Daily devotion – All Scripture is profitable!
All Scripture Is Important: God’s Righteous Judgment
Have you ever watched the reaction of children when they’re sitting at the table and a plate full of vegetables or other foods they don’t particularly enjoy is placed in front of them? They screw up their faces, cover their mouths, or perhaps even defiantly push the plate away, signalling, “That is not entering my body!”
As a pastor, I have sometimes seen similar expressions when people are asked to open their Bibles to unfamiliar pages—Old Testament passages that many regard as little more than biblical curiosities or “rare and endangered” verses. Their expressions almost seem to ask, “How can this possibly be good for me?”
As we continue our journey through Exodus, we are about to enter passages that some may wonder about and ask, “Why are we studying these?”
The answer comes from Scripture itself.
2 Timothy 3:16–17
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Notice those opening words: “All Scripture.”
That includes the sections we naturally enjoy and the passages we may be tempted to skip over.
Every day we hear reports of injustice. We watch the news and shake our heads at court decisions or sentences that seem far too lenient. At times it appears that guilty people escape the consequences of terrible crimes while victims are left without justice.
There are two truths we should remember.
First, no one ultimately escapes God’s justice.
Romans 12:19
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
God sees every act, every motive, and every injustice. His judgment is always perfect, righteous, and complete.
Second, as we journey through these remarkable chapters in Exodus, we will discover God’s wisdom in the laws He gave Israel. We will see His standards of justice, when punishment was required, when restitution was appropriate, and when mercy could be shown. Not every situation was treated the same, because God’s judgments are never arbitrary. They reveal His holy character and His perfect wisdom.
I encourage you to read ahead through Exodus chapters 21–25. We will move from God’s laws governing everyday life to the breathtaking instructions for building the Tabernacle—the tent of meeting where God would dwell among His people. This holy place would become the precursor to the Temple later built in Jerusalem.
Perhaps one of the greatest lessons we will learn throughout these chapters is this: we are often quick to demand strict justice when someone else has broken God’s law, yet when we ourselves fail, we are grateful for mercy. We readily find reasons to excuse our own actions while expecting others to receive the full weight of judgment.
How thankful we should be that, although God is perfectly just, He is also rich in mercy. At the cross, His justice and His grace met perfectly in the Lord Jesus Christ. May we never lose sight of either.