This tiny earth is filled with that which sheds light upon the glory of God. “Glory,” the Greek word doxa, is all that sheds light upon God. I have illustrated this by using a small flashlight shining it upon an object in the room. The light glorifies the object. So, God’s glory is all that sheds light upon Him. Everything we see with our eyes in this entire universe sheds light upon the creative genius of God – but most do not see it this way. To them it is the creative beauty of “mother nature.”

 

There are many Biblical characteristics that shed light upon God: His sovereignty (Dan. 4:34-35), His eternal life (Psa. 90: 2), His love, (1 Jn. 4:8), His righteousness and justice (Psa. 89:14), and the fact that He is all-powerful (Gen. 18:14), all-knowing (Isa. 40:28), and everywhere present (Psa. 139:7-17), and He never changes (Mal. 3:6).  I have memorized these passages and pondered their meaning for many years. These are some of the characteristics that make up God’s holiness, His “set apartness.”

 

Just to say that God is righteous does not mean that God is really good, or even really, really good. It does not mean that God is by far better than any other being. The God of the Bible is the very essence of perfection. He is perfectly perfect.He is righteously right. He is right in every decision that He has ever made or will ever make. He is the God of absolute integrity. The apostle John said that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). He is light that contains not one tiny speck of darkness. Not one! The psalmist tells us that God’s work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever (Psalm 111:3).

 

Two tandem characteristics of God are the scales, the plumbline, the measuring sticks up against which all of His characteristics must be measured. This plumbline is His righteousness and His justice (Isa. 28:17). They always appear together and must always remain in perfect balance.

 

Have you ever pondered where the concept for right and wrong came from? We inherently know it is wrong to murder, to steal, to lie, and to cheat. I remember as a ten-year-old attempting to steal a candy bar from our local grocery store. Did life from some faraway island, or Mr. Socrates, or green slime from the Nile River basin throw my young mind into an overwhelming sense of guilt? Did my knowledge of them raise my small heart rate or cause my palms to sweat? I think not!

 

Those of us who believe the Bible become aware that there is an ultimate right, a decisive right, up against which all standards of right and wrong must ultimately be held. This knowledge is in us because we are made in the image of our Creator (Genesis 1:27). His law is stamped indelibly upon every human heart (Romans 2:13-16). God’s righteousness and justice are in truth said to be His plumbline. It must remain standfast. God must always be true to His plumbline (Isa. 28:17).  He is completely fair in His dealings with every member of the human race according to His divine standard of fairness – His “fairness” – not fallen man’s sense of fairness.

 

God’s righteousness is mentioned in the Bible well over two hundred times, and always within close proximity to His justice. God’s righteousness and justice are mentioned together so often that they are called, “the way of the Lord”(Genesis 18:19). In fact, to do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice (Proverbs 21:3). God is said not only to be absolutely righteous and just, but He is said to love righteousness and justice (Psalm 33:5). Repeat! GOD LOVES RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE.

 

King David said twice that righteousness and justice form the very foundation of God’s throne (Psa. 89:14, 97:2).  The foundation is the part of the building that holds the structure’s entire weight. As long as the building stands, the foundation must hold. It is the Hebrew word macon. It means a fixed or an established place. The foundation of righteousness (being absolutely right) and justice (being absolutely fair and just) is the firmly fixed place upon which God’s God-ness rests.

 

God’s righteousness and justice must hold all of the weight of His other characteristics. He must always do right! He must always be right! He must always be just or fair. And He must always keep these two characteristics in perfect balance. He must always align Himself with His plumbline. He cannot change (Mal. 3:6). He must not change! He will not change! He is the Rock! The Rock that never moves. This means that His holy nature never wavers in the slightest degree.  It remains the same throughout all the ages. His work is always perfect (Deut. 32:4).  He never makes missteps or mistakes. There is never a flaw, not one. There is never an “uh oh” with Him.

 

All of these truths magnificently glorify the work of the cross. God made Him (the Lord Jesus) who knew no sin (His sinless Son) to become sin for us! God forever balanced His scales of righteousness and justice. He forever established in perfect place His plumbline of righteousness and justice – in Christ. How can we even begin to understand this? The question of the hour is do we really believe this? Blessings!