person you have to deal with this issue somehow or go crazy. Of course, God has a great answer for those who are genuinely looking for an understanding of this dilemma.

    In the book of Isaiah, God asks the nation of Israel a question:
Is. 40:27      Why do you say, O Jacob,
     And speak, O Israel:
     “My way is hidden from the LORD,
     And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
Is. 40:28      Have you not known?
     Have you not heard?
     The everlasting God, the LORD,
     The Creator of the ends of the earth,
     Neither faints nor is weary.
     His understanding is unsearchable.
Is. 40:29      He gives power to the weak,
     And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Is. 40:30      Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
     And the young men shall utterly fall,
Is. 40:31      But those who wait on the LORD
     Shall renew their strength;
     They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
     They shall run and not be weary,
     They shall walk and not faint. 


    So here is God saying what is on all of our minds and hearts, namely, "What the heck is goin' on around here? Is anybody listening? Does anybody care what's goin' on here?" Incidentally, the answer is a resounding," I know what's goin' on here. I am listening, and yes, I absolutely care what's going on." Of course, there are plenty of clear answers to the question, "Can I trust God to be just, and to deal with things in a satisfactory manner?" 


    The great covenant document called the book of Deuteronomy says of God, "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he(Deut. 32:4)." And later in the prophetic book of Zephaniah, it says, " The LORD within her is righteous; he does no wrong. Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not fail,(Zeph. 3:5). In the tiny prophetic book of Nahum it says "The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet(Nah. 1:3)."  Paul was convinced of God's justice when he said, " For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead(Acts 17:31).”


    So let's think this through. Could anyone rightfully call a God that either could not or would not judge a real God? While many have a problem with the exact way that He may judge, could it be that if God were not a righteous judge, He would not be able to be merciful, gracious and loving either? A good God that would not judge would be the equivalent of a great lion with no teeth or claws, impressive from a distance, but powerless to do anything. No, if you're going to worship a God that is real, then He's got to be able to deal with evil doers, ne'er-do-well's and crooks of all kinds. You need a Lion with real teeth and claws. For if you choose Santa Claus as your god, you will feel good until it's time to really deal with the real issues of life. 


    So when I am calling upon God to help me in my distress, as many have done throughout history, I am calling upon God as Judge, fully able to set things right by the unlimited power He holds and that perfect moral purity, wisdom and strength that He possesses. For only if He has made a clear judgement is He then able to be merciful, kind and loving.