PSALMS 37:6 “And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”
Perhaps some of you have had this experience. You have been unjustly accused by someone who has deliberately sought..
To slander you.
To defame your character.
To ruin your reputation.
These people are wholly unjustified in these attacks. Maybe last year you faced this kind of a challenge from.
Your relatives.
Your friends.
Your husband
Your wife
Your children.
Your parents.
Your sisters or brothers.
YOU see absolutely no reason for their accusations.They are afflicting you, upsetting you, and attacking you without you having given them any reason to do so.
This year the Lord will give you vindication and justice. What is vindication and What is justice?
Vindication is The act of defending against criticism or dissaproval and Justice is The quality of being just or fair against your challengers.
King David in one of his psalms reflects upon the nature of this kind of problem. A problem which you are bound to experience or may have experienced.
[Psalm 109:1-5] 1 Be not silent, O God of my praise! 2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. 3 They beset me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. 4 In return for my love they accuse me, even as I make prayer for them. 5 So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
This psalm describes the reactions of one who has been Unjustly accused and Wrongly treated. He has been set upon by those who are attempting to destroy him, yet without a cause.
This year GOD promises to make it as plain as the light of day where you were unjustly accused.
“And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”
We see God's justice in the way he deals with Job's three friends.
Job 42:7-9 7 After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, 'I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.'9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them, and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.
Do you remember how Job had to put up with so much slander? How he was vilified over and over again and his character brought into question by these people?
Do you recall how he was accused of being- A hypocrite, harbouring wicked thoughts,and Gaining his wealth through sharp practice.That had been so painful. It simply was tearing him apart.
The more he protested, the more convinced his accusers became that he was hiding something. He desperately needed someone to come to his defence; someone who knew the truth and who would testify to his innocence. But there was only one who could do that, and that was God –
[1 Pet 2:22-23] He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly.
The apostle Peter in those scriptures describes an incident and the attitude of a person who understood the nature of life’s reality. One who understands how life operates. One who understands the truth behind the advice of Scripture.
JESUS TRUSTED HIS CAUSE TO HIM WHO JUDGES JUSTLY.
Deuteronomy 32:35 To me belongeth vengeance [the act of taking revenge] and recompence [Payment or reward]; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
Roman 12:19-20 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Both in the Old and New Testament God is saying to believers..
"Vengeance is mine, says the Lord; I will repay," Vengeance is mine! Don't you try it, don't you attempt it. Don't try to "get even" If you do you'll only make the matter worse.
You will allow bad blood that may go on for years, even for centuries. The enemy could latch on this to destroy, wreck and damage potential good relationship. No, no, vengeance is mine, says the Lord. “I am the only one who has the wisdom adequate to handle this kind of a problem”. “Leave vengeance to me’” says God.
A Christian who has a relationship with God recognizes this and commits every cause to God. But they also understand something else. That God's name is involved in all this.
When God's people are being persecuted then God is also being persecuted. His name is involved in it. It is up to God to defend that name, not man.
Acts 9:1-5 1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Jesus appeared to him in light brighter than the sun, that Saul cried out to him and said, "Lord, who are you?" Jesus said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting."
Saul was persecuting the Christians, in so doing it was revealed to him that he was in effect persecuting the Lord. God is involved in your trials. God is involved in what happens to his own elect.
This year the LORD is promising to give you your judgment (that is King James Version for justice) for everyone to see, like light at high noon.
In conclusion, Please notice the two metaphors RIGHTEOUSENESS AS LIGHT AND JUDGEMENT AS NOONDAY.
When the Lord proves your innocence it will expose darkness and that those who are in the habit of criticizing or disapproving you will be ashamed in public.
Further proof: Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”
Pastor George Henry Ochieng Ogolla.
