“That is not right!” Do you ever feel that way when you read or hear the news from around the world? Injustice goes way back. Archaeologists who found an ancient mummy frozen in the ice say Otzi the iceman was murdered. In scripture we read that Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve killed his brother Abel. I felt it again this week when I read about the children who were killed in Minneapolis. It is not right!
Genesis tells us Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter. Dinah, the only daughter who is mentioned, belonged to Jacob and Leah. When Jacob and his family moved to a new area, a local prince raped her and then asked to marry her. Jacob waited to tell his sons what had happened. He knew his sons would not overlook this violence against their sister. Genesis doesn’t tell us Dinah’s feelings. But we know instinctively that this was not right. A marriage could not right the wrong which had been done.
We may look at stories of violence and say, “Well that is just how people lived back then.” But to this day women are harmed by men. We read about violence in the big cities of our own country. The broken world still bleeds. N. T. Wright is right when he says, “We want to see the world set to rights.” Will there be justice for those who have been harmed by others? The scripture answers with a resounding, “Yes.” God will make all things new. He will bring justice to the world. Someday, we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. When Christ returns, he will make all things new.
But what can we do today? We pray and we work for justice. The prophet Micah heard God say, “What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” We can do these things today, starting right now. Churches must acknowledge harm that has been done and stand against violence of all kinds.
