Justice In The Old Testament Religion Essay

Introduction

WHAT IS JUSTICE

The general apprehension of justness is giving a individual his due. That is to state if the if person has done more should be rewarded more. In short it is concerned with just distribution of goods, chances justice demands that every person should be rewarded harmonizing to what he or she had done, nil more or nil less. Now holding understood the general apprehension of justness, it is imperative that we look at what the bible say about justness.

Justice IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Old Testament negotiations of three dimensions of Justice. That is distributive Justice, just covering and secondly public justness and eventually rectitude that are the unity of a individual. The Old Testament has footings which are used to depict justness, which are mishpat and tsedeq.Tsedeq refers to a individual ‘s righteousness ( tsedeq ) . Apart from that it is used for honorable graduated tables and measurings. It can besides intend good administration. Mishpat and tsedeq are interchangeable. Harmonizing to DD Raphael, mishpat “ Means Judgment, the treatment of Judge but with a normative intension ” ( 2001:11 ) . Harmonizing to him mishpat is concerned with the justice. That is how the justice executes his legal affairs. In short he is speaking about the character of the justice in put to deathing his judgement. So when mishpat is used in the Old Testament it is concerned the character of God in put to deathing judgement up on the evil actors.

It is concerned with the character of an person in covering with his fellow person. On this portion we can see the difference between tsedeq and mishpat. It is recorded that tsedeq is “ used of the character of the suspect than the behavior of the Judge ” ( Howard Marshall 1980:10 ) . In add-on we can state that tsedeq does non concern the righteousness of the justice but it is concerned with the character of an person. Further Raphael noted that “ The penalty of the offense against a individual should be that a offender suffer the same injury as he has caused ( Ex.21:23-25 ) ” 2001:14 ) . Harmonizing to Howard M. Justice and Judgment dwell really much in conveying the oppressors of the hapless and destitute to naught.

THE GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

Justice has by and large two constituents which constitutes justness these are ‘Social ‘ and ‘justice ‘ . Social is the squad used to mention to how people live in the community or how people live in the society. Justice on the other manus trades with up keeping what is merely or handling people reasonably harmonizing to honor or/ and criterion. So when these footings are used together, it can be said that societal justness be when people are given what is due from their community. Social justness trades in three countries. That is economic justness, remedial and distributive justness. Economic and remedial justness ensures that every individual is given equal and just chances to entree a society ‘s economic resources and its political and legal systems. Distributive justness besides focuses on results which are just. It is interestingly to observe that all three signifiers of Justice Emphasis much on the societal duties of human existences.

BIBLICAL Understanding OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

When Old Testament negotiations of Justice, it does non merely intend being or moving rightly but besides the sort of state of affairs that would ensue when Justice is executed. Apart from the Old Testament covering with righteousness ( tsedeqa ) and justness or judgement ( mishpat ) the Old Testament besides deals with assisting the needy. For illustration Leviticus 19:9-10, God is reminding the kids of Israel non to complete the harvests in their Fieldss after the crop but should go forth some for the hapless, alien, widows, orphans etc. this is supported by Deut. 24:19-22. In which God is commanding the Israelites non to travel back and collect that which was left in the Fieldss.

Another facet that is found in the Old Testament scriptures for illustration in Proverbs 31:8-9. Here it is said that everyone has the God given rights life and autonomy that is free from all signifiers of subjugation and unfairnesss. Again when we look in the Pentateuch ( Deut. 15:1-11 ) , God commands the Israelite to assist the needy among them in the 7th month and besides to council the debts of those who cold non pay back

Raphael said “ The bid in these transitions do non utilize either of the words for justness to depict their principle, though the thought behind them is one that was latter assigned to the construct of societal justness ” ( 2001:15 ) . This same accent is besides used by the major prophesier like Isaiah in which they relate the construct of cognizing God to assisting the needy for illustration Isaiah 1:7 associate the impression of mishpat with giving aid to the needy. Jeremiah besides associates mishpat with tsedeqa ( Jeremiah 22:3 ) . It has been indicated that “ when societal militants talk about the hapless, destitute and disadvantaged, they do non merely mention to victims of subjugation, but besides to people in comfortable states who are less comfortable even though they have n o deficiency of nutrient, shelter, vesture, or authorities and assistance bureau support ” ( Andrew kulikovsky 2008:11 ) . It can farther be said that societal justness favors much those who are disadvantaged. There are many biblical mentions both in the old and the New Testament which has come out clear on the issue of societal justness. For illustration the prophesier Zechariah 7:9-10 negotiations about where God has forbade the subjugation of the widow, the fatherless and aliens or the hapless in general further, the prophesier Amos is speaking more on the subjugation of the hapless and the aliens. It has been said that “ Doing justness by helping the hapless and the needy is a duty of those who have responded to the Gospel. It is non portion of the Gospel itself ” ( Andrew K. 2008:20 ) .

On the contrary, we can non stand on the fact the Bible is wholly based on societal justness there are some transitions in the same bible which contradict the impression of societal justness. These scriptural transitions prohibit favoritism and fondness in affairs refering justness for illustration Leviticus 19:15 where God is stating that “ you shall non render unfair Judgment ( mishpat ) , you shall non be partial to the hapless or defer to the great: with justness you shall judge your neighbor ” . Here we see the construct of justness in covering with legal affairs which is concerned with merely judgement. Here the male monarch of justness they are speaking about is mishpat. Justice must be done in tsedeqa or righteousness. This is besides echoed by Ex. 23:3. Not merely this but besides in Ex. 30:14-15 “ There was besides no fondness when Moses took a nose count and God required an offering of half a shekel from every one over the age of 20 old ages ” ( Andrew K 2008:11 ) . The lone thing that the hapless needed in those yearss was just covering with other people. Harmonizing to the scriptural apprehension, the hapless are those people who were the victims of unfairness and have no 1 to talk for them in clip of subjugation. That is why the righteous have the authorization to look after the marginalized ( James 1:27 ) non because they are hapless but that they are the victims of unfairnesss. Some bookmans such as Ross Langmead as quoted by Andrew K. states that “ When Jesus gave the pronunciamento of good intelligence to the hapless ; he meant redemption and non any signifier of societal justness ” . So it is non easy for us to brood of bookmans who suggest that the Bible is wholly dwelling of societal justness. Because it besides contains some mentions which are concerned with legal affairs. Edgar wrote “ From a Christian and Biblical point of position, Justice means giving to people harmonizing to demand and even giving more than they might have harmonizing to the rule of equality ” ( Andrew K. 2008:14 ) . This is why most concern of societal justness is helping the hapless and destitute people in the society. This construct has been disputed by Andrew and said that it is really of import to understand what it means when the Bible negotiations of the hapless and the needy and the degrees of their poorness. Langmead farther argues that “ Biblical justness goes farther than rigorous justness and is imbued with grace, clemency and forgiveness ” ( Andrew K 2008:14 ) . We can non asseverate on the fact that justness is non Biblical justness unless it is involved in the protagonism of the weak, the hapless or the socially disadvantaged. Further Neville says “ Jesus called for societal transmutation as confirmed by the nature of his mission and societal Justice ” once more Andrew argues to state that “ this is what the people and the adherents expected, but that was non the Gospel of God ‘s land was about ” ( Andrew K 2008:20 ) .

Decision

To sum up all this Biblical Justice must non be thought merely in societal construct but must besides be thought in other footings like giving people harmonizing to what is due. God prefers the hapless non because they are hapless but because they were the victims of unfairnesss, but that is note the lone message found in the Biblical instructions.