God of Justice and Love
Scripture Passage: Jeremiah 46:27-47:7 (NASB)
27 “But as for you, Jacob My servant, do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, Israel!
For, see, I am going to save you from far away,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be undisturbed
And secure, with no one making him afraid.
28 Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,
“For I am with you.
For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will not make a complete destruction of you;
But I will correct you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished.”
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza. 2 This is what the Lord says:
“Behold, waters are going to rise from the north
And become an overflowing torrent,
And overflow the land and everything that is in it,
The city and those who live in it;
And the people will cry out,
And every inhabitant of the land will wail.
3 Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions,
The roar of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,
The fathers have not turned back for their children,
Because of the debility of their hands,
4 Because of the day that is coming
To destroy all the Philistines,
To eliminate from Tyre and Sidon
Every surviving ally;
For the Lord is going to destroy the Philistines,
The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
5 Baldness has come upon Gaza;
Ashkelon has been destroyed.
Remnant of their valley,
How long will you gash yourself?
6 Ah, sword of the Lord,
How long will you not be quiet?
Withdraw into your sheath;
Rest and stay still.
7 How can it be quiet,
When the Lord has given it an order?
Against Ashkelon and against the sea shore—
There He has summoned it.”
SUMMARY
In the midst of wrath, God remembers mercy. God was angry with the people of Judah because of their disobedience: they chose to go to Egypt because they thought it would be much safer there. When they entered Egypt, God spoke through Jeremiah saying all who have entered Egypt will perish by sword and famine. However, through His mercy and grace, God will save them. Even though those who have entered Egypt may be destroyed, their descendants will be brought out to the land where they will again have peace and security. Nevertheless, because He loves them, they will still be disciplined for their sins, and that He will not let them go entirely unpunished. Then in chapter 47, the Lord speaks through Jeremiah saying He will bring the Babylonians to invade and conquer Philistines. The purpose behind the Lord sending Babylon to destroy the Philistines was to cut off support for Tyre and Sidon (cities that were very sinful and unrepentant). God lets his people know that His punishment that he intended to bring on the Philistines would be unstoppable. The Philistines would experience destruction at the hands of Babylon just like Judah and Egypt.
REFLECTION
God is truly the God of justice and love. God’s love is always exercised within the bounds of justice and love. These two nature/characteristics of God goes hand in hand. While He is loving, God will not let His people trample on His holy law. To allow sin to continue, that would be negligence not love. Since God loves His people, He displays his love by enforcing justice. This may cause us to fear sinning against the righteous God. Instead, we should let this fear move us to seek forgiveness of our sins in the blood of Jesus Christ. Within His justice, He exercises His wonderous love by His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, love and justice in our lives is best understood by observing the Gospel. Pastor Timothy Keller put it the best, “On the cross the justice of God exacted full punishment for sin and in the same moment provided a free salvation to all who believe. On the cross both the justice and love of God fully cooperate, have their way, and shine out brilliantly.”
APPLICATION
I see myself as the people of Judah. I pray to God everyday for guidance but when God’s way doesn’t seem to agree with mine, I tell myself that can’t be God. I need to remember that for every sin there are consequences. Sometimes I may not know that I’m sinning against God so I need to be in the Word constantly and acknowledge God always because His ways are flawless and perfect.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to completely surrender to your ways not my ways. Isaiah 55:8-9- “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Just as it is written in this verse, help me to acknowledge and surrender to your ways. Help me not to get ahead of Your plans and help me know when to stop and listen for your direction. Lord, your ways are perfect. Thank you, for sending your son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to guide me to your ways. In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN.
Please share your personal meditations on this Scripture passage with the HolyWave community in the comments section below. (We reserve the right to moderate comments.)