Passage Read: Job 21-24
Meditation Verses: 21:19-20
Thought
Yes, if only the wicked were punished before our eyes for the wickedness they do, that all knew exactly why they were being punished, then all men would see and fear and turn away from their sin. That's actually what God wrote into the Law for Israel! It's what He established with Noah. And it's what we've been promised will happen when Jesus reigns as king. The problem is that God gave us responsibility for executing judgment on the wicked. It is because we fail to judge, sentence and carry out sentence speedily that wicked men discover they can get away with wickedness, and so the wicked multiply. Because we do not obey God's command to punish the wicked, God let's us suffer the consequences. But He does judge every man when he departs this life. The wicked begins his eternal torment even before God's final judgment. So God does judge every man to his face, just not necessarily in this life. That's our responsibility. He steps in from time to time to remind men of His sovereignty and of our duty to punish the wicked. But the world is what we make of it, either through our devotion to righteousness or our delight in selfishness.
Application
What's frustrating is when I have no power to judge. Judgment is in the hands of others and they won't execute it. So the world falls into every greater corruption, so that even those who should know better wouldn't recognize justice if they saw it. I can complain about that all day long, but I am still accountable for the little realm God has given me. If I know others are supposed to exercise righteous judgment, then so am I, in my little sphere of authority. If I don't exercise it here, who am I to complain if others don't exercise it there? If I don't exercise it here, do I even know what true righteousness is? The right response is not to throw up my hands and walk away. The right response is to learn what God requires and judge accordingly--even if it means all those who think they know justice say I'm wrong. They're the ones who allow wickedness to proliferate.