Where Is The God Of Justice?
Malachi 2:17; Malachi 3:1-5; Psalm 54 (NIV)
(Ong Kian Min, Chairperson, Church Governance & Risk)
READ:
Malachi 2:17; Malachi 3:1-5; Psalm 54 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
At the end of Malachi chapter 2, Israel lamented “where is the God of justice?” since God seemed to reward and favour the wicked (v17). God responded to their grumblings by saying He would set things right: “I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me” (Malachi 3:1). This promised messenger was John the Baptist. And after that, the LORD Himself would come. And, He “will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap” (Malachi 3:2) to refine and purify us.
APPLY:
When we thought it was unjust of God to bless others and not us, our question shows that we don’t understand what the God of justice would give to us.
We should not expect Christ to come and save us in our sins, but rather that He will come and save us from our sins. Therefore, when we accept Christ as our Saviour, we take Him as our refiner and our purifier, for it is from sin that He saves us.
Malachi 3:3 says “He will sit as a refiner”. What a comforting picture this is where our Lord, the refiner, sits down because this purification process will need care, and time, and constant supervision. If we are in the fire, it shows at least that we are silver, and the Lord finds us worthy and capable of being refined, and we look to the day that the dross will all be burnt away and the Lord can see His image plainly reflected in the molten metal.
David was in the fire and he cried out, “Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your strength” (Psalm 54:1). In his distress, David relied on both the name and the strength of God. Name is about the nature and character of God; strength speaks of His great power. David knew that God’s power was sufficient for his need by what he knew of God’s nature and character.
“Hear my prayer, O God” (Ps 54:1). Notice how David in his prayers merely asked for God to hear or give ear to his cry. He confidently assumed and trusted that if the good and merciful God heard, He would act.
David could confidently asked God to help him because “You have delivered me from all my troubles” (Ps 54:7). Like David, we should look to God’s past faithfulness and remember that many times before God had delivered us, and that will become the solid ground for our future faith.
DO:
I accept what God wants to give to me, that is, to free me from my sins. In my life, trials and tribulations will come my way, but through these, God will refine and purify me. In prayer, I will bring myself, my situation and my troubles to God’s attention, and ask God to hear my pleas, and trust and know that He will act according to His perfect will for me.
PRAY:
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness in delivering me from all my troubles all these years. Help me to understand and accept that You use the trials and tribulations that come my way to refine me and free me from my sins. Hear my prayer, O Lord, for I know You will act, Your name and Your strength will preserve me and deliver me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!
