Today marks a bleak development in the war between Israel and Hamas. The ceasefire that started on 15 Jan collapsed due to a fallout in negotiations between PM Netanyahu (Israel) and Hamas leaders. As I am writing this somber piece, Israel is back to bombing the Gaza strip, perhaps with even more intensity than before.

Let it be clear that this war is just horrible. Any believer should agree that this war is horrible, and we should all be in unified prayer that global leaders involved in this conflict would come to their senses and end the spillage of the innocents’ blood. Regardless of one’s stance on the conflict and ownership of land in the region, be reminded that the median age of Gaza is 18 (literally half the population are kids). These are lives of the innocent Palestinians (and brothers and sisters in Christ in Gaza!) and they are being drowned out by ongoing airstrikes. Believers who claim otherwise and insist on supporting the perpetuation of violence should be ashamed.

Somewhere in this barrage of news, I had to wonder where God is in all of this. Surely, He is not deaf to any current affairs in the world, least of all a war this bloody? As the Almighty who hates oppression and desires justice, wouldn’t He intervene?

For I, the Lord, love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. (Isaiah 61:8-9 NRSVUE)

Justice delayed?

One of the common ways I’ve read how Christians rationalized the silence of God in wartimes is the consolation that His justice will prevail at His own time. In Judaism, this role is fulfilled through a powerful messianic figure who will rule righteously and deliver the land of Israel into an era of peace and prosperity.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (Jeremiah 23:5 NRSVUE)

In the Christian tradition, even though justice may not be served now, all of us will be forced to present an account of our deeds to God – both the good and evil. This agent of justice aka the messiah is believed to be none other than the Lord Jesus himself – starkly departing from the Jewish tradition.

And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. (Hebrews 4:13 NRSVUE)

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. (Matthew 16:27 NRSVUE)

There is a clear thirst for the righteousness to prevail (and the punishment of the wicked) throughout Scripture. What is less clear is when that victory takes place. For the gospel writers (e.g. Matthew), this was supposed to happen nearly 2000 years ago within the lifetimes of his audience (see Matt 16:28). For later authors, it will happen sometime soon – whenever soon is…

So, what’s the problem?

I am uncomfortable with the thought of a God that says He will deliver justice sometime in the unforeseeable future, yet within this period He seemingly does nothing but let evil roam. The concept of God returning to judge the earth is literally as old as Christianity itself – time and time again this return remains unfulfilled, and atrocities remains unchecked. In my mind, this doesn’t square well. Thousands, if not millions would have died by now to atrocities, many never having had a normal life, nor a lifelong partner, nor having heard of Christ and received the gift of salvation. Literally, their lives would have faded away with the rest of history – where’s the justice in that?

Take for example the institution of slavery. The Bible absolutely condones it. Christian slave-traders issued truncated bibles to slaves so that they would not find hints of Scripture that will inspire them to revolt, all while treating said slaves in inhumane conditions. Today we know that the ownership of other humans is unequivocally wrong and sinful. Has justice been served to those who perished to the slave trade? And why did it take so long for society to wise up to the evils of slavery – never mind the fact that Christians were also complicit in it via their faith?

There is a legal maxim proposed by William Gladstone known as “Justice delayed is justice denied”. Basically, he who delays the administration of redress or relief is equivalent to not having administered any form of relief to the victim in the first place. On a judicial level, most of us can understand why – what good are reparations to a dead man? If we expect that out of our legal systems today, why don’t we expect that out of God then? Even Scripture warns of the dangers of delaying justice (see Ecc 8:11) – why shouldn’t the Christian God be held up to the same standard?

Justice delayed is justice denied. – William Ewart Gladstone

Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the human heart is fully set to do evil. (Ecclesiastes 8:11 NRSVUE)

Could there be a reason why God is deliberately not delivering justice for all for the past 2000 years? A popular argument I’ve seen is that God is deliberately withholding His judgement right now to allow grace to work. If He doesn’t, all of us are condemned immediately! By His grace, He withholds judgement to give people a chance to repent and turn back to Him (see 2 Peter 3:9).

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 NRSVUE)

The loophole with such an argument is that will there ever be a scenario in the future where all has repented? Furthermore, I foresee a huge theological can of worms with this argument – why are so many allowed to endure inhumane conditions without experiencing any form of redress or even hints of a path of redemption through Christ in their entire lives so that you come to God? Does your life matter so much more than theirs?

I think these are difficult theological questions that Christians should be discussing more. I don’t have an answer I found satisfactory, nor have I come across any good answers from online sources. Let me know your thoughts on these questions.

Implications for delivering justice today

Scripture is crystal clear of the need for believers to stand up for the oppressed (ask Isaiah). Yet, at least within my social circle, I don’t find too many Christians that care about the social issues of the world today, be it environmental issues that unequally impact the poor and needy, the exploitation of migrant workers, or even the war in Gaza. Even in the US where Christianity dominates, there remains Christians who distance themselves from social justice movements with a 10-ft pole. These groups often produce some form of excuse not to stand up for specific marginalized groups in society – wrong approach, unbiblical groups, hidden agendas etc.

What happened to standing up for the oppressed? Did Jesus stutter?

I suspect one other rationalization that Christians employ is to use God’s promise of judgment in the distant future as an excuse to refuse to engage in anti-oppression movements. This was something I noticed when reading up on articles on how Christians should react to injustice and suffering. Yes, we should lament, pray, hold fast to our hope etc. What was noticeably absent from these articles was the call to do something about it.

Maybe not everyone is in a position of privilege to lead a demonstration for black lives, or to work in an NGO that can provide legal advice to the marginalized. I myself live in a country where protests are illegal. But in my opinion, we can all do something to make this world feel just a little less unjust for those who need it most. The most unchristian thing to do is in fact, to do nothing and let evil actors roam free and suffering abound.

If you have made it this far into this post, consider donating for the Palestinians through any reputable charities (these two are the ones I donate to specifically for the war in Gaza which are all highly rated on Charity navigator):

• Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (for aid to children)
• Anera (for general refugees in the Levant region – donatable through Charity navigator)

May the Lord convict us into action to live up to His standards to help and stand up for those in need.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 NRSVUE)