QT 3/17/2023 2 Sam 13:10-14, When will there be justice?

2 Samuel 13:10–14 (ESV) —

10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. 11 But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. 13 As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” 14 But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.

 

NOTE: This is a very evil story of lust, rape, and selfishness. It does not matter how much your father seeks God, it is no protection from evil. Each person stands before God on their own, not on the basis of their parents. Tamar's story is one of suffering. She does not do anything wrong and yet suffers without reason. That is also true of the world since the fall. There is no promise of justice in this life. There will be justice and there will be the removal of sin, but not until this age has ended. We might say, "it is not fair." Well, God warned Adam and Eve that they would not like the consequences of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Life is not what God intended or originally created. Life is full of injustice and 'apparently evil people succeeding.' But someday, there will be judgment and an accounting of all the evil in the world. Jesus' reply to all of this, the evil in the world, was simple (Luke 13:1-5), "unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

 

Luke 13:1–5 (ESV) — 1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

 

The is no real answer to evil and injustice in the world today, except to repent so that you are not part of the judgment that is coming on the world. Only eternity can make sense of this thing we call life.

 

PONDER:

1. Where am I looking for justice?
2. And whose justice am I seeking, God's or the world's?

 

PRAYER: Jesus, you paid the justice required for my sins. And you will lead the Army that will judge the earth. There can be no justice until you rule on earth physically.