9.26.24 ~ Joy in Judgement

Good morning!

In this week's Torah portion, nitzavim/to stand, we have a joyful/sus event. To those who have been scattered, come to recognize their straying and turn from the error of their ways, God will do some amazing things to them (Deut. 30:1-6) while, simultaneously, turning the table on their enemies (Deut. 30:7).

Commercial: Last night's zoom call: The bridal garments pt. 2: Connecting the atoning priest's garments to those of the bride (Ex. 28:1-4; Jer. 7; Rev. 19:7,8).

Back to our regularly scheduled program...Once in last week's Torah portion (Deut. 28:63) and once this week (Deut. 30:9), Moses refers to God rejoicing/sus four times amidst the warning of blessings and curses.  Three times the Lord is pictured as the One rejoicing over Israel to bless them for obedience to his Law/Torah, and once as rejoicing over them to destroy them for disobedience!

Don't you find it strange that God would rejoice in both scenarios? He loves to rejoice/sus over those who are obedient; holding nothing back and granting them favor. He longs to protect and provide. And His actions are filled with all types of goodness in every realm of life who take up and conform to His way of living (Deut. 28:1-14).

Yet, on the flipside, He's also rejoicing/sus to punish disobedience. Huh? Doesn't that sound counterintuitive? Personally, I would think He'd be sad and remorseful. Nope, not the God of Israel. How can that be? When we see how God administers judgment it all makes sense. Mankind employs judgment to break down. God, on the other hand, experiences joyfulness/sus because His actions are for corrective purposes. Judgment is not wrath. It is not vengeance. It is a correction. He can feel joy/sus over judgment because it is designed to return the wanderer to the right path. A child who receives corrections is a delight to his parents. Just so, the Lord is delighted to act with judgment because He knows this will alter the choice of disobedience and return the prodigal to the father’s home. Hence, in Deuteronomy 30:9 we find God rejoicing over His returned people for good (Jer. 31:13)!

Have you ever been judged? Ever found you were on the short end of uprightness and found lacking? Me too. I know my failures all too well, especially when I purposefully make choices to go against God's commandments/mitzvot. Yet, with hindsight, I can say emphatically, that He has graciously judged me. The punishments I've received and endured acted as a catalyst to bring me home. It's this process that He rejoices in/sus because He knows it will get my attention and alter my direction...the purpose of the 10 days of awe between Yom Teruah/day of shouting, trumpets, remembrance, resurrection and judgment and Yom Hakippurim/Day of atonement(s) and coverings.

Consequently, I can find joy/sus in His punishment when I realize that it is not retaliation but rather the loving correction of a Father who cannot countenance the thought of my absence (Num. 6:25). The husks 'we' had to eat in the pig pen were designed to bring 'us' to our senses and set us on a path to return home (Lk. 15:1-7).

Joy/sus, I'm sure, for all of us, has been the feeling during  times of blessing; even when the blessing comes with bitter flavors. God's joy/sus, imitated by us (Eph. 5:1,2), is our ability to see that the Lord never gives up on me, never desires that I should be cast into outer darkness, never stops correcting so that I might experience the other side of joy...His amazing abundance (Deut. 30:8).

Happy preparation day for Yom HaKippurim/Day of Coverings.

Shalom

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