Word of Encouragement (02/16/2023)
“‘Is not this laid up in store with me, sealed up in my treasuries? 35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.' 36 For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.” (Deut. 32:34-36)
We saw how God as the Judge of the living and the dead will condemn the wicked. In v. 35, this act of God is described as taking vengeance on them. He will do so on His behalf as well His people. For to oppose God’s people is to oppose God and vice versa because God and His people are bound as one in their covenant union. But in v. 36, we see the other aspect of God’s just action mentioned in v. 35—“recompense.” How will He recompense His people? “For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants....”
Do you see something not quite right here? I’m talking about the two verbs mentioned to describe God’s action—“vindicate” and “have compassion.” They seem incompatible in this context, don’t they? A person is vindicated in the court of law when he is proven to be free of guilt; vindication is what he rightfully deserves for his innocence. But compassion is what people receive because they are in need or trouble or, in our present context, even though they are guilty. We know that the Israelites were guilty before God. They dealt corruptly with God. They were blemished. They were called a crooked and twisted generation, foolish and senseless people (vv. 5-6) despite God’s tender care for them (vv. 7-14). They forsook God (v. 15) and provoked Him to jealousy by worshipping demons that were no gods (vv. 16-17).
Notice also when God will vindicate them and have compassion on them: “when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free” (v. 36). Because of their guilt, God would bring His punishment on them (vv. 22-26) even though He would not wipe them out as their sins deserve (v. 27). They were in no position to be vindicated; they needed God’s compassion. How can a just God vindicate them?
God declares that, when they are brought to their lowest point, He will show His compassion on them. Is it because they will have paid for their sins in full? No, God has already shown them that total annihilation is what they deserve. Is it because God will be moved to pity when He sees the afflictions of His people? Yes and no—yes, because God is a compassionate and merciful God but no, because God in His justice cannot show compassion to the guilty.
This is the tension that was present throughout the Old Testament. It was resolved only when the Son of God came into the world and reconciled God’s justice and compassion in His death and resurrection. By His sacrificial, substitutionary death for our sins, He fully satisfied God’s justice. If we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will be vindicated (i.e., justified) on account of His righteousness even though we are as guilty as hell itself. That’s God’s compassion for sinners. On the cross of Jesus Christ, God’s justice and compassion kissed each other, and from it flows God’s righteous grace for our eternal salvation.
If God was able to vindicate Israel despite her sin, it was in view of what Christ would accomplish for His people. For many of the Israelites, it was merely a temporal relief from the afflictions of the foreign nations. But we are “eschatologically” vindicated through faith in Jesus Christ. For He has received our Final Judgment on the cross. And if we should suffer, God will show His compassion. He may wait until all power is gone from us because we need to be reminded of God’s total grace for our total helplessness. But He is mindful of us and He will not fail to show His compassion to His children. When He does, all our pain will be washed away, and in that place will grow fruitful trees of praise and worship and thanksgiving to God.