“ That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”–Gen. 18:25
Life is filled with many questions. And here is the question that answers all the questions–“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Although it was spoken to God and about God it was not to inform or remind Him– He knows all. It was spoken as an expression of Abraham’s faith. But it also was “written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.“(Rom. 15:4). It is a question we need to think about, and the answer is easy—“Yes.” He will do right. He cannot do otherwise—-“there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Ps. 92:15). “The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works“( Ps. 145:17). And He is “the Judge“– the only Judge. He is “the Judge of all the earth”. He is a just Judge– He will “do right”. But, “..how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out”( Rom. 11:33).
There are mysteries in life far too deep for us to fathom, questions we can’t answer, and circumstances we cannot comprehend. And we repeatedly ask “Why?” We wonder about the age of accountability in children, the plight of the heathen who never heard the gospel, election and predestination, what seems to be the premature death of godly people, etc. The list goes on and on. And, although we don’t come right out and say it, we often all but accuse God of wrongdoing with comments such as “It isn’t fair”. We have questions. We want answers. But God isn’t talking. So we wonder. We live with mysteries we can’t unravel, and there is only one hope for resolution. Our only possibility for peace is to trust God—lean upon the knowledge that He will “do right”, believe the promises of the One who “cannot lie”(Tit. 1:2).
Why do you feel the need to know? What good would it do if you did? What would you do about it? Does God not know best? The fact is, God knows you don’t need to know. And those who trust Him don’t need an answer–they know He will “do right“. When things happen they don’t need to know the reason. They are content in just knowing there is a reason— a good reason. They bank everything on the fact that “the Judge of all the earth” will “do right“. They “know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”(Rom. 8:28). And knowing God is trustworthy keeps them going (2 Cor. 4:16-18) through the toughest times. If you won’t accept that explanation nothing else would help. If you believe this you always have reason to hope. As John Oxenham wrote:
“God writes in characters too grand
For our short sight to understand;
We catch but broken strokes, and try
To fathom all the mystery
Of withered hopes, of death, of life,
The endless war, the useless strife,—
But there, with larger, clearer sight,
We shall see this—His way was right.”
