The Retribution Of God And Combatting Injustice – Unveiling Retribution – Part 1 Series

THE RETRIBUTION OF GOD AND COMBATTING INJUSTICE – UNVEILING RETRIBUTION – PART 1

We are going to take up a new series of Justice and Injustice and will cover matters such as retribution, judgement, vengeance, injustice and the Christian, and a very important area –“How to deal with Injustice”. We want the Lord to be our teacher. The writer has been there himself with these issues so they are of concern for him.

[1]. THE ACCEPTED MEANING OF RETRIBUTION

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word, Retribution, as, “deserved punishment for evil done, or, sometimes reward for good done; merited requital.” The word is originally derived from the Latin with a base meaning, “to recompense” or “repay.”

[2]. RETRIBUTION AND JUDGMENT CONTRASTED

How often we hear from children when they feel a wrong has been committed against them, a threatening comment with nasty invective such as, “I’ll get even with you! You just wait! You’ll be sorry!” What about adults? They may not scream it out but think the same dark thoughts inwardly. In all probability this is a difficult subject to lay out in order, much in keeping with the difficulty of defining succinctly the term as we use it.

Is there any difference in essence between the Judgment of God and the Retribution of God or are the two terms interchangeable? I am suggesting there is a difference and it is that difference which I shall pursue in this article. In fact there is a considerable difference.

The theme of the judgment of God is a rather constant one throughout the scriptures and all readers of God’s word should have an understanding of it. Put simply, we could say that the judgment of God is directed largely against sin. Because humans are sinners they are under the judgment of God and ever likely to be carried away by it. That was most clearly seen in Noah’s time when the whole world had become corrupted and had grown to a maturity of evil where God could no longer tolerate its continued existence. God’s judgment arrived as promised and it was totally against sin but it carried the sinner away because each person was caught up in the act of sin. Thus we could say the judgment of God falls upon sin and in consequence, upon the sinner because of his sin.

On the other hand, the Retribution of God comes more against the person or group or nation because of his/their actions against God, primarily because of the deeds done to His people. The Lord, Who identifies with His saints and their sorrows through oppression or mistreatment, will not allow those evil deeds perpetrated upon His people, to go unrecognised.

[3]. THE JUDGMENT OF NOAH’S WORLD

Noah’s generation experienced the greatest judgment upon sin that any entire generation has known. The people of his generation were sinners continually. So corrupted were they, that a mere eight in the whole of the inhabited world were considered righteous. God acted against those iniquitous people in overwhelming judgment. We don’t read of any specific retribution during Noah’s lifetime. There may have been but the word does not disclose it. It would be very unusual, though, if Noah did not encounter ridicule, threat or even conspiracies devised against him.

The action the Father took against His Son at the cross was one of absolute judgment and that fell upon the Son when He drank the cup which was alone His to drink. There was no retribution against the Saviour, but as He became the sin offering, there was the fullest of judgment against Him as the whole of God’s wrath upon sin was in the cup He drank. As we go through various aspects, we will gain an insight into THE RETRIBUTION OF GOD. The matters will not be covered exhaustively but the various glimpses obtained should clarify retribution better for us.

[4]. CAIN AND ABEL – THE BLOOD OF ABEL WAS AVENGED

The introduction to the subject of retribution occurs quite early in Genesis with the two brothers, Cain and Abel. The elder had murdered the younger because he had been motivated by his sinful jealousy. The man of the world had risen up against the righteous man of God, a dastardly act, for it had been premeditated. The Lord God met with Cain following the incident and in the encounter, Cain lied but God said, {{Genesis 4:10-11 He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.” Now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.”}}

Abel’s blood was crying for retribution from the ground. It had to be avenged. Abel was one of God’s, so the Lord’s retribution now becomes effective. The divine action is taken against the sinner (Cain) for his act against the righteous child of God (Abel). Cain is punished from the Lord. Retribution belongs to God.