But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matt 12:36-37
This Scripture alone should shake us up. How many idle words have you and I spoken (or written, I would add)? We serve a holy and awesome God, and no one in the flesh can stand in his full manifestation of glory. The intense light emanating from his very being would burn us up. There is no one righteous, no not one. We all reap the wages of sin, and without Yeshua having received the full penalty of the law of sin and death, we would not be alive. It is only by God’s great love that we are set free from the law of sin and death and can come boldly before him to obtain mercy and grace in time of need.
Isaiah experienced a vision of God after a major king of Israel, Uzziah, died. Uzziah had become king when he was sixteen and during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of the Lord, and as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. (2 Ch 26:3-5) After he had become powerful, his pride led to his downfall, and he offered unauthorized incense before the Lord. He became angry when a prophet rebuked him, and immediately leprosy broke out upon Uzziah. It was in the context of this national disillusionment that Isaiah had this vision of the Lord upon his throne. He saw the seraphim above him calling out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is filled with his glory,” and the doorposts shook and the temple was filled with smoke. Isaiah was undone and cried out, “Woe to me, I am a man of unclean lips amongst a people of unclean lips.” He could not bear to stand in the presence of such holiness, for his eyes had seen the Lord Almighty! Then one of the seraphim took a piece of coal from the altar and touched his lips and declared that his guilt was taken away and his sins were atoned for. (Isa 6:1-7)
We are in a season of testing and refining. Major leaders have fallen, and many have become disillusioned and cynical.
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, Mal 3:2-3
How are we to respond when we see those whom we trusted fall into sin? How did Abraham respond when the Angel of the Lord came to him and announced the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah? He pleaded with the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah even if there were ten righteous people. He cried out for mercy. And Moses and Aaron fell on their faces to plead for mercy when God was going to destroy the Israelites and God heard their cry and relented. In like manor, we are to guard our hearts and speech while crying out for mercy. It is only when we are deeply aware of our own sin, like Isaiah, that we can begin to have mercy for others. God does not let the guilty go unpunished but his kindness leads us all to repentance. David sinned by counting his mighty men but he entrusted his punishment to God instead of men as God was full of mercy.
David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.” (I Chr 21:13)
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (Ex 34:6-7)
Yes, justice for the afflicted must be pursued but let us take this time of shaking for an opportunity to examine our own lives and to learn intercession like Abraham and Moses. Lot and his family were spared though Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, and God preserved the children of the Israelites to go into the Promised Land. In like manner, there is coming a time when God’s wrath/judgment will be poured out upon the nations who invaded Israel and those who engaged in horrendous acts of antisemitism. We are then to stand in the gap and cry out for mercy, for all have sinned. God has bound us all over to disobedience that he might have mercy on us all.
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:12-13)
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matt 5:22)
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. (Rom 2:1)
God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. (Rom 2:6-11)
We all one day will have to face the judgment seat of God. Because I recognize my dire need for mercy, his forgiveness for every idle word I have spoken, for every time I was angry with others, or every time I harbored bitterness or entertained unclean thoughts, I therefore cry out.
BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY.