JUSTICE is rooted in the very nature of God. It defines His character, and everything He stands for. "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.” (Psalm 89:14)
2500 years ago on the 1st day of God’s 9th month, which bgins at sunset November 24 on our 2022 Gregorian calendar, the patriot Nehemiah felt compelled to intercede to God for justice on behalf of his countrymen who had been allowed to return to their decimated capital city of Jerusalem. He begins his prayer petition by confessing his sin and the sins of his nation.
“I …confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.” Nehemiah 1:6-7
Nehemiah confessed that they, as a nation, had not kept God’s commandments as the moral precepts by which their lives should be governed. They had not honored His Feast Days, Sabbaths, etc. as He had appointed. Nor had they honored His judgments as the precepts of justice that should have governed their conduct with each other.
Nehemiah succeeded in securing financial support from the Persian King where he had lived in captivity. When the King also appointed him governor of Persian Judah, he organized a community rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls. He recognized the injustice of the current legal system and established social reforms for the needy. He reinstituted God’s Holy Day appointments, along with national days of reading God’s Word.
Nehemiah prayed the longest prayer in the Bible, Nehemiah 9:5-38, on the newly reinstituted Feast of Tabernacles, and included phrases like “You are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly.”
The people publicly repented of their sins, renewed a covenant sealed in writing, and made a public oath “to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our Lord.”
Despite all this, the social reforms Nehemiah established lasted only 12 years. And though he succeeded in rebuilding the Old City walls in 52 days, 500 years later the same walls would lie in ruins when Jerusalem fell again, this time to the Romans. The book of Nehemiah itself nears its close with the prophet calling curses down on some of the people, hitting them, and pulling out their hair.
Indeed, if you search the entire Bible, you will not find a single account of any man or government successfully establishing or executing a lasting system of justice. In fact, there’s none on record for the entire existence of mankind--except one.
“For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given: and the government will be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7.
JUSTICE...
