The Good Judge

We have spent the last few weeks talking about the different attributes of God. So far, we have talked about how God is Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Triune, Eternal, Immutable, Righteous, Just, Holy, Love, our Helper, our Teacher and our Rock. If you missed any, feel free to go back and have a read!

This week we will be talking about God our Judge. We do not talk much about God being our judge unless, well, we feel judged by others. That’s about the only time we mention that only God can judge us. So, is God a judge? Yes, He is. How is God revealed as a judge?

As early as Genesis, we see God as the God who judges us according to what we do. In Genesis 3, God judged Adam and Eve’s disobedience and gave them consequences for their actions. In Genesis 16:5, we see a reference to God’s judgment, it reads as follows, “So Sarai went to Abram and said, “It’s totally your fault that Hagar despises me—and you’re not standing up for me! I gave my slave girl to your embrace, and when she found out she was pregnant, she despised me. May Yahweh judge between us who is in the right!”

Ok so there is a bit of drama happening there, but we get an idea of what kind of Judge God is. He is a good and trusted Judge. See sometimes we have the wrong idea of God as our Judge. But we need to think about it this way, what does a judge do in Court? They interpret and apply the law. What is the law? It is basically a set of rules and regulations put in place for what is acceptable behaviour in society, and it gives us structure and boundaries.

If you decide to drive your car at 100km/h in a 50km/h zone, you may get in trouble with the police and find yourself before a judge. In civil matters however, there is no police involvement, but a wronged person can decide to take the matter to Court for a judge to decide whether any law has been broken, who by and the consequences of such.

People in the Old Testament knew God to be a good Judge and they appealed to Him to settle matters between each other. Judges 11:27 says, “No, I have not wronged you; rather, you are doing me wrong by attacking me. Let Yahweh be the judge, and let him decide today which of us is right, Israel or Ammon.”

God is our Judge. Because we know that someone may not break the law but their words can cut deep to our very core and hurt us deeply. We know that sometimes even if a crime has been committed, police cannot find enough evidence for the matter to go to Court. We know that even if all the evidence is there, sometimes our justice systems may be corrupt. Even if they are not corrupt, humans are not infallible, they are prone to making errors or bad decisions. So, it is good news that God is our judge!

We have a Judge who knows all the facts – He is omniscient. A Judge who has seen all the evidence in real time and can go back and look at it again because He is not bound by the confines of time and is everywhere present, past, present and future. A Judge who is both loving and just, He cares about us. A judge who is reliable and One who does not make any mistakes. We have a Judge who is all powerful, meaning He can do something about our situation!

We sometimes view judgement as negative. Judgment is only negative if you are in the wrong haha! Otherwise, judgment is a good thing. It concludes a matter. Brings justice and resolution to an issue.

Psalms 50:4-6 says, “Here He comes to judge His people! He summons His court with heaven and earth as His jury, saying, “Gather all My devoted lovers, My godly ones whose hearts are one with Me— those who have entered into My holy covenant by sacrifices upon the altar.” And the heavens declare His justice: “God Himself will be their judge, and He will judge them with righteousness!” Pause in His presence.”

We will continue this next week.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.