Justice and injustice are more than individual acts. Justice and injustice are manifested in the mores and laws of people groups, communities and nations. Whether it applies to people groups, cities or nations, God\u2019s concern for justice is expressed throughout the Bible. God\u2019s justice addresses the totality of people groups, cultures, languages, and how they organize themselves. Divine justice occurs in relation to the fallen condition of all humanity.<\/p>\n
Adam\u2019s sin affected the larger groupings of people. Our personal fallen nature is not cured by the larger group. If there is a general tenor of righteousness in the larger group, it may place limits on my sinful actions through righteous laws. But the standards of the larger group can easily shift to unrighteousness that allow and promote behaviors that are ultimately destructive.<\/p>\n
Quickly the biblical accounts move to larger groups and their sin. Genesis 6:5 says, \u201cThe Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.\u201d The personal disobedience in Genesis 3 spread as rebellion on the earth. In response, God brought about the judgment of the flood (Genesis 6:8 through 9:29).<\/p>\n
Yet, even that cleansing was not enough to remove sin. Soon after, humanity\u2019s sinful inclinations reached a new height at Babel (Genesis 10:11-11:9).<\/p>\n
All nations have commonly accepted standards, often reflected in legal codes and socially accepted behaviors. Some are even based on religious principles. But the Bible reveals there is only one way to God, not many ways.<\/p>\n
The Bible declares that we are prone to idolatry. We are made to worship the one true God, but sin leads us to replace the invisible God with images from the created world. This is the point of the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:18-32. Thus the whole world stands under the wrath of God.<\/p>\n
The Psalmist asked, \u201cWhy do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, \u2018Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us\u2019\u201d (Psalm 2:1-3).<\/p>\n
Psalm 9 declares, \u201cThe nations have sunk down in the pit which they made,\u201d \u201cThe wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God,\u201d and \u201cLet the nations be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men\u201d (vv. 15, 17, 19, 20).<\/p>\n
The prophet Isaiah announced, \u201cThe nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales. All nations before Him are as nothing, and they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless\u201d (40:15, 17).<\/p>\n
God\u2019s plan of redemption included the making of a holy nation that would live by faith. That plan began with Abraham in Genesis 12 and continued with the formation of a nation whose faith led to a new way of living in the world. The Torah given to Moses was the revelation of divine law whose ways were life and blessings (Psalm 19:7-14). This holy nation, Israel, was called to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 51:4; 60:3).<\/p>\n
While divine judgment came, and still comes, upon many nations, there are three Old Testament frameworks that guide our thinking regarding God\u2019s divine justice and nations: Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:16-19:29), the Israelite conquest of Canaan (Leviticus 18, Deuteronomy) and Judah (Ezekiel 16).<\/p>\n
First, Sodom and Gomorrah\u2019s sins came before the Lord and were \u201cvery grave\u201d (Genesis 18:20). Besides the homosexuality, which was clearly accepted by the society, Ezekiel 16:49 indicated that \u201cpride, fullness of food, abundance of idleness,\u201d along with failure to \u201cstrengthen the hand of the poor and needy\u201d were part of the sin. These sins reflected the corrupt nature of a society which had abandoned righteousness whether by legal means or by changing societal norms.<\/p>\n
What is hopeful in this passage is that the Lord \u201cis longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance\u201d (2 Peter 3:9). This is seen when Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:10-33). Appealing to God\u2019s righteous character, Abraham \u201cnegotiated\u201d with God to spare the cities if only ten righteous people could be found.<\/p>\n
Abraham\u2019s merciful actions stand in sharp contrast to those who would seek to condemn and destroy in God\u2019s name. Righteous indignation at sin should cause us to repent and pray for mercy, rather than taking a posture of angry destruction.<\/p>\n
Second, Genesis 15:6 shows that God gives nations time to either \u201cfill up\u201d their iniquity, or to repent as did Nineveh (Jonah 3:5-10). This \u201cfilling up\u201d is related to the nations in the land of Canaan that Israel displaced in the Joshua conquests.<\/p>\n
Leviticus 18 details the abominations and perversions of these nations (18:3, 24, 25, 27). These included human sacrifice and a range of sexual perversions. What is interesting is that \u201cthe land\u201d is defiled and \u201cvomits\u201d out its inhabitants as part of the manifestation of divine justice.<\/p>\n
Third, Israel was constantly warned to live according to divine revelation and not by the dictates of surrounding nations and their gods. But Israel consistently fell into idolatry and lost her blessing from God. This runs throughout the Torah, the historical books, and the prophets. Thus Ezekiel 16 compares Judah to Sodom and Gomorrah, and Judah\u2019s sin is deemed even greater because she had the revelation of divine righteousness.<\/p>\n
God has clearly revealed His standards of righteousness for all nations. Our task as followers of Jesus is to share God\u2019s life-giving Word, and stand in the gap for the nations. The Great Commission sends us into all the \u201cnations\u201d (Matthew 28:19). Our witness is not only for the sake of personal salvation, but also for the sake of justice, righteousness, reconciliation, and healing among the nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":3831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,610],"tags":[618,108,37,149,572,318],"class_list":{"0":"post-3830","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bishops-blog","8":"category-justice","9":"tag-618","10":"tag-bishop-doug-beacham","11":"tag-encourage","12":"tag-encourage-magazine","13":"tag-justice","14":"tag-may","15":"entry"},"title_es":"El impacto de la justicia de Dios en las naciones","content_es":"Justicia e injusticia son m\u00e1s que actos individuales. La justicia y la injusticia se manifiestan en las costumbres y leyes de los grupos de personas, comunidades y naciones. Ya sea que se aplique a grupos de personas, ciudades o naciones, la preocupaci\u00f3n de Dios por la justicia se expresa en toda la Biblia. La justicia de Dios aborda la totalidad de los grupos de personas, culturas, idiomas y c\u00f3mo se organizan. La justicia divina ocurre en relaci\u00f3n con la condici\u00f3n ca\u00edda de toda la humanidad. El pecado de Ad\u00e1n afect\u00f3 a los grupos m\u00e1s grandes de personas. Nuestra naturaleza ca\u00edda personal no es curada por el grupo m\u00e1s grande. Si hay un tenor general de justicia en el grupo m\u00e1s grande, puede poner l\u00edmites a mis acciones pecaminosas a trav\u00e9s de leyes justas. Pero los est\u00e1ndares del grupo m\u00e1s grande pueden cambiar f\u00e1cilmente a la injusticia que permite y promueve conductas que son finalmente destructivas. R\u00e1pidamente los relatos b\u00edblicos se mueven a grupos m\u00e1s grandes y su pecado. G\u00e9nesis 6: 5 dice: "El Se\u00f1or vio que la maldad del hombre era grande en la tierra". La desobediencia personal en G\u00e9nesis 3 se extendi\u00f3 como rebeli\u00f3n sobre la tierra. En respuesta, Dios provoc\u00f3 el juicio del diluvio (G\u00e9nesis 6: 8 a 9:29). Sin embargo, incluso esa limpieza no fue suficiente para eliminar el pecado. Poco despu\u00e9s, las inclinaciones pecaminosas de la humanidad alcanzaron un nuevo nivel en Babel (G\u00e9nesis 10: 11-11: 9). Todas las naciones tienen est\u00e1ndares com\u00fanmente aceptados, a menudo reflejados en c\u00f3digos legales y comportamientos socialmente aceptados. Algunos incluso se basan en principios religiosos. Pero la Biblia revela que solo hay un camino hacia Dios, no muchos. La Biblia declara que somos propensos a la idolatr\u00eda. Estamos hechos para adorar al \u00fanico Dios verdadero, pero el pecado nos lleva a reemplazar al Dios invisible con im\u00e1genes del mundo creado. Este es el punto del ap\u00f3stol Pablo en Romanos 1: 18-32. As\u00ed, el mundo entero est\u00e1 bajo la ira de Dios. El salmista pregunt\u00f3: \u201c\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 se enojan las naciones y el pueblo trama algo vano? Los reyes de la tierra se ponen en paz, y los gobernantes toman consejo juntos contra el Se\u00f1or y contra su Ungido, diciendo: "Rompamos sus ataduras y echemos de nosotros sus cuerdas" (Salmo 2: 1-3) . El Salmo 9 declara: "Las naciones se hundieron en el pozo que hicieron", "Los imp\u00edos se convertir\u00e1n en el infierno y todas las naciones que se olviden de Dios", y "Deja que las naciones sean juzgadas a tus ojos. Temedlos, Se\u00f1or, para que las naciones sepan que no son m\u00e1s que hombres \u201d(vv. 15, 17, 19, 20). El profeta Isa\u00edas anunci\u00f3: \u201cLas naciones son como una gota en un cubo, y se cuentan como el peque\u00f1o polvo en la balanza. Todas las naciones ante \u00c9l son como nada, y son contadas por \u00c9l menos que nada y sin valor \u201d(40:15, 17). El plan de redenci\u00f3n de Dios inclu\u00eda la creaci\u00f3n de una naci\u00f3n santa que vivir\u00eda por fe. Ese plan comenz\u00f3 con Abraham en G\u00e9nesis 12 y continu\u00f3 con la formaci\u00f3n de una naci\u00f3n cuya fe condujo a una nueva forma de vivir en el mundo. La Tor\u00e1 dada a Mois\u00e9s fue la revelaci\u00f3n de la ley divina cuyos caminos eran vida y bendiciones (Salmo 19: 7-14). Esta naci\u00f3n santa, Israel, fue llamada a ser una luz para las naciones (Isa\u00edas 51: 4; 60: 3). Mientras que el juicio divino vino, y sigue viniendo, sobre muchas naciones, hay tres marcos del Antiguo Testamento que gu\u00edan nuestro pensamiento con respecto a la justicia divina de Dios y las naciones: Sodoma y Gomorra (G\u00e9nesis 18: 16-19: 29), la conquista israelita de Cana\u00e1n ( Lev\u00edtico 18, Deuteronomio) y Jud\u00e1 (Ezequiel 16). Primero, los pecados de Sodoma y Gomorra llegaron ante el Se\u00f1or y fueron "muy graves" (G\u00e9nesis 18:20). Adem\u00e1s de la homosexualidad, que fue claramente aceptada por la sociedad, Ezequiel 16:49 indic\u00f3 que "el orgullo, la plenitud de los alimentos, la abundancia de la ociosidad", junto con la incapacidad de "fortalecer la mano de los pobres y necesitados" eran parte del pecado. Estos pecados reflejaban la naturaleza corrupta de una sociedad que hab\u00eda abandonado la justicia, ya fuera por medios legales o cambiando las normas sociales. Lo que es esperanzador en este pasaje es que el Se\u00f1or "est\u00e1 sufriendo mucho por nosotros, no deseando que nadie perezca sino que todos vengan al arrepentimiento" (2 Pedro 3: 9). Esto se ve cuando Abraham intercedi\u00f3 por Sodoma y Gomorra (G\u00e9nesis 18: 10-33). Al apelar al car\u00e1cter justo de Dios, Abraham "negoci\u00f3" con Dios para salvar a las ciudades si solo se pudieran encontrar diez personas justas. Las acciones misericordiosas de Abraham contrastan fuertemente con aquellos que buscar\u00edan condenar y destruir en el nombre de Dios. La indignaci\u00f3n justa por el pecado nos debe hacer arrepentirnos y orar por misericordia, en lugar de adoptar una postura de destrucci\u00f3n enojada. Segundo, G\u00e9nesis 15: 6 muestra que Dios le da a las naciones tiempo para \u201cllenar\u201d su iniquidad, o para arrepentirse como lo hizo N\u00ednive (Jon\u00e1s 3: 5-10). Este "relleno" est\u00e1 relacionado con las naciones en la tierra de Cana\u00e1n que Israel desplaz\u00f3 en las conquistas de Josu\u00e9. Lev\u00edtico 18 detalla las abominaciones y perversiones de estas naciones (18: 3, 24, 25, 27). Estos incluyen el sacrificio humano y una serie de perversiones sexuales. Lo interesante es que "la tierra" est\u00e1 contaminada y "vomita" a sus habitantes como parte de la manifestaci\u00f3n de la justicia divina. Tercero, a Israel se le advirti\u00f3 constantemente que viviera de acuerdo con la revelaci\u00f3n divina y no por los dictados de las naciones circundantes y sus dioses. Pero Israel constantemente cay\u00f3 en la idolatr\u00eda y perdi\u00f3 su bendici\u00f3n de Dios. Esto se extiende a lo largo de la Tor\u00e1, los libros hist\u00f3ricos y los profetas. As\u00ed, Ezequiel 16 compara a Jud\u00e1 con Sodoma y Gomorra, y el pecado de Jud\u00e1 se considera a\u00fan mayor porque ella tuvo la revelaci\u00f3n de la justicia divina. Dios ha revelado claramente sus normas de justicia para todas las naciones. Nuestra tarea como seguidores de Jes\u00fas es compartir la Palabra de Dios que da la vida y estar en la brecha de las naciones. La Gran Comisi\u00f3n nos env\u00eda a todas las "naciones" (Mateo 28:19). Nuestro testimonio no es solo por la salvaci\u00f3n personal, sino tambi\u00e9n por la justicia, la justicia, la reconciliaci\u00f3n y la sanidad entre las naciones.","author_name":"Dr. Doug Beacham","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/05\/DB_Encourage_Feat.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-ZM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}