Originally posted: 01/17/2019
“Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?” (18:25).
In the Hebrew nation, a judge sat in the seat of authority as governor, ruler and arbitrator. To the Judge of All the Earth, Abraham poses a rhetorical question; he already knows the answer, for Abraham is convinced of God’s just and holy character. However, when our focus becomes attached to only what is seen, we can find ourselves appraising His rule.
Consider Him, Judge of All the Earth
The Judge of All the Earth appeared to Abraham, (18:1). Again we see Him as the initiator. This truth should never grow old or cease to amaze! The Creator, the Judge (Authority, Ruler and Arbitrator) of All the Earth, seeks us out! “We love, because He first loved us,” (1 John 4:19).
The Judge of All the Earth promised a son, (18:10). This foreshadows God’s greatest promise; the promise prompted by His great love for us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life,” (John 3:16).
The Judge of All the Earth confronted Sarah’s doubt. His great love towards us will always redirect our misguided thinking back to the truth. “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” (18:14).
The Judge of All the Earth disclosed His intent to His chosen one, Abraham. “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since…in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed? For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD…so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised,” (18:17-19).
The Judge of All the Earth responded to the outcry against grave sin, (18:20-21). Even in our fallen nature, we cry out for justice. There are numerous imprecatory Psalms that call on the LORD to bring justice against sin. In God’s perfect holy justice, there is coming a day that He will respond to the outcry. “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10).
The Judge of All the Earth listened to Abraham’s intercession, (18:23-32). God is also perfect in His longsuffering towards us. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance,” (2 Peter 3:9).
How can we respond to the Judge of All the Earth?
- Prepare our hearts to honor His presence. Notice how Abraham rushed to prepare for his honored guests. There was a sense of urgency. May we live every day with a pressing resolve to honor Him in our determination to purposely seek Him. Ignoring heart preparation is very dangerous.
- He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD, (2 Chronicles 12: 14).
- Receive His promise by faith and believe in His name. The promise of Isaac is a picture of God’s great promised Son who came to save His people from their sins.
- But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God, (John 1:12-13).
- Confess doubt. God can handle our questions and He knows them anyway. Doubt, if left unchecked, can whittle away our confidence in His truth. Bring all our uncertainties to Him. As His children, we have been given His Spirit to lead us into all truth.
- “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;” (John 16:13).
- Expect Him to disclose His life-changing truth to us. In faith and confidence, let us approach His word in anticipation that He will reveal to us exactly what we need in order to obey.
- Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, (1 Corinthians 2:12).
- Agree with God’s evaluation of sin, in others and ourselves. Sin grieves Holy God; He cannot tolerate nor be in sin’s presence. Let us not attempt to sweep away sin’s gravity under the rug of His great and amazing love. His love is pure.
- Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor, (Habakkuk 1:13).
- Intercede for the lost and those ensnared in sin (including ourselves). And when we feel as though we don’t know what or how to intercede, trust Him.
- In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; (Romans 8:26).
- Even in His judgment as Judge of All the Earth, don’t miss God’s great LOVE in everything He does; for that is Who He is,
- for God is love, (1 John 4:8).