Practice Justice (06/03/2012)

June 3, 2012 Background Scripture: Exodus 22:1 – 23:9 Lesson Passage: Exodus 23:1 - 9 We often speak of the Book of Law as though it only contains the Ten Commandments. Certainly the Ten Commandments are without doubt the ultimate declaration that helps to set forth the righteousness of God and how that righteousness is to be respected by man and how it should lead us to respect the proper moral relationship with one another. Besides the Ten Commandments, the Book of Law actually contains five biblical books and they record much of the history of the birth and establishment of Israel as a sovereign nation. That historical text contains hundreds of ordinances and laws that were to be used by Israel for everything from establishing the proper moral behavior for individuals to how to resolve civil conflicts among the people. The Ten Commandments established the moral foundation and the other laws and ordinances established Israel’s civil constitution to be used by the sovereign state operating under theocratic governance. The text of our lesson today examines a small portion of that constitution which addresses personal actions and their legal consequences. This passage details the kinds of actions that will cause a person to either adhere to the moral law or violate it. This passage is a reminder that much trouble can be avoided by simply being in the company of the right people. If you join with a group that is bent on doing wrong, you will be guilty of wrong doing at some point. Your righteousness must not be determined by others. God’s people should do good to those who love them as well as do good to their enemies. (That’s a different twist to the human concept of survivor of the fittest.) Jesus referred to this kind of disposition as loving your enemy. The Law also made it clear that people who are innocent deserve to be protected and defended. Bribes will take away a person’s sense of judgment. One’s work should be dictated by what’s in the heart and not by what one can receive. Receiving bribes will lead to lying and other forms of corruption. Never forget where God has delivered you from. When you see others in a similar predicament, know that it is only because of the grace of God you are no longer in the same situation. This attitude should cause you to have compassion for others—especially when you have been delivered from a similar situation as the one that they’re in. All of these instructions describe actions that lead a person to live out the spirit of the moral law of God. How we treat strangers and even our enemy should be dictated by our personal relationship to God and not based on how we would otherwise relate to them. Justice is more than an ideal goal to be pursued. Justice is an achievable reality when we pursue it in consideration of our interactions with each other. It is one thing to know what is right but something entirely different to do what is right. We must practice doing the right thing. We must practice justice. Robert C. Hudson May 23, 2012