Hebrew Justice
They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they dug a pit before me; they themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah. Psalm 57:6 NASB
Into the midst – The fundamental principle of biblical justice is “measure for measure.” This idea can be found throughout Scripture. We notice its absence in stories of forgiveness, but those are surprising because they do not employ this standard. Hebrew justice simply assumes that the perpetrator will fall victim to his own devices.
This assumption points to a radical difference between our cultural idea of justice and the biblical idea. In our culture, the state inserts itself between perpetrator and victim. The state acts as policeman, prosecutor, jury and judge, meting out punishment according to its societal values. Under this system, the victim is rarely recompensed, the perpetrator has no direct relationship to the victim and the sentence almost never includes relationship restoration. Justice is an abstraction of reality, an artificial substitution of the most important element in biblical thought – broken relationship. In this regard, it is technically incorrect to say that our system of justice is based on the Bible. It is not. It is based on a state abstraction of the biblical ideal. In the Bible, relationships are restored through atonement; a process that must include the restoration of three persons, the victim, the perpetrator and God. In our system, the state substitutes itself for God and technically requires a truncated form of biblical atonement, namely, repayment to the state.
David’s perception of biblical justice is squarely based on measure for measure. His use of the Hebrew betokah (in the midst) assumes that the perpetrator will receive equal punishment for his evil deeds. There are no punitive damages in biblical justice. Compensation is based entirely on real equivalence. Restoration to the original condition is the limit of measure for measure. In David’s view, God is the jury and judge. There is no court of appeals and no legislative adjudication. God’s revelation is the one and only standard, not subject to revision nor open to negotiation. Plea bargaining is incomprehensible. But this does not make the biblical system inflexibly rigid. Measure for measure limits compensation. It does not demand it. In the world of man, forgiveness is always an option. God may still demand atonement (as capital offenses make abundantly clear), but men should seek forgiveness as an expression of God’s grace and allow God to exercise punishment as He sees fit. To suppose that justice does not include the sovereignty of God is to entertain idolatry and insult divine authority. David will not make that mistake more than once.
How will you seek justice in a world culture governed by God-substitution (the State)? Will you participate in the idolatry of usurped divine authority or will you acknowledge God as judge and executor? Is your justice based on relationship restoration or on personal compensation?
Topical Index: justice, measure for measure, betokah, in the midst, Psalm 57:6
Wow, this post comes at perfect timing as the multitudes are sounding off on the Travon/Zimmerman case. I kept having this nudging feeling that there was a bigger lens from which I should view this court case, yet I could not put my finger on it—could not speak words that effectively expressed my nudging. Thank you for identifying the bigger Picture—that we are looking at a faulty system by which we try to find comfort and peace.
This brings to mind a murder case years ago where Karla Faye Tucker brutally murdered two people with a pick axe during a drug-crazed binge. While on death row in a Texas prison, Karla Faye found Jesus as her personal savior, and her life was radically changed. She reached out to the families of both victims, seeking restoration, and she ended up befriending Ron Carlson, one of the victim’s brothers. Initially, Ron felt hatred towards Karla Faye and wanted vengeance, yet once he became a Christian, Ron was a proponent of overturning Karla Faye’s death sentence. He responded to witnessing her death with this powerful testimony: “Watching the execution left me with horror and emptiness, confirming what I had already come to realize: Capital punishment only continues the violence that has a powerful, corrosive effect on society. . . The world is not a better place because the State of Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker. Even though Karla murdered my only sibling, my sister, Deborah, who had raised me after our mother died, I stood with her as one of her witnesses when she was executed. I was there to stand up for the Lord, for the strength of his love. Karla and I had both done a lot of wrong in our lives. We had both turned to drugs to heal our pain; we had both hurt a lot of people. But the love of Jesus Christ transformed us. We were able to forgive ourselves and each other. ‘I love you Ronnie,’ was one of the last things Karla said. I still carry that love with me.”
What a beautiful story of restoration amidst tragedy & sin. What a testament to how God restores what is well beyond what man can reconcile on his own. This kind of restoration is only possible through people’s faith in God as THE AUTHORITY OVER ALL THINGS.
Thanks, Skip, for your insight that most often makes me think higher yet higher still. Blessings to you!
Gaynor
Hi Gaynor,
thank you for sharing this, made me teary, when there is beautiful reconciliation possible only in YHWH between parties and then, developing into a true-love relationship, through turning back to Him.
How wonderful that would be too when mankind be reconciled to have that love relationship with ABBA YHWH!
Seek and Find
I will (gladly,freely, fully) throw myself upon the mercy of the court!, ~for we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous ONE, – but.. we must remember, those who are His, now report to a “higher Authority”- and ONE, Who is the Judge of all mankind. ~ We will all stand before His judgment seat ~ and “each of us” will give an account (one day) unto God of our “stewardship” of everything He has given unto us.
~ For He shall have judgment without mercy, that has showed no mercy; and mercy (Hallelujah!-always) rejoices against judgment. ~ It because of the lovingkindnesses of YHWH that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not, they are new/fresh every morning(!)- Great is Your faithfulness! (aman and amein!) ~ (Lamentations 3.22,23)
To make matters worse (for some) or even better (for others) – the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom!- Is anyone listening? – We are standing before Him NOW. –
~ Nothing* in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything* is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must (and will) give account ~ (Hebrews 4.13)
This very moment,- and wherever you are (Jonah)- even “if” (dear disciples) we find ourselves “in the midst” of a great fish, or “in the midst” of the raging waves, “in the midst” of the storms of life or “in the midst” of the fiery furnace, or “in the midst” of peace and prosperity!
Oh Hallelujah! ~ for the LORD Thy God “in the midst” of thee is Mighty! ~ The LORD your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing! ~ (Zephaniah 3.17)
We (dearly beloved children) are loved by God Himself!
George W. Robinson wrote these conclusive, concrete, now century-old words in 1876:
Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know;
Spirit, breathing from Above,
Thou hast taught me it is so.
Oh, this full and perfect peace!
Oh, this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.
Do these words “ring true” in our own life-experience?
Heaven above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green;
Something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen:
Birds with gladder songs o’erflow,
Flow’rs with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know..,
I am His, and He is mine.
(YES!)
But wait…- there’s more! (thank you George!)
Things that once were wild alarms
Cannot now disturb my rest;
Closed in everlasting arms,
Pillowed on the loving breast.
Oh, to lie forever here,
Doubt and care and self resign,
While He whispers in my ear,
I am His, and He is mine.
(WoW!)
And yet more?
His forever, only His:
Who the LORD and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss
Christ can fill the loving heart.
Heaven and earth may fade and flee,
Firstborn light in gloom decline;
But, while God and I shall be,
I am His, and He is mine.
Are these words true? Are these “true words?” Am I “His?”- and is He “mine?” May I know Him as “my (personal) Savior? My (personal) Redeemer? One who has shown Himself “Mighty to save”- over and over again to me?
Friends, – “it is so!” (amen).
He is “my Deliverer!” (let the redeemed of the LORD- say so!) I have been redeemed! – and I will glory in my Savior’s love!
How many are there, among us, who have never heard the “gospel” of Jesus Christ, or do not know the power of the cross?
This (relatively) new hymn by Keith and Kristyn Getty sums it up nicely:
Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath-
We stand forgiven at the cross.
Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought,
Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath-
We stand forgiven at the cross.
Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath-
We stand forgiven at the cross.
Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath-
We stand forgiven at the cross.
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God-slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aowdjLeaCYs
~ But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our LORD Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world ~ (Galatians 6.14)
~ But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us ~
(Romans 5.8)
~ For I am not ashamed of the good news of the Messiah: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes; to the Jew first, AND (Hallelujah!) – also to the Greek ~ (Romans 1.16)
~ “whosoever will” may come!! ~
~ Come to Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke on you, and learn of Me; for I AM meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls ~
(Matthew 11.28)
~ Out of the depths I cry to Thee, O LORD ~ (Psalm 130:1)
Who wrote these words? Was it David, or was it Jonah,- was it me, or was it you?
~ For “whosoever” (must we “name names”?) shall call upon the Name of the LORD shall be saved ~ (Romans 10.13)
~ Ask and you will receive.. ~ Seek, and you will find.. ~ Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.. ~
~ You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart ~ (Jeremiah 29.13)
Carl, I feel indignation and I hope it is righteous. I cannot recall that you ever commented positively on what anyone else writes (not even Skip’s writings – I may be wrong). It seems to me you only always preach even if you do not have an audience. After reading Gaynor’s powerful comments (thanks for sharing Gaynor), I felt annoyance to begin reading your writing. Carl, can you share something out of your life and not just quote Scriptures and songs all the time? I find I would like to know the human Carl a little… Arnella
A few of the things I know about Carl because Carl has written them on the blog:
You definitely have an audience (larger than you know)
I know he doesn’t like attention on himself, but always points others to Jesus Christ
A year or so ago he wrote about his teen son (with the big ‘guns’/muscles)
he had a recent wedding/blood covenant in his family.
he do not attend a local church of any domination.
he recently met some “completed Jewess” and they prayed over you and blessed you mightily.
he are not offended to be known as a Christian
he knows his Bible front to back and inside out and believes every single precious Word.
he is married and lives in the Southern US, maybe Alabama
he served our country as a US Marine.
he earns his living as an electrician.
I know you began a program to get in better shape and struggle at the gym (hope all is well now)
You and your wife had a delightful supper with Ms Ellie and at your table was a brand a newly minted little Christ! (love that term)
One of your favorite topics is the Sovereignty of God vs. the Free Will of Man
Carl does not email other blog users
he finds it impossible to praise His Saviour enough or too much.
Carl is always kind and plays well with others. (Lol)
he makes me glad he’s our brother
Thanks Dorothy for filling in some of the blanks. Arnella
🙂
May God bless you both, and all those you love
May your feet will never stumble out of God’s plan
May Goodness, Kindness, and Mercy come your way
no one will ever give me a dime for my rhyme .smile. ツ
HI Dorothy.. very nicely said and done.
God, the original “Tough Love” Parent!
“David’s perception of biblical justice is squarely based on measure for measure. His use of the Hebrew betokah (in the midst) assumes that the perpetrator will receive equal punishment for his evil deeds. There are no punitive damages in biblical justice. Compensation is based entirely on real equivalence. Restoration to the original condition is the limit of measure for measure. ”
Skip,
Your post today is one of the reasons I embraced Universal Reconciliation about eight years ago! You hit on one of my favorite arguments – pray tell, how does dumping every unrepentant sinner into this thing called “the lake of fire” equate to “measure for measure”? The guy who robs a liquor store, and even, for example, kills the clerk gets the same measure of punishment as Adolf Hitler. (Some joke that the guy in the red suit with the horns and the pitchfork will set the coals a little hotter under Hitler and Stalin and Pol Pot et al!)
This does not make sense to those who understand how wise and just our God is. Whether one is in the “eternal torment” camp or the “annihilationism” camp – same punishment for all does not make sense from a biblical perspective as you have illustrated today. And, actually from a human perspective, it doesn’t make sense to a rational person either! It should be mentioned that the “fry for time without end” punishment is a reason many spiritually minded intelligent people refuse to embrace “Christianity”.
Restoration of ALL THINGS to its pre Adamic state is God’s Master Plan. And the most important aspect of that is, of course, His very own children – all of humanity! God leaves out a lot of the details of how He is going to bring it all to a conclusion. But its none of our business. I think we can trust the Supreme Sovereign Creator to use His Infinite Wisdom to get it done with equity and justice for all. Is anything too hard for our God?
God’s judgments are always corrective and restorative, not punitive as you aptly described, Skip.
Many think that Universal Reconciliation in about a liberal “everyone gets off the hook” scheme. Not so. God will hold everyone accountable in a fair “measure for measure’ way. And He tells us that there will be plenty of painful “weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
Skip, I thank you for your post today
I want to say more but work calls….
Hi John,
“God’s judgments are always corrective and restorative, not punitive…” Amein v’amein! HalleluYAH!
What a mighty YAH we serve!
Hi Ester,
I thank you and rejoice that you can see what Yah is doing and that it is not eternal torment! Here is a Scripture that you are probably familiar with but I quote it anyway to remind us all of this wonderful positive side to God’s corrective judgments:
“For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”
(Isaiah 26:9)
Hi Ester,
I wrote the above response before I read your post with your prayer: “May all mankind be reconciled to Him…”
I can tell you that YHVH is pleased with that prayer for you are expressing His Will. About 2500 years ago, speaking through Isaiah the prophet God Himself swore:
‘Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!
For I am Elohim, and there is no other.
For by Myself, I have sworn
from My mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return
To me EVERY knee shall bow, EVERY tongues shall swear.” (Is. 46:22-23)
But as you probably know, every knee will not bow in submission in this age!
Yes, when YHWH’s judgements are not in the earth, righteousness is far from us.
We should so desire His laws/Torah/directions and commandments.
Yet, He will chastise those who are His, and bring them into alignment with His ways. Amein!
That is true love, unlike the love professed by many in the churches, according to ‘grace age’.
Shalom, John!
Sadly, probably not in this age, but many are returning to His ways out of church systems and traditions, to relearn turning away from Greek philosophy to Hebraic.
Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess when Yahushua returns, they will recognize Him as their Meshiach. Amein!
Enjoy your responses 🙂
Shalom, John.
HalleluYAH, Skip, for TW on justice, that YHWH is the ONLY true Judge, and we rest in Him to justify us, though we desire for forgiveness rather than judgement. Such joy and shalom in knowing this!
“Justice is an abstraction of reality, an artificial substitution of the most important element in biblical thought – broken relationship.”
I would go for reconciliation where there is repentance and seeking for forgiveness-not an option!
Reconciliation is the most wonderful happening in all relationships, particularly with ABBA.
May all mankind be reconciled to Him, then there will be less ‘court cases’ seeking for ‘justice’ through recompensation.
“….men should seek forgiveness as an expression of God’s grace and allow God to exercise punishment as He sees fit”.
Yes, we need to seek forgiveness as we have received forgiveness because of YHWH’s chesed, even though we may have been wronged, falsely accused, and misunderstood.
As we personally have transgressed and fallen short, so many times, and obtained forgiveness,
who are we to exact compensation? But, we have an Almighty Elohim YHWH Who will recompense us according to His justice, and not according to men’s, as their judgement is distorted, and their witnessing is not complete.
‘The truth and nothing but the truth’-really means nothing of the truth.
Only ABBA sees all and knows all. This is our assurance in Him.
I wonder how this fits the recent court case in Sanford, Florida. To me, that was a failed system and justice was not rendered — a man gets away on the basis of the so-called stand your ground law which was never (as far as we know) introduced in the trial. What gives a person the right to shoot someone simply because they are walking thorough a neighborhood? In the final analysis, God will render the correct judgment.— sooner or later.
Perhaps your perception of the truth about the situation has been colored by the media. Perhaps living within the justice system of Babylon here is the USA isn’t the best example of Hebrew justice. But if Hebrew justice were in place, according to the Torah there would have had to be two EYE WITNESSES for the verdict to be rendered “guilty.”
That is an excellent point Skip and one I dare not argue. You are absolutely right. I will say, however, but have nothing to substantiate it, that the Jury did not find him “not guilty” based on the fact that there were not two or more witnesses. None of us will really know what information they used to reach their verdict. Nevertheless, another young person is dead as a result of a deadly weapon another was carrying — for what reason? OK. I’m done.
Love to wake up to a “wow!” – thank you Dorothy. I do recognize sweet and kind people when I meet them, and you certainly “fill the bill!” lol!- I didn’t realize I was being “watched?”- “followed?”- aha!- spied on! But peoples, much worse than the NSA is this FACT- We (all) are being “spied” on- and are being tracked and followed!
We are being followed by our Father-He IS “with us” – everywhere we may roam. Jonah (back in the day) could not “get away”- or “run away” from God, and neither (Hallelujah!) may we. Aretha was right!- there is NO where to run to and No where to hide. ~ All things.. – (did I just say all things?), the good, the bad and the ugly- are open and naked before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do ~
Now how does sum-dum-guy know this? I’ve got three words today, (lol!-only three?- (some would doubt this!). And here they are: “it is written.”
Where do we find God’s words? Would God’s words be written in God’s Book?
And for those who hold the Name of God in high esteem (as well we should!), David said this: ~ You will honor Your Word above Your Name ~ ‘Aman and amein. Whose Word and whose Name is (both) True and Faithful?