Biblical Justice (2)
“You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16.19, 20
A changeable idea?
We have said that public policymaking in America can only avoid the pitfalls and corruption of mere self-interest by focusing on justice as its overarching objective and goal.
But what is justice? Is justice defined by social whims or the squeaky wheel of outspoken interest groups? Does justice have a fixed basis, or is it merely something to define and adjust as we see fit? Is it only possible to understand justice, or to work for just public policies, by prefixing various adjectives to the subject: racial justice, economic justice, social justice, and so forth?
For many people today, justice is like fashion: You can change the meaning of justice to suit the temper of the times. In such a situation, justice is defined by those who pipe the worldview tunes of the day—media, pop culture, politicians, academics, and so forth. We know how changeable such pipers can be.
This is not the way the Bible teaches us to think about justice; nor is it the way our Founding Fathers regarded this important virtue. According to the Biblical worldview, justice takes the form of policies and practices which embody the character and purpose of God. For those who are pursuing the Kingdom economy, a society is just when its laws and ways reflect the goodness, wisdom, compassion, and honor of God.
The source of justice
Our text relates justice to honesty, fairness, wisdom, and righteousness. Each of these qualities, in turn, has its origin in the character of God.
It’s instructive to compare our text with another passage, Deuteronomy 10.17, 18. Here God describes Himself by saying, “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.” Here we can see how the idea of justice flows from the character and work of God. God does not show partiality. He loves those who need justice. God cannot lie and does not deceive. He is all wisdom and understanding and knowledge. And God is righteous in all His ways.
In the Trinitarian relationship of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, honesty, wisdom, righteousness, goodness, and love obtain at all times and evidence a Being full of glory and abounding in blessings. God Himself is the embodiment of justice; the Word He proclaims to His people encodes His character and defines the terms of justice by which we must live.
God intends people to live in a way that reflects His own character, imitates His own works, and does all things to His glory and honor. A society is just to the extent that it manages to do this.
But how can a just society, one which reflects the very being of God, be realized? By obedience to God’s Law and attendance on all His counsel and ways. Our text (Deut. 16.19, 20) follows the command to appoint judges and officers in all the towns of Israel (v. 18). These men were responsible to see to it that the holy and righteous and good Law of God (Rom. 7.12) provided the policies and guided the practices by which their communities existed. These officers would assemble in the gates of the city to consider how best to bring the requirements of justice to bear on situations or circumstances affecting the wellbeing of their community (cf. Ruth 4).
By turning to the Law of God, seeking principles to guide them as they thought through situations according to the demands of love for God and neighbor-love, the judges and officers worked together to make just decisions and enact just policies for their community.
That this situation rarely existed in Israel throughout the period of the Old Testament does not change the fact that it is the means to justice God prescribed and that He blessed when it was followed.
Justice and God’s Law
We cannot have just public policies where the Law of God is ignored or despised. Understanding God’s Law and discerning principles for applying it today is not easy work. It requires people committed to the Law as holy and righteous and good—people who, like Ezra (Ez. 7.10), are devoted to studying, living, and teaching the gracious, liberating, and just precepts of God’s Law to the people they are called to serve.
Those who take up the mantle of that prophet will find approval with Jesus, for He taught that learning, obeying, and teaching the Law of God is the way to find greatness in His Kingdom (Matt. 5.17-19).
Only people can introduce the Law of God into the public policy arenas of our society. Each believer bears a responsibility for seeking to influence the shape of public policy. It’s part of what we owe to Caesar in a free society. Believers should learn and keep the Law so that they may confidently encourage their political representatives to follow its teaching as well; and they should be ready to assist those officials by every means in seeking policies that are agreeable to the requirements of justice.
But what are the requirements of justice? What forms does justice take in the Law of God?
For reflection
1. Why is it unwise to have justice rooted in anything other than unchanging truth?
2. What do many people look to today as sources for justice?
3. Suggest some passages of Scripture that speak to the nature of justice:
Next steps – Transformation: What is the role of the Law of God in the life of faith? Meditate on Psalm 1; Ezekiel 36.26, 27; Matthew 5.17-19; Romans 3.31 and 7.12; and 1 John 2.1-6. Put all this together into a succinct statement regarding how believers should relate to the Law of God. Give thanks to God for His holy and righteous and good Law.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our daily Scriptorium column is focusing on Ephesians 4. This week in our Read Moorepodcast we wrap up our readings from the book, To Know Jesus. Our Crosfigell teaching letter continues our study of the life of Brigit, a contemporary of Brendan. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
