The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Exodus 23:2-9, “You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice;
3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute.
4 “If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him.
5 “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.
6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute.
7 “Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8 “You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.
9 “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

From the earliest of times, the LORD has always instructed mankind to be honest. The
perversion of justice has always been forbidden. Perversion is equated with intentional bias, despite which side is favored in the dispute. Man is to keep himself free from making false charges, regardless of who is ultimately found guilty of the crime.

Altering the standard of justice is equally as wrong as the falsification of known facts or biasing a jury or misinforming a judge regarding an aspect of an element of truth. The tendency of evil is always to seek to sway judges and juries, so as to produce whatever outcome is desired. Honesty is often set aside; yet it does not escape the ever-seeing eye of the LORD!

Justice is always to be administered, regardless of who is being charged or whether he is well-known within the community. Despite the inability of earthly justice to be free from all bias, it is nevertheless the goal of the judicial process. The Israelites understood injustice; and that is why they were and are forbidden to engage in it.

Yet, the responsibility of justice rests with every generation. Children should learn justice
from their parents, and the lineage should reach far into the past –well beyond grandparents and great-grandparents. But, with justice eroding everywhere today, the Church becomes the major barrier against injustice and all wrongdoing. The Scriptures have been given to the Church, and the Church is responsible for dissemination of the Word. You and I are personally responsible, too –responsible to read and study the Word
and live it out in our daily lives. We just never know who is watching and learning from us.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom