Justice and the Prophets
God Requires Justice
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)
Corrupt Leaders
Isaiah 5:18-24 The Message
18-19 Doom to you who use lies to sell evil,
who haul sin to market by the truckload,
Who say, “What’s God waiting for?
Let him get a move on so we can see it.
Whatever The Holy of Israel has cooked up,
we’d like to check it out.”
20 Doom to you who call evil good
and good evil,
Who put darkness in place of light
and light in place of darkness,
Who substitute bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
21-23 Doom to you who think you’re so smart,
who hold such a high opinion of yourselves!
All you’re good at is drinking—champion boozers
who collect trophies from drinking bouts
And then line your pockets with bribes from the guilty
while you violate the rights of the innocent.
24 But they won’t get by with it. As fire eats stubble
and dry grass goes up in smoke,
Their souls will atrophy,
their achievements crumble into dust,
Because they said no to the revelation
of God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
Would have nothing to do
with The Holy of Israel.
For Reflection
Are we living in a society where our behavior is separated from moral consideration? Has truthfulness and what was called in civics classes as the common good eroded into a winner-take-all social consciousness? If history is any indication of such egregious ignorance of the common good, it has shown us that injustices increased political awareness, or as a worst-case scenario, resulted in a violent civil insurrection.
But those who worship power and wealth and accumulate it at the expense of others will find their empire will crumble. Sooner or later, their lies will be found out by disclosure or turn of events.
In a just society, there is a relationship between the equitable distribution of wealth, justice, and economic opportunity as essential goods of the commons.
Pray
Pray and consider your attitude toward the equitable distribution of the wealth and resources of a nation.
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