Walking with God in Love and Justice

I recall the days sharing an apartment with a few other single men.  None of us knew cooking so we had a lady sending us lunch-boxes every day. We noticed that over the weeks this kind lady has customized our lunch boxes to suit each individual’s likes and dislikes—each of us had our favorites dishes more often while the dishes that we detested have disappeared from the menu.

We were amused. How did this woman know what each of us like though she hasn’t even met most of us even once? We quizzed the man who brought the lunch for us every day. He told us the secret. She would check all the lunch boxes that we returned and made a note of what remains in them. Whatever, a person did not eat she considered it as a dislike and whatever was eaten, she considered as his favorite. Thus, over the weeks she knew what each of us like and what we detested. Now you know why we adored her!

Knowing God’s will and pleasing him by doing what he likes is even more noble. That is what we are called for.

Micah, a prophet of the eighth century BC proclaimed, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, ESV).

Prophet Micah summarizes what God likes and what God hates in Israel’s social life. He highlights three things. He expects his people to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly.

The book of Deuteronomy, all the prophetic voices in the Old Testament and Jesus constantly reminded the people that God desires righteousness, and justice. He demands that they show mercy to each other especially those who are vulnerable in their society. Another prophet of the same period cried out! “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24, ESV).”

Probably Micah stands out in the company of the prophets by specifying that living a life that God delights is to “walk humbly with your God.”

Walking humbly means to lead a modest life. In fact, one of the meanings of the word used for ‘humble’ in Hebrew is ‘modest.’ Modest life is not to live extravagantly but one that limits to what is essential. At the same time, the expression “with God” means that God determines this life-style. The standard of our life-style is decided by our close walk with God.

A life lived in comparison with the standards of others, sometimes even leading to competition to beat each other leads not only to excesses. In a similar vein, life-style that focuses on the self to the total neglect of the needs around us leads to all that is ungodly. The immodest life-style leads to corruption, exploitation and causes pain for others. The wealthy in Israel oppressed and exploited the poor to satisfy their cravings for luxury. Prophet Amos condemns those who lived in palaces decorated with ivory, and drunk to their fill and loved rave parties.

​ “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’ (Amos 4:1, ESV)

“Cows of Bashan” is a metaphor that Amos used to describe the obese wealthy women.

Amos condemned the rich further:

“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall, who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music, who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! Therefore, they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away” (Amos 6:4-7, ESV).

Their extravagant life-style was at the expense of the poor and needy whom them conveniently ignored. They created a society where injustice and inequality prevailed over love and mercy. However, a life pleasing God is modest, is content with what one has than grabbing what others have to live haughtily as Isaiah portrayed such lives.

“The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet, (Isaiah 3:16, ESV).”

The pride in what one wear, eat and spend is not the mark of a life pleasing God.

 

(Photo courtesy: Rudolf Kirchner)

Waiting for God's Mercy

"For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says the LORD your Redeemer" (Isa 54:7-8)

God is a holy God. The earlier chapters of the Book of Isaiah present the awesome holiness of God (chapter 6). Since God is a God of wrath and justice he punishes sin and wickedness. God sometimes may use ungodly people to punish his own people who are disobedient. That was the role of Assyria, Israel's political enemy who brought the Northern Kingdom of Israel to destruction. God described Assyria as the rod of His anger (Isa 10:5).

That's only one side of God. The other side is that of a merciful God. Years later, after he inflicted punishment upon his people at the hands of the pagans, he raised up another pagan emperor to show kindness to them. That is Cyrus the Persian Emperor whom God describes as His anointed (Isa 45:1). Hitherto only specially chosen leaders of Israel were called "anointed". But now here is a pagan king who does not know God is called his anointed, because he is going to be instrumental in showing God's mercy to his people.

Isaiah 54:7-8 portrays this picture of God's punishment and kindness in a graphic way. His mercy has overtaken his wrath. He has abandoned them but only for a while.

Though this verses are the story of a nation's abandonment and their reinstating, it has a personal dimension as well as the story of this young man tells. Probably many of us may be able to relate to this story as well.

He had come to the seminary from a not so well-to-do family. In the seminary he goes through a nervous breakdown. All his plans to complete studies, get married and then get ordained into ministry are foiled. To add to the misery the seminary advises him to take a break. An year goes by and then he joins the seminary again to find that he had to get regular help of a psychiatrist and go on his studies on a slower pace. He had to see his class graduate without him. His juniors also passed before him. Finally, his day came and he graduated. However, he was told that, knowing that he has a history of psychological illness, his church is not really willing to trust him with a church. Long internship begins; finding a marriage partner for a person who carries the stigma of mental illness was difficult in his culture.

However, he gets married much later in life than his friends. It was a long wait. The church finally is convinced that he is fully healed. Now, in a few weeks time he will be ordained into the ministry of his denomination. He decided to print Isaiah 54:7-8 on the top of the invitation card: " For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back." He has crossed the lines over to the compassion field. What God has done in his life is certainly an encouragement for all those who are waiting on the other side of our existence under God's wrath or negligence (whatever you would like to call it) to cross over. The waiting may be long, but it will certainly not be futile.