“You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice.” (Exodus 23:2, NLT)
When I was in elementary school, my fourth-grade teacher remarked about how the court system worked. In speaking about how governments function, she taught us that the court system makes sure people follow the law. It makes sure that people are fair to one another. It upholds justice in the land. For years after this, I was under the assumption that she told the truth. Since then, I believe what she taught was a romanticized view of the truth. It wasn’t the truth. I have come to see that court systems are not always fair, justice is not always metered out in law, and courts can be “bought” in many ways.
Recently, there have been well-documented cases where justice has been perverted. Several high profile articles have documented how innocent men went to jail for murder when the police couldn’t find a suitable killer. The courts believed the police over the evidence and the innocent men went to jail. Years later, DNA tests proved the men innocent and the police were wrong. In California, people who were arrested for violent crimes have been released from custody through court bias. In New York, a violent offender was let out on bond even after committing murder. He committed another murder before he was re-arrested. In several recent court cases of note, wealthy people with a team of expensive lawyers won their cases by buying off witnesses, finding technicalities, and manipulating the court system to their benefit. In the past two years, videos and affidavits and evidence proves that the son of President Joe Biden engaged in illegal activity for which he has never been arrested. This week it was even reported that the FBI demanded that Facebook not report on this illegal activity. Also, today’s news has a report that the Department of Justice engaged in actions over the past three years that were in direct contradiction to the Constitution of the United States in order to secure political points or favors from Democrats!!!!! Recently, an article about the wars in the Middle East mentioned that laws like the Patriot Act, promoted by both parties in America to keep terrorism from spreading, were being used by political groups to spy on one another and to subvert American freedoms.
God’s word, the Bible, is adamantly opposed to injustice. Scripture is clear that courts and judges and people who decide on the law must be free from corruption or face the wrath of God. The prophet Amos warned against those in Israel who took bribes so to enrich themselves (Amos 5:12). The prophet Micah spoke out against the “rulers of the house of Israel” who changed their rules through bribery. He also took issue with religious leaders who twisted God’s law for a price (Micah 3:11). All the prophets of the Old Testament spoke in one manner or another to God’s condemnation of those who perverted the law or misused their power or promoted injustice. All the prophets predicted that God’s wrath would go against those who perverted justice and manipulated the courts.
It is clear from scripture that God will personally stand against those who act unjustly. However, what is also clear from scripture is that worldly and sinful people will constantly manipulate justice and even pervert the concept of righteousness for their own benefit. This week, I read a modern parable which spoke to this very thing…..
“Once upon a time, in a far away country, there lived a little girl called Red Riding Hood. One day her mother asked her to take a basket of fruit to her grandmother, who had been ill and lived alone in a cottage in the forest.
It happened that a wolf was lurking in the bushes and overheard the conversation. He decided to take a short-cut to the grandmother’s house and get the goodies for himself. The wolf killed the grandmother, then dressed in her nightgown and jumped into bed to await the little girl.
When she arrived, he made several nasty suggestions and then tried to grab her. But by this time, the child was very frightened and ran screaming from the cottage.
A woodcutter, working nearby, heard her cries and rushed to the rescue. He killed the wolf with his ax, thereby saving Red Riding Hood’s life. All the townspeople hurried to the scene and proclaimed the woodcutter a hero.
But at the inquest, several facts emerged:
• The wolf had never been advised of his rights.
• The woodcutter had made no warning swings before striking the fatal blow.
• The Civil Liberties Union stressed the point that, although the act of eating Grandma may have been in bad taste, the wolf was only “doing his thing” and thus didn’t deserve the death penalty.
• The SDS contended that the killing of the grandmother should be considered self-defense since she was over 30 and, therefore, couldn’t be taken seriously because the wolf was trying to make love, not war.
On the basis of these considerations, it was decided there was no valid basis for charges against the wolf. Moreover, the woodcutter was indicted for unaggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Several nights later, the woodcutter’s cottage was burned to the ground.
One year from the date of “The Incident at Grandma’s,” her cottage was made a shrine for the wolf who had bled and died there. All the village officials spoke at the dedication, but it was Red Riding Hood who gave the most touching tribute.
She said that, while she had been selfishly grateful for the woodcutter’s intervention, she realized in retrospect that he had over-reacted. As she knelt and placed a wreath in honor of the brave wolf, there wasn’t a dry eye in the whole forest.”
(Found in the section on Evil, 6,000 Plus Illustrations for Communicating Biblical Truths)
The scripture for today comes from Exodus 23:2. This scripture is located in the part of the Bible known as the Torah, or books of the law. This verse contains God’s view that people should not “follow the crowd” when it goes against the word of God. In clear contradiction to those who would manipulate justice to get their own way, the scripture ends by saying that all people “should not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice” (Exodus 23:2b). People who testify in court should speak God’s truth. For years, people made an oath on a Bible when testifying in court. Sadly, this has gone out of favor. Even worse, more and more people do not think it wrong to pervert justice, lie about the truth, manipulate those involved, and play loosely with the facts.
One thing I know is that in one way or another, God always gets HIS justice. Those who pervert righteousness will pay for their misdeeds. Those who spread lies in order to manipulate the court system or sway public opinion will suffer God’s wrath. Those who believe the lies told to them will find themselves suffering one way or another. You can’t go against what is right by God or you go against God directly.
As a child of God, you need to make sure that you are living a life that is holy and righteous and faithful before God. Manipulating courts, the truth, or public opinion in order to secure your own advantages is a great way to incur the wrath of Almighty God. You don’t want to go there! Even if the world is not righteous or holy or just, you need to be. Even if the world speaks lies, you need to hold fast to the truth. Even if others lie, cheat, and steal, you are called to be righteous before the Lord. In the end, it is God who determines whether you were truthful and honest or swayed others by deception and the manipulation of justice.
Recently, there have been well-documented cases where justice has been perverted. Several high profile articles have documented how innocent men went to jail for murder when the police couldn’t find a suitable killer. The courts believed the police over the evidence and the innocent men went to jail. Years later, DNA tests proved the men innocent and the police were wrong. In California, people who were arrested for violent crimes have been released from custody through court bias. In New York, a violent offender was let out on bond even after committing murder. He committed another murder before he was re-arrested. In several recent court cases of note, wealthy people with a team of expensive lawyers won their cases by buying off witnesses, finding technicalities, and manipulating the court system to their benefit. In the past two years, videos and affidavits and evidence proves that the son of President Joe Biden engaged in illegal activity for which he has never been arrested. This week it was even reported that the FBI demanded that Facebook not report on this illegal activity. Also, today’s news has a report that the Department of Justice engaged in actions over the past three years that were in direct contradiction to the Constitution of the United States in order to secure political points or favors from Democrats!!!!! Recently, an article about the wars in the Middle East mentioned that laws like the Patriot Act, promoted by both parties in America to keep terrorism from spreading, were being used by political groups to spy on one another and to subvert American freedoms.
God’s word, the Bible, is adamantly opposed to injustice. Scripture is clear that courts and judges and people who decide on the law must be free from corruption or face the wrath of God. The prophet Amos warned against those in Israel who took bribes so to enrich themselves (Amos 5:12). The prophet Micah spoke out against the “rulers of the house of Israel” who changed their rules through bribery. He also took issue with religious leaders who twisted God’s law for a price (Micah 3:11). All the prophets of the Old Testament spoke in one manner or another to God’s condemnation of those who perverted the law or misused their power or promoted injustice. All the prophets predicted that God’s wrath would go against those who perverted justice and manipulated the courts.
It is clear from scripture that God will personally stand against those who act unjustly. However, what is also clear from scripture is that worldly and sinful people will constantly manipulate justice and even pervert the concept of righteousness for their own benefit. This week, I read a modern parable which spoke to this very thing…..
“Once upon a time, in a far away country, there lived a little girl called Red Riding Hood. One day her mother asked her to take a basket of fruit to her grandmother, who had been ill and lived alone in a cottage in the forest.
It happened that a wolf was lurking in the bushes and overheard the conversation. He decided to take a short-cut to the grandmother’s house and get the goodies for himself. The wolf killed the grandmother, then dressed in her nightgown and jumped into bed to await the little girl.
When she arrived, he made several nasty suggestions and then tried to grab her. But by this time, the child was very frightened and ran screaming from the cottage.
A woodcutter, working nearby, heard her cries and rushed to the rescue. He killed the wolf with his ax, thereby saving Red Riding Hood’s life. All the townspeople hurried to the scene and proclaimed the woodcutter a hero.
But at the inquest, several facts emerged:
• The wolf had never been advised of his rights.
• The woodcutter had made no warning swings before striking the fatal blow.
• The Civil Liberties Union stressed the point that, although the act of eating Grandma may have been in bad taste, the wolf was only “doing his thing” and thus didn’t deserve the death penalty.
• The SDS contended that the killing of the grandmother should be considered self-defense since she was over 30 and, therefore, couldn’t be taken seriously because the wolf was trying to make love, not war.
On the basis of these considerations, it was decided there was no valid basis for charges against the wolf. Moreover, the woodcutter was indicted for unaggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Several nights later, the woodcutter’s cottage was burned to the ground.
One year from the date of “The Incident at Grandma’s,” her cottage was made a shrine for the wolf who had bled and died there. All the village officials spoke at the dedication, but it was Red Riding Hood who gave the most touching tribute.
She said that, while she had been selfishly grateful for the woodcutter’s intervention, she realized in retrospect that he had over-reacted. As she knelt and placed a wreath in honor of the brave wolf, there wasn’t a dry eye in the whole forest.”
(Found in the section on Evil, 6,000 Plus Illustrations for Communicating Biblical Truths)
The scripture for today comes from Exodus 23:2. This scripture is located in the part of the Bible known as the Torah, or books of the law. This verse contains God’s view that people should not “follow the crowd” when it goes against the word of God. In clear contradiction to those who would manipulate justice to get their own way, the scripture ends by saying that all people “should not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice” (Exodus 23:2b). People who testify in court should speak God’s truth. For years, people made an oath on a Bible when testifying in court. Sadly, this has gone out of favor. Even worse, more and more people do not think it wrong to pervert justice, lie about the truth, manipulate those involved, and play loosely with the facts.
One thing I know is that in one way or another, God always gets HIS justice. Those who pervert righteousness will pay for their misdeeds. Those who spread lies in order to manipulate the court system or sway public opinion will suffer God’s wrath. Those who believe the lies told to them will find themselves suffering one way or another. You can’t go against what is right by God or you go against God directly.
As a child of God, you need to make sure that you are living a life that is holy and righteous and faithful before God. Manipulating courts, the truth, or public opinion in order to secure your own advantages is a great way to incur the wrath of Almighty God. You don’t want to go there! Even if the world is not righteous or holy or just, you need to be. Even if the world speaks lies, you need to hold fast to the truth. Even if others lie, cheat, and steal, you are called to be righteous before the Lord. In the end, it is God who determines whether you were truthful and honest or swayed others by deception and the manipulation of justice.