A Ruler’s Requirements (2)

This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.  Jeremiah 22:3 NIV

Rescue – Rescue: “to save someone or something from a dangerous or distressing situation.”  Is that what this text means?  Is one of the practical applications of  mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ the action of saving someone?  Well, the Hebrew term here is nāṣal, and it implies a bit more than simple rescuing.  A better translation might be “deliver.”  Why would this be better?  Because “saving” could be understood as temporary.  For example, when I leave this page my computer will ask if I want to “save” the file.  It will ask every time, not once for ever.  But “deliver” has a different nuance.  To “deliver” is to set someone or something free.  Christian parlance isn’t about “saving” me from sin.  It’s about “delivering” me from sin, that is, to set me free from the bondage of sin so that I am not compelled to sin again.  God “delivers” me from that oppression.  What I do with this newfound freedom is up to me, but the deliverance has been accomplished.  When Yeshua said that the son of man can set you free, he spoke in terms of a permanent arrangement, not a temporary condition.  Therefore, I choose to translate nāṣal as “deliver,” not “save.”  Accordingly, God’s instruction to rulers through Jeremiah is to permanently correct the injustice robbery by eliminating the ʿāšôq, the “oppressor.”  

This is a statement about social justice, a favorite theme of the prophets.  “The verbal root ʿāšaq is concerned with acts of abuse of power or authority, the burdening, trampling, and crushing of those lower in station.”^[1]  The implication is not solely about theft.  They are about all abuse of power which robs people of their freedom.  The synonyms of ʿāšaq cover a wide range of social injustices including “deprive,” “take by force,” “crush,” and “be violent.”  They extend to ideas about abuse and maltreatment.  

E. Jacob writes in his Theology of the Old Testament, “If man’s nature can be defined by the theme of the image of God, his function can be qualified as an imitation of God. This involves a double obligation for man, we might say a double outlook; one eye turned towards God and the other towards the world” (p. 173). This “double outlook” precludes for the righteous any oppression of those of inferior station in life. Just as man, much-forgiven, is expected by God to respond forgivingly to others, so one, who has been dealt with in extraordinary graciousness by the Master of eternity owes favorable treatment to the defenseless. The proverb explains, “He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker / But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him” (Prov 14:31, NASB).^[2]

Those in power are required to deliver the oppressed from their tormentors.  That is God’s will.  But what happens when the powerful are the oppressors?   Israel experienced the result.  Collapse.  Captivity.  “For such acts, punishment by Yahweh is just; ‘You shall be only oppressed and robbed continually and there will be no one to help you’ (Deut 28:29; cf. v. 33).”^[3]  How long such abomination is allowed to continue is in God’s hands, but the end is coming.

Topical Index: nāṣal, deliver, rescue, ʿāšôq, oppressor, justice, Jeremiah 22:3