Throughout much of the historical writings of the Bible, ranging from the book of Joshua to the book of Esther, the central narrations depict the formation of kingship that leads Israel. This can be further broken into three sections. First being the Theocracy, covering the period when Israel was ruled by God. Second, is the Monarchy which traces Israel Kings from the good to the bad leading to the nation’s destruction. Third, is the restoration describing Israel’s remnant after the seventy years of captivity. For the sake of limitation, an example from each section will be analyzed. In the historical books justice is prevalent because it is an ideal that closely associates with government or an avenue in which justice is easily issued. In …show more content…
The last decree that Joshua composed in his life is one that is proportionate to the justice that God commands (Josh. 24:25). Joshua reinstates the post-Exodus way of life to help in God’s work of salvation and gives it to his people (Hamlin 1983:203). However, citizens slowly began to slip into their past way of living in a manner of unjustly living because of the lack of leadership (Judg. 17:6, 18:1, 19:1). In the text the words “everyone did as he saw fit” is used. God calls his people to a strict code which is opposite of their lifestyles. In this instance, “God’s people are in their most hypocritical state, driven by selfishness” (Younger 2002:351). As mentioned above, selflessness through love is the essence of justice and Israel’s character is not in a manner of …show more content…
As noted in previous sections, the state of the world was far from shalom and God was on a mission to restore this. However, it also seemed Israel was not going to be the source of redemption as they only held the desire to be like the nations, lacking a manner of justice. Yet, in this last category one can note of the beginning process of restoration until the time of Jesus. In this section, there is one important verse to pay attention to. In Ezra 10:14 the idea of justice is reinstated but not in a way that is simply justice put into action, but in the intent to regather the people of God; to bring all back into a community of love. This is one step closer to restoring shalom. The verse prior to this example is key in understanding this (Ez. 10:9-14). Ezra the priest is calling the people of Israel to rid of their sin and draw back into a state that is founded in God’s will (justice acted in love, love, generosity, and service) (Oswalt
The book Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court written by Amy Bach reflects upon “ordinary injustice” that members of society fall victim to by the American criminal justice system. In short, the phrase “ordinary injustice” comes from the improper acts that have become second nature to court officials but has yet to be explained and resolved by other actors in the court. It is noted in the text that “ordinary injustice results when a community of legal professionals becomes so accustomed to a pattern of lapses that they can no longer see their role in them” (Bach 2). This recurring pattern has been easy to identify by outsiders but difficult to handle by insiders of the court. Bach supports this idea by making clear that, “proving mistakes, both visible and invisible, [is] very difficult in the criminal justice system, even for those who are insiders” (258).
The book of Judges introduces us to the long years of Israel’s struggle to maintain control of the Promised Land and serves as the transition from the conquest to the kingdom. It deals with events following Joshua’s death (c. 1380 BC)
The Laws of Hammurabi is one of the best known texts that come from ancient Mesopotamia. They spell out the judicial judgment and punishments of crimes according the king at the time, Hammurabi. The laws themselves are often seen as being brutal, but the degree to which they are proportional to the crime done. While they shed some light on how the concept of justice may have been perceived then, the prologue to these laws provides more context to the conceptualizations of kingship and how religion plays into these realms of politics.
After conquering northern Israel in 722 B.C.E., the Assyrians engendered centuries of political intrigue and laid the foundation for future unscrupulous kingdoms and idolatrous people.1 Once the Babylonian empire overthrew Josiah, the King of Judah, Habakkuk began to compose a prophetic book, questioning the ways of God. Above all, Habakkuk could not comprehend why “the evil circumvented the just”2; he thought that the impiety of the world did not correlate with a supposedly just God.3 Throughout his narrative, this biblical prophet came to understand that “the just man, because of his faith, shall live” (Hb 2,4). Eventually discovering that righteousness and faith in God lead to justice, Habakkuk cried out to the people of Judah through
Justice and equality has always been the chief principles that people have held on to, and throughout time laws have been passed so this could be achieved. Hammurabi’s Code of Law and the Hebrew Covenant Code are two examples of peoples setting up a justice system for themselves. Moses and Hammurabi both impacted their societies, but Moses has the greatest impact for today because of his moral and equal law. The modern world is not one of tough laws and severe penalties, but one that seeks out equality and justice for all, the Hebrew Covenant Code fits perfectly into the laws of modern
One of the most problematic and controversial issues in The United States of America is affirmative action. Affirmative action is a policy of affording minorities certain privileges in order to combat the historical prejudice against them. In an effort to redress the historical injustices faced by African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities, universities and employers across the nation have taken race into account when admitting students or hiring employees. Abigail Fisher, of Texas, applied for admission into the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and was denied; she sued the public university on the grounds of racial discrimination or reverse racism in the supreme court case Fisher v University of Texas.
In his essay “The Myth of Justice,“ anthropologist and author Michael Dorris disputes the idea that life is fair and believes that true justice is an unattainable fallacy. Dorris avows that anyone who has ever lived through life’s circumstances would agree that life is not fair and there is no correct balance. He declares that justice is a fallacy people believe to make life endurable. Dorris refers to his youth when he was taught of a Golden Ledger in which salvation can be found through good works. He affirms it is the idea of justice and not religion that soothes people.
When reflecting on significant members of ancient times, Hammurabi and Moses symbolize substantial advancement in the creation of laws. Hammurabi of Babylon introduced his code centuries apart from Moses and his laws for the Hebrews; however, there are similarities shared between the two. Several reasons can be distinguished as to what accounts for the comparison within each set of laws. Along with having an abundance of similarities, the differences shared between the two are also evident. To understand the similarities and differences analyzed in this essay, each set of laws will be compared regarding the treatment of parents, marriage, dishonesty in court, class-systems, importance of agriculture, and the customs of each civilization. The time period, culture, and geographic location are responsible for the similarities and differences of Hammurabi’s Code and The Law of Moses.
“Israel’s Bible begins with an extended look at the world prior to Israel instead of assuming that the world began when it came to be.” “Gen 2-9 is introduced by Gen 1 and carried forward by Gen 10-11. Gen 1-11 then is a single story, an unusually sustained “philosophical” and “theological” explanation,” explaining our relationship with God, our flaws and destiny and religious institutions.
In the book of Joshua and previously, the people of Israel are told to remove all of the people that are in the land that God had given them. They are not to leave even one person alive, because Yahweh wanted only His people
Joshua answered,“You heard the instructions that I commanded the people to do. You must obey it just as everyone else and you will be a part of God's never ending victorious army.”
The Republic of Plato begins in a similar fashion that many other Platonic dialogues begin, with that of a question. The conversation between Socrates and the aged Cephalus becomes a philosophical discussion of what advantages money has brought to Cephalus' life. Cephalus replies that money has allowed him "to tell the truth and pay one's debts" (331 b). Nevertheless, Socrates believes this does not portray an accurate description of what justice is. The rest of the first book is a discussion of the definition of justice, mainly that of Thrasymachus' definition. Socrates takes his normal role as an interrogator of peoples' views. The conversation focuses on justice but actually must be viewed in the context of how each
God’s goodness and mercy far transcends the comprehension of the most brilliant human mind! He “who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth”(Psalm 113:6).Yet in His infinite love for us He stoops down to reveal Himself to us by a multitude of illustration, types, and shadows, so that we may learn to know him. This paper will describe what is meant by the Kingdom of God; examine the religious philosophy of the various sects of Judaism during the Second Temple period: Pharisee, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, describe the religious philosophy and political philosophy of each sects, it will also describe how the Messianic expectation differ from the Messianic role that Jesus presented, and include an exegesis of
Just like any other civilization, the Israelites had multiple social classes. At the foundation of the civilization was the working class. This was made up of the farmers and artisans who labored all day and produced the items that were often traded throughout the kingdom. The next tier was the military and royal court. Anyone that served in the military was well respected by people of all classes. The royal court consisted of any government officials, scribes, and the king’s royal cupbearer. Scribes were the secretaries and typically involved in judicial and financial affairs. The royal cupbearer was tasked with filling the king’s goblet with wine and serving it to him. Second to the top of the social classes were the priests. Similar to Ancient Egypt with the gods, priests were believed to have direct contact with the god the Israelites worshiped: Yahweh. Because of this connection, priests were considered to be very sacred to the Israelites. At the top of the social pyramid was the king. The king of the Israelites ruled over the kingdom, defended it, but also “rules on behalf of Yahweh, the Israelite god” .
To speak of the Hebrew Scripture is to speak of story, a story stretching from the very beginning of time to only a few centuries before the beginning of the Common Era. It is to speak of richness of content, of purpose and of reality and to engross oneself in an overarching narrative that, depending on your personal convictions, continues to the present day. Within this richness is found a wide variety of different events and experience, told through a series of genre ranging from foundational myth to apocalypse, law giving to poetry, genealogy to wisdom and many more. Within this diversity however, three broad sections can be discerned that speak to a shared purpose and content, these are the sections of Law, Prophecy and Writings. It