The Bible talks about Justice. 預覽

In Genesis 18, Abraham encounters God and two angelic visitors. At the end of this encounter, we hear a rare reflection from God. He says that He chose Abraham’s family to follow Him by doing what is just and right so that God will fulfill His promise to bless the world through Abraham.

This is an incredible claim! God is saying that He will fulfill His promise to Abraham when Abraham’s family learns to do what is just and right. This idea of “doing justice and righteousness” is presented as a way back to God after humanity’s failures.

This idea is carried forward after God saves Israel from slavery and gives them His laws at Mount Sinai. These laws reflect not only how to live with God, but how to live with one another and treat one another. 

These laws reflect God’s very character. The Psalms are filled with praise for God’s justice, which is both retributive and restorative. Retributive justice means God gives sinful humanity what we deserve. But restorative justice means God also defends and lifts up those oppressed by others. Ezekiel 34 is an example of God describing how He will enforce both.

God commands Israel to reflect His retributive and restorative justice. The standards God gives shows us His character and gives us a glimpse of the kind of people we are called to be. God is just, and we are called to pursue justice and thus reflect the image of God.