In our study of last week’s lesson, we celebrated God’s creation and recognized the sad reality that, with the entrance of sin, His perfect world became a broken world. Immediately God put into place a restoration plan to reflect the way His world “ought” to be.
We are living in the “now, but not yet” stage of this restoration plan, meaning that the fully restored kingdom of God will not be realized until Jesus comes to end sin. But we can embrace and live some of His kingdom’s blessings now.
The biblical-justice theme for this quarter reflects God’s blueprint for a better world, while we wait for the “not yet.” Justice can be defined as the demonstration of God’s righteousness through right action. In fact, “righteousness” and “justice” are often used interchangeably when translating from both Hebrew and Greek. Together, “righteousness” and “justice” can mean “rightness.”
Teacher’s Aims:
In this lesson explore with your class the implications of the relationship between righteousness and justice.
Rejoice together that God hears and knows the plight of broken humanity.
Challenge the class to understand the deeper meaning of the Ten Commandments in light of biblical justice.
Highlight God’s exhortation to His people to give offerings beyond the 10 percent tithe in support of the Lord’s righteous and just work.
Search for greater insights into the God-instituted jubilee system that was intended to level the social and economic plight of humanity.
Part II: Commentary
Scripture: “Righteousness [tsedeq] and justice [mishpat] are the foundation of your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before you” (Ps. 89:14, NASB). “The righteous [and just; dikaios] man shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17, NASB).
These verses are only two of many examples of how “righteousness” and “justice” are closely related in the Old and New Testament and can be used interchangeably. If anyone has access to a concordance of the New Testament, look for other references to “righteousness” and also translate that word as “justice.” Notice how this exercise illuminates the interchangeability of these two words. Discuss with your class the implications in daily life of the close relationship between “righteousness” and “justice.” How do we apply this relationship between “righteousness” and “justice” to humans?
Scripture: “And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know” (Gen. 18:20, 21, emphasis supplied).
“I will know” implies that God “took knowledge of; noticed; discerned.” Other passages portray “know” to be similar in meaning to “save” or “show pity” (see Ps. 1:6 and Amos 3:2).1 Amos 3:2 (NASB) says, “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth.” In Hebrew, that verse is rendered: “You only have I known.” The Hebrew verb yāda’ here is used in the covenantal sense of “recognize in a special way.”2
Invite class members to share experiences when they felt that, in a marked way, God “took knowledge of ” their cries. How did God have pity on them and save them? Ask class members to share examples of people they “know” who are groaning (Exod. 2:23, 24) and crying out to God because of oppression. In what tangible ways can they, together with their church, partner with God to show pity on these oppressed ones and relieve their suffering?
Illustration: God knows the real situation of each person in the world. In contrast, consider the story of a business owner who learned a valuable lesson about interfering when he was not “in the know.” This owner decided to take a tour around his business to see how things were going and how efficiently his employees were working. He went down to the shipping docks and saw a young man leaning against a wall, apparently doing nothing. The owner walked up to the young man and said, “Son, how much do you make a day?”
The young man replied, “150 dollars.”
The business owner pulled out his wallet, gave him USD150, and told him to get out and never come back.
As soon as the young man left, the shipping clerk came out to the docks, looked around, and then asked the owner, “Have you seen the UPS (United Parcel Service) driver? I asked him to wait here for me!”3 We need to pray that God will open to us His perspective on the situations around us. We especially need to be careful to avoid being judgmental about the people we meet.
Discuss With Your Class: What do we need to do to ensure that we have a reliable, accurate understanding of the needs and desperate situations around us? How will “being in the know” help us to be more relevant, efficient, and effective in serving others?
Scripture: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s” (Exod. 20:3, 17). The first and last commandments are like bookends, encompassing the other eight (Exod. 20:4–16) and laying a foundation for the entire Decalogue. For example, not having other gods before the Lord and not coveting what belongs to another person may help identify things we put before God. These two commandments also indicate anything that is self-serving and that will work against keeping the other eight commandments.
Discuss examples that show how the various other commandments relate to the Decalogue’s “bookends”—the first and tenth commandments. How does Jesus’ summary of the Ten Commandments—the socalled “first” and “second” commandments (Matt. 22:37–40)—compare with the “bookends”?
Go through each of the last six commandments and explain how each relates to biblical justice. For example, how do people who are experiencing injustice die a little inside every time we disrespect them or deny them opportunities that are rightfully theirs? Discuss examples of groups of people, possibly right in our midst, who are dying a little inside each day because they experience a lack of respect or because they lack access to opportunity? Also, in what ways might the first four commandments be related to biblical justice?
Illustrations: Someone said that there are three kinds of givers: the flint, the sponge, and the honeycomb. To get anything from a flint you must hammer it. Even then, you get only chips and sparks. To get liquid out of a sponge you need to squeeze it. The more pressure you apply, the more you get. However, the honeycomb merely overflows with its own sweetness.4
Church members who can be categorized as “sponge” givers feel obligated to give 10 percent of their income because of the Malachi 3:10 mandate. But they do not “squeeze out” any additional offerings beyond the stipulated 10 percent tithe. However, verse 8 admonishes God’s people that He expects both tithes and offerings from them to support His work. The “honeycomb” givers cheerfully give offerings above the requisite tithe to support those in need. (Read Deut. 26:1–12.) As a result, both giver and receiver are blessed.
Anthony Rossi was a poor immigrant from Sicily who accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. While in church one morning, he prayed, “Lord, if You give me an idea for a business, I will be faithful to give back to Your work a portion of everything I make.” That morning, “Fresh-squeezed orange juice” popped into his head. Rossi became a prominent Christian businessman who founded the Tropicana Company. He kept his promise to God and gave not just 10 percent of his income but 50 percent of his income to God’s work for 60 years!5
Illustration: The Institute of International Finance (IIF) put out a troubling report that global debt hit a record high of USD247 trillion in the first quarter of 2018.6 This represents an increase of USD32 trillion from the first quarter of 2017. The figure includes households, governments, financial and nonfinancial corporations.7
Some people spiral into such huge debt that getting free of it seems an impossible goal to achieve. Many countries have bankruptcy laws that are designed to protect citizens who are unable to meet their financial obligations. These laws allow the debt-ridden to have a fresh start. However, there are usually severe consequences for those who choose the protection of bankruptcy.
In Leviticus 25, God reveals a bankruptcy alternative—jubilee. Jubilee was designed to be a reboot of society, an economic-stimulus package. It is a way of life with a mandate for society to provide for the marginalized and deprived, while preventing unequal distribution of wealth.
What did this reboot/reset button look like? To help your class get a sense of what this plan entailed, list on a board, if available, jubilee elements such as:
The restoration of property to its original owner.
Debt forgiveness.
Emancipation of prisoners and slaves.
Discuss: How does debt, ownership, and oppression today compare with the scenarios portrayed in Leviticus 25? How can God’s church live out the principles of jubilee today? Invite class members to share stories of how the Lord has been the God of fresh starts and new beginnings in their lives. Then ask them to share how they partnered with God to bring fresh starts and new beginnings to other people.
Part III: Life Application
God challenges church members to go beyond thinking about the need for justice and reforms solely in terms of their own situations. Often these situations may center around race-relation and religious-liberty issues that personally plague them, such as the right to have Sabbaths off or the right to be a conscientious objector in the military. Biblical justice for all humans, however, should be an automatic way of life that fosters within us a concern for what will happen to others, not just ourselves.
Seek ways to help your class members apply the principles of this lesson to their lives. Use examples that are related to personal experiences or to the issues covered in the lesson. As you do, consider the following:
Invite class members to give a personal testimony about the application of this quote in their lives: “The contributions required of the Hebrews for religious and charitable purposes amounted to fully one fourth of their income. So heavy a tax upon the resources of the people might be expected to reduce them to poverty; but, on the contrary, the faithful observance of these regulations was one of the conditions of their prosperity.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 527. (See Mal. 3:8–12.)
Jubilee was about restoration and new beginnings: financially, spiritually, and socially (see Lev. 25:8–17). Jubilee also was connected with the Day of Atonement—a time of spiritual restoration and redemption, as well (read Lev. 25:9). Suppose it is brought to your attention that there is a family who just lost everything, including one of their children, in a fire. How would your church endeavor to give this bereft family a new beginning—a jubilee experience—both financially and spiritually?
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In our study of last week’s lesson, we celebrated God’s creation and recognized the sad reality that, with the entrance of sin, His perfect world became a broken world. Immediately God put into place a restoration plan to reflect the way His world “ought” to be.
We are living in the “now, but not yet” stage of this restoration plan, meaning that the fully restored kingdom of God will not be realized until Jesus comes to end sin. But we can embrace and live some of His kingdom’s blessings now.
The biblical-justice theme for this quarter reflects God’s blueprint for a better world, while we wait for the “not yet.” Justice can be defined as the demonstration of God’s righteousness through right action. In fact, “righteousness” and “justice” are often used interchangeably when translating from both Hebrew and Greek. Together, “righteousness” and “justice” can mean “rightness.”
Teacher’s Aims:
Part II: Commentary
Scripture: “Righteousness [tsedeq] and justice [mishpat] are the foundation of your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before you” (Ps. 89:14, NASB). “The righteous [and just; dikaios] man shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17, NASB).
These verses are only two of many examples of how “righteousness” and “justice” are closely related in the Old and New Testament and can be used interchangeably. If anyone has access to a concordance of the New Testament, look for other references to “righteousness” and also translate that word as “justice.” Notice how this exercise illuminates the interchangeability of these two words. Discuss with your class the implications in daily life of the close relationship between “righteousness” and “justice.” How do we apply this relationship between “righteousness” and “justice” to humans?
Scripture: “And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know” (Gen. 18:20, 21, emphasis supplied).
“I will know” implies that God “took knowledge of; noticed; discerned.” Other passages portray “know” to be similar in meaning to “save” or “show pity” (see Ps. 1:6 and Amos 3:2).1 Amos 3:2 (NASB) says, “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth.” In Hebrew, that verse is rendered: “You only have I known.” The Hebrew verb yāda’ here is used in the covenantal sense of “recognize in a special way.”2
Invite class members to share experiences when they felt that, in a marked way, God “took knowledge of ” their cries. How did God have pity on them and save them? Ask class members to share examples of people they “know” who are groaning (Exod. 2:23, 24) and crying out to God because of oppression. In what tangible ways can they, together with their church, partner with God to show pity on these oppressed ones and relieve their suffering?
Illustration: God knows the real situation of each person in the world. In contrast, consider the story of a business owner who learned a valuable lesson about interfering when he was not “in the know.” This owner decided to take a tour around his business to see how things were going and how efficiently his employees were working. He went down to the shipping docks and saw a young man leaning against a wall, apparently doing nothing. The owner walked up to the young man and said, “Son, how much do you make a day?”
The young man replied, “150 dollars.”
The business owner pulled out his wallet, gave him USD150, and told him to get out and never come back.
As soon as the young man left, the shipping clerk came out to the docks, looked around, and then asked the owner, “Have you seen the UPS (United Parcel Service) driver? I asked him to wait here for me!”3 We need to pray that God will open to us His perspective on the situations around us. We especially need to be careful to avoid being judgmental about the people we meet.
Discuss With Your Class: What do we need to do to ensure that we have a reliable, accurate understanding of the needs and desperate situations around us? How will “being in the know” help us to be more relevant, efficient, and effective in serving others?
Scripture: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s” (Exod. 20:3, 17). The first and last commandments are like bookends, encompassing the other eight (Exod. 20:4–16) and laying a foundation for the entire Decalogue. For example, not having other gods before the Lord and not coveting what belongs to another person may help identify things we put before God. These two commandments also indicate anything that is self-serving and that will work against keeping the other eight commandments.
Discuss examples that show how the various other commandments relate to the Decalogue’s “bookends”—the first and tenth commandments. How does Jesus’ summary of the Ten Commandments—the socalled “first” and “second” commandments (Matt. 22:37–40)—compare with the “bookends”?
Go through each of the last six commandments and explain how each relates to biblical justice. For example, how do people who are experiencing injustice die a little inside every time we disrespect them or deny them opportunities that are rightfully theirs? Discuss examples of groups of people, possibly right in our midst, who are dying a little inside each day because they experience a lack of respect or because they lack access to opportunity? Also, in what ways might the first four commandments be related to biblical justice?
Illustrations: Someone said that there are three kinds of givers: the flint, the sponge, and the honeycomb. To get anything from a flint you must hammer it. Even then, you get only chips and sparks. To get liquid out of a sponge you need to squeeze it. The more pressure you apply, the more you get. However, the honeycomb merely overflows with its own sweetness.4
Church members who can be categorized as “sponge” givers feel obligated to give 10 percent of their income because of the Malachi 3:10 mandate. But they do not “squeeze out” any additional offerings beyond the stipulated 10 percent tithe. However, verse 8 admonishes God’s people that He expects both tithes and offerings from them to support His work. The “honeycomb” givers cheerfully give offerings above the requisite tithe to support those in need. (Read Deut. 26:1–12.) As a result, both giver and receiver are blessed.
Anthony Rossi was a poor immigrant from Sicily who accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. While in church one morning, he prayed, “Lord, if You give me an idea for a business, I will be faithful to give back to Your work a portion of everything I make.” That morning, “Fresh-squeezed orange juice” popped into his head. Rossi became a prominent Christian businessman who founded the Tropicana Company. He kept his promise to God and gave not just 10 percent of his income but 50 percent of his income to God’s work for 60 years!5
Illustration: The Institute of International Finance (IIF) put out a troubling report that global debt hit a record high of USD247 trillion in the first quarter of 2018.6 This represents an increase of USD32 trillion from the first quarter of 2017. The figure includes households, governments, financial and nonfinancial corporations.7
Some people spiral into such huge debt that getting free of it seems an impossible goal to achieve. Many countries have bankruptcy laws that are designed to protect citizens who are unable to meet their financial obligations. These laws allow the debt-ridden to have a fresh start. However, there are usually severe consequences for those who choose the protection of bankruptcy.
In Leviticus 25, God reveals a bankruptcy alternative—jubilee. Jubilee was designed to be a reboot of society, an economic-stimulus package. It is a way of life with a mandate for society to provide for the marginalized and deprived, while preventing unequal distribution of wealth.
What did this reboot/reset button look like? To help your class get a sense of what this plan entailed, list on a board, if available, jubilee elements such as:
Discuss: How does debt, ownership, and oppression today compare with the scenarios portrayed in Leviticus 25? How can God’s church live out the principles of jubilee today? Invite class members to share stories of how the Lord has been the God of fresh starts and new beginnings in their lives. Then ask them to share how they partnered with God to bring fresh starts and new beginnings to other people.
Part III: Life Application
God challenges church members to go beyond thinking about the need for justice and reforms solely in terms of their own situations. Often these situations may center around race-relation and religious-liberty issues that personally plague them, such as the right to have Sabbaths off or the right to be a conscientious objector in the military. Biblical justice for all humans, however, should be an automatic way of life that fosters within us a concern for what will happen to others, not just ourselves.
Seek ways to help your class members apply the principles of this lesson to their lives. Use examples that are related to personal experiences or to the issues covered in the lesson. As you do, consider the following: