Over the last few weeks, we’ve been exploring God’s description of His character, given to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7. We have seen that God is full of compassion, grace, love and faithfulness. But He is also a God of justice – He does not let the guilty go unpunished. This doesn’t, of course, contradict the fact that God is full of mercy and grace. The good news is that God Himself bore our punishment, and invites us to trust and rely on Him.
God takes injustice very seriously. Egypt was punished for the unjust way that they treated Israel. The Assyrians and Babylonians, who took Israel and Judah into exile, were likewise punished. Yes, there were opportunities for people to call on God for mercy – like we saw in the story of Jonah’s experience at the capital city of Assyria, Ninevah. But God will not allow injustice to stand. How could He do so, since God is love?
God’s people are meant to be justice-people. Israel’s society was meant to promote social justice. God made provisions for things like a year of Jubilee – a time when debts were forgiven and properties returned to their owners. Israel was meant to treat foreigners in the land well, remembering their own time in Egypt. They were meant to show the world a truly just society. A community where people treated one another rightly, in the knowledge that we are all made in the image of God.
But it often didn’t work that way.
What about the church today? How important is it for us to value and seek justice? Do we live in a just community? What should we do about it? Are we a just community, and how can we make justice as precious to us as it is to Him?
Today’s text: Amos 5
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