New Wineskins
How have you worked justice this week? For years my idea about the judgment of Israel was incomplete. I grew up thinking God judged Israel and Judah and sent them into exile simply because they worshipped other gods. That’s surely a part of it, but it’s not the whole picture. What you’ll see throughout the Prophets is a call for the people not just to love God, but to love each other. Here’s what Jeremiah says:
3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’” Jeremiah 22:3-5
That’s why when Jesus was asked for the greatest commandment gave two: love God and love others. That’s why the entire Law and Prophets can be summed up with the command “love your neighbor as yourself.”
God’s beef with Israel and Judah wasn’t just that they were worshipping foreign gods, it was that they were abusing and taking advantage of one another. God cares about justice. As his followers today, we are called not just to worship him through songs and giving, but through looking out for those on the fringes, to defend the defenseless and rescue those in need.
Who is in need in your community? Who is defenseless? Who needs to be rescued? That’s who God wants you to minister to this week. How have you worked justice this week?
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