Praises for A God of Justice

I love that the Lord has me in 1 Kings at this time in our history. These chapters of the Bible remind me of how God does not pardon injustice. He may be "slow to anger" as The Scripture defines Him, but he is not absent of it.

You may read some events in the Bible and ask, "Why would he even let that happen?" We cannot see what God sees. Remembering that his ways are good, He sees the necessary good in the things we see as bad. He has an end in mind, a good end. That end may cause him to move slow, but He does move.

In the case of Ahab and Jezebel in 1 Kings 21 God moved to bring justice for a lifetime of corrupt acts. But the murder of Naboth was the catalyst for judgment. It was the last straw. God wishes for no one to perish in their sin, so He gives time for repentance. God gave mulitiple opportunities for Ahab to repent and obey. Ahab chose the way of his wicked wife, Jezebel over obedience to God. He allowed her to plan the murder of Naboth over a Vineyard. Though he did not know the details of the plot, he heard her say, "I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." He knew what his wife was capable of. He was culpable. God obviously held him responsible. Let's see why, "So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."

The Lord condemns Ahab. "The word of the Lord came to Elijah, 'Arise go down to meet Ahab.'" First, let me point out that God sees the death of the innocent. He does demand justice for innocent lives effected by evil. God is not oblivious to those who perpetrate evil on those, they believe don't matter. Everyone matters to God.

I love the questions asked in the Bible by God. He asks these questions to probe those to whom the questions points. I believe because the heart of God is man's repentance he probes through questions, "have you murdered and also taken possession?" God held Ahab responsible for the death of Naboth. He still held Jezebel responsible, but ultimately Ahab was found equally as guilty.

Why does God look to reveal motives through questions or even parables? We are quick to condemn. God is not. And this should bring joy to our hearts. He allows us time to probe our own hearts through His questioning. Ultimately, His questions reveal what The Scripture tells us, "the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies nevr come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Can you imagine if God moved as quickly as we would? Would we have "father" Abraham, who trusted his own plan over God's; or Moses, the murderer; or David the adulterous murderer? God's patience and mercy offered them room for repentance, not without consequence. God does not pretend our sin didn’t happen, that would go against His holiness. Because He is merciful He is willing that we would repent. That should be our heart for those who offend us, even those who hurt us deeply. When we see through God's eyes He will offer us the grace to walk in His mercy. He knows how to bring justice, we should leave that to Him. He may use the hands of man; the authority of Government or natural causes. But he does not forsake justice, He is just slow moving, for His glory.

After God asks questions of those he is giving more opportunity to experience His mercy, He will give them what their hearts settle on. In David's case, he repented. That militated God's Mercy, with consequences and life. For Ahab, the question did not foment repentance. Therefore, God said through Elijah, "In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours." God made sure Elijah emphasized Ahab's death. And for many of us, who want to see a murderer punished, we may be sad that Ahab's sentence did bring repentence and stayed God's hand, "so it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning." God is also moved by repentance. It is part of our magnanimous God's character. Many of us read that and get angry. Ahab deserves death many of us chide God's decision.

Now, though, a death sentence was still on Ahab's life, it didn't happen right away. Ahab's sorrow moved God to give Ahab more time to sure up his repentance through his action. But the evil heart of Ahab would be revealed again. We get impatient when we don't get the consequences we want to see on others. While we want God's mercy on us, we demand the punishment of others to happen right away. We need to understand God knows what he is doing.

I sometimes wonder what Naboth's family thought? This is of course, my own machinations. Did they get mad at God because justice seemed to be abandoned? Maybe they had no idea that God had already passed a death sentence? It is easy not to wait on God and then to determine His motives. We can become angry and distant with Him. Even acting on our own. Perhaps falling into the very sin, we condemn.

Ahab's sentence was passed. He would die. Though he repented, God knew the evil of Ahab's heart. His sentence would eventually come. Prophecied by Micaiah, God desired to lead Ahab into war to pass His sentence of death on an evil man. We serve a God of Justice. He knows the motives and intents of our hearts. We must trust that He knows when, how, and where to meet out the Justice that must come. For Ahab that day of judgment came in battle. The details are so awesome, only God could have brought His Word to fruition in this way. Read it for yourself, 1 Kings 22:29-40.