Your Purpose 7—Awareness of God as a God of Justice

In Bible Gateway’s Dictionary of Bible Themes, a description of God’s justice states:  The moral righteousness of God is revealed in his laws and expressed in his judicial acts. God’s commands and judgments meet perfect standards of justice, and his apportioning of punishments and rewards is also perfectly just. God’s justice is impartial. Special praise is his for vindicating the penitent and the needy who have no human champions. Ultimately, all God’s ways will be seen as just and equitable.

God is a God of justice:

·        Psalm 50:6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice.

·        Isaiah 30:18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

This theme is throughout all of Scripture, from beginning to end. It is not a minor concern of the Lord’s, but a central one. God is sovereign, omnipresent, omnipotent, impartial in His justice, doesn’t play favorites, and is perfectly just:

·        Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.

·        2 Chronicles 19:7 Now let the fear of the LORD be on you. Judge carefully, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.”

·        Romans 2:11 For God does not show favoritism.

·        Proverbs 16:2 All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.

God’s concern is for truth, righteousness, for the oppressed, the weak, the marginalized, the powerless. God’s warnings and commands are clear. Our judges and leaders are to judge fairly:

·        Deuteronomy 16:18 Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly.

·        Luke 16:15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

·        Isaiah 1:16-17 Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

·        Deuteronomy 16:20 Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Yes, we are to gather in worship together, to celebrate God’s goodness, to call one another to better living, but if that is not also matched with action mixed with justice, the Lord says the former not only has no value—it is a “stench” in His nostrils: And, whom does He have express concern for? The oppressed, the poor, the needy, the afflicted, the lost, the strays, the injured, the weak, the fatherless, the widow, the orphan…

·        Amos 5:21-24 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your 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 for them. Away with the noise of your songs!  I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

·        Psalm 103:6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

·        Psalm 140:12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.

·        Ezekiel 34:16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Reflect:

·        Sit with the thought of God as completely just. What images does that bring to mind?

·        Talk with God about your need for Jesus.

·        Where can you learn more about injustice in your community? Who are the “oppressed, the poor, the needy, the afflicted, the lost, the strays, the injured, the weak, the fatherless, the widow, the orphan…” in your context?

·        What is one way you can get involved and extend justice and care for the powerless and marginalized?

Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and leaders in a diversity of fields for over 30 years. She has also been Equipping Ministries Director at her 1,200 member church since 1999.  Contact Shirley.

Photo © Shirley Giles Davis, all rights reserved.