God's Judgment

 

God's Other Children Concluding Reflections: 1. God's Judgment View this email in your browser

I close this series of articles with reflections on two topics interwoven in the stories— God’s judgment and the church. In this article, with help from the prophet Habakkuk, I will address the question of justice. “Predators” appear throughout, whether it be the persecution of Christians, selling people into slavery, or denying food to the starving. And they seem to get away with it. The question of judgment demands our attention. Will there be justice? When will it come? And how will God execute it? The prophet Habakkuk raises these very questions. He will help our understanding as we follow the prophet’s penetrating pursuit of answers.        I. The Wicked…“Violence, destruction, wickedness, and perversion of justice” (1:1-4). Grim was his world and grim is ours. These words describe what today’s predators have done.  In Mauritania they have kept the oil riches and enslaved others; in India they sell street children into sexual exploitation; in Tigray and Mariupol they block caravans of food.  The Psalmists knew them well: “They lie awake at night hatching sinful plots; they make no attempt to turn from evil” (Psalm 36:4).  “They brag about their evil desires and praise the greedy and curse God” (10:3) They sense no restraint from God: “They seem to think God is dead. He is not watching us. He has closed his eyes and will never see what they do” (10:4, 11). Yet they flourish:  “They seem to live such painless lives, not having troubles like other people. These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for” (73:4,7). This hurts. This sense of injustice troubles a faithful heart. The resolve to do the right thing weakens in the face of abusive powers and corrupt courts. Our sacrifices, our truth-telling, our efforts to aid the needy—all are flaunted or undone, contradicted and even ridiculed. Truly we live in the heart of darkness. Joseph Conrad saw it and said it, “The horror, the horror!”       II. The Cry for justice…“How long, O Lord, must I call for help and you not listen? Will you wink at their treachery? Should you be silent while the wicked swallow up people more righteous than they?” (1:1. 2:13) That is the cry for justice from the prophet. How can God let this happen?  The Psalmist expresses our outrage: “O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?” (10:1) Why is it that the poor get more diseases and abuse and less food and medical care? How can children be used for slave labor in kilns? Why is it that women bear the shame of rape, with the pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases? If God is a God of love, if he is a God of power — well, are you?  And Christ’s temptations, how perplexing. He let pass the opportunity to bring bread to the world, food to the hungry millions in Chad; to perform miraculous healings, for the crippled and the maimed from war; and to bring down the evil regimes, for protecting Ukraine. Is this world his territory or not? These are not academic puzzles. Behind each question is pain, disappointment, doubt, and anger. “Deep cries out to deep” (44:7). It could be so different. And it should be.        III. The Day of Judgment…“Write this in bold, block letters. The day of judgment will surely come. If it seems slow in coming, wait” (2:3).     How could it be otherwise? If integrity characterizes the Almighty, if his holiness means that he is “so pure that he cannot stand the sight of evil” (2:13), if he watches over the poor and vulnerable, then would we not expect righteous anger against those who brutalize his children?  Of course “the wrath of God erupts against the ungodliness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18). Of course, because “Your righteousness is like the mighty mountain, your justice like the ocean depth” (Psalm 36:6). John the Baptist stated the obvious when he asked, “Who told you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Luke 3:7)  How could it be otherwise? The Psalmist Asaph told the whole story. In the 73rd Psalm he described how “his foot almost slipped.” He doesn’t specify what was the cause, and that is just as well. It could have been the early death of a loved one, or someone who destroyed his family and got away with it, or simply hearing so much grim news of the world. Whatever, it nearly caused him to give up on God. For what, Asaph asks? “Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I could not understand why evil people prosper.” Then came the realization of God’s judgment: “It was when I went into the sanctuary of God that I saw the destiny of the wicked. You put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction” (13,18).         IV. Seeing the Day…“The righteous people shall live by faith” (2:4).  God’s righteous judgment hasn’t come yet, but the bold writing chiseled in stone says that it will. Some day in the future. Make no mistake about that. But in the meantime…  In the meantime, yes, God’s other children live with the horror, but Habakkuk has told us of the longer perspective, one that sees into eternity. The eyes of the righteous see by faith. That vision lets them behold the outlines of another day. The memories will be removed, the wounds healed, and their days spent in the enjoyment of the loving embrace of their Savior.   Habakkuk’s closing words describe the gift of hope and joy that is coming soon:   “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no fruit, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls; yet will I rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on high places” (3:17, 18, 19).