“But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom'” (Hebrews 1:8 ESV).
Hebrews 1:8 is a remarkable portion of Scripture when we stop to consider it. Here within this passage, God refers to the Son as God, and adds, “…the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice” (CSB).
A “scepter” is a staff held by a reigning monarch. This regal symbol of authority serves to represent a position of leadership, sovereignty, and power. God, the Son holds this royal emblem of authority that is characterized by righteousness (KJV). As this word implies, “righteousness” is associated with that which is right. This characteristic is a basic attribute of God, for He always does what is true, honest, right, and good.
For instance, God does not maintain a double standard or “bend the rules” to favor one person at the expense of another. Instead, He always acts righteously, just as we are told in the Old Testament book of Psalms (see Psalm 11:7). One Biblical scholar offers a further explanation…
“When the Bible speaks of God’s justice, it usually links it to divine righteousness. God’s justice is according to righteousness. There is no such thing as justice according to unrighteousness. There is no such thing as evil justice in God. The justice of God is always and ever an expression of His holy character. The word justice in the Bible refers to a conformity to a rule or a norm. God plays by the rules.”
This same author continues with a question that anticipates the type of objection that might be raised by a skeptic…
“…Is God qualified for the job? To function as the Supreme Judge of heaven and earth, He ought to be just. If the Supreme Judge is unjust, we have no hope of justice ever prevailing. We know that earthly judges can be corrupt. They take bribes; they show partiality; at times they act from ignorance. They make mistakes. Not so with God. There is no corruption in Him. No one can bribe Him. He refuses to show partiality. He is no respecter of persons. He never acts out of ignorance. He does not make mistakes.” (1)
Finally, we can say that every form of human government has one thing in common- they have all come (or will come) to an end. But this is not so with the righteous kingdom of the Son, for as we read here in Hebrews 1:8, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…”
(1) Sproul, R. C. (1993). The Holiness of God. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. [Page 52]