Devotions written each day this week will focus on the theme of Kingdom justice and will build on one another. If by chance you miss a day, click on "older posts" to read a previous entry.
Scripture Reading: Genesis 4, 6:1-13
Explanation: God's announcement in Genesis 9:5-6 regarding the foundation of human justice came about because of what happened in Genesis chapters 4 and 6. The first part of Genesis 4 gives the account of Cain's murder of Abel. Murder, of course, is one person inflicting a tremendous injustice on another. By the time this murder took place, it appears that systems of revenge and blood feud had already become entrenched. Cain told God that he feared others would try to take revenge on him whenever they encountered him (4:14).
The last part of Genesis 4 shows how the injustice of murder spread to the descendants of Cain In 4:23, Lamech bragged to his wives that he killed a young man for "wounding" or "striking" him. In other words, Lamech's response went beyond what might have been justified in relation to self-defense. He killed the young man that struck him and then bragged about it as a kind of warning to any other person that might think about challenging or crossing him in some way.
Systems of revenge and blood feud inspire and cultivate that kind of bravado and over-the-top violent responses to harms. They encourage the value of "might makes right". They encourage people to respond to harms in unjust and overpowering ways as a means of discouraging any future attempts someone might make to harm them: "If you bruise my arm, I'll break yours and your legs. And I'll break the legs of three of your cousins. Then I'll burn your house down!" Understandably, therefore, Genesis 6:1-13 characterize the pre-Flood world as being ruled by champions and filled with violence.
It was because of these kinds of conditions that God judged the world in The Flood. And out of these kind of conditions, God laid the foundation for human justice in Genesis 9:5-6, thereby placing definite limits on the violence of revenge and blood feud practices.
God expanded on this foundation in the giving of the Mosaic Law. More about this tomorrow. In the meantime, it is important to realize that the foundation God gave in Genesis 9:5-6 was sufficient for holding all nations and all people everywhere for the practice of human justice even in cases where murder is not involved.
Reflection Questions: What principles of human justice are you able to discern or extrapolate from the foundation for human justice God laid down in Genesis 9:5-6? How do you put these principles to practice in your life?
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