É Read more about Jacob in Genesis 25:19-34 and Genesis 27:1-36. What do you think about Jacob’s way of getting the blessing in light of what we are seeing from Israel?
From the first people, Adam and Eve, we have allowed ourselves to be deceived and use deceit. Like those that would follow him, Jacob used deceit to get his way. However, unlike the Israel we are seeing in Hosea, Jacob sought after God and followed His ways. We see God’s message, through Hosea, to Israel with three things they should do.
É According to verse 6, what three things is Israel told to do?
1.
2.
3.
Look closely at the second item in three different translations:
Act with love and justice (New Living Translation)
Commit yourself in love, in justice! (Message)
Maintain love and justice (NIV)
É What do you think it means to maintain love and justice?
Love and Justice…these are the foundation of God’s character and must be balanced. I think a lot of people see love and justice as separate and even opposing. Many people view God more prominently in one camp or the other, but not an equal balance of both. They may see the “love only” God as a protector that surely tolerates us if we are “good” and overlooks wrong-doing without consequences. Conversely, they see the “justice only” God as full of punishment and harsh judgment without mercy. But this isn’t the case at all. He is love and He is just. We can’t have one without the other. God is both and we must display both as well.
So what do Biblical love and justice look like?
We know that God IS love…” Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8). From 1 Corinthians 13, we know the characteristics of love: patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, rejoices in truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, never fails.
We tend to understand love, but what about justice? The International Bible Standard Encyclopedia12 notes that the original Hebrew and Greek words for justice are the same as those rendered "righteousness." Easton’s Bible Dictionary13 defines justice as “rendering to everyone that which is his due”.
According to the Restorative Justice Bible Study14…
The Biblical concept of justice goes beyond fairness and equal treatment. It teaches that justice begins and ends in God. It is not something humans created or can fully achieve. When God – who is just in Himself – brought the universe into being, he made it to be a place of justice. Human beings were made to live justly in relation to God, to each other, and to creation.
This justice which comes from God is intimately personal. It is meant to serve people, to foster their well-being. People, then, are at the heart of true justice. But justice is not merely personal and individual – relationships are at the heart of justice.
God is a perfect balance of both and the cross represents the intersection of the two.
É How do you see the cross as an intersection of love and justice?
Also from the same Bible Study15:
So justice and love are still interdependent and mutually reinforcing, as God shapes and pursues them in and through our lives. However, now they are interdependent and mutually reinforcing in complex and difficult ways [because of the sin that entered the world]. Tension and even pain characterize their joint working out in our world.
We see this most clearly and concretely in Jesus on the cross. There, both God’s hatred for sin and his care for the world come together – they “meet and agree” – in judgment and in salvation. In suffering for us, Jesus holds together God's justice and God’s love for us.
In earlier chapters of our study we’ve talked a lot about obtaining knowledge of God and loving God. This love should manifest itself into and outward demonstration of that love in how we treat others. The servant attitude of Jesus is our perfect example.
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. (Matthew 7: 18-20)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. ” (Matthew 25:31-46)
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder. (James 2:14-19)
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)
É What are your thoughts upon reading some of these verses about our actions as followers of Christ?
We have to not just be satisfied in our own salvation, but we must be a light in our daily lives and interactions to allow others to see a glimpse of the glory of God. Our lives aren’t simply about getting ourselves into heaven. They are also about how we walk during our time in this world.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
God, help us not to boast in ourselves, our things or getting away (or thinking we did) with things, but instead let us boast in you alone. Help us recognize your love and justice and demonstrate love and justice in our lives and in our communities. Help us to let our light – via your light – shine before others. Help our lives glorify and please you.
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