The message of the Biblical prophets is a gift from God to His people albeit a stern wake-up call for many of us. Life as a Christian lawyer offers as many distractions as it does challenges. It is all too easy to become preoccupied, for example by the pressures and demands of work/study, and/or our career development/personal ambition. Our priorities can get distorted and we can end up majoring on minors and minoring on majors, indifferent to the injustice that surrounds us. The Biblical prophets call our attention back to God and challenge our priorities. They awaken our consciences to behaviour and practices , in our lives and the societies in which we live, that are abhorrent to God in our lives and the societies in which we live. They inspire us to speak out and awaken the consciences of others by living righteously and acting justly as we walk humbly with God.
The Role of the Prophets
The Biblical prophets were guardians of the covenant, the relational contract God had made with the Israelites. They spoke in the name of God and applied the covenant standards to the events of their time and the lives of their people.
The Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3; 18:18-19) revealed God’s plan to bless all nations through Israel. Israel was intended to be a model, visible to the nations, of what a redeemed nation looked like: a society of justice and righteousness (Deuteronomy 4:6-8). The Israelites were to be holy like God whose character is reflected in the Law. The Law provided the standard by which the Israelites should live and act toward one another. It was to this standard that the Old Testament prophets held kings, rulers and the people of Israel to account. The sad reality however was that kings, rulers and the people failed to live up to their responsibilities. Bribery, oppression, favouritism, violence and iniquity were commonplace.
Into this context God sent His prophets. Some of the prophets, like Elijah, saw it as their role to monitor the king’s obedience to the covenant to remind him that he ruled subject to God’s designation and was accountable to God for his actions. Other prophets, like Elisha and Isaiah acted as advisers to the king and indicated the godly course of action in given situations and the consequences of disobedience (2 Kings 3:11-19; Isaiah 37:1-7). Whilst others, like Amos, also spoke to the people.
The Prophetic Call to Justice
A major concern of the prophets was injustice. Isaiah strikingly said of Judah and Israel: “And he [God] looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress” (Isaiah 5:7). The prophet’s concern for God’s standards and justice is plain in other prophetic writings (see for example Jeremiah 7:5-11, Ezekiel 22, Micah 3:8-12, Amos 5). Over and over again the prophets condemn those who oppress the weak and vulnerable by abusing power (whether by bribery (for example Micah 3:11), by seizure of property (for example Micah 2:2), depriving them of justice in the courts (Amos 5:12) and depriving them of food (Amos 5:11) to mention but a few examples). The prophets frequently admonish God’s people and its leaders to act justly (for example Micah 6:8, Amos 5:15, Isaiah 1:17) and in so doing reflect the fact that a concern for justice is inherent in God’s nature.
The prophets were called to pronounce the judgement which God’s just nature requires on sin and injustice. Whenever they pronounced God’s judgement, however, it was always in the hope that it would lead to repentance (1 Kings 21:17-28; Amos 5:15). The prophets therefore held out a vision of God’s mercy and fidelity, and of the new life that is possible on the other side of judgement.
The Prophetic Call to True Worship
Another prime concern of the prophets was the relationship between God and His people. Repeatedly, the prophets’ criticism of the lack of social justice mirrored a break down in the Israelites’ relationship with God. The prophets teach us that unless the purpose of our lives is righteousness expressed in justice then our worship and devotion to God is not acceptable to Him. The right worship of God cannot exist without loving justice (Micah 6-8).
Indeed, if we fail to carry out justice, we do not have the true God as the object of our worship and devotion. David McIlroy quotes H.E. Freeman as follows:
“God… considers worship divorced from right conduct, an abomination.” [1]
Judgement against the Nations
Although the focus of the Old Testament prophets was on the Israelites, they did not stay silent about the practices of the surrounding nations. Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Nahum, Obadiah, Zephaniah and Zechariah all spoke out against the neighbouring nations, demonstrating God’s sovereignty over the whole world, not just Israel. “The main reason”, McIlroy writes, “for judgement against the nations expressed in Ezekiel [27:3; 28:2, 5-6], Jeremiah [48:7, 29-30, 42] and Isaiah [10:12-19; 13:11b, 19] is their pride, self-confidence and worship of false gods. It is their failure to acknowledge the Lord which was identified as their prime error” (page 111).
He continues:
“But alongside this, emerge other themes. In Ezekiel, the prophet condemns the kings of Tyre for his pride and wealth gained by dishonest trade [Ezekiel 28:16, 18]. He offers another explanation, alongside that of sexual perversity [Genesis 19:24-25; Jude 7], for the destruction of Sodom: ‘arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them’ (Ezek. 16:49). Isaiah prophesies against Babylon for the oppressive and aggressive nature of its empire [Isaiah 14:2, 4-6]. Nahum condemns Nineveh as ‘the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without victims!’ (Nah. 3:1).”
These prophetic discourses also highlight that the worship of false gods, turning to idols, social injustice, greed, violence, sexual immorality and pride are all interlinked. The latter are typically outworkings of the former; almost invariably human beings become like who or what we worship.
Prophets pointing to Jesus
The prophets had an important role in the Bible, not only by proclaiming God’s word to the people of Israel and other nations, but ultimately by pointing to Jesus, who fulfilled the law and the prophets. After Jesus’ resurrection, as two of His followers were still trying to make sense of His death and empty tomb, Jesus came alongside of them and “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).
The prophetic call to justice inspires us, with a lawyers’ mind and skills, to confront the injustice, corruption and exploitation of our time. Moreover, like the prophets who called Israel back to God and to their neighbour, the Christian lawyers’ responsibilities go beyond the mere provision of technical advice. Their role requires ethical evaluation of their work responsibilities, including the relational context in which it is delivered. In this way, reflecting the prophets’ ministry, Christian lawyers can share God’s Word, encourage moral reflection by others, and demonstrate God’s purpose for humanity and His heart for justice.
As we consider how we measure up to the prophetic call for justice as Christian lawyers we will be all too painfully aware that we ourselves have fallen short, perhaps by staying silent instead of speaking out. Praise God that In His love He sent His son Jesus Christ to pay the price for our sin and injustice: as David McIlroy puts it “…through the atonement, God’s justice was satisfied.”
[1] Freeman, H.E., An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets (Chicago: Moody, 1968), page 185.