{"id":1197,"date":"2017-07-04T08:34:57","date_gmt":"2017-07-04T15:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/?p=1197"},"modified":"2017-11-10T08:41:05","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T16:41:05","slug":"samuel-administered-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/blog\/samuel-administered-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Samuel: Administered Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and\u00a0Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. (Hebrews 11:32-34)<\/em><\/p>\n

A Judge who Built an Altar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Samuel was a judge who spent his days judging over Israel:<\/p>\n

Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his life. From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also judged Israel. And he built an altar there to the Lord. (1 Samuel 7:15-17)<\/em><\/p>\n

With his hometown Ramah as home base, Samuel would go on a circuit to different towns every year to serve as judge to the Israelites.\u00a0 His role and purpose as judge was to administer justice among the constituents of the land.\u00a0 He had to make a fair judgment whenever there was a dispute among the townspeople (and indeed, the people did have disputes and they did need a judge). \u00a0Besides being a judge, this passage also tells us something important that Samuel did\u2014he built an altar to the Lord!\u00a0 Why did he build an altar?\u00a0 What does building an altar have to do with being a judge?\u00a0 An altar is a place where sacrifices are offered.\u00a0 In biblical times, whenever someone wanted to call upon the Lord and pray to Him, they would first build an altar and offer sacrifices.\u00a0 Samuel built an altar to the Lord in his hometown, so that he could often pray to God for help to be a good and fair judge in administering justice.<\/p>\n

Samuel showed great wisdom by choosing to build an altar.\u00a0 He knew that God was the source of righteousness, and that one must be connected to God in order to act justly.\u00a0 Even though we are not judges, yet we often \u201cjudge the Israelites\u201d.\u00a0 Are our judgments righteous?\u00a0 This depends on whether we have \u201cbuilt an altar to the Lord\u201d.\u00a0 Righteousness is an attribute of God.\u00a0 By \u201cadministering justice\u201d, we are allowing the righteousness of God to be displayed.\u00a0 Such practice of justice by dependence on God not only offers a fair judgment to the affected parties, but also relieves the burden on us who act as judges!\u00a0 Dear brothers and sisters, the weight of judging others is too heavy for us to bear!\u00a0 We must give this burden to God, and through prayer rely upon Him, so that we become not the bearers, but rather the channels, of righteousness.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Walked Not in His Ways<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every person\u2019s relationship with God is personal; a father\u2019s relationship with God cannot be passed on to his son.\u00a0 Samuel had two sons, his firstborn named Joel, and his second named Abijah. They served as judges in the southern town of Beersheba, but they did not walk in their father\u2019s ways.<\/p>\n

But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. (1 Samuel 8:3)<\/em><\/p>\n

Samuel built an altar to the Lord, but his sons did not.\u00a0 Samuel walked in the ways of righteousness, but his sons did not.\u00a0\u00a0His sons no longer had a relationship with God.\u00a0 The consequence of not walking with God is to be conquered by sin\u2014the heart grows covetous for dishonest gain (gain of money or fame and power), the hand accepts bribes (monetary or popularity), and justice is perverted (the righteous are wronged or the wicked allowed to go free).<\/p>\n

Every generation has its fair share of injustice.\u00a0 It was so rampant in the days of the prophet Amos that he strongly rebuked his generation with these harsh words:<\/p>\n

You who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground\u2026you hate the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth\u2026For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts. (Amos 5:7, 10, 12)<\/em><\/p>\n

In the world, injustice may be the norm, but in God\u2019s kingdom, justice is weaved into its very fabric.\u00a0 A person\u2019s ability to act justly hinges upon whether he is living in the world or living in God\u2019s kingdom.\u00a0 To live in God\u2019s kingdom does not mean to leave the earth, but to live on earth while abiding in God.\u00a0 This is not just adherence to some religion \u2013practices such as self-imposed worship, false humility, and harsh treatment of the body, these all lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence (Colossians 3:23).\u00a0 Only when we abide in God are we able to be victorious.\u00a0 Before he went to the cross, Jesus prayed for his disciples in this way:<\/p>\n

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.\u00a0 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:15-17)<\/em><\/p>\n

Jesus said that the purpose of truth is for sanctification (to be set apart for God).\u00a0 Some pursue truth not for the purpose of sanctification but simply to gain knowledge.\u00a0 One cannot be victorious through knowledge; one can only be victorious through sanctification.\u00a0 Samuel\u2019s sons grew up watching what their father did.\u00a0 They had all the knowledge they needed, but they were not sanctified.\u00a0 Without sanctification, it is impossible to be just.\u00a0 But justice flows naturally and easily when those who are being sanctified allow themselves to be conduits of God\u2019s righteousness.<\/p>\n

Let Justice Roll down as Waters, Righteousness as a Mighty Stream<\/strong><\/p>\n

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!\u00a0 (Amos 5:24)<\/em><\/p>\n

What a picture painted by these timeless words of the prophet Amos, telling us what the Lord desires of man.<\/p>\n

According to the teachings of the Bible, \u201cto act justly\u201d is \u201cto do what is good in the eyes of the Lord\u201d.\u00a0 On the one hand, to act justly means \u201cnot to act unfairly\u201d; on the other hand, to act justly means \u201cto do what pleases the Lord\u201d.\u00a0 To act justly is \u201cnot to pervert justice\u201d.\u00a0 To act justly is also \u201cto love others as yourself\u201d.\u00a0 Brothers and sisters, God values us and has great expectations of us:\u00a0 He does not want small, unsteady trickles of righteousness, but desires His people to display a righteousness that rolls like mighty streams of waters!<\/p>\n

Micah, also a faithful prophet of the Lord, records another meaningful and enduring verse telling us what the Lord requires of man:<\/p>\n

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)<\/em><\/p>\n

So this is what the Lord requires of man.\u00a0 This is what is pleasing to Him.\u00a0 It is \u201cto act justly and to love mercy\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 How can we act justly and love mercy?\u00a0 We must walk humbly with our God.\u00a0 This means we must abide in Him.\u00a0 Dear brothers and sisters, God has revealed His desires to us.\u00a0 He does not require religious rituals, but requires us to act justly and to love mercy, to let justice roll down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream!<\/p>\n

I Will Teach You the Good and Right Way<\/strong><\/p>\n

Samuel not only administered justice, but he also had mercy.\u00a0 When the Israelites did not listen to Samuel and acted in disobedience to the Lord, Samuel did not give up on them, but rather said to them:<\/p>\n

As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. (1 Samuel 12:23)<\/em><\/p>\n

O Samuel!\u00a0 Samuel who built an altar, Samuel who prayed, Samuel who administered justice, Samuel who taught the way that is good and right.\u00a0 Though Samuel is now far from us, praise the Lord for God is near to us.\u00a0 The true and living God abides with us, and his truth lives in us.\u00a0 The example of Samuel reveals the righteousness and mercy of God, and gives us great hope that we may also be channels of God\u2019s justice.<\/p>\n

Samuel\u2019s experience teaches us:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. God wants His people to administer justice.<\/li>\n
  2. We can only administer justice when we are connected to God, who is the source of righteousness.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and\u00a0Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1198,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,49,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devotionals","category-life-is-a-song","category-pastor-warren-wang"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1199,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1197\/revisions\/1199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbcwla.org\/home\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}