The Glory of God in His Justice

Exodus 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

When I first began to study the glory of God, little did I know that I would find justice to be one of the attributes of God’s glory. In fact, having found justice as one of the glorious attributes of God, I began to ask myself; “How is God glorified in His justice?” After all, it seems rather odd to think of the punishment of sinners as something wonderful and beautiful. Justice seems to be so incompatible with the more commonly known, and loved, attributes such as grace, mercy and love. How, then, can justice be one of the glorious excellencies of God? How does justice magnify God and show Him as beautiful and lovely? This is what we hope to discover in this study.

God’s Vindication of His Worth

We turn, first of all, to our text for an explanation of God being glorified in His justice. We are looking at the book of Exodus which gives us the record of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, receiving the law and, many wonderful manifestations of the power and glory of God. The people had heard the voice of God, drank water from a rock, eaten bread that came down from heaven and, many other things. However, after a time, the people forgot their trembling before God (Exodus 19:15). The people then became restless and impatient while waiting for Moses to come down out of the mount. For forty days, Moses had been in the mount speaking with God and receiving the law. Now, the people decided to forsake Moses and Moses’ God. I am unsure why the people did so: we only know that they forsook God. In doing so, they had Aaron to build an idol for them to worship. As Israel worshipped this idol, they attributed to the idol the works which the LORD had done: “Exodus 32:4 and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” How foolish it is to give glory to an inanimate hunk of metal when glory is due to the living God! How utterly sinful it is to put our trust and confidence in that which is unable to do for us what God can! How wicked it is for us to hold supreme in our affections that which is not supremely beautiful nor supremely worthy! Yet, that is exactly what idolatry is and, that is the sin which Israel committed.

As God spoke to Moses concerning His justice, He was reminding Moses of that which He had already spoken to Israel: Exodus 20:3-5 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” The Lord of heaven and earth knew there was no other being worthy of glory and praise. God knew there was nothing, and no one, whose power and greatness should cause man to bow down and worship them. Thus being 1Timothy 1:17 “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever” and, 1Timothy 6:15,16 “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting”; God is jealous of His glory. For this reason, God’s justice is to His glory for, justice establishes the glory of God as the only real glory. All other glories are deadly to the souls of men. God has revealed Himself to us as the only true God and the only true glory. Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”

It has also been revealed to us that those who have never even heard the gospel are condemned because they have seen the glory of God in nature and, have not glorified God. Romans1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” This is the very reason God hates idolatry. It is extremely sinful and wicked for man to give worship, adoration and praise to a god which is not the creator of all things. (See Jeremiah 10:1-16) However, man (who so often thinks himself to be very wise) turns away from God and gives glory to other gods. The gods mankind worships are varied: whether he bows to a physical idol, becomes egotistical and worships himself, seeks his joy in sexual sins (thus worshipping the flesh and the flesh to which he is joined), or totally rejects God that he might fulfill the appetites of the flesh; most men worship some god other than the great Creator of all things. (See Romans 1:18-32) Man knows God is going to judge him for not taking pleasure in God’s great goodness and mercy. In spite of this, man foolishly continues in his covetousness (which is idolatry- Colossians 3:5,6), lust, materialism, humanism and hedonism. By seeking his pleasures in something other than God, man makes the object of his pleasure an idol. Justice shall be to God’s glory because, in justice, God vindicates His worth and glory. God shall prove to man that what he was searching for all his life could have been found in God. God shall show man his greatness, power and sufficiency. He shall also manifest to man His wonderful mercies but impenitent man shall not experience them. (See Luke 16:19-31) May God help us to seek Him, delight in Him, and love Him. (Psalms 37:4; Deuteronomy 6:4,5)

Not only does God vindicate His glory against idolatry, He also judges those who worship Him in a manner which is not acceptable to Him. Lev. 10:1-3 “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.” I am not exactly sure what “strange fire” would have been. Let me offer you some theories concerning it, however:

Foreign Fire

Strange can be defined as prostituted or foreign. If this is so, it could have been fire that was unacceptable simply because it was not fire God commanded to be used. This is very possible because, God kindle the fire upon the altar of burnt offering. (See Lev. 9:23,24) It is possible the sons of Aaron used fire from another source.

Priests Out of Their Places

We should also consider the fact that, the sons of Aaron were usurping the authority of their father, the high priest. It seems that the burning of incense was the duty of the high priest and to be done in the mornings and evenings. Exo.30:7-9 “ And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.” It would seem that these young men took it upon themselves to execute the duties of the high priest against the command of God. Notice, also, that the command was against strange incense. These young men may have offered incense that wasn’t acceptable to God.

Drunken Worship?

Lev.10:8-11 “And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.” When we consider these instructions that God gave Moses soon after the tragic event, we see that the sons of Aaron were probably in a drunken state when they took upon themselves to offer incense.

Whatever the case may have been, the sons of Aaron tried to worship God in a manner that was neither in keeping with His holiness, nor acceptable to God in any manner. In fact, one could say that these men attempted to worship God presumptuously. May we be reminded that the Old Testament is not the only place that such an incident is recorded. Lest we think that such a thing was merely something that would happen under the law, we have been given instances in the New Testament when things very similar to this incident happened. Let us consider the following:

Because Ananias and Sapphira sought to worship God in a deceitful manner, they lost their lives. (Acts 5:1-11)

Because the Corinthian church turned the Lord’s Supper into a gluttonous and drunken feast, many were sick and some lost their lives. (1Cor. 11:17-34)

With this in mind, let us ever remember that we must worship God with both fear and joy. Heb 12:28,29 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.” If we will not worship God in a manner which is consistent with both His holiness and glory, God shall certainly vindicate His glory by chastening His children (Or whomever attempts to approach Him presumptuously.) (Note: This chastening of the children of God is not punitive but, corrective, that we may learn to be holy people. Heb.12:7-11)

We finally come to the end, when Christ returns. At this time, God shall glorify Himself in the saints and avenge Himself of His enemies. 2Thess.1:6-10 “… it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” It is at this time that proud man shall be humbled and worship of any other than the LORD shall be forever banished. Isa. 2:10-22 “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Rev.22:20 “ He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

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