2/14/2007

Who is the ultimate "decider?"

Who is the ultimate "decider?"
I am borrowing a word from President George Bush to ask a real question. Who is the ultimate decision maker or judge? Isaiah gives the answer from God's perspective. Jesus is the decider.

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
(Isaiah 11:1-4)

"A throne will even be established in lovingkindness, And a judge will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice And be prompt in righteousness(Isaiah 16:5)."

And notice that the word "judge" is used not merely in the sense of finding someone guilty but in the sense of "bringing a decision in favor of someone."
Hence the difference between the King James translation and the New American Standard Version in translating Isaiah 1:17 and 1:23. In one we are offered "judge the fatherless" and in the other we have "defend the orphan." The phrase may also be translated "decide for the orphan."

With this in mind I believe there will be some orphans, some widows, some poor, some needy, who will be glad Jesus is the "decider."

No comments:

Post a Comment