What does the Bible say about injustice?

This great God of Israel who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe, is shown rather to administer justice for the fatherless and widow and shows love toward strangers (v.18). How totally in contrast to this are the great majority of rulers in the world today! Law courts too frequently show sad disregard for justice. The poor will commonly suffer gross injustice while the wealthy use their money to pervert judicial action in their own favor. Believers may well be deeply thankful for a God who is perfectly just and faithful.

The verses in between (21-27) safeguard the rights of the less important and more defenceless folk — strangers, widows, fatherless and poor. The tendency of fallen mankind is to take advantage of these, oppressing and defrauding them. Such conduct is abhorrent to God, and His kindness shines out, even as He gives His law. He will be their Defender. As He thinks of them His word is, "I am gracious."

Rather than favor the wicked, the judges ought to judge on behalf of the poor and needy, defending them from the persecution of the wicked (v. 3), delivering them from the hands of cruel oppression. This same exhortation is needed today in many of our courts of justice, and even in the professing church of God, where those in outward honor are too often guilty of oppressing the common people.

The last of these disciplinary inflictions is given in Isa. 10. Here (vv. 1-4) it is the unrighteousness of the judges, who stood in the place of God Himself, and were called Elohim or gods (Ps. 82:6), but who most grievously misrepresented His character and wronged His people, specially the defenceless. "Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that prescribe oppression; to turn aside the needy from judgement, and to take away the right from the afflicted of my people, that widows may be their prey, and [that] they may rob the fatherless! And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation [which] shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help! and where will ye leave your glory? "And this is His sentence on them: "Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain." The most exalted shall be most abased; and those shall fare worst whom it least became to turn their high estate and large power to God-dishonouring greed, and to oppression of the weak and wretched. "For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [is] stretched out still."

It may seem singular to say, "Rob not the poor," and in particular "because he is poor"; but it is a warning especially, so base, selfish, and cruel as human nature is now. The rich who might appear the more inviting prey to the unscrupulous are able to take care of themselves in ways that the poor would or could not essay. Hence, bad men flatter the rich for gain, while they also rob or oppress those who ought to be objects of pity. But Jehovah has His eye on such villainy, at the very gate whence justice should flow, pleads the cause of the poor and the afflicted, and repays heavily those who despoil them.

Such instruction from God may sound strange to many Christians who are anxious to correct all the social wrongs that threaten their comfort. But God is wiser than we. People's efforts to set things right in the world have only resulted in things becoming more and more complicated and people becoming more and more bitter against each other. God will correct these things in His own time. Meanwhile, believers are to receive grace from God to patiently bear injustices, inequities and hard treatment with calm submission and living faith in the Lord.

Turning to investigate the actions of men, he may learn the evils that are done under the sun: the crying injustice, the lawlessness, the frauds, and many acts of oppression that are constantly practised amongst men, to find, whilst he sees them, his powerlessness to hinder them. (Ecc. 3:16: Ecc. 8:14.) Another arm is alone able to restrain the lawless; another mind than any of Adam's fallen descendants can alone devise the remedy. The day of the Son of man must dawn ere One will be found on earth competent to put things straight. How often is justice now perverted! The righteous suffer, and the guilty go free. Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place. Servants ride on horses, and princes walk as servants on earth. (Ecc. 10:6-7.) And the wise man, courted for his help in time of pressing need, is forgotten when the hour of distress has passed away. (Ecc. 9:1, 5.) Thus wisdom may disclose to its possessor what is wrong, and make him feel the bitterness of it, sensible all the time of his powerlessness to correct it. To know good and evil was the bait held out by the serpent, to be just like God. The wise man sees clearly the evil, knows what ought to be, but learns he cannot do it. And woman, originally God's provision for man, his suited help, is found to become, when a tool of the enemy, an instrument for his everlasting ruin. (Ecc. 7:26-29.)

(7.) All injustice will be instantly redressed. This is connected of necessity with the Messiah's righteous rule. Hence we read, "He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their souls from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight." (Ps. 72:12‑14.) Men fondly dream that this is the goal of human enlightenment and progress; but they are ignorant of, or forget, the incurable corruption of human nature, and hence do not consider that even though the whole world were to obtain just and equal laws, they would fail either in their administration or application. No; Christ is the only hope for the earth, as for the saint for "He cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall He judge the world, and the people with equity." (Ps. 98:9.)

God it was, who sent the evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. God it was, who rendered again thewickedness of Abimelech. God, who rendered upon the heads of the men of Shechem all their evil. And we may ask in the words of Scripture, "Is God unrighteous who takes vengeance?" Indeed He is not: He is very righteous. The modernistic teachings of these later days has produced a degenerate and effeminate religiosity which winces at the bare idea of God exerting His holy government in executing justice. He goes on executing it all the same; and before long we may witness further striking expressions of it.

Thus, in whatever situation we may find ourselves, we ought not to react as sinners do. We should commit every situation to God who judges righteously. This is not easy in a world where day by day we come up against injustice. An earlier verse (1 Peter 2.20) reminds us that if we do wrong, and suffer as a consequence, it reflects no credit on us if we bear the suffering patiently. However, when we suffer and take it patiently, even though doing that which is right, this is acceptable to God. It is this attitude which is some­times hard to put into practice. We require help in such situations and should look to Christ who suffered for us and not for Himself. Our Christian life is to be characterised by living patiently and bearing with injustice. There is no excuse if we respond to injustice with sin.