“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgment, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” Zechariah 7:9-10 (ESV)
One of the primary tasks God gave to the prophets in ancient Israel was to instruct the people of Israel on how to order their society so that it reflected God’s heart and mind. These verses from the prophet Zechariah are a prime example of that. The instruction here in these verses comes in a string of imperative verbs: “render judgment,” “show…,” “oppress not…,” and “devise not…”
The first in the series—“render true judgments”—is a little trickier than it may appear here in the ESV. There is often a clamor especially among Evangelicals for “literal translation” of the Bible. The difficulty with that is that typically the closer a translation is to being “literal,” the closer it comes to being gibberish. This first command in our passage is an example of that. Literally, the verse says “judge reliable/faithful/true judgments.” In our modern English context, “judging” and “judgments” are words of the courtroom. But in ancient Israel, these words referred primarily to the business of governance.
The most familiar example of that fact is in the name of the Old Testament book of “Judges.” The book describes the activity of a group of people who were called “judges.” That title comes from the same Hebrew word that is used here in our passage from Zechariah. These “judges” in the book of Judges did occasionally preside over legal/courtroom-type proceedings. But mostly they lead the government of the nation. A better English title for these folks would be “governors” or “rulers.” Their main job was to govern the nation.
So, now, back to Zechariah 7. This first command—“render true judgments”—really is talking about how the nation is being governed. God is insisting that the nation govern itself in a certain way, which, here is described as “true.” In this case, again, the Hebrew word is bigger than the English word “true.” It is often translated as “faithful” or “reliable.” I think the NIV captures the sense of the command better than the ESV—“Administer true justice.” Another way this first instruction from God might well be translated this way: God says, “Govern my people in a way that is faithful and true to my character.”
The mission of the Old Testament people of Israel was to show the world what the one, true God was like. Here’s how God says that through Isaiah: “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor” (Isaiah 61:3 NIV). The mission of the people of God is to “display his splendor” in our way of life. In Zechariah 7:9, the word “true” refers to that which is true or faithful to the character of God. God wants Israel to govern itself in a way that shows his true character, that displays the true splendor of his character.
This first command—“Administer true justice”—is, I believe, the controlling command. It’s the main one in the series. The commands that follow it explain or illustrate what that “true justice” is to look like. What we see is that “true justice” is not primarily a matter of laws and rules but of right relationships between people, particularly between those who are powerful and those who are weak and vulnerable.
“Kindness and mercy” are the primary markers of “true justice” in God’s eyes. James restates this theme succinctly. “And keep in mind, those who pass judgment mercilessly will themselves receive no mercy.[1] Mercifulness triumphantly conquers judgment” (James 2:13).
What does this “kindness and mercy” look like in concrete terms? Our passage in Zechariah 7 goes on with some specifics: “do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” Here in Zechariah, God repeats what is the standard list of the vulnerable in an ancient society: widows, the fatherless, the foreigner/refugee, and the poor. God has a bias toward the powerless and the vulnerable, and his insistence that his people share that bias is repeated over and over in the Old and New Testaments.
If the idea that God might be biased toward the powerless and the vulnerable offends you in some way, let me suggest that you pause and consider this. The Gospel of salvation is based exactly on this bias in God. If God is not biased toward the powerless and the vulnerable, if God does not have a softness toward those who are in need and have no power, then neither you nor I can hope to be saved.
You and I are destitute, utterly vulnerable in our sin. If God is not biased toward those who are hopelessly powerless, then he would have left us in our lostness. But such is not the character of our God. He is full of mercy and compassion for the powerless and vulnerable.
Through Zechariah, God insists that his people be shining beacons of just that same mercy and compassion for the powerless and vulnerable. Only in that way can the world know the true character of God. We must show it to the world by our own way of life, by our own character of mercy and kindness.
And finally, we show the character of God in our dealings with others by devoting ourselves to seeking their well-being. We live in a world and in an American society in which “devising evil” toward others is becoming a defining characteristic. God’s people are not to be like that, because God is not like that. We are to be a people known for devoting ourselves to the welfare of others. We are to be people who love our neighbor. Who is our neighbor? Everyone, without exception, even including our enemies.
This is not weakness. It is the very essence of the power of the Gospel being embodied in the people who “display the splendor” of our merciful, compassionate, powerful God.
© 2025 Gary A. Chorpenning
[1] See also Matthew 5:7; Matthew 9:13; Matthew 18:33.
Related posts:
Pastor Note #134/Bible Note #55: Love of Jesus, Love of Neighbor
Bible Note #20 — Deuteronomy 22:6-7 and Cruelty to the Vulnerable and Weak
Pastor Note #89: God’s Love–Undeserved and Uncomfortable
Pastor Note #107: Violence and the Kingdom of God: a Sermon
Bible Note #23: Blessing without Regard to Deserving & the Gracious Heart of God
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