The Eighth Commandment: Statutes and Precepts (23)
Exodus 23.6-8
6 “You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked. 8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.”
We are familiar with the complaints that the American system of justice leans toward the wealthy and takes advantage of the poor. These concerns are not entirely without merit. When we consider how expensive it can be to hire a lawyer, how biased our society in general is toward those with means, and how the poor are often looked upon as grasping and opportunistic rather than truly needy, it’s not hard to see why many activists and reformers decry the corruption of the American legal system.
Here again the Law of God made a special point to protect those who might otherwise be taken advantage of in courts of law. Any who thought to steal justice from the poor through false charges, bogus judgments, or bribes would know that the Law of God stood ready to come to the defense of the wronged, and to bring judgment against any who showed contempt for divine standards of justice.
T. M. Moore
The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
