Western Assumptions
In the Western world we generally understand that Justice is making sure that the right decision is reached (usually in a court) and that people are punished for their crimes. Righteousness, similarly, is a legal term meaning that someone is essentially “not guilty”.
Augustine was a lawyer and so much of the Christendom theology was infused with legal metaphors and understandings. 1200 years later the Reformation took place and Calvin and Luther shaped our “Protestant” theological thinking with more legal language.
We understand that God is just and therefore he will not allow sin to go unpunished. We understand that he is righteous (by which we mean he is free of any sin) and he demands us to be righteous. We understand that the cross makes us righteous and also satisfies God’s justice.
Interestingly, and as an aside, this definition of justice and righteousness mean that mercy stands in opposition to justice. If we are guilty of sin then for God to show mercy means that justice is not done. Hence the idea of penal substitution is invented to try to solve the problem.
Hebrew Understanding
The Hebrew (Old Testament) concept of justice is radically different from this, as is the Hebrew concept of righteousness. The two words occur together over fifty times in the Old Testament. Let’s have a look at them.
Justice = mishpat = fairness, especially, to the vulnerable and those who have no rights and cannot stand up for themselves.
Righteousness = sedeq = doing right to others (especially the vulnerable).
Mishpat means to uphold sedeq.
So the phrase righteous and just means doing right to others in a way that is fair to the vulnerable. Weinfield says that the phrase is best summed up with the phrase social justice. Ironically, major parts of the church have written-off social justice as a distraction or a compromise of the gospel, when, if we have a Biblical understanding of mishpat and sedeq we can see that it is actually central to the nature of God and what is required of his people.
We have a God who is righteous and just and who calls us to be righteous and just.
We are beginning a journey through Deuteronomy in a sermon series on Sundays, and Moses says, “what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?” (Deuteronomy 4:8).
Let us read that again with the understanding that we have of what sedeq is:
“what other nation is so great as to have decrees and laws that ensure that right is done to the vulnerable and needy as this body of laws I am setting before you today?”
This gives us a different understanding as we approach the law. It is all about humanising, valuing, loving, caring for, protecting people. That is what the law is for. What other nation ever had laws built around this idea?
No other nation.
As we work through Deuteronomy keep this idea at the front and centre of the purpose and we will see that the laws and the constitution for a people of God is totally centred around social justice and creating a nation where “there should be no poor…” (Deut 15:4) This is a blueprint for life in the Kingdom.
Let’s see how it unfolds.
One Comment
Humanising,caring I like this understanding. I find it quite shameful that law/society sees social justice as a distraction. I believe it is very much needed. And always will be. X