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Obama Should Listen to Leviticus: Don’t Confuse Justice and Charity

Isaiah 42:6
“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.I will take you by the hand and guard you,and I will give you to my people, Israel,as a symbol of my covenant with them.  And you will be a light to guide the nations. (NLT)

Isaiah 42:21
It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious. (NIV)

Isaiah 45:8
“Open up, O heavens,and pour out your righteousness.Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.I, the Lord, created them. (NLT)

Isaiah 45:24
The people will declare,“The Lord is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”And all who were angry with him will come to him and be ashamed. (NLT)

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Isaiah 46:12
Listen …

Isaiah 32

 1 See, a king will reign in righteousness
       and rulers will rule with justice.

 16 Justice will dwell in the desert
       and righteousness live in the fertile field.

 17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
       the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

Isaiah 33

 5 The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high;
       he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
Isaiah warns that where people have plenty, they will have nothing.  Once they have nothing, Jesus will return and the land will be restored. 

He warns that where evil is not repaid, it will be when they stop… when they die I suspect.

The land of Israel will …

 17 I will make justice the measuring line
       and righteousness the plumb line;
       hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
       and water will overflow your hiding place.
Before the great famine, Joseph had two sons.  In Genesis 41:52, Joseph named the second of those sons Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”  Well, quite frequently one sees the children of prosperous parents become spoiled and ungrateful, and the tribe of Ephraim would be no different, even as those who love them continue to give them everything.  It starts in Genesis 48, when Jacob (Joseph’s father) reckoned Manasseh and Ephraim as his own, for purposes of blessing and inheritance.  In other words Ephraim would …

 9 My soul yearns for you in the night;
       in the morning my spirit longs for you.
       When your judgments come upon the earth,
       the people of the world learn righteousness.

 10 Though grace is shown to the wicked,
       they do not learn righteousness;
       even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil
       and regard not the majesty of the LORD.
Isaiah 26:9-10 brings it all together for me.  This chapter speaks to me of Jesus’ coming at the end of the Tribulation, to establish His new kingdom on Earth.  However, before He can do that, He has to clean house.

The thing to notice is that His judgement will be just, and that is …

Isaiah 16’s verse on righteousness is pretty standard, talking of Jesus’ future reign on earth:
 5 In love a throne will be established;
       in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
       one from the house of David—
       one who in judging seeks justice
       and speeds the cause of righteousness.
It adds a few details that we haven’t seen covered in other “righteousness” verses however.  For example, one of God’s motivations in establishing Christ’s throne is love.  But then, that’s of no surprise, as scripture is filled with talk of God’s love of the righteous.

However, something about this scripture is a complete and utter surprise to me… its context.  Isaiah is not talking about Israel or the future church, but a …

 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
       from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
       the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
       the Spirit of counsel and of power,
       the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
       He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
       or decide by what he hears with his ears;

 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
       with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
       He will strike the …

 6 For to us a child is born,
       to us a son is given,
       and the government will be on his shoulders.
       And he will be called
       Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
       Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 7 Of the increase of his government and peace
       there will be no end.
       He will reign on David’s throne
       and over his kingdom,
       establishing and upholding it
       with justice and righteousness
       from that time on and forever.
       The zeal of the LORD Almighty
       will accomplish this.
You can read a pretty decent article about this Messianic verse at truthnet.org.  It is not a perfect article, but it is well worth the read. The article discusses Isaiah 9:6 together …

Isaiah 5 tells a parable of a vineyard that was created with hard work and sweat, but for some reason produced only sour grapes.  In this parable, God is the owner of the vineyard…
 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty
       is the house of Israel,
       and the men of Judah
       are the garden of his delight.
       And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
       for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
The interesting thing is that God of all the ingredients of righteousness, He wasn’t looking for belief or obedience.  He wasn’t looking for purity in relationship.  He wasn’t looking for any of the things that make one righteous.  No, He was looking for the characteristics that demonstrate that …

As we go to Isaiah 1, to see what else there is to learn about righteousness, we find that the very first chapter speaks of Israel’s loss of righteousness, and God’s promise to bring them back… 
 19 If you are willing and obedient,  –> (i.e., if they are righteous)
       you will eat the best from the land;

 20 but if you resist and rebel,
       you will be devoured by the sword.”
       For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

 21 See how the faithful city
       has become a harlot!
       She once was full of justice;
       righteousness used to dwell in her—
       but now murderers!

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 26 I will restore your judges as in days of old,
       your counselors as at the …