Justice AND Mercy

544- Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 14:1-7, “So Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was concerned about Absalom. 2 And Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman, and said to her, "Please pretend to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel; do not anoint yourself with oil, but act like a woman who has been mourning a long time for the dead. 3 "Go to the king and speak to him in this manner." So Joab put the words in her mouth. 4 And when the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and prostrated herself, and said, "Help, O king!" 5 Then the king said to her, "What troubles you?" And she answered, "Indeed I am a widow, my husband is dead. 6 "Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him. 7 "And now the whole family has risen up against your maidservant, and they said, 'Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may execute him for the life of his brother whom he killed; and we will destroy the heir also.' So they would extinguish my ember that is left, and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the earth." ( 2 Sam 14:1-7) It's not easy working for someone who is perpetually moping, and that seems to be the case here. But David's right hand man, Joab, takes the bull by the horns and decides to do something about it. This David is not the warrior he originally signed up with! So he devises a plan where a widow will feign her displeasure with the current legal system that required the death of her only surviving son who had killed his brother. Nu 35:19 'The avenger of blood himself shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. To carry out this sentence would kill the family name and leave the widow without any financial support. In a sense she is asking David to allow mercy to triumph over judgment. (James 2:13b) And who are you or I to argue with that? Think of what we have “gotten away with” because of the decree of our King who said, “place your faith in My Son and I will forgive your sins.” “But what about justice God?” And God says, “My justice was meted out on My Son. Sin has not gone unpunished, and if you think that My mercy gives you license to sin, then you just don't get it, and you remain a candidate for My final justice. It all boils down to this, all sin must be accounted for. Those found in Christ on the last Day will be judged innocent, and those not in Christ will serve their time in the eternal torment of hell. Justice AND mercy will be fully served by God.