The Compassion and Justice of the Lord - II Kings 13-14 and John 2
God knows when to show compassion and when to bring justice. He never fails to make the right choice for each situation. Many times we don't understand His choice, but we should trust that He is doing the right thing. Think about this as you read these passages. God listened to the evil king of Israel, Jehoahaz, when he prayed. Why did He choose to have compassion? He was hard on his son, Joash, because he did not strike the ground enough. Why did He not have compassion then? He was trying to do the right thing. Then, the good king of Judah, Amaziah, was defeated when he attacked Israel. Why did God not grant him a victory for being good? That is more obvious. He was a good person, but he did the wrong thing, so God was not going to give him a pass for being good. I hope you can see my point. We can't count on God's compassion if we are good, but we are doing a bad thing. Also, we can't count on God bringing justice to an evil person in every situation, because sometimes He chooses to be compassionate. We must trust in God's wisdom to do the right thing in each case.
That is what I like about John 2. The man at the wedding ran out of wine. It was his fault, so to speak. It did not have to do with Jesus, and Jesus was not really doing miracles yet. However, He chose to meet that need in compassion and to meet it in a wonderful way. Isn't that how God works? He comes into our lives at just the right moment and does so much more than we thought He would do, even though we don't deserve it. Then, Jesus went to the Temple. I am sure some of the folks there who were buying and selling thought they were provided a good service. I am sure it was very hard for them to accept the justice of God at that point. However, Jesus could see how much damage was being done, so He could not overlook the situation. We might think He came down hard on them, but He did just the right thing. We see this around us all of the time. It is hard for us to know God's heart in each situation, so we must trust that He is doing the right thing. He always brings the right amount of compassion and justice.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 15-16 and John 3:1-18.
That is what I like about John 2. The man at the wedding ran out of wine. It was his fault, so to speak. It did not have to do with Jesus, and Jesus was not really doing miracles yet. However, He chose to meet that need in compassion and to meet it in a wonderful way. Isn't that how God works? He comes into our lives at just the right moment and does so much more than we thought He would do, even though we don't deserve it. Then, Jesus went to the Temple. I am sure some of the folks there who were buying and selling thought they were provided a good service. I am sure it was very hard for them to accept the justice of God at that point. However, Jesus could see how much damage was being done, so He could not overlook the situation. We might think He came down hard on them, but He did just the right thing. We see this around us all of the time. It is hard for us to know God's heart in each situation, so we must trust that He is doing the right thing. He always brings the right amount of compassion and justice.
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 15-16 and John 3:1-18.