Faith Formation: Micah - Justice, Kindness, humility

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

Hebrew poetry uses parallelism to emphasize what it intends to say. So, "what is good" and "what does the LORD require" are not two separate things, but the same thing. Likewise, doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God are not three separate activities, but one activity. The one activity, or one way of living, is also "what is good" and "what does the LORD require."

"... do justice..." A dictionary definition of "justice" lists, moral rightness; equity, honor, fairness, good reason, fair handling, due reward or treatment, the administration and procedure of law." To "do justice to" includes ideas of, to approach with proper appreciation; enjoy fully, to show to full advantage, in other words to be fully and faithfully truthful about.

The Hebrew word for "justice" is "mishpat." it is something people do, an activity, rather than an abstract idea. Justice is also a community affair as well as an individual one. Justice was discerned by a meeting of elders or the community who gathered at the gate of the town, heard cases and made decisions. "Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate..." Amos 5:15 Boaz sat down with his next of kin and ten elders of Bethlehem to decide the matter selling Elimelech's land, which belonged to Naomi, and marriage to Ruth. Justice was to be impartial. "You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not show partiality to the poor or defer to the great; with justice you shall judge your neighbor." Justice was not based simply on majority opinion, and again was not to favor or disfavor the poor. "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, nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit. ... You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits." Exodus 23:2, 6.

On the other hand, it was clear that the poor and vulnerable needed to be protected by justice more than the powerful and wealthy. Consistently the LORD's concern for justice in the law, the Psalms and the prophets focused on how judges/justice treated the poor and vulnerable. "For the LORD your God is God of gods, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, who loves the stranger, providing them with food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:8 (see also 24:17, 27:19.) Likewise, and more so the Psalms and the prophets defended justice for the poor. "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 the earth (the wicked, greedy, the proud) may strike terror no more." Psalm 10:17-18 "For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever." Jeremiah 7:5-7

The intense concern for the poor, the alien (immigrants), the widow, and the oppressed, was because they were the most vulnerable, had the fewest resources, privilege, or friends in high places to defend them. In current terms, they could not afford a surplus of lawyers to defend, defer and delay judgment, or pay off their offenses without any admission of guilt. The powerful have a path to justice, which unavailable or out of reach to the poor. That is not justice. It is what incurred the wrath of the prophets and the judgment of God. Justice was to be impartial, but judges and the system too often showed partiality to the powerful. So God through the prophets took the side of the poor and acted to defend the oppressed, and called incessantly for justice to be done for those who could not obtain it any other way except through the kindness and humility of those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Do Justice. Love Kindness. Walk humbly with God.

Pastor Tim Bauer