Obligatory Justice – The Eighth Commandment

Obligatory Justice

Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19

“You shall not steal.”

Leviticus 19:13

“The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.”

Pay what you owe.

A second aspect of justice according to the Law of God is what we might call obligatory justice. In this case, one obligates himself to perform a certain duty to another, and he is expected to fulfill the terms of the obligation. So, for example, in the case of a hired man, he is to be paid when the job is finished, or according to an agreed-upon schedule. Other examples of this in the case laws of Israel include the obligations concerning inheritances, providing for the Levites, and replacing any broken items borrowed from your neighbor. The American economy, based as it is on credit, could not function without this sense of obligatory justice. If I sign a contract, I am expected to pay according to the schedule. Furthermore, my creditor may not change the terms of the contract at his own discretion. Paying taxes also falls under this category of justice. Whenever we covenant or make a contract with another, where terms are agreed to and promises either made or implied, here obligatory justice is at work. Obligatory justice requires mutual respect and trust, which is why consumers look carefully for the best deals and creditors do background checks. Like preventive justice, obligatory justice seeks to maintain the balance of justice in a society before it can become upset.

Can you think of some other examples of obligatory justice in our day? How can you see the wisdom of God at work in this form of justice?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.