Judgment

“O Lord, correct me, but with judgment, not with anger” Jeremiah 10:24

Judgment – What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “judgment of God”?  Do you think of fire and brimstone like the judgment on Sodom?  Do you imagine the fiery lake reserved for the devil?  With those images in mind, it’s impossible to understand Jeremiah’s plea.  No one would ask God to bring that kind of punishment into life.

We need a better picture of this word (mishpat).  The word comes from shapat, a word that speaks about the processes of government.  This kind of judgment is about legal decisions, not about wrath.  What Jeremiah asks of God is this:  Lord, chastise me, correct me by rendering a legal decision based on Who You are.  Jeremiah is appealing to the God of mercy and justice.  He wants to be corrected.  He is willing.  But he knows that God is merciful and it is on the basis of mercy that he desires correction.  Jeremiah knows that if God is not merciful, “no flesh will stand”.  Jeremiah asks God to remember His everlasting covenant of compassion and base correction on that.

What is the basis of your request for correction?  It is God’s merciful intervention in life through the death of Jesus.  We come to God, knowing we need correction, and plead, “Lord, chastise me.  Bring me back to Your path.  But do it on the basis of Your Son.  Remember that He died for me.  Remember that my legal status before You has been settled by Jesus’ death.  Don’t treat me according to what I deserved but according to Your merciful promise.  Then I can stand the correction.”

When we ask for correction, we must at the same time plead for mercy.  If God were to treat us strictly according to the Law, we would be finished.  But there is another judgment: the judgment of compassion.  For us, the two must go together:  correction and compassion tied to righteous judgment.  And the only reason that they can be tied together is Jesus.  Even in chastening, I owe Him everything.