He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people: “Gather My saints together to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah. (Psalm 50:4-6)
Before he was taken up into a mountain to buried by God, Moses told the people, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19). In the verses above, the psalmist acknowledges that God will indeed call upon His witnesses as He prepares to judge His people before their ultimate redemption.
Is this simply poetic language or are we to believe that God will, in literal fashion, call to the heavens and earth as His witnesses? Frankly, I believe we are wise to take God literally unless it is obvious that certain phrases and statements are allegorical. In this case, I believe that what Moses and the psalmist reveal to us is that the heavens and earth truly are eternal witnesses to God’s purpose and will. To underscore this notion, consider Messiah says that, in the days before the redemption, there will be signs in the heavens and upon the earth. Furthermore, those signs aren’t so much for the nations who turn a deaf ear to God, but to His people. If they are to alert His people to the impending redemption, they are also to remind His people that judgment begins in God’s House.
Most of who truly desire to please God with our lives understand the signs of the times are screaming that the Messiah is soon to return and take up His holy Throne. But we must also embrace the fact that, before He pours out His justice on the nations, He will cleanse His own house; as Supreme Judge, He will gather His servants to reprove and correct. So while we have a tendency to desire justice to be served to the wicked of this world, we should be looking to our house to make certain we are ready to receive correction for our own shortcomings. Given our theme for today, it seems fitting to close with this passage from the prophet Isaiah:
“Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool…. For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist, says the Lord. But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.” (Isaiah 66:1-2)
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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