JUSTICE & KINDNESS
04th Sep 2019
Psalm 85:10 “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” I’ve been pondering the character of God, considering how He embodies both strict justice and loving kindness. It is easy to emphasise only one of these attributes and have an unbalanced picture.
Romans 11:22-23 in J. B. Phillips translation reads, “You must try to appreciate both the kindness and the strict justice of God. Those who fell experienced his justice, while you are experiencing his kindness, and will continue to do so as long as you do not abuse that kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off from the tree. And as for the fallen branches, unless they are obstinate in their unbelief, they will be grafted in again. Such a restoration is by no means beyond the power of God.”
In 2 Chronicles we have the life stories of two kings, Hezekiah and his son Manasseh. Hezekiah lived well and reaped the rewards of God’s blessing, however, at the end of his life he is found showing off his treasury to foreign kings and it seems he has left God out of the picture. Isaiah is sent by God to tell him is is going to die. Hezekiah immediately responds by asking God to change His mind and let him live, and in His mercy his life is extended by 15 years.
Manasseh, the son of this God fearing man, begins his reign by doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. He follows the evil practices of the heathen nations that had been previously driven out of Israel. He worships foreign gods, sets up Asherah poles, sacrifices his son to Molech and engages mediums. God warns him and his people, but he pays no attention until defeated by the Assyrians and taken to Babylon with a hook in his nose.
In his distress he seeks God’s favour…. he now knows that the Lord is God. (2 Chronicles 33:12-12) His sins are not glossed over, but he experiences the mercy and kindness of God when he turns to Him. God corrects, but also restores Manasseh who has done awful things and reveals to him His love and forgiveness.
He can also correct and restore those who have known His amazing love but have started to trust themselves. God wants reality in our relationship with Him, He wants a now, real relationship and will use both kindness and justice to achieve this.
2 Chronicles 29-33 and Isaiah 38-39 gives the full story.
by Joyce Sibthorpe
