Justice and Righteousness - Never-Ending Streams

 

Lady Justice, Singapore Supreme Court

'Let justice roll on like a river and righteousness like a never failing stream!' Amos 5:24

We tend to make a display of our piety, paying so much attention to ceremonies, rituals, praises and worships. Our temple worships can be like Chinese Opera with clanging symbols and beating of drums. Our church worship can be like Taylor Swift Concerts with electric guitars, electronic keyboards and electric drums. There is no denying that when we worship God together we want to put in our best efforts. However this show of religiosity can be very insincere, and if so it is repugnant to God who used the strongest words through the Prophet Amos.

'I hate, I despise  your religious festivals; you assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard form them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen listen to the music of your harps.' Amos 5:21-23

We may wonder why this litany of pronouncements against false, insincere and showy worship. The Lord prefers His people to 'walk the talk' with sincere justice and righteousness marking their daily living.

'But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream' Amos 5:24

The Hebrew word for justice is Mishpat. The meaning goes beyond just rightness or wrongness, nor punishment of wrongdoing. It also means to treat others with equity, giving people what they are due.

Timothy Keller in his essay on Justice in the Bible (Ref 1) noted, "Biblical justice is not a set of bullet points or a set of rules and guidelines. It is rooted in the very character of God and it is the outworking of that character, which is never less than just." One attribute of the Triune God, noted Keller,  is the immaculate equity and justness in all His dealings with man at all times and in all ways.

Tim Keller wrote, "One principle of biblical justice is universal equality which means that every person should be treated by the same standards and the same respect regardless of class, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender or of any other social category." 

'You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbour.' Leviticus 19:15

The Hebrew word for righteousness is Tzadegah means being upright, as in someone who is straight in his dealings with God and others. Timothy Keller in a short article on Biblical righteousness (Ref 2) noted that it is not just about private morality; it is not personal but inevitably social. Tim Keller noted that Tzadegah refers to day by day living in which a person conducts all his relationships in family and society with fairness, generosity and equity.'

When the Prophet Amos wrote, "Let justice roll like a river and righteousness like a never failing stream" he was referring not about personal nor corporate piety but personal and corporate conduct, the way we treat others. 

Both Micah 6 and Amos 5 told us not to be preoccupied by the practices or rituals of our faith but to put the faith that we have to right practices. The practical expressions of our belief in and love for God should be lived out naturally, abundantly and evidently, like never-ending streams.

The hymn 'Brother, Sister, Let Me Serve' is the Christian call to selfless service and community. We have the chance to show justice, kindness, righteousness and humility in walking alongside others and bearing one another's joys and sorrows. God will be pleased if we learn to treat each other with justice and righteousness.

'To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.' Proverbs 21:3

 

Brother, Sister Let Me Serve You.

Let Me Be As Christ To You;

Pray That I May Have The Grace To

Let You Be My Servant Too.

Brother, Sister Let Me Serve You.

Let Me Be As Christ To You;

Pray That I May Have The Grace To

Let You Be My Servant Too.

We Are Pilgrims On A Journey,

And Companions On The Road;

We Are Here To Help Each Other

Walk The Mile And Bear The Load.

I Will Hold The Christ-Light For You

In The Night-Time Of Your Fear;

I Will Hold My Hand Out To You,

Speak The Peace You Long To Hear.

I Will Weep When You Are Weeping;

When You Laugh I’ll Laugh With You;

I Will Share Your Joy And Sorrow

Till We’ve Seen This Journey Through.

When We Sing To God In Heaven

We Shall Find Such Harmony,

Born Of All We’ve Known Together

Of Christ’s Love And Agony.

Brother, Sister Let Me Serve You.

Let Me Be As Christ To You;

Pray That I May Have The Grace To

Let You Be My Servant Too.

Lionel

Ref 1: Timothy Keller: https://quarterly.gospelinlife.com/justice-in-the-bible/

Ref 2: Timothy Keller: https://generositymonk.com/2016/09/14/tim-keller-biblical-righteousness-exhibits-generosity/

On Being Human

'He has shown you, O Mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.'  Micah 6

On the 22 June 2016 Singaporeans woke up to the horrible news of torture and death of a foreign maid at the hands of her former employer. Myanmar National aged 24 years died as a result of severe abuse and beating the day before. The employer was sentenced to 30 years in prison. 

The poor young girl weighed only 24 kg at the time of death, the result of severe deprivation and malnutrition. She was literally starved to death. The whole family was involved, husband and mother too, in the heinous abuse. 

The three trials, the third trial being currently held, unveiled the extent of inhumanity that can exist in a common household even in peaceful Singapore. All Singaporeans were shocked at the extent of the cruelty, the inhumanity inflicted on an innocent human being. The doctor who examined the poor victim at death noted that her limbs were like just loose skin wrapping bones. Overlaying the last act that resulted in death must have been months of deprivation and exploitation, an example of modern slavery.

Slavery still exists in the 21st Century. According to the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, there are 50 million slaves in 2021. Of these people 28 million were in forced labour and 22 million were trapped in forced marriages. The International Labour Organisation stated that slavery occurs in almost every country in the world. More than half of all forced labour and a quarter of forced marriages can be found in upper-middle and high-income countries.

What happened? What happened to the human spirit, human touch and human gentleness? The Bible recorded another trial in Micah 6:1-8 that exposed the underlying reason for this loss of human dignity.

A court case was recorded in Micah 6:1-8, a court case brought upon all humanity. This time the  prosecutor is God Himself. 

'Stand up and state your case against me. Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.' Micah 6:1

'And now O mountains, listen to the Lord's complaint! He has a case against His people. He will bring charges against His people, He will bring charges against Israel.' Micah 6:2    

What is the charge? The accusation is that human beings have forsaken God.

'O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me? Answer me!' Micah 6:2

President M. Craig Barnes of Princeton Theological Seminary, in preaching on this passage commented that by forsaking God we forget to be humans. Every time humans forget they have a God, they start to act like gods. That is when the greatest evil will be unleashed on others such as the Holocaust during World War 2 in Europe and the torture and death of the domestic helper, more recently in Singapore. 

Many Singaporean families rely and benefit from the hard work of foreign maids. Unfortunately, sometimes these maids are exploited, made to work long hours; without any kindness shown to them. Every year, several employers of foreign maids are convicted of physical abuse on these maids and sentenced to heavy jail terms. 

How can we correct ourselves? The Micah passage tells us that it is not by superficialities, false piety and legalistic acts of religiosity. This was what God's people during Micah's time tried to offer in their defence at the heavenly trial

'What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer Him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?' Micah 6:6-7

President Barnes said that these are meagre defence; these are corrupt questions asked by people who try to bribe their way to be in favour with God

It is a sad commentary of the human race, depraved and tainted by sin. When we forget God, we lose our humanity we become cruel. How can we save ourselves?  

 

Instead of pronouncing sentences after the trial, God meted out three corrective measures, clearly telling what He expects of us.

• Act Justly. To act justly is to act morally, to live with a proper sense of right and wrong. Justice is to treat everyone equitably. Every human being is unique, valued and beloved; made in God's image. No one should be treated as less than the other. 

• Love Mercy. Be kind to one another. God is a merciful God and He pours out His mercy on all of us. Although we sin and forsake him He will not treat us in the way we all deserve. Instead he shows us kindness, mercy and grace and reaches out to save us. This is an act of lovingkindness and God compels us to repeat the same for all our friends and even to our enemies.

• Walk Humbly. Live in Humility. This humility is anchored in the person of Jesus Christ, placing the highest value on every human being. In the same way, in humility we value others above ourselves. St Paul in Philippians Chapter 2 instructed, 'not looking to your own interests but each to the interests of the others. 

There is a further extension to these three imperatives, we are to walk humbly with our God. All start from this relationship with God and it underpins how we treat those around us. It is the reason for our humanity, our human touch, love and gentleness.

Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly

Lionel