Lenten Devotions - Day 37

“So once again, I, Yahweh All-Powerful, tell you, ‘See that justice is done and be kind and merciful to one another! Don't mistreat widows or orphans or foreigners or anyone who is poor, and stop making plans to hurt each other.’ But everyone who heard those prophets stubbornly refused to obey. Instead, they turned their backs on everything my Spirit had commanded the earlier prophets to preach. So I, Yahweh, became angry and said, ‘You people paid no attention when I called out to you, and now I'll pay no attention when you call out to me.’” Zechariah 7:8-13

A common refrain in the Passover Seder meal is “we were once foreigners in Egypt, but God rescued us with a mighty hand.” It is a reminder to include the poor, destitute, and otherwise needy in our celebration of God’s provision and blessing. Caring for widows, poor, foreigners, and orphans was a standard Ancient Near Eastern estimate of one’s righteousness. This concept was not limited to the people of Israel, but understood by most of the Hebrews’ neighbors as a test of one’s character.

If Lord Afton was correct that power corrupts, it is also true that setting aside our power over others to meet the needs of those without power is a sign of overcoming that corruption. This is the concern of Yahweh’s proclamation of judgment. Judah and its leaders well knew that justice demanded to see the disenfranchised share in Yahweh’s blessings. They knew they could not advance themselves at the expense of the needy without answering to God. Regardless, they had chosen to ignore their responsibility for the less fortunate to advance their own causes.

They had ignored the demands and will of Yahweh. For this, they were now in exile. Here they would sit and consider how they had ignored God’s demands for righteousness and delivering justice to the oppressed. Justice here is not about retribution, punishment, and violence against aggressors. It is rather seeing that the needs of the needy are held in priority. Those who have no one to speak on their behalf are those for whom we must display concern. Justice is assuring they have food, shelter, and the means to live without oppression by those who would take advantage of them.

We have heard people raise the cry against predatory lenders. We have seen outrage against lavish bonuses in contrast to a rapid rise in unemployment rates. We have heard of “unlawful combatants” subjected to torture we would repudiate at the hands of any other government. We may have witnessed aggression against foreign workers, oppressed by those who exploit their fear of deportation. We may have heard of human trafficking supporting a sex trade within our own nation. We may have recognized the violence inherent in our business practices that place profit above compassion for workers and customers. Israel and Judah had turned blind eyes to their neglect of justice for those they oppressed. From exile, however, God called them back to faithfulness through repentance.

It is easy to point fingers at those who kill unborn babies. It is a different thing to recognize our own complicity in denying life and justice to millions as we ignore their needs by focusing on our own advancement. Will we become a people after the righteous justice of God?

Assess your own habits in search for how you overlook the plight of the oppressed. Find a way to change your life patterns according to God’s cry for justice.

“Lord, make me more aware of those whose needs I am tempted to brush aside or simply overlook.”

—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/