June 28

Jun 28 - Today from Proverbs 28 we look at verse 5
" Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully." (NIV)
"Evil men understand not judgment but they that seek the Lord understand all things." (KJV)

I have included the KJV version of this verse because the text is more true to the original language. We generally think of justice as a noun. A good dictionary definition of justice is "The upholding of what is just fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law." In the verse at hand, the word translated 'justice' is a verb and indicates 'the formal pronouncement of judicial decree'. I believe it makes a difference if we are going to meditate on the verse. Okay . . . vocabulary class dismissed.
Justice is a divine attribute. Apart from God's revelation and decrees of moral law, there would be no basis for justice. Every man would do what is right in his own eyes. That's exactly what God says of His people as we watch Israel go through years of chaos in the book of Judges. And what did God do in the midst of this chaos? He raised up Judges in Israel. Did you ever wonder why they were called Judges instead of governors or kings? Because their specific purpose was not to ward of the oppressors and protect the people's rights. Their purpose was to make sound judgments - to stand in God's authority and decree God's moral law. The reason the Israelites were being oppressed is because they did not practice justice! They lost sight of it, and the Judges were appointed to get the nation refocused on fair treatment in accordance with honor, standards, and the law.
Evil men do not understand the just decrees of God. If they did, they would repent of their evil ways. Justice is a two-edged sword. Those who use it to establish fairness and equity, to reward goodness, and to bless their neighbor, find reward themselves. They live with a better attitude. They walk in favor with God and with men. They are sought after and entrusted. But justice also cuts the other way. Those who take advantage of and abuse others, who seek revenge against others, who live only to fulfill their own selfish desires, and who scorn moral boundaries, will taste the punishing edge of the sword of justice.
Even as believers, we are foolish to think that we have escaped the punishing edge of the sword because of the blood of Christ. God's justice prevails - forever. Jesus' blood secured our salvation (I simply cannot write this as a passing comment. Thank you Lord Jesus for your unspeakable mercy. . .), but that precious blood did not remove the punishing edge of the sword.
"But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." -Matthew 12:36, 37
"You then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." -Romans 14:10, 12
"(On that Day, each man's work) will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." -1 Cor. 3:13, 14
"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account." -Hebrews 13:17
That's easily enough scripture on which to build a doctrine. There is much more to support it. Even as believers, we will not escape God's judgment. But, as the 1 Corinthians text shares, judgment is not negative. There is also reward in judgment. We are free-will agents. Unlike 'evil men', we can chose which side of the sword of justice we want to be judged from. Here's the key; "They that seek the Lord. . ." Not once, but continually. Seeking God is an act of abiding.
One more verse for today. It comes from Mica 6:8. If believers will seek to understand and follow its principles, we will be the church unblemished. "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Men who set these principles before them never need to fear the punishing edge of the sword of justice.
Wisdom understands justice fully.