Seek Judgement and Relieve the Oppressed

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." (Isaiah 1:16-17)

How about that. We must learn to do well. Carnal man is self-oriented. That doesn't help anyone or do anyone any good other than self. So, to do well we must shift the focus 180 degrees away from self and onto others. That's the first step. Once the emphasis is off me, myself, and I and onto all others is when we can “put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil”.

Think about that. Evil happens when we are the center of the universe. When we prioritize self above all other people, evil to others will happen. But when we focus on the betterment of others. When we uplift and edify people. When we take care of the basics for our neighbor, making sure they have food to eat, water to drink, a roof over their head. Good is the goal and target when we do these things. The good, by the way, is righteousness.

The word righteousness has morphed from the original, “rightness”. It is doing what is right and that always means doing the will of God.

Now that we have stopped applying the dirt of sin to our self, we can now, "Wash you, make you clean”. To our newfound righteousness we must wash clean through repentance. John came before Jesus so that we could be washed clean. What? Are we going to save a dirty soul? No, we must wash it clean before the grace of salvation is applied.

We are washed clean and sealed in our redemption unto salvation. We have become a new man. Our being has changed therefore our doing will have changed as well.

We are to seek judgment which runs counter to the reasoning and will off carnal man. Judgement is simply a course correction to keep us in the way of the Lord.

Now look at who are energies and attention are pointed towards. It is the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widows. We are to relieve, judge, and plead for them. In short, we are to stand for those who are incapable of standing on their own. We are to fend and defend them, which is both caring for and protecting them.

The devil has convinced the world that judgement is a bad thing. Every apostate and child of the god of the air will run from it and condemn the practice and practitioner for it. But what is judgment?

When God said, “seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless” He is actually speaking about two different things.

The word, “judgement” comes from the Hebrew “mishap” meaning, “justice, right, rectitude” (Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon)

The word “judge” comes from the Hebrew “shaphat” meaning, “to act as law-giver or judge or governor” (Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon).

So what God is saying is to seek righteousness and defend those who are incapable of defending themselves. In this case the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widows. The oppressed are those who are suffering because they have no judge to act on their behalf.

How important is it to act in the stead of the less fortunate, the oppressed, fatherless, and the widows?

In the judgements that God gave Moses that proceed immediately after God gave him the Ten Commandments, God said, “Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.” (Exodus 22:21-24).

God issues a very harsh warning to those who would seek to take advantage those unable to fend for themselves.

Put away the evil and wash yourself clean. Seek judgement, yes run to it. Embrace the righteousness that judgement reveals and secures. Allow the righteousness that is you bubble up and flow towards all those around you. You were made in the image of God. That doesn’t pertain to just looks. It is a comment about our heart, mind, spirit and soul. It is a comment about our being and doing.

Bill Hitchcock