The Justice And Mercy Of God

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19

Today’s reading is from the Book of Wisdom, a book that Protestant denominations consider Apocryphal.  One of the aims of the author of this book was to strengthen and fortify the faith of believers in a hostile world.  Our world today is also very hostile to believers, so his words may be an encouragement to us as well.  In this passage the author is speaking to God, but also rehearsing some of His attributes for our edification.

In verse 13 he speaks that there is no other god besides Yahweh, the Lord God of all.  He cares for all of us, which is something that cannot be said of the false gods of other nations.  The false gods did not love and care about the people who worshipped them.  They were always fickle and needed to constantly be appeased or else they would lash out in vindictive judgment.  The Lord God sometimes must discipline His children when we deliberately sin, but He never unjustly condemns us in irrational anger like the false gods of the pagan nations.

God’s power is the beginning of His justice (vs. 16).  Even though He is all-powerful and almighty, He is also perfectly just in His doings.  The false gods, which really don’t even exist except in the minds of those who worship them, would often flex their power and might with no thought of being just, upright or fair.  Yahweh is not like that at all.  Though He is Lord of all, the mighty, just and only God, He is gracious and lenient to all.

Both in when this was written, as well as today, there are those who don't believe God, and show impudence and impertinence regarding His perfection and mighty power (vs. 17).  There will come a day, though, when God will show His power to them.  All of their boldness and arrogance against Him will be brought down.

Though our great and mighty God is omnipotent, having all power and might, He is one of great mercy and leniency (vs. 18).  Imagine all of the sins and offenses that mankind has committed against Him since the days of the Garden of Eden?  When we think of that, it is a wonder that God would be as loving, forgiving, and merciful to us as He is.  These, though, are a part of God’s character, part of who He is.  Yahweh could not be anything other than loving and merciful.  His great love and mercy, of course, was ultimately shown upon the cross of Calvary when Jesus, the Son of God, died, bearing the punishment for our sins.

In verse 19, our final verse from this passage, we see that the Lord God wants those who are His people, believers in Him, to follow His teachings.  He has taught us in His Word, and through His own example shown in the Lord Jesus, that we, too, must be merciful, just, and kind to others.  He has given us the chance to turn from our sins and follow Him, and our lives need to be reflective of our faith in Him.

As mentioned at the start of this meditation, our author’s purpose was to bring encouragement to fellow believers who were living in a world that was antagonistic and hostile to their faith.  That has been the case for most believers throughout the ages, and is definitely the case today, as well.  We can take encouragement that the Lord God cares about us, knowing everything we are going through, and not being indifferent to it.  He is also almighty and all-powerful, but also lenient and merciful with His children.  He is not blind or indifferent to what is happening in the world, and one day soon He will make all things right.  In the meantime, the Lord God desires that His children be His representatives in this world, seeking to show His love and mercy to the lost, drawing them to Himself.