A God of Justice

My friend Leslie is reading through the Bible this year looking for delight and inviting anyone who likes to join her and share their findings.  For the past couple of days I've read looking for the word (or one close to it) or in the absence of the word, looking for scripture that brought delight.

I'm reading through the book of Judges right now, and since I started looking for the word delight I haven't seen it.  The only thing close to it were these words from Gideon's son Jotham:  "If you then have acted in good faith and integrity with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you" (Judges 9:19).  Abimelech was Jotham's half-brother who killed 70 of his other half-brothers so that he could rule in Israel.  He was a really bad guy to say the least.  Jotham goes on to say that if they don't rejoice in Abimelech and what he has done then fire should come out and devour Abimelech and those who helped make him king.

My delight came a few verses later when I read that after Abimelech ruled for three years God "sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem...that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers" (Judges 9:23-24).  It makes me glad that God is just, and that He does not allow evil deeds to go unpunished.