Saving Justice – Avoiding the Curse
Saving Justice – Avoiding the Curse.
“And the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel… Cursed is the one who perverts the justice (mishpat) due the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'” (Deuteronomy 27:19).
Mishpat (mish-pawt) = Hebrew word for “saving justice;” treating people equitably and fairly; giving others their human rights in freedom; advocating for what is properly due to others as fellow human beings made in the image of God; wisely defending others who are being treated unfairly, including the powerless, the vulnerable, and those who are unable to defend themselves; exercising the righteous judgments that reflect the character of God. “Dispense true justice, and practice kindness and compassi0n each to one another; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.” (Zechariah 7:9-10).
Finally Moses and all the Chosen People were at the front door of Canaan, the Promised Land. Moses instructed the Israelites to do something very important after they cross into the land of Canaan. They are to gather together at two mountains in the middle of Samaria, Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim. They are twin peaks that would form an amphitheater in order to hear the instructions of the priests. On Mt. Ebal, place six tribes of Israel in order to represent the curses of the Lord for disobedience. On Mt. Gerizim, place the other six tribes to represent the blessings of obedience to the Lord in your new land. Proclaim the curses on Mt. Ebal, and the blessings on Mt. Gerizim. So that’s what Joshua made sure they did after entering the Promised Land. He collected all of them, all those who survived the wilderness journey, and settled them on those two adjacent hills. The setting ended up being perfect for a loud broadcast, since the voices could be heard plain as day by everyone present. Under Joshua’s directions, the priests spoke the words of the Lord to the Israelites in order to prepare them for the Big Entrance to what so many of them had been anticipating for so long. Moses had wanted the people to hear these blessings and curses before beginning their new nation-building project. Moses wanted to make sure they did this, even if it was in his absence, because, as Rabbi Sacks says, it was easier to take the Israelites out of Egypt than it was to take the Egypt out of the Israelites.
The time had come to announce the curses and blessings of God. All who disobeyed God’s instructions had a curse of God place upon them, and therefore were under God’s judgment. All those who took His instructions to heart and obeyed them were to enjoy all the blessings God had to offer. Deuteronomy 27:14-26 outlines the twelve curses that God says were top priorities as they entered the new land. Deuteronomy 28 outlines the blessings of obedience to God’s law. Every curse announced by the priests had to be followed by an Amen! from the people. They all realized that this announcement was actually requiring a solemn oath on their part to obey the words of the Lord. This was a call-and-response announcement… the priests would call out the moral demands, and the people would respond, acknowledging that they heard it, they understood it and will remember it. To say Amen! meant that they took it to heart. Amen is a root word for truth in Hebrew, and so it means: Yes we agree; this is absolutely true; this is certainly trustworthy and a sure fact; so be it; let this be true in our lives; I/we heartily accept and approve this statement; we believe this to be true with all our heart and soul!
Isn’t it interesting that in moral terms, God considers injustice to be equivalent to idolatry, incest, bestiality, and murder! In God’s mind and according to His moral standards, whoever denies the justice due the stranger, the orphan and the widow, was under God’s judgment. The word here for “denies” has seen a few versions in the various Bible translations, such as perverts the justice; withholds the justice; turns the justice aside; interferes with the justice; violates the rights of. God is in fact disgusted with injustice toward anyone made in the image of God, which includes every human being. In one’s society, and in one’s personal life, the justice due the vulnerable and those unable to defend themselves is vital to the moral health of the society and the spiritual health of the individual. Justice is serious business with God. He takes it personally because He created all people, and wants them treated with respect and love. Anyone taking part in denying justice to the weak, the poor, and the defenseless will get God’s attention. God does not overlook injustice.
As one studies the history of the Israelites after settling Canaan, we can easily see that God meant every word of His warnings about injustice. Time and again He judged His people for their indifference to those in their midst who needed help in some way. An oft-forgotten word from Ezekiel about the sins of Sodom is worth a closer look. Consider Ezekiel 16:49-50, as the Lord God explains why that city was cursed and judged by Him: “Look, this was the sin of Sodom… She had pride, fullness of food, abundance of idleness; neither did they strengthen the hand of the poor and needy; and they were haughty and committed abominations before Me, therefore I took them away as I saw fit.” The obvious part of their sin is something everyone remembers, the abominations of sexual perversion practiced in the entire city. But that wasn’t all they did that was judged by God. They violated God’s moral standards in other ways, too. God judged their pride, and how they allowed their material prosperity to forget those poor who were neglected in their society.
God’s character is all about justice and righteousness. Societies that don’t take God seriously here, who don’t reflect God’s character, are playing with fire. Those who don’t represent the way God wants all His creatures are to be treated will sooner or later reap what they sow.