Biblical Justice (3)

“When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you.” Deuteronomy 24.10, 11

A jewel of five facets
In Biblical terms, justice is simply the character and works of God lived out within human communities. A just society is one that reflects in its public policies and personal practices the wisdom, beauty, goodness, truth, and love of God.

We might think it strange to turn to the Law of God for insight to the practice of justice. However, the Founders of this country did not think so. Many of the law codes of the American colonies included excerpts from the Law of God, copied verbatim or paraphrased as needed. Our forebears understood that God’s Law points the way to justice. If we would understand justice, therefore, we need to look a little more closely at the Law of God.

Justice as encoded in the Law of God is a jewel of five facets. The first and most basic of these we may refer to as obligatory justice. In the exercise of obligatory justice, we give to others the dignity, respect, and love they deserve by virtue of their being human beings and the image-bearers of God.

Paul summarized this sense of obligatory justice nicely when he wrote, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13.8).

Respect and love
Our text (Deut. 24.10, 11) offers an example. The specific situation may not apply in our day, but remember, we’re looking for principles of justice which we can use for all kinds of grace exchanges in the Kingdom economy.

In ancient Israel, making a loan to someone did not give the one who made the loan the right to violate the privacy, threaten the dignity, or impugn the honesty of the borrower. If the terms of the loan included a pledge, the one making the loan was expected to trust the good and honest intentions, as well as the word, of the one receiving the loan, and to wait outside his home for him to bring the pledge out to him.

We owe a good many things to all our fellow human beings. Together, these make up the various obligations of neighbor-love. We owe them honesty, truth, and fairness in contracts, wages, and communications; respect and care for their persons and property; due process in civil matters; and the demands of grace and the protections of justice at all times. We are our neighbors’ keepers, and whatever love requires of us, we must be ready to perform.

It is not the place of public policy to require neighbor-love. Much of what constitutes obligatory justice will be practiced as civility, out of a sense of gratitude to God, obedience to His Law, and compassionate concern for our neighbors. All true justice flows from a heart transformed by grace. So while we cannot require justice by law, we can prescribe it. And, whenever clear transgressions of obligatory justice are committed, it is the role of public policy to redress the injustice.

Enforcing justice
How would a man be judged in ancient Israel who did, in fact, enter his neighbor’s home and search all through it to find the pledge his loan required, while his neighbor stood by, humiliated? It’s not clear. Certainly such a violation of the dignity of one in need would have been looked upon with concern. The person who openly flouted this basic requirement of justice might find himself reproached or shunned for his behavior. Moreover, it’s possible that such a breach of obligatory justice would have come before the judges and officials of the community for a ruling. We would only be speculating to describe how local judges might have corrected the injustice – the slight of a neighbor’s dignity – such an unlawful action would have created.

But that local judges had the power to do so, as well as the responsibility, is certainly the case. Would some punitive action have repaired the hard heart of the offender? Perhaps. Would it have served notice to the rest of the community that God and His representatives take seriously the defense of the rights and dignity of every member of the community? We can be sure.

When injustice comes to light, even at such a seemingly small and insignificant level, other facets of the practice of justice begin to come into play. For when obligatory justice is violated, restorative and retributive justice may be required.

But first let’s see if these might be avoided through the practice of preventive justice.

For reflection or discussion
1. Why do we say that love is something we owe to others?

2. Think about your day yesterday. What opportunities for practicing obligatory justice were presented to you? On a scale of 1 to 10, how did you do?

3. Suggest some ways that Christians might become more mindful about the practice of obligatory justice.

Next steps – Demonstration: Make a list of all the people you typically encounter each week – at home, at work or church, throughout the community. What do you owe these people by way of obligatory justice? What does it mean for you to love these people with the kind of love which is characteristic of God (cf. Phil. 2.1-11)? Jot down some ideas, then begin acting toward the people in your life with a more consistent practice of obligatory justice.

T. M. Moore

This week’s ReVision study is Part 8 of a 10-part series, “The Kingdom Economy.” You can download “Biblical Justice” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here. For a background study of Kingdom economics, order the book, The Kingdom Turn,  from our online store, and learn what it means to enter the Kingdom, not just talk about it.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.