Love Justice
Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah saying, “Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; 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 7:8-10 NASB
Dispense – And what does the Lord require of us? Micah gives the answer (6:8). Zechariah elaborates. Render, make decisions, administer, rule with true judgments (mishpat). But what does this mean? Who does this and how is it accomplished? First, we must recognize that in ancient societies the administration of government (the real full meaning of mishpat) did not rest in some political body. It rested in the leader, the tribal chief, the patriarch or the king. Judgment was personal and personally given. While there were laws, the execution of those laws was more an operation of cases adjudicated by the leader. When Zechariah brings the word of God to Israel, he is specifically addressing those in charge—the tribal chiefs, the priests, the king and his counsel. They are personally liable for rendering decisions according to God’s directions.
Perhaps we should use this prophetic measuring rod for leaders today, especially those who profess a biblical faith. Let’s see: dispense true justice. What would that mean? Being fair? Hardly. The Bible has some pretty harsh words about the idea that everyone needs to be treated equally. According to the text, God actually chooses some for differing roles in His Kingdom. Not everyone is the same. Zechariah can have only one thing in mind here (as do most of the prophets). Set your standard as Torah. Live by it. Rule by it. Justice is not found in the courts of men. It is found in the words of God applied by the courts of men.
Zechariah goes on (actually YHVH goes on). Practice kindness. Of course, that isn’t the same as United Way contributions or enforced government welfare. This is personal involvement. The Hebrew is from the root raham, an intense, deep personal connection comparable to the feelings a mother has for her unborn child in the womb. Very personal. Are our leaders practicing that kind of kindness? I think not!
How about not oppressing the widows, orphans, strangers and poor? Take the average church as an example. How are the leaders doing on this score? My experience suggests failure. If, heaven forbid, a stranger, orphan or widow should actually show up at any of our noble religious fortresses, he or she would probably not find welcoming arms. After all, what we really want in church are people just like us. Outsiders are simply not expected to attend unless they come for conversion.
If your experience is like mine, you and I have a lot of work to do. If we are leading the way, or if we have influence over those who lead, we need them to pay attention to the prophetic standard. That’s the only one that matters.
Topical Index: dispense, justice, mishpat, kindness, raham, leader, Zechariah 7:8-10
“Outsiders are simply not expected to attend unless they come for conversion.”
BAM!
Oh, so excellent!
In my musings about why persecution seems to be the instrument of choice when God sets out to correct disobedience and error, I have gone and looked at what persecution does; what effect it has. First, I see that it tends to BREAK OFF the ones who are there for the temporal advantages that error creeps in to use to seduce them with. The true, Biblically grounded Israel promises no such perks; rather, we are PROMISED persecution! Its about like saying that if you want to be adopted into the family, you are agreeing to the family method (rod) of correction.
I see that persecution tends to BREAK UP the mega-clustering habits of temporally-minded folks. You can hide in a crowd; its harder to hide from each other when you are busy trying to hide from everyone else. Smaller groups are harder to detect, and not so likely to attract unwanted notice. Notice is what you do NOT want when you are not rubbing the same way as the world.
Persecution also tends to BREAK OFF error from the original doctrinal purity. If I may be going to die for what I believe, I want as few and as correct and simple and pure things as possible that I have to die for.
Persecution also tends to DIFFUSE the Body into the world. During the Dark Ages, the faithful Body in the Piedmont of the Alps, sitting in the very heart of the (un)Holy Roman Empire, sent out missionaries, disguised as students and traveling salesmen, who carefully pre-qualified each person they chose to approach with the Truth, knowing full well if they made a single mistake, their very lives could well pay for it. Thus, the more they could evangelize without arousing suspicion that they may be proselytizing, the better, In fact, best of all would be the complete ‘selling’ of a precious nugget of truth so thoroughly couched in the language and manner of their listeners that they would carry those truths back to their sphere of influence, like an infecting virus, to ‘contaminate’ the prevailing errors with a Better Way.
It has often come into my mind that the further inroads we can make into the lives of others, just on pure love, sympathy, helpfulness, and general clearing of the confusion that always surrounds error without requiring others to ‘see’ us at all, the more likely it is that we can influence them instead of requiring them to MEET US WHERE WE ARE AT, which is where modern ‘evangelizing’ requires them to do so much. To meet others where THEY ARE AT seems to follow the pattern of the humble Man Who did not require anyone to shift over to where He was at. He just helped them see how to be better people where they already were at. Truth is humble. It does not call attention to itself.
I think that when we set out to meet others in their needs, instead of requiring them to adjust to our own comfort levels, we will, at some point, have to become willing to step out from under any and all ‘shelter’ that may have sprung up over our heads in order to keep relationship. The ones who have the most need of love invariably are the ones most unable to move toward help. To seek and to save the lost may well require us to leave behind all temporal reference points, including the identity of a church, before we can touch those who have been the most hurt. If they are hiding for a reason, then I have to figure out how to not look like that reason. Sadly, the most baleful effect error seems to have is to cause people to be hurt. At the times that the church is most visible, it seems that is also the time in which the hurts of the world seem to correlate the most strongly with a resistance to what they perceive as the source of their fracture from love; namely, the very Body that is supposed to Embody love to a hurting world. Error is always a movement away from love. If there is one thing I have noticed about a Body under persecution, is a built-in correction of the ways that hurt others. If I am being chased by somebody with a club, it is just simply not in my best interests to further antagonize them in any way. Hurting others is not in the best interests of a persecuted Body!
Am I asking that His rod and His staff comfort (fortify) us? Yes!
Oh, Abba, forsake us not to our own devices and inventions; forgive us our hardheartedness and misrepresentation of Your love. Keep Your promise to love us enough to correct us with Your rod and Your staff. Purify us (break us back down into the correct(ed) particle size) so as to colloidalize us properly to be Your salt and light in this world so needy of love. Break up our heavy mass(!) so as to render us able to meet others where they are in need. We do not need to stay where it is light ourselves when we actually are embued with the true Pentacostal fire, which can enable us to stand alone, if need be. Revive us again! Amen.
Not to get to far off the track here with the subject of today’s word…
In your response posted today to a critique of Guardian Angel, you mentioned in ‘Point 10’, the use of cited quotes and the Church Pastor who argues a point of the quote as yours directly. This is where I would say the Pastor is wrong in denying the scholarly format of your written arguments as he declares is lacking, you do provide citations.
Yet, for me Skip your citations are a curse, especially when provided on a daily basis in ‘Today’s Word’. You see, I am one to go and actually review these citations in their original format (if I can find them) and in doing so I am introduced to other highly interesting materials that I knew nothing of their existence before.
One of the citations by you that I have observed in the past has led me to be introduced to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Because of you Skip, I am currently reading “To Heal a Fractured World” and find myself anxious throughout the day at the inability to do nothing but continuously read this book! When I do get an opportunity to read, I find myself hurriedly doing so with the awareness that my time is soon to be exhausted. I am already looking forward to immediately reread this book by Rabbi Sacks! Curse you Skip Moen! But really Thank you for taking the time to lead us to other enlightening compositions, especially those which may give us a little taste of how Yeshua the Jew may have viewed Torah.
Tying this to ‘Today’s Word’ posting, Rabbi Sacks writes on the personal involvement issues you write of today in his ‘“To Heal a Fractured World”. It is a major subject of the first few chapters of his book and drew me right into this frenzied nature I now have over reading it.
But there is a downfall for you Skip in these writings you introduce us/me to…I can only afford so much when acquiring these sub-sources to your daily writings and it has put a damper on me acquiring your other books, audio recordings, writings, etc.
The list grows ever longer! 🙂
But in the end, what matters is that we know the truth and draw nearer to the God of truth. So if you buy Jonathan’s material or mine, it makes no difference as long as it makes a difference. I am sure God will provide for both of us.
I don’t think anyone else has made the difference that you have Skip in my relationship with God. The ‘stumbling’ on your lectures that occurred one day in my life via YouTube has removed the ‘stumbling stone’ of my ‘church theology’ upbringing that clouded my ability to read God’s Word. The hunger for God’s Word that now embraces me had it’s beginning in your loving sharing of the deep study you present.
Not to long ago I had a fifteen minute conversation on the street with a Jehovah’s witness elder. At the end of that conversation and with the elder appearing a little exhausted, he exclaimed, “You read the word of God to deeply Rick”. I was amazed at those words and replied back to him, “How shallow should God’s word be read?”.
The continuing depth of your offerings to us Skip leads me to think there is an infinite depth that God has in store for us in our relationship with Him.
And I say “Hallelujah” to that!
“You cannot solicit murder among those who haven’t been taught that committing murder is an act of heroism.”
http://carolineglick.com/responding-to-the-slaughter
Thank you, Roderick, for pointing us to the article by Ms. Glick. She speaks the truth, as difficult as it might be to hear it.
“Judgment was personal and personally given.” Besides, judgment is meant as teaching the Way of YHWH, NOT, condemnation, nor being above the one lacking knowledge and wisdom or was foolish, the one brought to judgment!
“This is personal involvement.” ” Are our leaders practicing that kind of kindness? I think not!” Personal experience-definitely NOT! I was introduced to a “Torah” assembly, and leaders there made no effort to know me! I had to leave as I was not comfortable anyway in that “church” with weekly “communion”, and other weird stuff, like “prophecy”, without true knowledge of what prophecy truly means.
Just learnt that from Jewish/Hebrew perspective, prophecy means speaking the Words of YHWH, not man’s words. Word of YHWH always points to justice, and mercies.
“Set your standard as Torah. Live by it. Rule by it.” This has better be so!
“Justice is not found in the courts of men.” Not ever likely, until Meshiach returns and the earth is fully restored where true judgment and justice reigns.
Shalom.