Monday, August 10, 2009

The Parable of our Righteous God

At the beginning of Luke 18, Jesus gives a parable about a widow and an unjust judge. His purpose in telling the parable is given in verse 1: "That men ought always to pray and not to faint."

The widow has a claim against someone who is called her "adversary." Someone has wronged her in some way, and she has a legal claim, apparently. The judge to whom the widow comes is "unjust", and "feared not God, neither regarded man." This case appears hopeless for the widow, that she will ever receive satisfaction. The judge "feared not God" Who had commanded special care for widows, "neither regarded man," - he did not care even about seeing justice done.

The widow kept coming back, however, and the judge perceived that she was going to weary him with her continual coming. For her persistence, he takes her case. It is not because he suddenly realizes that she has a good case, or that he has suddenly become a God-fearing man that he decides to avenge the widow - he still acts as he pleases. What pleases him is that this widow leave him alone, so he will act on her behalf in order to effect that end. He wants to get this pesky lady off his back so he can have some peace.

Remember the purpose of the parable: "That men ought always to pray and not to faint." Is Jesus drawing a parallel between this unjust judge and God? Is He saying that God answers our prayers when He finally gets weary of us? First, God is not unjust. He cannot be compared to the judge on those grounds. As the character of the judge is opposite that of our God, so are all of the motives and incentives to keep on coming before God with our requests.

Jesus is telling us that even the most unjust among men can be prevailed upon through persistence. If this is true in the case of the unjust judge, how much more true is it that God will hear the prayers of His elect "though He bear long with them"? God is not unjust. Though we might besiege the throne of grace for a considerable time - perhaps for years, even - yet He will make the crooked straight and the rough places plain. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low. God will not leave injustices as they are. He will make all things right, in His time. The parallel is not between the judge and God, but between the case of the widow and that of God's elect, while a contrast is made between the judge and God. The widow has a complaint that she brings regularly to the judge; we have complaints we bring regularly to Jehovah God. She has to press her case because the judge is unjust; we press our case because our Judge is not unjust, and we know He will help us. She finally receives help because the judge didn't want to put up with her any more; we receive help because the Lord, in His time, will answer our prayers out of His great love wherewith He loves us.

"He that spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

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