215. A King of Judgment and Justice
Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
This Messianic Prophecy of a righteous Branch and a King from the line of David contains a promise that the Messiah will reign and prosper. This prophecy came true in the Coming of Christ to the earth: Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God. In Him the Kingdom has come, so repent and believe the Gospel. The rule of God and the prospering occurs in the hearts of believers, because for now the reign of God and the prospering of the Kingdom are spiritual and eternal. This is what the Lord promises to us: our loving Lord will rule in the hearts of believers and they will spiritually prosper throughout their lives. This reigning and prospering does not always work itself out visibly in our earthly life. But in the midst of sin, suffering, death and pain God Himself is here in our hearts and lives ruling all things for our eternal good. The Lord reigns!
The other part of the promise is that He, the Messiah, will execute judgment and justice in the earth. We know that Christ will come again at the Last Day and execute just justice for all Creation. All Evil and all Enemies shall be eternally judged, and they will never ever again disrupt or disturb the perfect environment and the righteous people of the New Heaven and New Earth. This is the purpose of Judgment: all evil will be permanently exiled, judged, condemned and confined to the Lake of Fire, and believers will enjoy God’s Life and God’s presence unfettered forever.
The unbelievable promise is also that this execution of justice is being worked out and effected even during our earthly lives. This is unbelievable because we do not see judgment and justice being done. Justice has never been rendered perfectly in the history of a sinful world. “Life is not fair,” and it never will be. Everyone complains about that. Jesus was unjustly accused and unfairly condemned; and we are, too, so often: we suffer many kinds of things that we don’t think we deserve. But faith sees: God has a plan and He is working out all things for good (and for justice). We need this promise of judgment and justice in the earth: to see what we can’t see. Believe it: God will be fair. He is working out judgment and justice.
In the Church the Lord is daily and richly forgiving all sins, while at the same time daily and richly judging all sins. He did both at the Cross; it is finished and final. Trust God to execute.