Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Hope Amid Injustice | Torah | Deuteronomy 16:1-17:7

Episode Date: October 12, 2022

Does it sometimes look like darkness is winning? Like the world might be too far gone? Where is God amid tragedy and injustice? In today’s episode, Jensen looks at Deuteronomy 16:1-17:7 and God’s kingdom for hope during times of darkness. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Deuteronomy 16:1-17:7

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. And the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. In 2020, on the heels of the tragic death of George Floyd, a group of protesters took the streets to the town where I live to march and demand justice for the unlawful murder of a human being made in the image of God. And as we walked through the streets, cries of no justice, no peace. rang through the streets. And my heart ached. It ached because of the complexity of this statement, but also because of the truth behind it. Where there is no justice, there can be no peace. My heart ached because I long for true justice, good justice to reign, for cruel murder to be a thing of the

past, and this large group of people longed for the same thing, for justice to ring out, and for peace to fall on their lives. But the anger in their chanting and the sadness and exhaustion on their faces showed anyone watching that the idea of a world where there was justice and peace seemed so far off. It was hard to even imagine. That kind of exhaustion has taken roots in the hearts of many, exhaustion over the moral brokenness and hopelessness of our world. Maybe in your personal life you felt the cruel sting of injustice, discrimination, partner violence being taken advantage of by those in power.

And if we zoom out and look at the world as a whole, it can seem like injustice is having the final word everywhere. Slavery still exists. Wars rage, terrorist groups force people out of their homes. Corruption corrods political systems. And the men and women tasked with protection, take the lives of their own people. It seems like wherever you look, people in power are taking advantage of those beneath them. Justice is gone. Peace is gone. Exhaustion has set in.

And if we don't find a way to push back against it, hopelessness is quickly on its heels. Now, there are many people working today to push back against injustice. People march. Others fight for legislation. is fair. Some start non-profits to free men and women from the clutches of slavery. And yet, despite all the hard work of men and women fighting injustice throughout all of history, we still live in this world, a world with slavery, with power-hungry men like Vladimir Putin, with murder in the streets. It looks like darkness is winning. But in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy,

In the last few verses of chapter 16, God commands the Israelite people to enact justice. Verse 18. Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly. Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. follow justice and justice alone so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you. This is our hope. This is it. But I get it. If right now you're thinking, what does this have to do with our world right now?

Clearly this command, given to the Israelites thousands of years ago, did not rid the world of injustice. So why? Why should this? give us hope? Well, I'm glad you asked. See, the incredibly cool part about learning about the theocracy that God set up for the people of Israel, the laws that he set up for them, the things he commanded them to do, the society and way of life that he called them to live in, well, the cool thing is that when we read about those things, we get a picture of who God is and what kind of kingdom he's building for his people to live in for all of eternity. So what do we learn from chapter 16 versus 18 through 20?

Well, we learn that God's desire is for all people to live justly. In the society that he lays out, those in power should judge fairly. They should never show partiality. They wouldn't accept bribes or twist words of the innocent. They would follow justice and only justice. And out of justice would come peace in the land. We learn here that God is just. He is a just God and he calls his people to live and rule like he does. But we know that these people fail again and again. From the ancient Israelites to modern day,

we've all failed to grasp and live out the true justice of God. And yet, even in the midst of a broken world full of people failing to uphold justice, we can rejoice. We can rejoice. that we follow a God who is just and who will deal justly with us and will ultimately enact justice on all evil and brokenness of this world. Remember, in this passage, we also see that when God is building his kingdom, he is building a kingdom that is full of justice. And when God came down to live among his people as a man, he announced that he was building a new kingdom. and he showed the way for humans to live in line with his kingdom. Everything that Jesus tells us and shows us is all pointing us towards his kingdom, showing us what his kingdom is like and how it's so different from this world that we live in.

And he calls us to help him build that kingdom here on earth, so that one day when he returns and brings his ultimate kingdom here, we can live with him as our king. Now that can seem so far off at times. But this is our hope. When we feel exhausted and overrun by the injustices around us, we put our hope in a better kingdom and king. Revelation gives us imagery and visions of what this new kingdom will look like.

Chapter 19 reads, After this, I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting. Hallelujah. Salvation and glory and power belong. to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He is avenged on her the blood of his servants. Now this may seem super weird, but what we read here is that God is reigning as king and judge. He is just and true, and he is enacted justice on the great prostitute, which is imagery for the deceiver, Satan.

the one who has corrupted the earth from the first bite of fruit and taken the lives of God's people. God has condemned the one who stirred up injustice in the hearts of man, and he has destroyed her. Injustice is no more. It has no place in the kingdom of God. The great deceiver has been destroyed. Forever. The one on the throne in power is entirely good and just and true. He will never abuse his power, Never be corrupted by bribe, never show partiality. He is justice. This is the future kingdom we are invited into. Two chapters later, we read, and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

Look, God's dwelling place is now among the people. He will dwell with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe out. every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. What a beautiful picture. The injustice of death gone. The tears, the exhaustion, the hopelessness is gone and it is filled with God's presence. And with justice comes true peace. We read that lion and lamb will lay together,

The gates of the city are open all day, no need to shut them to ward off danger because this kingdom lives in peace. There is no threat, no darkness, no night. When the injustices of this world feel overwhelming, when you find yourself exhausted under the weight of hopelessness, put your hope in the only thing that can ever bring real peace, We follow a just God who is promised to restore this world, who is promised to bring justice to a parched land, who is promised to bring peace to a tumultuous world. And just like he called the Israelites to live in communities overflowing with justice and justice alone, he is also calling us to build communities and families that fight for justice today. It will be imperfect,

and we will never fully eradicate this earth of justice. Only Jesus can do that. But rather than fall into a hopeless exhaustion when we fail, we cry out to a God who is just, who mourns the injustice alongside us, and we find strength to fight another day to bring the justice of God to this world. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes, and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.