The first thing that God says he desires of his people is to do justly, to do justice. That’s the Hebrew word mishpat. This is the decision of a judge. What does a judge do? In the biblical context, the judge would hear the case and then he would ask, “What does the Law say?” Often, in biblical times and in modern, the judge would say, “What would I like the law to be?” And then he would render that decision. That is not “doing justly.”
How is it to be applied here? Most of us are not judges–but we do encounter disputes, and we do see situations where justice is not being done. How can I address this particular dispute in a way that conforms to what the law says? Justice is all about conformity to a standard, measuring up. God says in Proverbs 16.11, “A just weight and balance are the Lord’s; all the weights of the bag are his work.”
A “just” weight.
They used balances in those days. And you put the meat or the grain or whatever over on the left side, and then you took weights–they were usually stones in those days. Now we have those little metal weights that you use in high school physics lab.
You put 100 grams over on the right and the thing you’re weighing doesn’t move up. So you put 50 more and it moves up a little bit, and you put 10 more and it goes too far. And so you take the 10 off and you put 5, and you measure it out. We all know that that system doesn’t work unless the weights are what they claim to be–unless they meet the standard.
And so God says, You need to have a just weight when you say this is a bushel of grain. When you say this is a pound of meat, it better be a pound of meat. It better be accurate. That’s a just weight, conforming to the standard.
God says, I want you to do justly. I want you to obey me. I want you to measure up to the standard. And when I say care for the fatherless and the widow, I want you to do that. I don’t want you to abuse your power. I don’t want you to make a game of the law. I want you to use it to help my people do justice.
“Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor” (Lev 19.15).
“Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God” (Lev 24.22).
“Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge” (Dt 24.17).
In the New Testament, James says, Do you want to know what real religion is? It’s to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep yourself unspotted from the world (Jam 1.27). Visit the fatherless and widows. That doesn’t mean drop by, say “Hi, how are you?” Have a cup of tea and then leave.
It means roll up your sleeves and do whatever is necessary to solve that problem. Get involved. Take action on behalf of the fatherless and the widow. Do justice.
That’s probably going to cost you something, at least in time and thought if not money. It’s going to require a commitment. Getting involved.
And that’s the first thing out of God’s mouth in terms of what his heart is for us. Do justice. Do what God says. He condemns governments that use their power to abuse their people (Is 1.23; 10.2; Jer 7.6; 22.3; Ezk 22.7; Zec 7.10; Mal 3.5).
You find yourself in a position of power. You may not think so, but even children are often older siblings. Most adults are parents. You might be a manager, or the owner of a small business. In one way or another, you’re likely in a position of power.
Injustice, by definition, is using that position of power to take advantage of people who don’t have it, who are weak. And God says, do justice.
How seriously should we take this? Well, when Abraham is conversing with God about the fate of Sodom, he says, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do mishpat?” (Gen 18.25).
And shall we not as well?
In his farewell song to Israel, Moses sings, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: For all his ways are mishpat: A God of truth and without iniquity, Just and right is he” (Dt 32.4).
First thing, do justly.
Photo by Biegun Wschodni on Unsplash
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