Exodus 23: 1-8
“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a
malicious witness. 2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give
testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and
do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit. 4“If you
come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5 If
you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not
leave it there; be sure you help them with it. 6 “Do not deny justice to your
poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do
not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the
guilty. 8 “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the
words of the innocent.
Title: Justice
defined
Message: God is righteous
and He demands that we observe the same among our fellows. Someone who is
guilty of a crime must be punished and the one who is not must be spared. Bribe
denies one of justice, thus our avoidance of it. God hates those who favorably
witness for a person guilty of a crime and those who do it against a man who
has not done any crime.
Promise to Claim: God is
righteous. He gives justice to whom it’s due.
Command to Obey: Do not let
yourself become false witness. Do not lie for someone who deserves punishment
for a crime done. Do not acknowledge bribe and be trapped in a sinful situation
– making an innocent person suffer a punishment meant for the criminal.
Warning to Heed: God does
not acquit the guilty. He punishes the criminals and sets the innocent ones
free.
Application: I will
neither be a witness for a person guilty of a crime nor a witness against a
person who is innocent. I will not accept bribes for whatever reason.
