The Perfect Justice of God

574 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 16:20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give counsel as to what we should do." 21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Go in to your father's concubines, whom he has left to keep the house; and all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong." 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the top of the house, and Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. ( 2 Sam 16:20-22) Ahithophel's advice seems bizarre to us, but according to the customs of the times, this act on the part of Absalom would signify that he had wrested all of the kingdom from his father, (even the concubines of the king were his!) This was an irreconcilable act on his part. There was no turning back at this point. The rest of Israel would know for sure now that Absalom was totally committed to wresting the kingdom from his father and this would strengthen their resolve to follow him. Of course this act was a fulfillment of the prophecy given by Nathan concerning David's penalty for the whole Bathsheba affair. 2Sa 12:11 "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. How ironic that this act of Absalom's would take place on the very spot where David first laid eyes on Ahithophel's granddaughter...Bathsheba. Here's a question for you. Do you think it was irony or an example of fitting justice? Given the track record of other judgments carried out in the Bible I would vote for the latter. (I think specifically of Haman in the Book of Esther, who was hanged on the very platform that he had set up for Mordecai!) This should serve as a reminder to all that God's justice is fitting and it is perfect. He means what He says and He will carry out His judgment perfectly. This then is the judgment of God! Receive His Son Jesus as your Lord and Savior and live. Reject Him and you die. It is fitting and it is perfect. Father, I pray for those who have shrugged off the idea that you are a just God. There is a heaven, there is a hell, grant to them, the gift of repentance, that they might be spared.