The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Classic Version, 2015Sample

Will not the Judge of all the Earth do Right?

Pippa and I love to do crosswords together. When we are stuck on one clue we don’t give up, we move on to the next clue. Every time we find an answer it helps us in resolving some of the other clues. In the end, we are sometimes able to solve most of the puzzle (although rarely all of it!)

In some ways, reading the Bible is like trying to solve a crossword puzzle. There are difficult parts that are hard to understand. Rather than getting bogged down in a tricky section, we can use the passages we do understand to help us resolve some of the more difficult ones.

Often I find it hard not only to understand some of the difficult passages in the Bible, but also to understand why certain things are happening in the world. There seems to be so much injustice. There are no easy answers.

I love the second great rhetorical question from yesterday’s passage, ‘Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ (Genesis 18:25).

One thing that we can be sure about is that on the last day, when it is all revealed, we will see God’s perfect judgment – and everyone will say, ‘That is absolutely right’. God has all eternity to put things right. In the meantime, we wrestle with many other clues we cannot yet solve. Each of today’s passages tells us something about the fact that, in the end, the Judge of all the earth will do right.

Psalm 7:1-9

1. Trust that there will be a just judgment

Some people might think that belief in a God who judges would lead to more violence in the world today. In fact it is the opposite. When people stop believing in God’s just judgment, they are tempted to take it into their own hands and seek revenge.

David trusts that there will be a judgment – that God will be the judge and he will judge justly. ‘My accusers have packed the courtroom; it’s judgment time. Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel, throw out the false charges against me. I’m ready, confident in your verdict’ (vv.7–8, MSG). In other words, David trusts that God will deal with his enemies.

If you believe in a God who is going to execute judgment with perfect justice, then you can leave it in his hands and do what Jesus told you to do: love your enemies (see Matthew 5:43–48; Luke 6:27–36).

In fact, as Miroslav Volf put it, ‘The practice of non-violence requires a belief in divine vengeance.’ So many of the world’s problems today would be solved if people believed in the fact that there is a God who judges justly and we can trust him to put things right in the end.

Lord, thank you that I can trust and take refuge in you. Thank you that I can be confident in your perfect judgment. Help me never to seek revenge but rather to love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me (Matthew 5:44).

Matthew 7:24-8:22

2. Trust in Jesus, to whom God has entrusted all judgment

Jesus knew all about building houses. He was a craftsman by trade and had worked as a carpenter. The illustration he uses is down-to-earth and practical: two men that each decide to build a house (vv.24–26). No doubt they intended to live in and enjoy them, perhaps with their families. Both were building something of long lasting significance. Our lives are like the houses, yet their significance is for all eternity.

The houses they built differed little in appearance. From the outside no one would have been able to tell them apart. Similarly, two lives can look alike, but the difference is evident when, inevitably, the storms of life come.

You will face challenges in this world. They will come in many forms: misunderstandings, disappointments, unfulfilled longings, doubts, trials, temptations, setbacks and satanic attacks. Success, too, can be a test. There is also pressure, suffering, sickness, bereavement, sorrow, trauma, tragedy, persecution and failure.

Ultimately, all of us will face death and God’s judgment. The image of ‘rain ... torrents ... winds’ is used in Ezekiel to refer to God’s judgment (Ezekiel 13:11), but the language of judgment is not confined to the Old Testament. Here, and elsewhere, Jesus warns of the coming judgment, as do the other New Testament writers.

When ‘the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house’ (vv.25,27), the house built on the rock ‘did not fall’ (v.25), but the one built on the sand ‘fell with a great crash’ (v.27). These are solemn words of warning. The trial may be during this life or it may come on the day of judgment. What is certain, according to Jesus, is that it will come.

However, you need not live in fear. It is not easy, but there is a way to be sure that when the foundations of your house are tested, they stand firm. It is possible to know that your future is secure.

Jesus tells us that the key difference is that the wise man not only hears the words of Jesus, but he also ‘puts them into practice’ (v.24). The foolish man, on the other hand, although he hears Jesus’ words ‘does not put them into practice’ (v.26).

Knowledge must lead to action – our theology must affect our lives or else we are building our lives on sand.

The words of Jesus are, first of all, a call to believe in him (John 6:28–29). Our salvation is by faith in Jesus, lived out in obedience.     

We can have absolute confidence in Jesus’ judgment, because he has the authority of God himself. Jesus is amazed at the centurion’s faith in him. He says, ‘Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith’ (Matthew 8:10).

The evidence for this faith comes because the centurion believes that Jesus’ word alone is sufficient to heal his servant (v.8). His rationale for believing this is profound. The centurion recognises that, as in the army, authority comes from being under authority – so Jesus’ authority comes from being under the authority of his Father. The centurion saw that when Jesus spoke, God spoke.

Furthermore, this perfect Judge is not aloof from human suffering. We know Jesus experienced injustice, imprisonment, torture and crucifixion. But in this passage we see that he also experienced sickness (on our behalf, v.17) and even homelessness (v.20). There is little in human suffering that Jesus himself did not experience.

Father, thank you that Jesus is my perfect Judge, and I can be sure that he ‘will do right’. Thank you that not only is he able to sympathise with my weaknesses, but that he also died for my sins. Thank you that if I take refuge in him I need not fear. Thank you that the judgment has taken place and Jesus bore it for me.

Genesis 19:1-20:18

3. Trust that, in the end, the Judge of all the earth will do right

Yesterday, we saw how Abraham pleaded for Sodom and Gomorrah. We do not know exactly what their sin was, but, ‘the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous” ’ (18:20).

It appears from today’s passage that their sin included sexual immorality (19:1–9). However, it was far wider than that. Later we will read in Ezekiel 16 that their sins also included being ‘arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy’ (Ezekiel 16:49). This could be a description of our own society in the West.

God says that if there had been ten righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah he would have spared it for their sake: ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it’ (Genesis18:32). He gave every opportunity for the only ‘righteous’ people to leave. When Lot hesitated, the angels ‘grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them’ (19:16).

The judgment on Lot’s wife seems very severe (v.26). Whatever the reasons for it (and I am not confident I know the answer) it certainly stands as an example. Jesus said, ‘Remember Lot’s wife!’ (Luke 17:32). We are not to look back (Genesis 19:17). If we have left a life of sin, then we must not turn back to it. They were told, ‘Flee for your lives!’ (v.17). In the same way, we are told to flee from evil desires (2 Timothy 2:22).

Even Abraham was not without sin. Indeed, he repeated the same sin over again – trying to pass off Sarah as his sister and almost causing her to commit adultery. The message of the Bible is that not only does God save sinners, he also uses sinners. He blessed Abraham and answered his prayer (Genesis 20:7). God uses us despite our sin because he is merciful.

Lord, have mercy on me. I am no better than other people. Thank God for Jesus. Thank you that Jesus not only has authority to judge, but that he also bore the judgment for me. Thank you so much for the difference the cross of Christ makes to the judgment of God. Thank you that I can be confident that in the end the Judge of all the earth will do right.

Pippa Adds

Matthew 8:6

‘ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralysed, suffering terribly.” ’

The centurion cared not just for his family and friends, but also for someone who worked for him. Even though the centurion was an outsider and not part of the ‘religious’ community, he sought after Jesus for his servant. Faith can be found in all sorts of unexpected places.

Notes:

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.