Not Complicit

In 2017, one of the most popular online dictionaries declared that its word of the year was complicit. This word basically means that someone enabled an illegal or wrongful action or failed to stop it. The website, along with other news agencies, said that the spike in Internet searches for this word was understandable given recent events. They cited reports of corrupt politicians, sex scandals, irresponsibility toward the environment, and the tolerance of hate speech. All of these events had one thing in common: Multiple people were responsible.

In the Old Testament, God was keenly aware of the importance of justice, unwilling to be complicit in human injustice. This importance comes from the Father’s own character. Moses recognized this when he sang, “All His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

Many have taken offense to the picture of God in the Old Testament because they feel that He is harsh. It is likely that those who misunderstand the judgments of God in the Old Testament are unfamiliar with the atrocities that were tolerated in the ancient Near East. God was deeply concerned about cults that performed human sacrifices, nations that oppressed the weak, and religions that mistreated women.

In speaking of those who have no one to defend them, God said, “I will surely hear their cry” (Exodus 22:23). David describes God as a “father of the fatherless, a defender of widows” (Psalm 68:5). God said, “I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children” (Isaiah 49:25). We may know that, as a loving Father, God acts on behalf of the victims.

Apply It:

Pick up a piece of trash that you did not throw on the ground and throw it away.

Dig Deeper:

Psalm 106:34–38; Exodus 34:7; Psalm 79:9, 10

Key Bible Texts

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. (Isaiah 35:4 KJV)