commentary on divine sovereignty

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In 2016 I posted this thought and had a number of comments on it:

"The sovereignty of God is always in accord with the character of God." #kcbob

Here are a few of my responses to comments from back then:

Regarding the character of God:

The sovereignty of God is sometimes misused to malign the character of God by attributing to him things like genocide and infanticide. We see it a lot when people blame God for deaths resulting from earthquakes or when rationalizing killing in his name.

In each case, a person's image of God comes into play. If one thinks the character of God is warlike they might interpret his sovereignty differently from one who sees God as loving. I think that, people missed God appearing in the flesh because they imagined him as a physical warrior rather than a spiritual one.

The OT is filled with stories about God commanding bad things. The question is how we read those verses. Do we unquestioningly read reports of God commanding heinous acts like infanticide or do we understand that the Israelis, like their neighbors, had a view of God as a warrior that influenced their actions and rationalized their behavior.

As to why bad things are permitted:

The question is does God allow life to happen (good things and bad) in general or in specific? Has God designed life to teach us lessons about handling adversity or is he a micromanaging deity who manipulates our lives to allow heinous things so that we can learn from them.

My view is that God created the earth and called it good. The bad stuff comes from within creation and not from outside of it. I think that God "allows" at a macro level and not a micro level. On the flipside, I also believe in miracles, which are the exception and not the rule.

About justice and what it looks like:

Justice is a great word. I think that some would differ in how they define it. I like what the bible says about justice:

Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)

This is what the LORD says: “Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed.” (Jeremiah 21:12)

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Administer true justice: show mercy and compassion to one another.” (Zechariah 7:9)

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. ( Isaiah 30:18)

That said, I think the definition many have of justice might resemble the human view which includes retribution and satisfaction. This is the way that a favorite author of mine puts it:

"There is a biblical concept of “judgement” or “wrath.” Jesus warned frequently that the people were calling judgement on themselves and called them to turn (repent) from the course they were on. Judgement or wrath is the consequence of sinful or hurtful action. It follows from sin like falling is the consequence of jumping off a cliff. Paul writes in the Romans that “the wages of sin is death.” The wage, the thing you get as a result, what you have coming to you, is death. “but the gift of God is eternal life.” 

God, who is a God of love (compassion) and justice (making things right), desires not to see us die, but to give us life. God desires to break us out of the vicious cycle of consequence and to therefore bring about justice—to make things right again, to restore us to where we where meant to be. Not by saying that it is of no consequence that we are bleeding and broken, but by taking us out of the treadmill of death, by liberating us from the tyranny of hurting and being hurt. That is what biblical justice is all about. It is not in conflict with compassion, it is rooted in compassion."

Yes, rooted in compassion, not in conflict with it.

Much of our thoughts on this tap deeply into our ideas about fairness. IMO. Life is simply not fair. Yet I do not see a close relationship to God and fairness. Suffering comes from within creation not from outside of it.

 

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