I was surprised when I read
verse 3, and do not show favoritism to a
poor man in his lawsuit. If anything, I expected God to express a
favorable heart to the poor. The point seems to be ‘judge fairly and don’t show
undue sympathy to someone simply because they are poor’. Then before I take a
breath, God expressed the flip side, verse 6: Do not deny justice to your poor people in their
lawsuits.
Don’t show the poor
favoritism or deny them justice.
I pondered what this duo of
verses says and I recognized the God desires justice… doing what is right and
disciplining what is wrong, regardless of the situation of the individual
charged. There is a phrase that says ‘justice is blind’… that justice treats
everyone as equals before the law. Here in Exodus, as God lays out His law for
His people, He is saying everyone is equal before me. Treat them as equals by
being just.
Would that we could live
that way today…
God invited me to ask
myself a few questions. Do I favor one group or person over another, simply due
to some human trait or circumstance? Do I tend to deny justice to one group or
person simply due to some human trait or circumstance? Do I desire justice…
‘blind’ justice for all?
Some things worth thinking
about…
Lord, pattern
my heart to seek Your justice throughout Your world and to do what I can to
bring it about. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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