II Kings 25:24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
God’s Grace in Judgment
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No one likes to talk about punishment. No one likes to receive punishment, and no one in their right mind wants to give out punishment. Some people assume that punishment is wrong. Yet, whether you like it or not, God has constructed a world in which you will be punished for wrongdoing. It is better to be guided early on by loving parents than to be punished by life and one’s own wrong actions.
In II Kings 25, when you read about the dissolution of the kingdom of Judah and all the terrible things that went with that, you are very much aware that it was God’s judgment on His people for their disobedience. But if you read the story carefully, you see that God gives grace even in judgment.
The first instance of God’s grace in judgment is found when the appointed governor, Gedaliah, spoke to the people and said, “Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.” He is echoing the words of the prophet Jeremiah who basically said, “If you are in Babylon as a captive, plant there, build there, marry there, prosper there, and pray for the prosperity of that place because that is where you are.” Even in God’s judgment, God gave grace.
Another instance of God’s grace in judgment is the deposed king of Judah. The Bible tells us that the king of Babylon spoke kindly to him, put him in a higher position than many others, fed him, and gave him an allowance for the rest of his life. Even in God’s judgment, He gives grace.
Now just because something is not going right does not mean that God is judging you, but there are times, and God will make it plain, when we know we have done wrong and God is correcting us. When that happens, know that God is doing it out of love for you because He wants to guide you just as a good father would guide his child.
God’s grace in judgment is a wonderful thing, but is that the kind of grace you want? The king of Babylon gave the king of Judah an allowance. It was predictable, safe, stable, and it was slavery. There was no freedom in it. God gives grace in judgment, but there is a better kind of grace, the grace God gives to prevent judgment.
Back in II Kings 24, it says that God sent the Chaldees, Syrians, and Moabites, and Ammonites against Judah to destroy it. This judgment came just as God’s prophets had warned that it would. The prophets had given a harsh warning, but that was God’s grace to prevent judgment. Which kind of grace would you prefer, kind words from a tyrant or harsh words from God’s messenger to prevent God’s judgment?
I don’t know where you are. It may be that you are in the middle of some sort of judgment, or it may be that you are involved in some kind of rebellion that is going to result in God’s judgment. I’m here to tell you that there is grace in both of those. God gives grace both to prevent judgment and in the midst of judgment. The wise person receives the earliest grace God gives, and that is not the grace to endure judgment but the grace to live in such a way that it never comes.