Have you ever noticed how many movies and shows center around various legal proceedings? At the heart of this popular fascination with law lies something wonderful—humanity’s natural desire for righteous government. Perhaps more than ever, the world wants justice, safety, and liberty for all. The path to achieving this goal might seem elusive, but harmonious and righteous government is actually part of God’s plan for all of His children. When our desire for good government on earth is supported by an understanding of God’s heavenly government, we’re enabled to experience a divine standard of justice that blesses and protects everyone. The history recorded in the Bible gives us wonderful proof of this.
In a song of praise celebrating the freedom that God wrought for the Israelites—freedom from hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt—we read, “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face” (Psalms 89:14). This is what the children of Israel learned in the wilderness—that true justice and the rule of law fall under the jurisdiction of an all-loving God.
One of the significant impacts of their deliverance was a shift in the way that the Israelites began to identify themselves. For so long they had been defendants in the court of life. They were persecuted, prosecuted, and imprisoned without any recourse or representation. After finding their freedom, however, they grew to understand that by acknowledging God’s authority as supreme, they could witness His laws protecting and sustaining them.
