Jehovah is a just and loving God

Clarifications I am a Jehovah's Witness. We align our beliefs with the Bible, but recognize not everything in the Bible is to be taken literally. We also recognize that although the scribes who did the copying had meticulous methods for checking their copies for errors, these men were imperfect and there are discrepancies in spelling and word order with a few words changed or added in their copies, but nothing of doctrinal significance. There is no other ancient book as well attested as the Bible with its thousands of copies in the original language showing that it has been the same for approximately 1,500 years of copying. And, indeed, we believe God is not immoral (according to man's standards of morality) and that there are no bad teachings in the Bible. On the contrary, “all scripture is inspired of God and beneficial” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). "Jehovah is a lover of justice" (Psalms 37:28) At the age of 17, Joseph had been betrayed by his own brothers, who almost killed him. He was then sold as a slave in a foreign land. There, he refused the advances of his master's wife who then falsely accused him of attempted rape and he found himself confined in a dungeon. What a gross injustice! But Jehovah, who is “a lover of righteousness and justice” (Psalms 33:5), was watching, and He acted to correct the injustices, maneuvering events so that Joseph was eventually released. In the end, He went from a man who had been thrown in a prison hole to a man placed in a position of great responsibility and honor (Genesis 40:15; 41:41-43; Psalm 105:17, 18). He used his exalted position to further God's purpose (Genesis 45:5-8). This account speaks to our hearts, doesn't it? Who of us hasn't seen injustice or been a victim of it? Yes, indeed, we all want to be treated in a just manner, and this is not surprising. Jehovah created us to reflect his own personality, and justice is one of His greatest qualities (Genesis 1:27). Now, imagine a man put in prison for something he did not do, an elderly widow cheated out of her life savings, or a helpless baby abandoned by a cold-hearted parent. Likely, when thinking about this you feel disturbed, and that is understandable. We humans have a strong sense of what is right and wrong. When injustice is committed, we are enraged. We want compensation for the victim and justice to be brought to the offender. If this does not happen, we may ask ourselves, “Doesn't God see what is happening? Why doesn't he act?” In the Bible, servants of Jehovah have asked similar questions. The prophet Habakkuk, for example, prayed to Jehovah, “Why do you make me watch such terrible injustice? Why do you allow violence, lawlessness, crime, and cruelty to spread everywhere?” (Habakkuk 1:3). Jehovah did not reprimand Habakkuk for his question, since He is who imparted in us humans the concept of justice. Jehovah is not unaware of injustice. He sees what is going on. In Noah's day, for example, “Jehovah saw that the badness of man was abundant in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of His heart was only bad all the time.” (Genesis 6:5). Our perception of injustice is based on a few incidents we might have heard of or experienced personally. Jehovah, on the other hand, is aware of injustice in a global scale. He sees it all! More than that, He can recognize the inclinations of the heart, the degraded thinking behind unjust acts. And He does more than than merely take note of injustice. He cares about the victims. For example, when His people were oppressively treated by the enemy nations, He distressed “over their groaning because of their oppressors and those who were shoving them around.” (Judges 2:18). Maybe you have noticed the more people see injustice, the more they get used to it. This is not true about Jehovah, however, who has been seeing injustice in its entirety for some 6,000 years. On the contrary, the Bible guarantees us that things like, “a false tongue,” “hands that are shedding innocent blood,” and “a false witness that launches forth lies” are detestable to him. (Proverbs 6:16-19). O how Jehovah hates injustice! Why, He has experienced it personally! For thousands of years Satan has been unjustly taunting Jehovah (Provers 27:11), and He was touched furthermore by the most horrible act of injustice when His Son who “committed no sin” was executed as a criminal (1 Peter 2:22; Isaiah 53:9). Why, then, does God allow injustice? Jehovah has the right to rule over the Earth and all those dwelling on it (Psalm 24:1; Revelation 4:11). But, a long time ago, Jehovah's sovereignty was challenged. He commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from a certain tree in the garden that was his paradise home. If he disobeyed, God told him “you will positively die” (Genesis 2:17). Satan, however, told Eve “You positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.” (Genesis 3:1-5). Satan here was implying, not only that Jehovah kept important information from Adam and Eve, but that He lied to them. Satan was careful not to question the fact of Jehovah's sovereignty, but he did challenge the righteousness of it, maintaining that He did not exercise His sovereignty in a righteous way and in the best interest of His subjects. Adam and Eve ate from the fruit, and their disobedience resulted in them receiving the punishment of death. But Satan's lie raised some important questions. Does Jehovah really have the right to rule man, or should man rule himself? Jehovah could have used His almighty power to destroy the rebels immediately, but the thing being questioned was not His power but His rulership. Rather than solving the issue, the immediate destruction of the rebels would only call His rulership into question even further. Only letting time pass could it be determined whether humans could successfully govern themselves. What has history revealed concerning human rule? Through the millenniums, people have experimented with many types of government. But, like the Bible says, “Man has dominated man to his injury.” (Ecclesiastes 8:9). This is why the prophet Jeremiah said, “I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jeremiah 10:23). From the beginning, Jehovah knew man ruling himself would result in much suffering. Was it, therefore, unjust of Him to allow the inevitable to happen? No. Let's say you have a child that needs surgery to cure him from a life-threatening disease. You understand the surgery will cause your child some suffering, and this aggrieves you. But you also know the surgery will allow your child to enjoy better health later in life. Similarly, God foretold that His allowance of human rule would bring along with it some pain and suffering. (Genesis 3:16-19). But He also knew that everlasting relief would only be possible if he allowed mankind to see the bad results produced by rebellion. In this way the question could be settled permanently, for all eternity. Then we will enjoy of what God promises in Revelation 21:4. “And He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” "God is love" (1 John 4:8). Love is what moved Jehovah to begin creating. He wasn't lonely or needed companionship. He is complete and self-sustained, lacking nothing that someone else could provide. Jehovah, being the very personification of love, was naturally moved to share the gift of life with intelligent beings that could appreciate this gift. The greatest act of love was when He sent His Son to the Earth. How do you think He felt as He saw Jesus deserted by his friends, subjected to an illegal trial, ridiculed, spat on, struck, nailed hands and feet to a wooden pole as people vituperated him, and as he cried out to his Father in agony? How do you think Jehovah felt as His dear Son, with whom He had lived with since the dawn of creation, was not in existence? The pain He suffered is beyond the power of our words to express. After seeing the darkness and violent earthquake that preceded Jesus' death, an astonished Roman soldier said, “Certainly, this was God's Son” (Matthew 27:54). Why did Jehovah subject himself to such feelings? Jehovah reveals something wonderful to us in John 3:16. “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” Conclusion After this examination of the scriptures, there is no doubt that our God, Jehovah, is a just and loving God.