Truth, Mercy, and Judgment

A people do not fall in a day. They drift by refusing the knowledge of God, and then the rot appears in plain deeds: lying, adultery, bloodshed, flattery, stubborn worship, and priests no better than the people. Hosea shows the charge plainly, and the histories prove it: Israel would not depart from its sins, but, as Tertullian says, "worship golden cattle, and groves, and enslave themselves to Baal." Where truth and mercy are cast aside, ruin enters the land.

Job’s chapter warns us that words can also go astray. The old men are silent, and Elihu burns with zeal; yet the real danger named there is this: a man may be righteous in his own eyes and justify himself rather than God. There is a silence that comes when pride is exposed and no answer remains, "the truth stopping their mouths;" as Methodius says. Better such silence than bold speech that defends sin, flatters the powerful, or excuses our disobedience.

Yet even amid judgment, God leaves witness to the resurrection. A dead man touched Elisha’s bones and lived. This is no small marvel, but a sign that death does not have the final word. As Irenaeus says, "If the corpse of Elisha raised a dead man, how much more shall God, when He has quickened men’s dead bodies, bring them up for judgment?" Therefore repent while breath remains. Keep truth on your tongue, mercy in your hands, and the knowledge of God before your eyes. The God who raises the dead also weighs the lives of the living.