Day 41, or February 10. Is that really fair? Our thoughts today are rooted in Leviticus
chapter 24, verses 19 and 20. Anyone who injures their neighbour is to be injured in the same
manner. Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted
the injury must suffer the same injury. And now the big picture surrounding these verses.
Leviticus contains so much detail about the offerings and feasts of the Jewish people
that we must conclude that we have a fair God who wants us to know exactly what is expected
of us. The apostle Paul tells us that all these regulations were to point us to Jesus.
Galatians 3 verse 24 tells us, The law was our guardian until Christ came. It protected
us until we could be made right with God through faith. All of these laws and regulations were
fulfilled in Jesus, so that we are now free to live our lives to the full. Of course,
when we do this, we inevitably keep the spirit of all these godly regulations.
And now our action step for today. In Leviticus we read about the ancient eye-for-an-eye type
of rough justice, which was centuries before its time. When Moses first told the children
of Israel about this part of God's law, their jaws would have dropped in disbelief. They
were used to wiping out a whole family for a personal injury. In fact, you will find
this sort of reaction in the Bible. Here we have a glimpse of the mercy-loving heart of
God. The cynic amongst us may agree with the ancient rabbi who said, That will simply produce
a nation of blind people. I don't agree. It told the Jews, and you, and me, that our
God is intrinsically fair. I know there are things that happen every day that question
that. But I am convinced that the God of the Bible is always fair, and on judgment day
no one will be able to say, That wasn't fair. Now that's a thought that bears reflecting
on in these days of injustice and unfairness that's shown by people to other people all
over the world. Our God's a fair God, and everyone will see it and experience it one
day.