Does the Almighty Pervert Justice

Job 8:3(NKJV)

3    Does God subvert judgment?     Or does the Almighty pervert justice?

That's an interesting question isn't it?  Does God pervert justice?  Or to put it another way, how important is justice to God? 

One of the characteristics we hear about God is that He is a just God.  That would indicate that justice is important to God.  Let's see what else Scripture has to say on the subject.  There are 129 instances where the word justice is used in Scripture.  I'm not going to list them all but lets start with the first time it appears in the Bible which is in Genesis and then I'll give a sampling from there.

Genesis 18:19(NKJV)

19For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” 

Exodus 23:2-3(NKJV)

2You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 

3You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.

Deuteronomy 10:17(NKJV)

17For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. 

Deuteronomy 16:19-20(NKJV)

19You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. 

20You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.  

So where am I going with this?  I think a lot of Christians have a very mistaken idea of what justice is.   Take a look at Ex 23:3.  God specifically mentions that you not show partiality to the poor.  I think that is exactly what we are seeing in the "social justice" movement. 

As an example there are a lot of people clamoring for $15/hr burger flipper jobs because people can't live on minimum wage and that's not fair they say. 

Really?

In most cases those people have not made any attempt to make themselves more valuable to an employer.  In other words they have failed to develop anything more than the rudimentary skills needed to get a starting level job.  How is it not fair or just then that they are still earning an entry level wage.

I believe that this is just one example of how Christian's with the best of intentions are showing partiality to the poor.  According to God, that is not just. 

Does God give us any idea how this may affect our lives?  He sure does.  Take a look at Duet. 16:19-20.  Here is what I believe it is telling us.  If we follow and do what is just in God's eyes we will inherit the life and the blessings  that He has for us.  If however we pervert justice… well I'll let you reach your own conclusions on that!