Just Weights
Have you ever thought about what God hates? In the Proverbs we have several lists of what is an abomination to the Lord, but one stands out especially to me and that is found in Proverbs 20.10: “Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord.” In the same chapter, in verse 23, Solomon repeats it, as he does in chapter 11, verse 1. This admonition is also seen in the Psalms as in the third book of Moses, (Leviticus). When something is repeated so often in the Scriptures it is to emphasize its importance. One must be very sure that God hates unjust weights.
When one goes to the market and asks for a kilo of potatoes, one expects a kilo of potatoes. The grocer places the potatoes on the scale and weighs out the amount we want. We trust that the scale is correct and that we are getting what we asked for. An unjust scale is when the scale has be tampered with and that what we get is less than we expect. When I weigh myself, I sure want the scale to say something different than it does, but it says it as it is. Isn’t that the way it is so often? We want one measure for ourselves and another for others. We want to pay less taxes than others and not be fined when we violate a traffic law. God says unjust weights are an abomination to Him. He hates it when we treat our family and friends differently than those we don’t know, or when we are diligent to pay our tithes, but not our taxes, (or visa-versa). All this God hates.
God judges with equity. This is the quality of being fair and impartial. His Word, (His standard), is the same for each of us. Much of the time our judgement is biased and tainted by subjectivity and comparison. We say John is a good person, because he is not as bad as Frank, and because he is “good”, he should get more breaks than Frank. When John fails an exam, we think he should pass the course, or at least be given another chance to retake the exam, because he is a good person. God’s standard is just and it is the same for all. When Joshua was about to go into battle against the inhabitants of Jericho, an angel appeared to him with a drawn sword. Joshua asked him: “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” (Joshua 5.13) The angel replied that he was neither for Joshua, nor for his enemies, but that he was the commander of the Lord’s armies. God doesn’t take sides, we must choose Him.
In judging with equity, God says: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3.23) God has written on the wall: “You have been weighed in the balances and been found wanting.” (Daniel 5.27) God’s weights are just. We are all sinners. The consequence of sin is death. Death is separation from God. In providing salvation for man, Jesus took our sin upon Himself. In doing this He had to die. God is just. He doesn’t have one measure for us and another for His Son. Jesus had to be “separated” from His Father to be able to restore us to God. In doing this God’s justice was satisfied and we were redeemed. No wonder God hates unjust weights.
Being justly redeemed, we have been given the righteousness of Christ. Because He is just we can be as well. Equity requires involvement. We can be very idealistic and talk a lot about the evil in society and about the suffering of so many helpless children, but it is only skin deep until we are actually helping. You can’t make a difference by checking out a web site, reading a book, or wearing a bracelet. Living by just weights is the “Golden Rule”. It is doing to others as you would have them do to you.
Scriptures to meditate on:
Lev. 19.36; Prov. 20.10, 23; 11.1; Ps. 98.9; 96.10; Mat. 7.12; Rom. 6.23