Elohei Mishpat – The God of Justice
Zephaniah 2:7
"The coastland (formerly the lands of the Philistines) will belong
to the remnant of the house of Judah; they will find pasture there.
They will lie down in the evening
among the houses of Ashkelon,
for the Lord their God will return to them and restore their fortunes."
Zephaniah 2:9
"Therefore, as I live—
this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel—
Moab (Jordan) will be like Sodom
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah:
a place overgrown with weeds,
a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland.
The remnant of my people will plunder them; the remainder of my nation will dispossess them."
It's not going to go well for the Jordanians and the people of Palestine. Their fate has been determined long ago. We can see that future prophesied about here. The prophecy that did in fact come to pass. And we're seeing today the remnants (fallout) of that prophecy. And the animosity among the decedents of Israel's enemies that has been growing from millennia of war. The prophets predicted that fate for them, and likewise, the desolations of Babylon (Assyria, Iraq) and Cush (Somalia, Ethiopia) has also been fulfilled. These modern regions of the Mideast are like deserts and their cities have become wilderness inhabited by wild beasts, as was predicted. They taunt Israel. They murder the children of Israel, acting arrogantly against the people of God. And this hasn't changed since the times when the prophets spoke. God sees into these futures. He sees the coming Abbasid Islamic caliphates who will murder and enslave his children. God knows about the scattering of his people throughout all the nations of the world. And he sends a word about that. A word about the remnant who will return to the land and reclaim their ancestral lands. They'll not only reclaim them, but they'll reform them into blessed pastures and rebuild their nation. Out of that desert and wilderness, destruction and war, God brings his people home and blesses them with fruitfulness.
The formation of the modern state of Israel came about from millennia of Jewish history, and ultimately emerging as a proposed sanctuary for God's people who had faced persecution throughout the world. Say what you will about the modern policies and actions of the modern Jewish nation, but the fact of the matter is, this nation state has been established from ages long ago. The means has never been compassionate, but it has been commensurate. God's justice is what it is. And that's not to diminish or dismiss the heinous crimes committed during any wars, it's just the overarching truth of the situation. Justice is ugly in its punishments, and just, just the same.
I never understood the need for heinous commensurate punishments against criminals. Kill them for their crimes? I'm okay with that. Sentence them to a life of imprisonment, taking away their liberty? I'm good with that as well. Justice must be served as they say, but I've never seen the need for carnage, evil for evil.
There is this principle that justice must be given its due. It must be assured and exacting in its nature. And somehow for many a notable display must take place in order for justice to be served and be just. And it seems that this is a Godly principle as well. For certainly God is very exacting in his punishments. His actions taken against the enemies of Israel and even the false prophets of Israel are very brutal. He leaves no doubt about the consequences for crimes against God's people. He treats the warring taunting enemies of Israel in the same manner as he treats the Israeli people who have fallen into idolatry. This is His justice. No one escapes his judgment. Whether they are ancient enemies or beloved children, all face God's judgment in the same way. And it's ugly. It's terrible and fierce. And it's a side of God's nature that no one wants to see, but maybe they should take a closer look. All of God's enemies will be swimming in waist high blood in the end. It's not going to be pretty.
This is the just God, this is Elohei mishpat.
"The Lord longing to be gracious to you...waiting on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him." (Isaiah 30:18)
He's waiting for you to let him bring justice that blesses you. Yes, He sets the standards for understanding right and wrong, and He administers discipline and sends punishment, and He corrects all the injustices, but his justice is also shown in his abiding mercy. In his Son Jesus Christ, we can see the Father, the just Father, who gave his only beloved Son for the sake of others so that justice is given and served. And redemption can follow in the justification of his children through Christ Jesus. Justice is rooted in God's love because He is in Himself both love and justice. God gives justice for love's sake. His law and his justice given can yield terrible consequences for the unjust, but it is born from love just the same. The justice and mercy of God is seen most vividly in the cross of Jesus Christ. It is there the justice of God is poured out on His Son, and still God is able to remain just and merciful in the resurrection and ascension. And the final ultimate power of loving justice is the resurrection of the church, and eternal salvation in Christ.
"Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers."
– Proverbs 21:15