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He Shows No Partiality...



For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. (Deuteronomy 10:17)

          An attribute is "a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something." Today's attribute is impartiality. God doesn't play favorites. I suspect many people will respond to this idea with a "Huh?" What about the Jews? Aren't they "God's chosen people?" What about the Church? Isn't it the Bride of Christ? What about Jesus, Himself? How can anyone say that God is impartial?
          Let's begin with Jesus. Jesus didn't sin, yet He paid for the sins of others through His death on the cross. Jesus' goodness didn't save Him from suffering. Yes, He is the only begotten of the Father, but that didn't save Him from suffering.
          The Jews were and are God's chosen people. That means He chose them as the vehicle through which He would accomplish His will. He could have chosen the Anglo-Saxons, and then the Anglo-Saxons would have been Israel, with the many of the same experiences. Instead, He chose Israel. What did that status mean for them as a people? If it meant anything, it meant that Israel was judged more stringently. The Mosaic Covenant has two lists: the list of blessings that would be theirs if they obeyed, and the list of curses that would be theirs if they disobeyed. Israel was judged for its sins just as the other nations were judged for theirs. The same is true of the Church. God doesn't grant anyone or any group the right to do as they please without consequence.
          Let me remind you about three people God at least seems to have hated: Ishmael, Esau and Judah. Ishmael was Isaac's older brother. He should have gotten Abram's blessing  but God rejected Ishmael. What happened? Isaac has two sons. Ishmael had twelve. Ishmael became a great nation. Today's Muslims claim descent from him. 
           What happened to Esau? Jacob stole his birthright and his inheritance. When Jacob returned to Palestine, Esau went to meet him. Jacob offered him riches, which Esau rejected with a claim that he had plenty. The Edomites were his descendants.
          And Judah? Judah was rejected by his father because of his violence. God took the lives of two of his sons for their bad behavior. He slept with his daughter-in-law, and gained replacements for his dead sons through her. His younger brother, Joseph, received the blessing usually given the eldest, and yet Jesus was of the tribe of Judah.
         One problem we face is that we tend to want to be treated as "special." We don't want God to bless those who deem unfit, or the not bless those we feel deserve it (especially ourselves.) And we want to decide what constitutes the just distribution of those blessings. This is why we shouldn't pick and choose who we want to see blessed, and who we want to see cursed. We should ask for blessings for each person.
         Another problem with this is that we sometimes think that impartiality means that every person is treated the exact same. This is foolishness. Would you treat a two year old the same as you treat a twenty year old? Would you treat the child who bursts into tears if you look angry the same way as you treat the kid who doesn't respond to looks, warnings, or punishments? God is impartial, but He is also wise and just.

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This Day In History
1973 - Gulag Archipelago published in the United States. 

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