Miscarrying Justice

  • May 26, 2021
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Numbers 35.30, 33-34
30 “ ‘Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 
33 “ ‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.’ ”

Reflection: Miscarrying Justice
By John Tillman

God’s laws against bloodshed hold two concerns equally: that the innocent not be wrongfully executed and that the guilty not escape justice. 

The standard of evidence for capital punishment in the Bible is higher than in our own legal system. Two eyewitnesses were required. The law also acknowledged that even this safeguard couldn’t stop people from bringing false testimony (or allowing it to stand) and taking someone’s life as a result. Later in Deuteronomy, the law states that those whose testimony is proved false should be subject to the same penalty as those they accuse. (Deuteronomy 19.16-19) How many witnesses would testify if our perjury penalties were similar?

This legal requirement came into play in the Sanhedrin’s trial of Jesus. (Mark 14.53-65; Matthew 26.57-67) Matthew tells us that “finally” two witnesses spoke up against Jesus, but in Mark we get the detail that even their testimony did not agree. Mark’s repeated mention that no two witnesses agreed with one another is a reference to this law, which highlights the illegality of Jesus’ trial and the corruption of the Sanhedrin.

The point of these scriptures is not that these laws should be our laws. The point is that justice and bloodshed should matter to us. Violence, whether carried out by citizens or whether carried out by corrupt government agents, should matter to us.

Modern people are prone to shake our heads at ancient societies and exonerate ourselves from such corruption. However, there are multiple and repeated testimonies and witnesses that our justice system often convicts the wrong people and at times, even executes them. Multiple witnesses agree. We often miscarry justice.

God warned the Israelites that bloodshed would defile the land. Then, echoing through the prophets we hear God repeatedly holding the people responsible for the blood of the innocent, the poor, and the foreigner. 

God does not take bloodshed lightly. The blood of the victim, the blood of the falsely accused, even the blood of the murderer matters to God. The calls of the prophets about bloodshed echo in our halls of justice too. We cannot dismiss bloodshed or violence as a legal problem. It is also a spiritual problem.

May we carry out the penalties of human justice prayerfully, with trembling hearts and hands, aware that we are imperfect and fearful of our just God. May we seek justice humbly, loving mercy, and rejoicing when those declared innocent go free.

Further Reading: You may find further information about wrongful convictions through the following resources: The Equal Justice Initiative and The Innocence Project

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth tremble before him. — Psalm 96.9

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Numbers 35 (Listen – 4:41)
Psalm 79 (Listen – 1:50)

Read more about To Maintain Justice
May we reach out, stand up, and rescue. May we fight injustice to bring light in the darkness…

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Read more about Living Justice
God declares the fasting he desires from his people is justice (Isaiah 58:5-7).

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Ready to Exit the Desert

  • May 25, 2021
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Numbers 34.16-19
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. 18 And appoint one leader from each tribe to help assign the land. 19 These are their names: 
Caleb son of Jephunneh, 
from the tribe of Judah…

Psalm 78.52-57
52 But he brought his people out like a flock; 
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand had taken.
55 He drove out nations before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56 But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
57 Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow. 

Reflection: Ready to Exit the Desert
By John Tillman

God brought Israel quickly through the desert to their promised land. Once there, they claimed that the obstacles were too great, the enemies too tall, their own strength too weak to enter. Based on these false assumptions, they rejected the gift of God, condemning themselves to wander. Their faith wasn’t ready to exit the desert and enter the promised land. Desert months turned into desert decades. Asaph compared Israel to a faulty bow, from which an arrow cannot find its target, no matter the skill of the archer.

The exit from Egypt was more than salvation from slavery. God began shaping Israel to walk in their role as his priestly nation, to bless all nations. Israel was intended to be God’s “city on a hill” to which all nations would stream to seek God. Ultimately, they would fail. Their light would turn to darkness and they would become as wicked as the empire God saved them from and more wicked than the empires he would wipe out before them.

God has a role for us to play in his blessing of our world. We are to become his beacons of light. We, the body of Christ, are the city on a hill. But do we have the faith to step into our role?

How many times do we choose to comfortably clutch our pet sins we don’t want to leave behind, rather than move forward in freedom?

How many times do we overestimate our opponents of sin and the Devil and underestimate God?
How many times do we choose wandering over walking where God has called us?
How many times do we lock ourselves out of the doors God opens for us?

As a whole, Israel gets a second chance. They received what God was ready to give them 40 years ago. The faithful, Caleb and Joshua, enter the land later despite being part of the generation that rejected God. 

We can be faithful within our generation or our culture. It is our inheritance from Christ, to shine in a dark world. May we not shrink from it. If we want to be faithful bows, launching the light of the gospel into the hearts of the world, we need to get ready to exit our desert.

May we leave sin and doubt in the desert, crossing the Jordan toward God’s calling to be his city on a hill.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and glorify your Name forevermore. — Psalm 86.12

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Numbers 34 (Listen – 2:59)
Psalm 78.38-72 (Listen – 7:12)

Read more about Tobiahs and Little Foxes
May we throw out the old baggage, and maintain our walls so that the little foxes do not wreck the spiritual life we cultivate before God.

Tobiahs and Little Foxes

Read more about Over Jordan
The Jordan symbolizes a place at which faith and courage are required.

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Sojourn of Grace

  • May 24, 2021
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Numbers 33.2
2 At the Lord’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey.

Psalm 78.10-11, 17-18, 32-33
10 they did not keep God’s covenant 
and refused to live by his law. 
11 They forgot what he had done, 
the wonders he had shown them. 

17 But they continued to sin against him, 
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High. 
18 They willfully put God to the test

32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; 
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. 
33 So he ended their days in futility 
and their years in terror. 

Reflection: Sojourn of Grace
By John Tillman

Asaph’s Psalm 78 is a poetic filter through which to view Moses’ detailed record of the Israelites’ travels in the wilderness. The geographical mapping of their physical wanderings lines up next to the spiritual map of their wavering faith. This poetic trip Asaph offers as a parable, a metaphorical reading of the historical events.

God saves them.
They slander him.
God leaves them.
They cry out for him.

Asaph is not interested in hiding the flaws of the past but in praising God. (Psalm 78.4) You won’t find Asaph eloquently defending past sins so that descendants can have pride in their heritage. Quite the opposite. Asaph calls the people stubborn, rebellious, and disloyal. God, however, is patient, blesses them, and saves those who turn to him.

Asaph is upfront and direct about the failures and sins of the generations before him. His purpose is for future generations to be more devoted to the Lord, not go back to the ways of the past.

Idealization of the past and idolization of past leaders and historical figures is a problem in every culture. In Christianity, this idealization and idolization keeps us from seeing the full beauty of God’s grace and mercy as he worked through flawed systems and people.

When we imagine Moses as the perfect lawgiver, how can we expect God to use us lawbreakers? We cannot do so unless we lie to ourselves about our own holiness and become like the Pharisees.

When we imagine David as the ideal, benevolent king, judge, and warrior, how can we expect God to use us to provide justice? We cannot do so unless we lie to ourselves about our capacity for justice and become selfish, abusive dictators like David at his worst moments and like most of his descendants.

We, like the Israelites, are on a sojourn of grace. Part of God’s grace is that we don’t have to deny our past nor go all the way to him at once. God honors the sojourner and guides us to himself, step by step. Even when we misstep or fall back, he will be faithful to us.

We have not arrived. Like Aaron, who climbs a mountain to die, and Moses, who will soon do the same, we may not finish the journey. We will suffer as we leave rebellions behind us. We will, step by faithful step, navigate towards being more faithful and more reliant on God.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy before the Lord when he comes, when he comes to judge the earth. — Psalm 96.12

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Numbers 33 (Listen – 4:53)
Psalm 78 (Listen – 7:12)

Read more about Blessings of the Dispossessed
May we sojourn humbly in faith. May we enact justice and peace. May kings come to us, recognizing a source of God’s blessings.

Blessings of the Dispossessed

Read more about The Blandness of Hell
Those who go to Hell, do so on their own. God lays no hand upon them—merely pushes the door open for them.

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Today’s Roots, Tomorrow’s Fruit

  • May 21, 2021
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Psalm 74. 7-9
7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name. 
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush them completely!” 
They burned every place where God was worshiped in the land. 
9 We are given no signs from God; 
no prophets are left, 
and none of us knows how long this will be. 

Reflection: Today’s Roots, Tomorrow’s Fruit
By John Tillman

Asaph was a prophet, a poet, and a creative leader living in the golden age of the kingdom of Israel and of the worship of God in the Temple. He is often noted as playing the cymbals, and was appointed chief over all the Temple musicians.

David’s psalms are largely autobiographical. Asaph’s seem focused on the fate and faith of the country in times ahead. Despite living in Israel’s best years, many of Asaph’s works contain laments about the destruction of Israel or the Temple. 

During the lifespan of Asaph, The Temple was never under any threat similar to his description. It would be hundreds of years before the Babylonians laid waste to Solomon’s Temple and hundreds more before the Romans destroyed the Temple of Jesus’ day.

For this reason, some think this psalm was likely written later by a descendant of Asaph or merely in his style. Some think it could be looking back to the battle at Shiloh and the loss of the Ark of the Covenant. 

However, psalms were often considered to be prophecies. Jesus described David’s psalmody as being written, “by the Spirit.” When we know many psalms are prophetic, perhaps we need not doubt the prophetic nature of this psalm.

Christians often idealize (even idolize) David and his time as king. However, the roots of the sins that would eventually destroy the kingdom were present in David’s reign. Perhaps, Asaph saw that.

Prophecy seems to run in Asaph’s family. One of Asaph’s descendants speaks up before King Josiah in a moment of crisis with a prophecy from the Lord about salvation from invading armies. Prophecies can tell of coming salvation or warn of coming disaster. There’s no question which we prefer to listen to.

We need prophetic warnings no matter what our circumstances. It doesn’t matter if we live in a golden age or in one we wish could be restored to its former state, the warnings of the prophets are for us. Even in times of blessing, prophets speak to the roots of sins that will bear bitter fruit in the future. Today’s roots grow tomorrow’s fruit.

May we never shrug off the messages of prophets, especially when they tell us something that we don’t want to hear. Heeding dire warnings of the prophets during a golden age, may be the best way to ensure a flourishing, rather than a failing, future.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Our sins are stronger than we are, but you will blot them out. — Psalm 65.3

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Numbers 30 (Listen – 2:20)
Psalm 74 (Listen – 2:34)

This Weekend’s Readings
Numbers 31 (Listen – 5:52), Psalm 75-76 (Listen – 2:33)
Numbers 32 (Listen – 5:22), Psalm 77 (Listen – 2:12)

Read more about How to Read Prophetic Judgment
Judgment-filled prophecy is one case in scripture where it is safer to assume it’s about you than others. 

How to Read Prophetic Judgment :: Readers’ Choice

Read more about Sufferings and False Prophets
Some [faithful prophets] were maligned for being unpatriotic or hating their country. Some were arrested, killed, or accused of conspiracy against the king.

Sufferings and False Prophets


Inequality Wounds With Greed and Envy

  • May 20, 2021
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Psalm 73.1-3
1 Surely God is good to Israel, 
to those who are pure in heart. 
2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; 
I had nearly lost my foothold. 
3 For I envied the arrogant 
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 

From John: Rewriting this entry from 2019 reminds me that we often struggle to stay above the fray when we see the arrogant and wicked succeed. May we concern ourselves more with our own steps than theirs.

When men doubt the righteousness of God, their own integrity begins to waver. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Reflection: Inequality Wounds With Greed and Envy
By John Tillman

The psalmist is thrown into doubt and pushed to the limits of his understanding by the inequality he sees in the world.

Inequality is a double-edged sword.

One edge is called envy. It is dulled from overuse and makes up for being unsharpened with a harsh, serrated edge. It saws at its victims rather than slices them.

One edge is called greed. It is sharp and quick, and drips with an anesthetizing coating. It slices to the bone, yet victims hardly feel pain. Most don’t realize they have been wounded or don’t realize its severity.

The psalmist is cut by the edge of envy and the wound grieves him. How can God be just if wicked people are so prosperous? How can God be caring if those he loves suffer? But as he pursues God in worship, he comes to understand the other side of the sword.There are wounds here for all of us.

The wound the psalmist addresses is mistaking stored up justice for absence of justice. The wealthy who ignore the poor are not escaping justice and we are not responsible or qualified to carry out justice.  We are not to eat the rich, but the bread of life.

Our wound if we are wealthy, is to think that we are not that wealthy, or that the poor are not that worthy of help. After all, those richer than we are should do the heavy lifting of caring for the poor, shouldn’t they? After all, poor is a synonym for lazy. We call ourselves prudent, not greedy—responsible, not cruel. We forget that we were poor and undeserving when Christ gave all he had to cancel our debt of sin.

At times, suffering psalms, like this one, have been misused to shush protesters. “Don’t be so angry. Just preach the gospel and rely on God.” This pie-in-the-sky kind of cold comfort ignores one of the frequent commands of scripture—that the powerful are held responsible by God for the wellbeing of the weak.

May we humbly seek the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is in Christ that we will find the compassion to overcome our cynicism and the generosity of spirit to overcome our jealousy and greed. May we never doubt God’s goodness based on earthly evil. May we never give evil a pass on Earth, delaying justice (that is within our power) until Heaven.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.— Matthew 5.6

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Numbers 29 (Listen – 5:05)
Psalm 73 (Listen – 2:56)

Read more about Incest, Greed, and Idolatry
Paul would have us as uncomfortable with greed and idolatry as we are with incest and other sexual sins. But are we?

Incest, Greed, and Idolatry

Read more about God Shivering on Concrete
Our God humbles nations addicted to greed—including His own.

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