"God of... justice"

    This description of God is found only two times in the Bible, both in the Old Testament: Isaiah 30:18 and Malachi 2:17. In some translations of these texts ‘judgement’ is written in place of ‘justice.’ Let’s take a look at each of these references to see how the description is used and what we can learn from it.

“Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” (Isaiah 30:18 NKJV)

    In the context of this Isaiah passage we see Israel putting their trust in the Egyptian leader to help them, the same nation that had brutally oppressed their people for 400 years before the exodus (Exodus 1-15). The nation of Israel rebelled against Him so much so that God referred to them as “lying children, children who will not hear the law of the LORD” (Isaiah 30:9).  They told their seers and prophets to not speak the hard truth but to speak smooth words – even deceitful words (consider 2 Timothy 4:3-4) – in the hopes that God would simply go away and leave them be. They preferred foreign oppression to following God’s word and way; they had become so much like the people around them that they were increasingly irked by God’s wholesome commands, boundaries, and standards.

    God did give them over to foreign oppression – Assyrian captivity – and yet even then, the LORD was already telling them that He longed to be gracious to them and be merciful to them and that those who also longed for Him would be blessed (Isaiah 30:18).

 “You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you say, “In what way have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, or “Where is the God of justice?”” (Malachi 2:17 NKJV)

    Here in Malachi, the last prophecy before the 400 years of silence, we find the people of God acting like they were anything but. They have gone after pagan gods and when they, out of obligation, perform their duties before God (sacrifices) they do so half-heartedly at best (see Malachi 1:6-14). Their corruption has permeated even the priests – the ones who were to know and guide the people in God’s law (Malachi 2:7-9) – even they did not regard the holiness of God (consider Leviticus 10:3).

    The people had grown so cavalier and calloused that they disregarded God’s judgement of right and wrong (Isaiah 5:20-21) and declared that everyone is okay in God’s sight because where is God to tell them otherwise? Because a lightning bolt did not strike them for any misstep or wrongdoing they began to grow lax not only about their own service toward God but about God’s standards and rules as a whole, maybe even thinking, ‘the so-called “evil people” around us are not punished, so they must be fine in God’s eyes; what’s the harm of being with them or like them?’

    God’s justice is pure and right. He always ‘rose early’ (well beforehand, Jeremiah 7: 13; 32:33) to tell people that there would be consequences for rejecting Him and there would be reward for diligently seeking Him (Hebrews 11:6). God wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4), for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). He longs to be gracious to all people, but only those who turn to Him and long for Him will find blessing, that is why He is longsuffering and patient, hoping more will open their eyes, grope for Him, and find Him (Acts 17:26-27).

    God’s justice does not change: If you do what He says, you will be rewarded; if you do not do what He says, there will be consequences (Matthew 7:21-23). He has provided all that we need to know to be pleasing to Him (Ephesians 5:8-10, 15-17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Romans 10:17), to become His child (Galatians 3:26-28), and to walk as Jesus walked (1 Peter 2:21-24, 1 John 2:3-6).

    God is the God of justice. His judgement stands. Don’t think that because God patiently waits for the lost to repent that He is absent – the time He grants us is salvation – it’s an opportunity for all to turn, learn, and submit to Him! He wants to you to cling to Him, waiting for Him in all circumstances, longing for the day that you can see Him face to face (1 John 3:1-3, 2 Peter 3:11-13), because He wants to gracious to you! Be assured of His promises, be wholly aware of His justice and judgement, and be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless (2 Peter 3:14-15)!

You can do it! And so can I!!

"God of... glory"

    As our study continues, we are now getting to terms that appear only one to two times in the Bible. This week we will look at the description “God of glory” mentioned once in the Old Testament and once in the New Testament.

In a psalm of David, Psalm 29:3-4, and in Stephen’s sermon, Acts 7:2-3

    ‘Glory,’ in this Psalm 29 passage, is the Hebrew word, ‘kabod’ (Strong’s #H3519), meaning abundance, honour, glory, and splendor, and in the Acts 7 verses it is the Greek word ‘doxa’ meaning a good opinion that determines value, its use in reference to God tells us of His infinite worth and value that has always been and will always be.

    Stephen had seen the fruition of God’s plan; separated from Abraham by over 2000 years, Stephen knew from the Scriptures all that God had promised AND fulfilled to Abraham, he knew the history of Israel, the people descended from Abraham (the twelve sons of his own grandson, Jacob/"Israel"). Stephen was living in the time when “all families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3) through Jesus’ coming. Stephen proclaimed Jesus as the Just One, who came to save, but whom the Jewish people rejected, betrayed, and murdered (Acts 7:51-53). Stephen was, with his good opinion of God, desperately trying to remind the Israelites of God’s unsurpassable value; that His word did not, does not fail. The promise given to their esteemed patriarch, Abraham, WAS fulfilled – they could have been blessed, they still CAN be blessed, but like they did with Jesus, they turned on him.       

    As the crowd showed anger at his words, Stephen looked up into heaven and “saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55) and even as he lay dying from the rocks hurled at him, Stephen prayed to God that He would not charge the people with this sin (Acts 7:59-60) – even in his last breaths he wanted the people to know of God’s value in their lives – that He was trustworthy, that His words are trustworthy, that they need to turn to Him and give Him the glory.

“Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.” (Psalm 29:1-4 NKJV)

    David, who lived halfway between Abraham and Stephen, proclaimed God’s glory to all, not only through his psalms, but through his complete trust in God, shown by his words and conduct throughout his lifetime. He, too, had seen the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham (of a land, Canaan, and a name, Israelites), and assured of God’s abilities he looked toward the future when the promised Messiah would come (Psalms 22, 110).  

    This man of the Old Testament, David, and this man of the New Testament, Stephen, proclaimed God to be the God of glory: God, the author and personification of all that is splendourous and honourable; God, whose value and worth is beyond compare.

    Do you see Him, think of Him; speak of Him in this way? Do you value Him? His Word? More than all others, more than all other things? Be confident, like David, in the God of glory and proclaim His goodness and greatness (1 Peter 2:9). Be concerned, like Stephen, and tell others of God’s incomparable value and all that His has supplied for them to know the truth and be forgiven of their sins!

    We serve the God of glory!! Let’s give Him the glory!!

You can do it! So can I!!     

"God of... the earth"

    Used only three times, almost like fence posts placed at the beginning, middle, and end of the Bible, this term describes a consistent, unchanging God, a superior God over all, and a Sovereign God in a place of pre-eminence.

Genesis 24:3 – Isaiah 54:5 – Revelation 11:4

    God of earth means that our God is God of the entirety of earth – every earthly realm – and every inhabitant.

“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, 
the world and those who dwell therein.” 
(Psalm 24:1 NKJV)

    The term “God of the earth” is used only three times, but statements about the earth belonging to God are sprinkled throughout the Bible:

During the ten plagues in Egypt – 

“So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and these will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.” (Exodus 9:29)

When refortifying Israel’s faith and awareness of the Law – 

“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Indeed heaven and the highest heavens, belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it.” (Deuteronomy 10:12-14)

When God answers Job – 

“Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.” (Job 41:11)

When David described “the King of glory” – 

“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.” (Psalm 24:1-2)

When Asaph wrote about “the Mighty One, God the LORD” – 

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and its fullness.” (Psalm 50:12)

When Paul was teaching the Corinthians he quoted Psalm 24:1 – 

“Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake, for “the earth is the LORD’s and its fullness”” (1 Corinthians 10:26, in some translations this quote is repeated in verse 28)

    Step outside, or look out the window, Our God – the God of earth – created all that you can see by His word! He is over and above all that we can see and hear and touch and taste and feel – it’s all His, just as you are His! Let us honour and respect Him for all He has provided to us in this earthly realm, making it possible to seek Him and find Him (Acts 17:24-28), to live and thrive as His child, and to grant us a soul within our earthly bodies that will live on with Him in eternity (1 John 3:1-3)! 

You can do it! So can I!! 

"God of...gods"

    This term describing God is found five times in four passages of the Old Testament: Deuteronomy 10:17, Joshua 22:22, Daniel 2:47, and Daniel 11:36

    Upon first seeing this description one may wonder, ‘Does this give credence to gods?’ but, we know that gods are useless figures sculpted by men’s hands (Psalm 115:3-8, 135:15-18, and Jeremiah 10); this term “God of gods,” instead, openly declares God to be Supreme God over every created thing.  

“Inasmuch as there is none like you, O LORD (You are great, and Your name is great in might), who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; a wooden idol is a worthless doctrine… they are all the work of skillful men, but the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King, at His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.” (Jeremiah 10:6-8,9b-10 NKJV)

    While gods are useless, we still have the capability of setting them up in our lives: seeking after wealth, careers, status, our houses/cars, collections, hobbies, children, boyfriend/husband, even our own self. These can all be elevated in our hearts/minds to the point of coming in between us and God and our service to Him. Why devote all your time and trust in what is temporary when you can develop your trust in and allegiance to the everlasting God of gods?

    God is the Supreme God, the very Creator of the heavens and earth! He was and is and will be. He is worthy of your time and devotion! Take an honest look at your heart and realign your priorities so that there are not any obstacles between you and the God of heaven – He is worthy of our every effort and every sacrifice!!

You can do it! So can I!!