Readings for the day: 1 Kings 1-2 and Psalms 37, 71, 94
Today I pictured Michael Corleone at the altar taking the baptismal vows as his henchmen settled score after score after score. Carlo. Tessio. Virgil Solozzo. Tattaglia. Cuneo. Stacci. Barzini. (“But I didn’t know until this day, that it was Barzini all along.”) At the end of David’s life, there is yet another struggle for power. His son, Adonijah, sees his opportunity to take the throne. He gathers some of David’s inner circle around him. He sacrifices sheep and oxen. He calls all the leaders of the nation to join him with a few notable exceptions. But he miscalculates. He moves too soon. David is not yet dead. The timing is not right. And the results are disastrous.
Solomon is crowned king by David at the acclaim of all the people. But David’s not quite finished settling scores. He has a long memory. He knows who has wronged him. He knows who has betrayed him. And one gets the sense that he’s been waiting. Biding his time. Getting ready for the right moment to strike. Joab. Shimei. Abiathar. Adonijah. All fall to the sword or are exiled as Solomon works to secure his throne. This is real life in the real world and whereas we may not assassinate our political enemies anymore, we certainly do all we can to discredit them and “assassinate” their character. Things haven’t much changed since Solomon’s time.
What do we take away from today’s reading? Well, the biblical authors make it clear that God is using broken, imperfect people to bring about His righteous judgment. Joab is executed for committing the cold-blooded murders of Abner and Amasa. Shimei is executed for the curse he put on David as he fled for his life. Abiathar is exiled for his treason, thus fulfilling a decades old prophecy about Eli’s family being expelled from service at the house of God. Adonijah is executed for his treason and sedition. Though it may make our modern sensibilities squirm, God’s righteous judgment is a critical component of His eternal character.
A God without justice is a God who is powerless in the face of evil. A God without justice is soft and sentimental. A God without justice cannot stand against the violence and tyranny of this world. A God without justice is weak. But God is a God of justice. And He executes His righteous judgment on sin and evil in this world! This is why the Psalmist can declare, “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!...For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land...The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming...For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous....But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.” (Psalms 37:1, 9, 12-13, 17, 20) Though it may not happen in this life, the promise of God is sure! Evil will get its due! Evildoers will not inherit the Kingdom! Satan and his demonic horde will eventually be bound and thrown into the lake of fire! God will make His victory complete! His justice will reign upon the earth!
Until that great day comes, what to make this reading in our own lives? God is a God of justice. He sees our sin. He sees the evil we commit not just with our hands but in our hearts and minds as well. Our evil thoughts. Our evil intentions. Our sinful and selfish ways. Sins of commission and sins of ommission. We cannot escape the justice of God! And this should bring us to our knees in worship before the Crucified and Risen Christ who literally stood in our place. Took our punishment. Bore the wrath we deserved. Satisfied God’s justice once and for all! Thanks be to God for what He has done!