Chapter
19 A Contradictory God of Justice?
The
LORD is known by his justice.
(Psa 9:16)
Content
of Chapter 19
19.1
Setting the Scene: the chapter's strategy
19.2
Approaching the Old Testament: An Overview
19.3
Justice & the Law of Moses
19.4
Justice in the subsequent life of Israel
19.5
Justice in the Songs of Israel
19.6
Justice and the Prophets
19.7
And So?
Thesis
of Chapter 19: If
the clear testimony of Scripture is that God is a God of Justice,
it is inconceivable that He will commit acts that are contrary
to justice, and so we will need to review all His acts in the
light of this. |
19.1
Setting the Scene: the chapter's strategy
In
the early chapters of this book we noted the following description
of God:
the
LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow
to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion and sin.
(Exodus 34:6,7)
However,
we also noted that one of the biggest responses to my apologetics
blog is about why God allowed or even commanded Israel
to kill the inhabitants of Canaan,
men, women and children. Surely, people say, this doesn't correspond
with that description of God? Why did God allow or instruct Israel
to wipe out the inhabitants
of Canaan?
Did
God actually say that to Israel - kill all the men women and children?
Well the truth is that that form of words never appears but to sense
of it does appear as the following:
Deut
20:16-18 "in
the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance,
do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them--the
Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--as
the LORD your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you
to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods,
and you will sin against the LORD your God.
To
catch something of the uniqueness of this though we also need to note
the verses that immediately precede this:
Deut
20:10-15
"When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer
of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people
in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If
they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege
to that city. When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put
to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the
livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder
for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the LORD your God gives
you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities
that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby."
These
were God's battle instructions for Israel which would have been necessary
in the future when defending themselves against neighbouring nations
and it is clear that the general instruction means that in war only
the men of the enemy were to be killed. This therefore raises the
question as to why it should be different in the case of the inhabitants
of Canaan. We will consider this later.
My
usual answer to the
question about Israel invading Canaan
(and I will return to this in a couple of chapters time) is
that, in fact, the occupants of Canaan had three options:
•
To join Israel
as the Gibeonites did
(see Joshua 9)
There
are many verses below so you may want to just scan down them, but
please catch a sense of their importance as you do. So what does the
Old Testament show us about justice?
Return
to top of page
19.3
Justice & the Law of Moses
Well,
first of all we need to examine the Laws of Moses given by God to
Israel,
as the Law forms the main part of God's instructions to this embryonic
nation as to how to live. We can see that, in those laws, there is
a demand for justice:
Ex
23:2,3 When
you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice
by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man
in his lawsuit.
- Justice
was to prevail over public opinion!
Ex
23:6,7 Do
not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent
or honest person to death
- Justice
was to prevail in the courts without bias against lower classes
Lev
19:15
Do
not pervert justice ; do not show partiality to the
poor or favoritism to the great
- Again,
justice is to prevail irrespective of class
Deut
16:19,20
Do
not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept
a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words
of the righteous. Follow justice and justice alone,
so that you may live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving
you.
- Maintaining
justice was to be a condition of them being given the Promised Land
Deut
24:7
Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice
, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.
- Justice
was to include foreigners, orphans and widows, i.e. the weaker members
of society
Deut
27:19
Cursed is the man who withholds justice from
the alien, the fatherless or the widow
- Failure
to maintain justice for these people would mean a curse, God's decree
of bad, coming on those responsible.
In
other words, it is very clear in the Law that justice was a concept
dear to God's heart and which he required Israel
to think about and maintain.
Return
to top of page
19.4
Justice in the subsequent life of Israel
When
we follow through on the ongoing life of Israel
in the Old Testament, we find
that justice was an important aspect of their life together:
1
Sam 8:3
But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after
dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
- The
absence of justice in Samuel's sons was noteworthy in a nation that
expected it.
2
Sam 15:4 And
Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land!
Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would
see that he gets justice."
- Absalom,
trying the win over the hearts of the people, puts himself forward
as one who would ensure justice be done a vote winner!
1
Kings 3:9-12 So
give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to
distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern
this great people of yours?" The Lord was pleased that Solomon
had asked for this. So God said to him, "Since you have asked
for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked
for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering
justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give
you a wise and discerning heart.
- Solomon,
in his first encounter with God asks for wisdom to bring justice
distinguishing between right and wrong.
- This
pleases God who grants him special wisdom to administer justice
in the nation.
1
Kings 3:28 When
all Israel
heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because
they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice.
- Solomon's
wisdom in action was seen to bring justice and this pleased the
people (because it made them feel secure).
1
Kings 10:9 Praise
be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on
the throne of Israel.
Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel,
he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness."
- The
Queen of Sheba praises Solomon for she sees that his wisdom has
established an orderly nation where justice and right living are
the norm.
Ezra
7:25 And
you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God, which you possess,
appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice
to all the people of Trans-Euphrates--all who know the laws of your
God.
- Following
the exile, the king instructed Ezra, who was returning to the land,
to re-establish a legal system to ensure justice, in line with the
laws of God.
Return
to top of page
19.5
Justice in the Songs of Israel
If
we examine the psalms, the songs of Israel
, we will see what the beliefs
of the culture were:
Psa
9:7-9 The
LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He
will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples
with justice .
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Psa
9:16 The
LORD is known by his justice
Psa
11:7 the
LORD is righteous, he loves justice ;
Psa
33:5 The
LORD loves righteousness and justice ; the
earth is full of his unfailing love.
Psa
36:6 Your
righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice
like the great deep.
Psa
45:6 Your
throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice
will be the scepter of your kingdom.
Psa
89:14 Righteousness
and justice are the foundation of your throne; love
and faithfulness go before you.
Psa
101:1 I
will sing of your love and justice ; to you, O LORD,
I will sing praise.
Psa
103:6 The
LORD works righteousness and justice for all the
oppressed.
Psa
140:12 I
know that the LORD secures justice for the poor
and upholds the cause of the needy
There
it is, in the common culture, the belief and expectation was that
God is a God of justice. Justice is a primary concern and expression
of His.
Return
to top of page
19.6
Justice and the Prophets
The
role of the prophets was to bring encouragement AND
correction where there was a
failure to maintain the Law of Moses, and hold on to their national
characteristics. Just a couple of examples will suffice; there are
many more.
Isa
1:17
learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage
the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case
of the widow.
- in
an early rebuke, the Lord calls for the nation to reinstate justice
Isa
1:21 See
how the faithful city (Jerusalem)
has become a harlot! She once was
full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her--
but now murderers!
- Jerusalem
, the capital, is rebuked in
that once she was full of justice but no more!
Isa
5:7 the
LORD Almighty
. looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
- a
further stinging rebuke for the loss of justice in the nation
Isa
33:5 The
LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion
with justice and righteousness.
- in
a reference to a future Israel,
justice will be something God ensures is there.
Isa
58:6,7
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the
chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to
set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your
food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--
when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your
own flesh and blood?
- the
absence of justice it to be remedied.
- God
is fed up with spiritual fasting; He wants there to be changes in
real life justice to come back to their daily lives as expressed
in the terms of these verses.
Isa
61:8 For
I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity.
- If
we still weren't clear about it, here is God's ultimate declaration
through Isaiah.
Jer
9:24 I
am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and
righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,"
- the
same thing is declared through Jeremiah years later.
Jer
21:12 O
house of David, this is what the LORD says: "Administer justice
every morning; rescue from the hand of his oppressor the
one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like
fire because of the evil you have done.
- again
God's call to Judah
to make sure justice is part of their lives.
Ezek
22:23,29,30 Again
the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, say to the land
..
The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they
oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying
them justice. "I looked for a man among them who would
build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the
land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will
pour out my wrath on them.
- a
strong similar rebuke through the prophet Ezekiel
Hos
12:6 But
you must return to your God; maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.
- Hosea
likewise calls for justice to be restored
Amos
5:15 Hate
evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.
- Yet
another of the minor prophets', Amos joins in the call for justice
to be reinstated.
To
save space we will simply note that Micah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Zechariah
and Malachi all call for justice to be reinstated in this nation that
had gone away from God.
There
is no doubt that all these prophets, inspired by God, knew that justice
was to be a vital characteristic of this chosen and special people,
reflecting the nature of the God who had called them into being.
Return
to top of page
19.7
And So?
As
we conclude this brief study of how the Old Testament acclaims God
as a God of justice, we must ask ourselves, how reasonable is it to
suppose that the God who is so clearly described in these obvious
ways as a God of justice, could act in other ways that appear contrary
to justice? Or, as we briefly noted earlier, how can a God of love
act in such ways?
Let's
remind ourselves of what we declared at the beginning of this chapter:
Thesis
of Chapter 19: If
the clear testimony of Scripture is that God is a God of Justice,
it is inconceivable that He will commit acts that are contrary to
justice, and so we will need to review all His acts in the light of
this.
Some
people have struggled with this conundrum by suggesting the Old Testament
is simply the product of human writers, conveying conflicting mistaken
reports. Some have even suggested more than one God!
A
much more likely conclusion is that we simply haven't thought about
justice or understood it and therefore have jumped to wrong conclusions!
We
need to move on and consider just what justice is. We have seen it
referred to many times in the Bible, but what exactly is justice and
can all of God's activities be considered just? That is the subject
of the next chapter.
Finally,
to remind ourselves these are the things we have covered in this chapter:
19.1
Setting the Scene: the chapter's strategy
- description
of God's justice by which to measure His deeds
19.2
Approaching the Old Testament: An Overview
- how
we will view it in this chapter
19.3
Justice & the Law of Moses
- how
the Law speaks of justice
19.4
Justice in the subsequent life of Israel
- how
it became part of the life of Israel
19.5
Justice in the Songs of Israel
- how
the songs reflected it
19.6
Justice and the Prophets
- how
the prophets called for it
19.7
And So?
- the
conclusions that follow