With God in the Courtroom

The Lord our God is the righteous judge of all men and nations. He is accountable to no man for His decisions and yet God is concerned that we all see that He is just. God is faithful and His faithfulness proceeds from the fact that He is true. This; our God is concerned to prove. And so He is willing to go to court over it. He is willing to settle all disputes with His people. He is willing to settle disputes with all sinners who have come here this afternoon. The Lord is not only Judge, He is also jury because He is perfect in Justice. And yet, here in this passage we see Him take the place of defense attorney on His own behalf, and become a prosecuting attorney toward Israel in order to bring Israel back to Himself and to bring them to repentance. I am hoping that each of us will see that the case of Israel is the case against all of us when we sin and forget our love and responsibility toward God. What is the Lord's complaint against Israel? The Lord's case against Israel consists of evidence presented of His own faithfulness and Israel's unfaithfulness. This court is now in session for this hour, and we will proceed to consider the following items. Item 1 – God presents, as evidence, a picture of their former love to Him. (verses 1-3) Item 2 – A time of searching examination of Israel will take place. (verses 4-8) Item 3 – God brings the charges against Israel. (verses 9-13) And Item 4 – The Judge gives the Sentence. (verses 14-19)