The Justice of God’s Ways
Yael Eckstein | October 3, 2022
He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he. — Deuteronomy 32:4
Each week in synagogue, Jews read through the Torah from Genesis to Deuteronomy. The Torah portion for this week is Ha’azinu, which means “listen,” from Deuteronomy 32:1-52.
The other day, I walked into the living room where my kids were watching a movie. Two men were waving guns at each other and arguing. Then they started to fight. I felt bad for the one who was losing. He seemed like a helpless victim. My kids laughed at me. “He’s the bad guy!” “Oh well,” I said, laughing, “I guess I shouldn’t feel sorry for him then.”
As I walked back to the kitchen I was thinking about how if you walk in halfway through a movie, watch a few scenes, and then leave before it’s over, you have no chance of really understanding what’s going on. As obvious as this may be, I believe that there is an important lesson here about our relationship to God.
Think about it. We enter a world that has been around for thousands of years before we showed up. We live our lives, and then we leave without seeing the end of the story. How well can we really understand God’s plan?
The Justice of God’s Ways
We see this idea in this week’s Torah portion. We read, “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
One of the most difficult issues many people have with God is the question of divine justice. We look at the world around us and we see many wicked people prospering. We see righteous people suffering. Many people wonder about God’s justice.
I believe that the answer to this question is found in one small word in this verse — the word “all.” In Hebrew the verse says kol derachav mishpat — “all His ways are just.” The word kol — “all” — also means “totality” or “entirety.”
The verse could have left this word out and simply said “His ways are just.” By including the word “all,” the Bible is telling us that we can’t really see the full justice of God’s ways from only the partial view that we are privy to in our short lives. The justice of God’s ways is found in “all His ways.”
When all is said and done, God’s full justice will prevail. We just might have to wait till the end of the movie to see it.
Your Turn:
Have you ever questioned God’s justice? Take a few moments to tell God that you trust Him today.