Deuteronomy 25:13-16
“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God.
Justice matters to God. God is a God of justice. The first act of injustice was in the Garden of Eden. Eve had disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. That was an act of injustice. God had to make that right and so the first visible death took place as God killed an animal to "cover" Adam and Eve (symbolic of what His Son would do centuries later). God couldn't just dismiss their sin and injustice. Justice matters to God. If you read through the Proverbs and focus on leadership you will see much written about the combination of leadership and justice. God is looking for us to reflect His character of justice. This is why, in the Law, Moses outlines for the nation the above passage. Often business was done by weighing out grain or money or other measurable items of trade and worth. Men would carry around, in a bag, the weights for measurement. Moses warns them to not possess differing weights, meaning "inaccurate" weights. God wanted them to be assured to know that that would not be just. Justice in this passage was to have accurate and correct weights in the bag for their daily business. Moses gives them two motivations for this type of accurate measurement. The first was that God promised to bless them as a result of just business practices. There is a blessing when we follow the ways of God in doing our business. He gives a second of motivation by telling them that not only will God be blessing them if the DO use just weights, but also that they will be an abomination to God if they don't. God is concerned about how we do our daily business. God is concerned how we measure our and weigh out our acts of business. Using inaccurate or unjust weights is seen by God as sin. Cheating in our business dealings with others is not blessed by God. God wants us to reflect Him in our day-to-day business dealings. Don't use moving weights or light weights or extra heavy weights when dealing with others. Measure others not by what you feel, but by what God tells us. Think of the many ways we "measure" others ... we use our own standards, when we ought to use God's standards ... God's weights.
No comments:
Post a Comment