Justice

Zechariah 7:7-9 - Are these not the words the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’” And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: “This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.


Isaiah 1:17-18 - Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Micah 6:8 - He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Hosea 10:12 - Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.

Application:

· Do I take advantage of the fatherless and the widow? Do I seek the just functioning of society?
· Forgiveness is conditioned on reformation of life or being obedient.
· Do I act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord? Am I obedient?
· Do I do what is right? Am I blessed by God? Am I unproductive, or am I repentant? Have I made a radical new beginning? Am I becoming productive and fruitful? Am I loyal to Him?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Justice and Righteousness

Amos 5:7,23-25 - There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground…Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! “Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?

Micah 6:8 - He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 - But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”

Numbers 14:34 - For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’

Application:

· Do I act justly and love mercy?
· Do I ignore His law and despise true religion?
· Is my relationship with the Lord based on obedience?
· Are my sacrifices done with an attitude of obedience and devotion to the Lord?
· Do I set my own will above the command of the Lord?
· Do I refuse to carry out what the Lord commissions me to do?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV