Jehovah-Hashopet

Lord My Judge

Judges 11:27
Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.


There is so much material to choose from for this compound name. A long and strong cord in the tapestry of the Bible is this recurring theme of judge and judgement.

Genesis 16:5
And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.


Genesis 31:53
The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.


1 Samuel 24:12
The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.


People of every rank, all throughout the Bible call for the Lord to decide their cause. We think we desire righteous judgement. We hunger for it. We cry for it. Listen to the siren song, the seductive words of Absalom in the gate:

2 Samuel 15:4
Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!

Here he sits planting seeds of unrest, planting seeds of dissatisfaction, planting seeds of revolution among the people against king David, his father. All the people cry for a righteous judge to judge between them, but. . . but. . . but. . . at best only half the people can have their way with a righteous human judge. Such is the way of man though. . . we all consider our own causes, our own ways to be righteous, but that cannot be. In issues between us, we cannot all be right. Someone must be wrong, In wishing for a righteous earthly judge the people actually desired and Absalom tantalized them with, not righteousness judge, but a judge who would agree with them. Don't cry for a righteous judge. We have that in God. As the Word says (to paraphrase), keep your eye looking for righteousness in yourself and let God worry about the judging.

Solomon did not ask God for riches or long life, but for wisdom to judge his people:

1 Kings 3:9
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

and God gave Solomon wisdom. I think Solomon may be looked upon as a type of the role of God in judgement. Solomon built a porch in his palace as a place specifically for judgement:

1 Kings 7:7
Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.

The same as God will one day sit on the white throne:

Revelation 20:11-15
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. (12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (13) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.



1 Kings 3:16-28
Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. (17) And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. (18) And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. (19) And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. (20) And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. (21) And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. (22) And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. (23) Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. (24) And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. (25) And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. (26) Then spoke the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. (27) Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. (28) And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.


What tremendous wisdom. There is no arguing about whether Solomon made the correct decision in this case. It is plain for all to see. In the same way no one will be able to stand at the end of the day and accuse God of being anything other than being correct and righteous. He will follow His own word:

Deuteronomy 19:15
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

We will be shown before His throne, we will be convicted in our own hearts of our mistakes. There will be no jury, no witness stand. You and He will be the witnesses. . . You will testify against yourself. . . There will be no doubt that He is right. In that day, our tongues will confess. . . we will weep bitter tears of sorrow at the things we are shown. . . at the things that we did not repent and ask forgiveness of. . . there will be no doubt. Our arguments, our self-justification, our pride and foolishness will evaporate to nothing in the great heat of His glory. . .

I close with this passage of Scripture, a psalm of David not found in the book of psalms.

I Chronicles 16:7-36 (TNIV)

7 That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the LORD in this manner:


8 Give praise to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.


9 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.


10 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.


11 Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.


12 Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,


13 you his servants, the descendants of Israel,
his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.


14 He is the LORD our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.


15 He remembers his covenant forever,
the promise he made, for a thousand generations,


16 the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.


17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:


18 "To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion you will inherit."


19 When they were but few in number,
few indeed, and strangers in it,


20 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.


21 He allowed no one to oppress them;
for their sake he rebuked kings:


22 "Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm."


23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.


24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.


25 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.


26 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.


27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his dwelling place.


28 Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.


29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.


30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.


31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"


32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!


33 Let the trees of the forest sing,
let them sing for joy before the LORD,
for he comes to judge the earth.


34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.


35 Cry out, "Save us, God our Savior;
gather us and deliver us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name,
and glory in your praise."


36 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Then all the people said "Amen" and "Praise the LORD."


I love you my God.

Show me the ways in which I err. . .

Speak to me. . .

Open the eyes of my heart. . .

Let me see things as You see them. . .

Comments

davescriven said…
Hi Brother,

I reviewed several of your blog entries. Great stuff! I love your fire for the Lord and Scripture. Thank you for posting on my blog. I try to post about 5 times a week in connection with our church Bible reading plan. I'm doing the Old Testament now.

Your Brother,
Dave Scriven

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