Jehovah Is a Lover of Justice

“I, Jehovah, am loving justice.”​—ISAIAH 61:8.

1, 2. (a) What do the words “justice” and “injustice” mean? (b) What does the Bible say about Jehovah and his quality of justice?

JUSTICE is defined as ‘the quality of being impartial, fair, acting in conformity with what is morally upright and good.’ Injustice involves being unfair, prejudiced, bad, inflicting undeserved harm on others.

² Nearly 3,500 years ago, Moses wrote regarding the Universal Sovereign, Jehovah: “All his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice.” (Deuteronomy 32:4) Over seven centuries later, God inspired Isaiah to record these words: “I, Jehovah, am loving justice.” (Isaiah 61:8) Then in the first century, Paul exclaimed: “Is there injustice with God? Never may that become so!” (Romans 9:14) And in the same century, Peter declared: “God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34, 35) Yes, “Jehovah is a lover of justice.”​—Psalm 37:28; Malachi 3:6.

Injustice Prevails

3. How did injustice on earth originate?

³ Justice is not a prevailing quality today. We can become victims of unjust acts at all levels of society​—at our place of work, in school, in our dealings with officials, and in other ways—​even in the family circle. Of course, such injustices are not new. They came upon the human family when our first parents rebelled and became lawless, spurred on by the rebellious spirit creature who became Satan the Devil. It surely was unjust for Adam, Eve, and Satan to misuse the wonderful gift of free will that Jehovah had granted them. Their wrong actions would result in enormous suffering and death for the entire human family.​—Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 5:12; Hebrews 2:14.

4. For how long has injustice been part of human history?

⁴ For some 6,000 years since the rebellion in Eden, injustice has been part of human society. This could well be expected because Satan is the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4) He is a liar and the father of the lie, a slanderer and a resister of Jehovah. (John 8:44) He has always perpetrated gross injustices. For example, in part because of Satan’s evil influence before the Flood of Noah’s day, God noted that “the badness of man was abundant in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all the time.” (Genesis 6:5) That situation still prevailed in the time of Jesus. He said: “Sufficient for each day is its own badness,” meaning its own distressing problems, such as injustice. (Matthew 6:34) The Bible so accurately says: “All creation keeps on groaning together and being in pain together until now.”​—Romans 8:22.

5. Why are there more injustices in our time than ever before?

⁵ Thus, bad things resulting in gross injustices have been happening throughout human history. Now the situation is worse than ever. Why? Because this present ungodly system of things has been in its “last days” for many decades, experiencing “critical times hard to deal with” as it nears its end. The Bible foretold that during this period in history, people would be “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, . . . unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Bad traits like those lead to injustices of all kinds.

6, 7. What huge injustices have afflicted the human family in modern times?

⁶ The past hundred years have seen injustices on a scale never before experienced. For one thing, these years have been the most war-torn. For example, some historians estimate that in World War II alone, the dead totaled from some 50 million to 60 million, the majority of whom were civilians​—innocent men, women, and children. Since that war ended, millions more have been killed in various conflicts, the majority again being civilians. Satan promotes such injustices because he is in a rage, knowing that soon Jehovah will totally defeat him. Bible prophecy puts it this way: “The Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”​—Revelation 12:12.

⁷ Global military spending is now about a trillion dollars each year. Hundreds of millions of people do not have the necessities of life, so think of the good all that money could do if spent on peaceful pursuits. About one billion people do not have enough to eat, while others have an abundance. According to a United Nations source, about five million children die from the effects of hunger each year. How unjust! Then, too, consider the many innocents who are killed by abortions. Estimates vary from 40 million to 60 million worldwide every year! What a horrendous injustice!

8. How only can true justice for humankind come about?

⁸ Human rulers are not finding solutions to the vast problems plaguing mankind today; nor will the situation get better because of human efforts. God’s Word foretold that in our time “wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.” (2 Timothy 3:13) Injustice is so much a part of the fabric of daily living that men cannot remove it. Only the God of justice can remove it. Only he can remove Satan, the demons, and evil humans.​—Jeremiah 10:23, 24.

Understandable Concern

9, 10. Why did Asaph become disheartened?

⁹ In the past, even some Bible writers wondered why God had not already intervened in human affairs and ushered in true justice and righteousness. Take, for example, one particular man in Bible times. The superscription to Psalm 73 provides the name Asaph, referring either to a prominent Levite musician during the reign of King David or to the musicians of the house of which Asaph was the paternal head. Asaph and his descendants wrote many musical compositions that were used in public worship. Yet, at one point in his life, the writer of this psalm became spiritually downhearted. He saw the material prosperity of wicked men, and he noticed that they often seemed to be content with their life, not experiencing any adverse consequences.

¹⁰ We read: “I became envious of the boasters, when I would see the very peace of wicked people. For they have no deathly pangs; and their paunch is fat. They are not even in the trouble of mortal man, and they are not plagued the same as other men.” (Psalm 73:2-8) But in time that Bible writer came to realize that such a negative viewpoint was wrong. (Psalm 73:15, 16) The psalmist tried to adjust his thinking, but he could not fully comprehend why the wicked seemed to get away with doing wrong while rightly disposed people often suffered.

11. What did the psalmist Asaph come to understand?

¹¹ Eventually, that faithful man of old came to understand what was in store for the wicked​—that Jehovah would ultimately set matters straight. (Psalm 73:17-19) David wrote: “Hope in Jehovah and keep his way, and he will exalt you to take possession of the earth. When the wicked ones are cut off, you will see it.”​—Psalm 37:9, 11, 34.

12. (a) What is Jehovah’s purpose concerning wickedness and injustice? (b) How do you feel about that solution to the problem of injustice?

¹² For a certainty, it is Jehovah’s purpose to eliminate wickedness and its accompanying injustices from this earth in his own due time. That is something of which even loyal Christians should remind themselves regularly. Jehovah is going to remove those who go contrary to his will, and he will reward those who live in harmony with it. “His own eyes behold, his own beaming eyes examine the sons of men. Jehovah himself examines the righteous one as well as the wicked one, and anyone loving violence His soul certainly hates. He will rain down upon the wicked ones traps, fire and sulphur and a scorching wind . . . For Jehovah is righteous; he does love righteous acts.”​—Psalm 11:4-7.

A New World of Justice

13, 14. Why will righteousness and justice prevail in the new world?

¹³ When Jehovah destroys this unjust system of things that is under Satan’s control, He will usher in a glorious new world. It will be controlled by God’s heavenly Kingdom, for which Jesus taught his followers to pray. Wickedness and injustice will be replaced by righteousness and justice, for then the prayer will be answered in the fullest sense: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”​—Matthew 6:10.

¹⁴ The Bible tells us what kind of rulership we can expect, rulership that all righthearted individuals now long for. Psalm 145:16 will then find fulfillment in its completest sense: “You [Jehovah God] are opening your hand and satisfying the desire of every living thing.” Moreover, Isaiah 32:1 says: “Look! A king [Christ Jesus in heaven] will reign for righteousness itself; and as respects princes [Christ’s earthly representatives], they will rule as princes for justice itself.” Regarding the King Jesus Christ, Isaiah 9:7 foretells: “To the abundance of the princely rule and to peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom in order to establish it firmly and to sustain it by means of justice and by means of righteousness, from now on and to time indefinite. The very zeal of Jehovah of armies will do this.” Can you see yourself living under that just rulership?

15. What will Jehovah do for humankind in the new world?

¹⁵ In God’s new world, we will no longer have reason to express the words we find at Ecclesiastes 4:1: “I myself returned that I might see all the acts of oppression that are being done under the sun, and, look! the tears of those being oppressed, but they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, so that they had no comforter.” Granted, with our imperfect minds, it is difficult to imagine just how wonderful that new world of righteousness will be. Badness will no longer exist; instead, every day will be filled with good things. Yes, Jehovah will correct everything that is wrong, doing so in a way that is far beyond our expectations. How appropriate that Jehovah God inspired the apostle Peter to write: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell”!​—2 Peter 3:13.

16. How has the “new heavens” been established, and in what sense is the “new earth” being prepared today?

¹⁶ Indeed, the “new heavens,” God’s heavenly government in the hands of Christ, has been set in place already. Those who will form the nucleus of the “new earth,” a new earthly society of rightly disposed people, are being gathered during these last days. They are already nearly seven million strong, in at least 235 lands and in some 100,000 congregations. These millions have been learning the righteous and just ways of Jehovah, and as a result, worldwide they enjoy a unity that is cemented by Christian love. Their unity is the most pronounced and enduring in the history of the world, a unity exceeding anything experienced by Satan’s subjects. Such love and unity are foregleams of the marvelous time to come in God’s new world, which will be governed in righteousness and justice.​—Isaiah 2:2-4; John 13:34, 35; Colossians 3:14.

Satan’s Attack to Fail

17. Why is Satan’s final attack on Jehovah’s people certain to fail?

¹⁷ Satan and his followers will soon come against Jehovah’s worshippers in an attempt to stamp them out. (Ezekiel 38:14-23) That will be part of what Jesus called the “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.” (Matthew 24:21) Will Satan’s attack succeed? No. God’s Word assures us: “Jehovah is a lover of justice, and he will not leave his loyal ones. To time indefinite they will certainly be guarded; but as for the offspring of the wicked ones, they will indeed be cut off. The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”​—Psalm 37:28, 29.

18. (a) How will God react to Satan’s coming attack on His people? (b) Why has it been good for you to review this Bible-based information about the triumph of justice?

¹⁸ The attack by Satan and his horde on Jehovah’s servants will be the final insult. Jehovah foretold through Zechariah: “He that is touching you is touching my eyeball.” (Zechariah 2:8) It is as if someone were thrusting a finger in Jehovah’s eyeball. He will respond immediately and eliminate the perpetrators. Jehovah’s servants are the most loving, united, peaceful, law-abiding people on earth. So that attack against them will be totally unwarranted, unjust. The great “lover of justice” will not tolerate it. His acting in their behalf will result in the eternal destruction of the enemies of his people, in the triumph of justice, and in the salvation of those who worship the only true God. What amazing, thrilling events are immediately ahead of us!​—Proverbs 2:21, 22.

How Would You Answer?

• Why is injustice so prevalent?

• How will Jehovah solve the problem of injustice on earth?

• What has touched you in this study about the triumph of justice?

[Study Questions]

[Picture on page 23]

Badness was abundant before the Flood, and it abounds in these “last days”

[Picture on page 24, 25]

In God’s new world, justice and righteousness will replace wickedness