The Foundation: Righteousness and Justice

“The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.” (Deuteronomy 32:4)

Jesus said that everyone who hears His words and does them is like a man who builds his house on a foundation made of rock (Matthew 7:24). When we hear of someone described as a rock, we imagine that person as immovable, steady, consistent. We think of him as being strong, reliable, established. All of those descriptors apply to the God of creation^[1]. The Holy Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth in six days; on the sixth day God created the man—Adam.

God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden and told him to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth; he was to subdue and rule over every living thing on the earth, and in the sea (Genesis 1). God told Adam that he could eat fruit from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:8, 15–17). In giving that edict, God set in motion the rule of law^[2] on the earth; God established righteousness and justice as the foundation of our relationship with Him.

What is righteousness? It means to do what is right according to God’s standards, that is, to believe God (Genesis 15:6), and obey God (Deuteronomy 6:25). What is justice? It is the administration of God’s law, as well as lovingkindness toward strangers, orphans, widows and the oppressed (Deuteronomy 16:18–20; Jeremiah 22:3, 13–16).

The Bible shows us that doing what is right and just is at the starting point to fulfilling the mandate of God (for example, Deuteronomy 10:12–22). King David understood this very well. In speaking of the Lord God of Hosts, David wrote, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne” (Psalm 89:14).

FOOTNOTES

1. Compare with Colossians 1:12-17; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 ↑

2. Exercise ultimate power or authority over an area and its people, New Oxford American Dictionary. Compare with Isaiah 9:6-7; 28:16-17a. ↑