This Bible study was part of an overture submitted by Fellowship
Christian Reformed Church to the senior assemblies of the Church
in 1993. The issue at the time was the question of women in
office and our overture dealt with that question in the context
of justice.
This Bible study does not focus solely on the question of Women in
Office, but looks instead at some of the basic justice themes
which appear in the Bible.
(All texts quoted here are from the New Revised Standard Version)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Justice is often seen by the Bible as evidence of God's power and
grace. It is one of the most emphatic characteristics of God, and
its presence is often a sign of God's nearness. Similarly, its
absence is a sign of sin, of distance from God.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Then Abraham came near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away
the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty
righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place
and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far
be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with
the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be
that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what
is just?"
-- GENESIS 18:23-25
I charged your judges at that time: "Give the members of your
community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one
person and another, whether citizen or resident alien. You
must not be partial in judging: hear out the small and the
great alike; you shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the
judgment is God's. Any case that is too hard for you, bring
to me, and I will hear it."
-- DEUTERONOMY 1:16-17
The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A
faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he;
-- DEUTERONOMY 32:4
So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered
justice and equity to all his people.
-- 2 SAMUEL 8:15
All Israel heard of the judgment that King Solomon had
rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they
perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute
justice.
-- 1 KINGS 3:28
Solomon made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce
judgment, the Hall of Justice, covered with cedar from floor
to floor.
-- 1 KINGS 7:7
Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the
right?
-- JOB 8:3
If it is a contest of strength, he is the strong one! If it
is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
-- JOB 9:19
Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will
not pervert justice.
-- JOB 34:12
The Almighty -- we cannot find him; he is great in power and
justice, and abundant righteousness he will not violate.
-- JOB 37:23
He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples
with equity.
PSALMS 9:8
A Prayer of David.
Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry; give ear to my
prayer from lips free of deceit.
-- PSALMS 17:1
Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal
scepter is a scepter of equity;
PSALMS 45:6
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
-- PSALMS 89:14
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness
and justice are the foundation of his throne.
-- PSALMS 97:2
Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity;
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
-- PSALMS 99:4
The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
-- PSALMS 145:17
For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and
understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he
is a shield to those who walk blamelessly, guarding the paths
of justice and preserving the way of his faithful ones. Then
you will understand righteousness and justice and equity,
every good path;
-- PROVERBS 2:6-9
By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just;
PROVERBS 8:15
Many seek the favor of a ruler, but it is from the LORD that
one gets justice.
-- PROVERBS 29:26
Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who
repent, by righteousness.
-- ISAIAH 1:27
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you; therefore he
will rise up to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of
justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
-- ISAIAH 30:18
The LORD is exalted, he dwells on high; he filled Zion with
justice and righteousness;
-- ISAIAH 33:5
For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I
will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make
an everlasting covenant with them.
-- ISAIAH 61:8
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of
heaven, for all his works are truth, and his ways are
justice; and he is able to bring low those who walk in pride.
-- DANIEL 4:37
Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people
astray, who cry "Peace" when they have something to eat, but
declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths.
Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and
darkness to you, without revelation. The sun shall go down
upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the
seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they
shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.
But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the
LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his
transgression and to Israel his sin. Hear this, you rulers of
the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel, who
abhor justice and pervert all equity,
-- MICAH 3:5-9
Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom
my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and
he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
-- MATTHEW 12:18
And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to
him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?
-- LUKE 18:7
I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my
judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but
the will of him who sent me.
-- JOHN 5:30
Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on
the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened
itself on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging
from his hand, they said to one another, "This man must be a
murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not
allowed him to live. He, however, shook off the creature into
the fire and suffered no harm.
-- ACTS 28:3-5
So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and
good.
-- ROMANS 7:12
And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the
song of the Lamb: "Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God
the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, King of the
nations!
-- REVELATION 15:3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
God expects justice from Christians. It is an integral part of
the Christian life, not merely a luxury or a secondary outcome of
Christianity. We often think of justice as something to "get" or
"gain" but the Bible talks about justice as something to "do."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may
live and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving
you.
-- DEUTERONOMY 16:20
Thus says the LORD: Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be
revealed.
-- ISAIAH 56:1
The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in
their paths. Their roads they have made crooked; no one who
walks in them knows peace. Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us; we wait for light, and
lo! there is darkness; and for brightness, but we walk in
gloom.
-- ISAIAH 59:9
We all growl like bears; like doves we moan mournfully. We
wait for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is
far from us.
-- ISAIAH 59:11
Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a
distance; for truth stumbles in the public square, and
uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and whoever turns
from evil is despoiled. The LORD saw it, and it displeased
him that there was no justice.
-- ISAIAH 59:14, 15
Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their
wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not
let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who
boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I
am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and
righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight,
says the LORD.
-- JEREMIAH 9:24
O house of David! Thus says the LORD: Execute justice in the
morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone
who has been robbed, or else my wrath will go forth like
fire, and burn, with no one to quench it, because of your
evil doings.
-- JEREMIAH 21:12
Are you a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your
father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then
it was well with him.
-- JEREMIAH 22:15
If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right, if
he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the
idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's
wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period, does
not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge,
commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers
the naked with a garment, does not take advance or accrued
interest, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true
justice between contending parties,
-- EZEKIEL 18:5-8
Yet your people say, "The way of the Lord is not just," when
it is their own way that is not just. When the righteous turn
from their righteousness, and commit iniquity, they shall die
for it. And when the wicked turn from their wickedness, and
do what is lawful and right, they shall live by it. Yet you
say, "The way of the Lord is not just." O house of Israel, I
will judge all of you according to your ways!
-- EZEKIEL 33:17-20
But as for you, return to your God, hold fast to love and
justice, and wait continually for your God.
-- HOSEA 12:6
Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious
to the remnant of Joseph.
-- AMOS 5:15
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But
you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of
righteousness into wormwood
-- AMOS 6:12
And I said: Listen, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the
house of Israel! Should you not know justice?
-- MICAH 3:1
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism
really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a
person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your
assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes
in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine
clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one
who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet,"
have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become
judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and
sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich
in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised
to those who love him?
-- JAMES 2:1-5
And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of
Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the
prophets -- who through faith conquered kingdoms,
administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of
lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put
foreign armies to flight.
-- HEBREWS 11:32-34
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing,
whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if
there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
-- PHILIPPIANS 4:8
----------------------------------------------------------------
For many, the issue of women in the church is related to
questions about who has power. Who makes the final decisions? Who
has the final say? Who is in charge of whom?
Relationships of power are often characterized by injustice and
violence, the Bible says.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Even when I cry out, 'Violence!' I am not answered; I call
aloud, but there is no justice.
-- JOB 19:7
The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, because they
refuse to do what is just.
-- PROVERBS 21:7
to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of
my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and
that you may make the orphans your prey!
-- ISAIAH 10:2
they have grown fat and sleek. They know no limits in deeds
of wickedness; they do not judge with justice the cause of
the orphan, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the
rights of the needy.
-- JEREMIAH 5:28
Thus says the Lord GOD: Enough, O princes of Israel! Put away
violence and oppression, and do what is just and right. Cease
your evictions of my people, says the Lord GOD.
-- EZEKIEL 45:9
Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the
house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity,
who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong! Therefore
because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem
shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a
wooded height.
--MICAH 3:9-10,12
Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the
judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they
desire; thus they pervert justice.
-- MICAH 7:3
He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither
feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was
a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice
against my opponent.' For a while he refused; but later he
said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect
for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will
grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by
continually coming.'"
-- LUKE 18:2-5
And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming
judgment, Felix became frightened and said, "Go away for the
present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you."
-- ACTS 24:25
----------------------------------------------------------------
We often think that sympathy, money, prayer or charity will solve
the problems of the poor.
But as the Bible makes clear, their great desire is often for
justice, because without justice they can never escape their
inferior position.
Justice is the hope of those who have been denied their place,
whose gifts or concerns have been ignored, suppressed, repressed.
To such people, justice is more than an abstract measure of
balance or equity; it is a source of hope, it is in itself a sign
of God's favor, evidence of redemption.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear
witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so
as to pervert justice;
-- EXODUS 23:2
You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their
lawsuits.
-- EXODUS 23:6
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the
great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes
no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow,
and who loves the strangers, providing them food and
clothing.
-- DEUTERONOMY 10:17-18
You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of
justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge.
Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God
redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
-- DEUTERONOMY 24:17-18
"Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the
widow of justice." All the people shall say, "Amen!"
-- DEUTERONOMY 27:19
O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will
strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do
justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from
earth may strike terror no more.
-- PSALMS 10:17-18
May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor
with justice.
-- PSALMS 72:2
Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right
of the lowly and the destitute.
-- PSALMS 82:3
The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are
oppressed.
-- PSALMS 103:6
I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy, and
executes justice for the poor.
-- PSALMS 140:12
who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the
hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;
-- PSALMS 146:7
If a king judges the poor with equity, his throne will be
established forever.
-- PROVERBS 29:14
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide
with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the
earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his
lips he shall kill the wicked.
-- ISAIAH 11:4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Justice is such a fundamental concern, so important a part of
God's kingdom, that it outweighs the rules of religious practise.
Where justice is ignored, the Bible said, no amount of
faithfulness to regulation, or to the precise text of the law,
can bring salvation or God's favor.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, I
have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, I have
brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed
the Amalekites. But from the spoil the people took sheep and
cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to
sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." And Samuel said,
"Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Surely, to
obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of
rams.
-- 1 SAMUEL 15:20-22
The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues
speak justice. The law of their God is in their hearts; their
steps do not slip.
-- PSALMS 37:30-31
All deeds are right in the sight of the doer, but the LORD
weighs the heart. To do righteousness and justice is more
acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
-- PROVERBS 21:2,3
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the
LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the
fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or
of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who
asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more;
bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to
me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation -- I
cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons
and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become
a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch
out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you
make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of
blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the
evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend
the orphan, plead for the widow.
-- ISAIAH 1:11-17
I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in
your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt
offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and
the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not
look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will
not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll
down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing
stream.
-- AMOS 5:21-24
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe
mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier
matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these
you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.
-- MATTHEW 23:23
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Justice is not only a gift of God to the people of God. It is a
sign to all nations and to all people that God rules this earth.
The kingdom of God, the presence of God is marked by, among other
things, justice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just
as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
-- DEUTERONOMY 4:8
When the queen of Sheba had observed all the wisdom of
Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table,
the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his
servants, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt offerings
that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more
spirit in her. So she said to the king, "The report was true
that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of
your wisdom. . . .Blessed be the LORD your God, who has
delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because
the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king to
execute justice and righteousness."
-- 1 KINGS 10:4-6,9
Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and
set you on his throne as king for the LORD your God. Because
your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he
has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and
righteousness."
-- 2 CHRONICLES 9:8
Now, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care what you
do, for there is no perversion of justice with the LORD our
God, or partiality, or taking of bribes."
-- 2 CHRONICLES 19:7
a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he
will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He
will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established
justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his
teaching.
-- ISAIAH 42:3,4
Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for
a teaching will go out from me, and my justice for a light to
the peoples.
-- ISAIAH 51:4
and if you swear, "As the LORD lives!" in truth, in justice,
and in uprightness, then nations shall be blessed by him, and
by him they shall boast.
-- JEREMIAH 4:2
He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the
LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
-- MICAH 6:8
He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick
until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the
Gentiles will hope."
-- MATTHEW 12:21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Justice is often portrayed in the Bible as being characteristic
of a redeemed society. When we see justice, we see the kingdom of
God, we have a foretaste of paradise.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
And of Gad he said: Blessed be the enlargement of Gad! Gad
lives like a lion; he tears at arm and scalp. He chose the
best for himself, for there a commander's allotment was
reserved; he came at the head of the people, he executed the
justice of the LORD, and his ordinances for Israel.
-- DEUTERONOMY 33:20-21
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was
like a robe and a turban.
-- JOB 29:14
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the
steadfast love of the LORD.
-- PSALMS 33:5
He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the
justice of your cause like the noonday.
-- PSALMS 37:6
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the
peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
-- PSALMS 67:4
It is well with those who deal rously and lend, who conduct
their affairs with justice.
-- PSALMS 112:5
When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous, but
dismay to evildoers.
-- PROVERBS 21:15
Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend
the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, let us argue it
out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they
shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they
shall become like wool.
-- ISAIAH 1:17,18
Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who
repent, by righteousness.
-- ISAIAH 1:27
His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be
endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He
will establish and uphold it with justice and with
righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal
of the LORD of hosts will do this.
-- ISAIAH 9:7
then a throne shall be established in steadfast love in the
tent of David, and on it shall sit in faithfulness a ruler
who seeks justice and is swift to do what is right.
-- ISAIAH 16:5
therefore thus says the Lord GOD, See, I am laying in Zion a
foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a
sure foundation: "One who trusts will not panic." And I will
make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; hail
will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm
the shelter.
-- ISAIAH 28:16, 17
See, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will
rule with justice.
-- ISAIAH 32:1
For the palace will be forsaken, the populous city deserted;
the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, the joy
of wild asses, a pasture for flocks; until a spirit from on
high is poured out on us, and the wilderness becomes a
fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.
Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness
abide in the fruitful field.
-- ISAIAH 32:14-16
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise
up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king
and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness
in the land.
-- JEREMIAH 23:5
In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous
Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice
and righteousness in the land.
-- JEREMIAH 33:15
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and
I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak,
but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them
with justice.
-- EZEKIEL 34:16
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
-- LUKE 4:18
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing,
whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if
there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
-- PHILIPPIANS 4:8