Bible Study

A. Introduction.

“Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like the waters, And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

Can you imagine how utterly appalled Amos’ audience would have been when he uttered these shocking words? How dare he! They were God’s carefully chosen, special and privileged people. Surely this was heresy – to suggest that God despised their worship.

But Amos was not alone. God also compelled Isaiah, Micah and others to pronounce condemnation on the failure of God’s people to actively do justice. They were told that because of this failure God completely rejected their religious practices, and they couldn’t believe it. The fact that Jesus so unequivocally affirmed the centrality of God’s justice requirements (see Matthew 23:23) is of immense importance. We ought not to be in two minds about this. We cannot faithfully follow Jesus without participating in God’s agenda for justice.

Therefore, it is clearly very important for us to examine what this agenda is, and consider what shape our involvement in it might take. This study is necessarily brief, so it can only begin this examination. However, I would encourage you to undertake a more comprehensive set of studies. A set of six such studies, “God, Justice and Power” ($2 plus postage) is available from TEAR.

Steve Bradbury

B. Oppression and Injustice.

1. Oppression and injustice can take many forms, but all are designed to increase the wealth and power of the oppressors at the expense of those they exploit. Read each of the following passages then:

a) describe the different types of oppression and exploitation; b) try and identify a present-day example for each type. Job 24.1-12; Ps.94.4-7; Pr.13.23; Isaiah 10.2-9, 58.3; Jeremiah 22. 13-14; Ezekiel 22.6-7. 2. What do those who experience injustice have in common? 3. What do those who perpetrate injustice have in common?

C. Justice Manifesto.

In his brilliant book “Biblical Ethics and Social Change”, Stephen Charles Mott writes the following:

“The Bible is full of the language of justice. Its presence (though) is often veiled from the English reader by the ambiguity of the terms righteousness and judgment.A rule of thumb is that when one sees righteousness or judgement in the context of social responsibility, one can assume that justice would be a better translation. In Scripture, the people of God are commanded to execute justice because God, after whom they in grace and love pattern their lives, executes justice.”

1. With this in mind, use the following passages of Scripture (and any others you know are relevant) to identify key principles of Biblical justice. Using these, draw up a Biblical Justice Manifesto which spells out the justice responsibilities God gives his people.

You may need to divide the passages among the group and report back on your findings. Then, on a poster-size sheet of paper, write your own Biblical Justice Manifesto.

Leviticus 19.15; Deuteronomy 24.17; Ps. 72. 1-4, 12-14; Ps. 82,1-4; Isaiah 1.17; Jeremiah 22:3; Matthew 23:23.

Suggestion: Each person could write a copy of the manifesto to keep in their own Bible as a prompt for prayer and action.

D. What to Do?

1.Most of us will agree that God wants us to live justly, and that this means the poor, the weak, and all those whom society often overlook, are to be of special concern for us. But, what does this mean in practical terms? Briefly discuss the implications your Biblical Justice Manifesto has for each of the following:

# how you decide who to vote for in the next state and federal elections. # how you use your disposable income. # the activities and programs of your church or fellowship group.

2. What other implications strike you as being particularly important? Why?

E. Prayer and Reflection.

Read the following statement, then conclude your study with a short time of quiet followed by prayer.

“Those who understand God know that God is on the side of the poor, and this knowledge determines their own position in the social struggles of their day. And if they fail to see the implications of God’s character, God makes their responsibility clear through the commands of Scripture.”

Stephen Charles Mott