11/17 Bible Briefs: Justifying the Wicked

Proverbs 17:15--He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD. There is way too much of this going on. The Lord expects us to condemn evil and support righteousness. Praising false teachers and berating teachers of truth is a common occurrence even in the Lord's church. And our country is full of people who exalt wickedness and condemn godliness. It's not a new phenomenon, though. Note the following.

II Chronicles 19:2--And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. In other words, "Jehoshaphat, what in the world are you doing helping Ahab, the most ungodly king Israel ever had?" Look closely at what Jehu said of Jehoshaphat: He "help[ed] the ungodly and
love[d] them that hate the LORD?" How can a child of God love those who hate Him? Yes, in a general sense, we are to love all men; but that doesn't mean we are to let them think we condone their wickedness. Jehoshaphat fully supported his godless counterpart, Ahab, and this was repulsive to Jehovah. Yet it's only fair to Jehoshaphat to say that, in general, he was a godly man (v. 3). But even those--especially those--who have prepared their hearts to seek the Lord must watch their actions.

It gets worse.

II Chronicles 21:6--And he [Jehoram] walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD. Jehoshaphat had some good qualities; the choice of his companions wasn't always wise, and he did pretty lousy job raising his kid. After his death, Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram, came to the throne, and immediately "killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel" (II Chron. 21:4). Verse 6, quoted above, is a sufficient explanation as to why Jehoram was such a murderous scumbag--look whom he married. How many men--and women--have been drawn to the dark side of sin and iniquity by their spouse? You can start with the first man who ever walked the face of the earth (Genesis 3).

But there's more to this than just avoiding giving sanction and credibility to the wicked. We must not only actively oppose evil, but even neutrality is unacceptable to God:

Judges 5:23--Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty. When God's cause is under attack, standing on the sidelines and whistling into the wind is insufficient. In fact, God equates it with supporting the enemy. In regards to Edom when Israel was under seige, Obadiah wrote "For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them" (Obadiah 10-11). The Lord's cause is the greatest on earth. You are either with Him--supporting the righteous--or against Him--justifying the wicked. There is no third option.