Jude 1:9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

The word “blasphemy” is practically confined to speech defamatory of the Divine Majesty. Ref. Strong’s. 

For Michael, a named Archangel, to call into question the devil’s actions might be seen as judging God’s creation of Satan in the first place. This calls into question God’s sovereign will to create with purpose, knowing the end of things before they even begin. Rather than risking rebuke himself, Michael calls upon the Lord to do the rebuking.

John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (KJV)

John 7:24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. (ESV)

It may seem to be a little thing to distinguish between righteous and right. It comes down to the issue of where the judgment comes from.

Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

The knowledge of what is right comes from He who is righteous and not from a mind that is convinced. Faith plays a key role in determining if judgment is coming from God or from our human condition.

We are conditioned to want to be right even when we are dead wrong.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Woe warnings only work for those who read God’s Word, believe God’s Word, and trust God even when everyone else is screaming we are wrong.

I have a line I leave online for all to read. “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.” That is my way of challenging others to question their own understanding. The ability to buy into a lie is a real human condition and Satan knows that. The only way to combat his lies is to listen to the Spirit of Truth by faith. This is what I hear in John 7:24, is God at work in what you see before you?

John 5:19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

Psalm 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Revelation 6:5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.

When we use the words black and white there can be a sense of judgment. How we came to see the meaning of black or white is a matter of history, teachings, and social discourse.

In science we can break down white into its component parts with a prism to reveal all the colors of the rainbow. Black is not included because black is the absence of color.

John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Darkness is not black, it is the absence of light. When the eye perceives black light is absorbed in the blackness and does not reflect light. In this spiritual sense light reveals things to be understood as they are meant to be understood. A correct perspective.

The black horse in Revelation 6:5 is neither good nor bad but a sign that the rider carries the scales of a just weight, judgment.

Exodus 28:30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.

Judgment was left to the High Priest, not the people. Hebrews 6:20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.”

Why not?

Matthew 7:2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

How do we deal with evil that presents itself to us?

Jude 1:9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Avoid blasphemous judgments.