Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

JUST, JUSTICE

In a philosophical sense, justice is understood as fairness, correct treatment, or equitable distribution of resources, but biblical justice is more than a mathematical distribution of goods. The Bible speaks of justice as a chief attribute of God, with biblical justice inextricably tied to God’s mercy and grounded in the relationship between God and humankind. From the time of the wilderness wanderings when the Hebrew people were given ethical instructions about their treatment of widows, orphans, and strangers, the practice of justice has been understood as the mission of those who follow Yahweh.

The biblical tradition is alive with examples of men and women who brought justice to situations of oppression and injustice. From Deborah, the prophet and judge who administered justice, to the 8th-century prophets who called Israel and Judah to act justly toward the poor and oppressed, to Jesus who demonstrated the centrality of justice through his words and actions, biblical images of justice offer a window to God’s response to injustice.

Both ṣĕḏāqâ and mišpāṭ, Hebrew words for “righteousness” and “justice,” can be understood in legalistic terms. Heb. ṣĕḏāqâ can refer to ethical and moral standards or equality of all people before the law. Likewise, mišpāṭ can refer to law, the process of deciding a case in civil or religious government, execution of a judgment, or rights of an individual under civil or religious law.

Heb. ṣĕḏāqâ and mišpāṭ, as also Gk. díkē and dikaiosýnē, often are translated as “judgment” and “righteousness,” words not normally associated today with justice. However, with reference to a situation of oppression or injustice, their importance to the OT and NT concept of justice is clear.

Justice is rooted in God’s character (Isa. 5:16; Deut. 32:4), and justice is what God demands of followers (16:20). A central concept is that the justice of a community is measured by their treatment of the poor and oppressed (Isa. 1:16-17; 3:15). Although the message of justice is woven throughout the Bible, the prophets especially issued a strong call for the covenant community to recognize God as the God of justice and to repent of their injustice. Their primary message can be summarized in the words of Mic. 6:8: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

The Jubilee tradition in Lev. 25 reflects Israel’s understanding of God’s demands for justice in the midst of an unjust society. Intended to be observed every 50 years, the Jubilee incorporated Sabbath Year practices of the Covenant code and the Deuteronomic code, providing for land to lie fallow and indentured servants to be set free every seven years. During the Jubilee Year, debts would be forgiven and lands sold because of indebtedness would be returned to the original owners. For agrarian societies like Israel, return of land and forgiveness of debts amounted to economic restructuring of society. Undergirding the Jubilee Year is the biblical principle of redress that corrects past wrongs to approximate equality and restores the human community to wholeness.

Bibliography. B. C. Birch, Let Justice Roll Down (Louisville, 1991); S. C. Mott, Biblical Ethics and Social Change (Oxford, 1982).

Michelle Tooley

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

JUST, JUSTICE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)