"You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him. "You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. "You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. - Exodus 23:1-9 ESV
Rev. Irwyn L. Ince Jr.
https://www.irwynince.com/
Purpose
God is telling us the reason for the law. It's is how loving God and neighbor supposed to work.
God addresses how we should treat those who hate us. The context is this word comes to the nation of Israel after their deliverance from Egypt. It comes after the grumbling and rebellious of the people after their deliverance. They are undeserving recipients of God's lavish forgiveness and mercy. They are not to act like karma is the way, but rather compassion is the way of the Christian. When Christians come across contempt, how should God's children react? They should react with mercy and compassion like their Father.
Promotion of justice
It is wrong to give false testimony. But there is more than that, we should never make the guilty look innocent. We should never make the innocent look guilty. Why? Because we should never take a bribe, it blinds those who can see. There is personal gain in playing favorites to the great & powerful. But only that, but we should not show favoritism to the poor. In society, the poor are disadvantaged. But we need to be sure not to give the poor any favor or partiality in court. The rich can be wrong. The poor can also be wrong. God will not allow the perversion of justice. We are called to judge in a just manner.
In the time of systemic racism, classism, and history of slavism, we are to not just do what feels right, but to do right. We must act as those who have been delivered by the great grace & mercy of God. We must deal with others as fellow image bearers. We must pursue justice while preserving our humanity. We must chase justice with love. We must love because that is the character of the God we serve.
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