God Loves Justice

In this episode, we look at a story from Nehemiah 5 that shows how a godly leader responded to injustice within his own community. Vulnerable families were falling into debt and even selling their children into slavery, while the wealthy profited by charging interest in violation of God’s law. We follow Nehemiah’s response as he refuses to ignore the problem, confronts the powerful, and restores justice, even in the middle of rebuilding the wall.

In this episode, we explore the difference between modern ideas of justice and biblical ideas of justice by comparing two images: scales and a river. While Western justice is often symbolized by balanced scales representing fairness and neutrality, the Bible describes justice as a powerful, ever-flowing river (Amos 5:24). We look at how legal systems can punish wrongdoing but cannot fully heal or restore what has been broken, while God’s justice brings restoration, healing, and transformation. This episode invites us to expand our understanding of justice and to pray for God’s justice to flow into situations of injustice and brokenness.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠⁠

In this final episode of our five-part series on widows in the Bible, we turn to Jesus’s own words and the powerful parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18. We look at Jesus’s parable in its historical context, remembering how vulnerable widows were, how often leaders failed them, and how deeply God cares about their justice. In the parable, a poor widow goes toe-to-toe against a corrupt, indifferent judge- and wins through her persistence. We look closely at the details of the parable because there are parts to it that make it interesting- and kind of funny. Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠⁠

Episode 15 This is episode 4 of a 5 part series on widows in the Bible. In this episode, we explore how the first generation church cared for widows in Acts 6. From appointing leaders to oversee daily food distribution to navigating practical challenges, we see that justice requires more than good intentions, it takes leadership and accountability. This story shows how including the vulnerable in society was happening at the same time as evangelism and rapid church growth.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠⁠

Episode 14 In part three of this five-part series on widows in Scripture, we turn to the New Testament to see how widows are woven into the story of Jesus and the early church. From Jesus’s genealogy, where three widows appear in the Messiah’s own family line, to Anna the prophet who recognizes the infant Jesus, this episode highlights how widows are named, seen, and honored. Jesus consistently lifts widows up as moral and spiritual examples, condemns their exploitation, and reflects God’s long-standing concern for their protection and dignity. The early church organizes support for them. Together, these stories reveal a God who sees the vulnerable and declares, “Your widows can depend on me.”

Episode 13 In Episode 2 of the five-part series on widows in the Bible, we move from values to practice by exploring how the Law of Moses built concrete, everyday protections for widows into Israel’s life. This episode looks at how care for widows was not treated as optional charity, but as a matter of justice (mishpat) that reflected God’s own character. We examine specific provisions such as legal protections, gleaning laws, special tithes, protection of property, levirate marriage, and inclusion in community festivals—systems designed to preserve dignity, provide stability, and ensure that widows had real access to the resources they needed. Through these laws, we see a powerful picture of justice made practical: a community structured so that care for the vulnerable did not depend on mood, generosity, or circumstance, but was woven into daily life.

Episode 12 In the first episode of a five-part series on widows, we begin by asking two foundational questions: Why were widows particularly vulnerable in biblical times? And how does God describe His relationship with widows, and what does that reveal about His character? We look at the economic, legal, and social realities that shaped widows’ lives, and we look closely at passages where God describes his connection to them. Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠⁠

Episode 11 In this episode, we take a look at several Old Testament passages that show how people, creation, and God himself respond to justice & righteousness. We talk about how many of us grew up assuming God’s justice was mainly about punishment, which can make the idea feel scary instead of good. But when we look at Scripture, we see something completely different: God delights in justice & righteousness, creation celebrates it with joy, and God’s people respond with gladness and rejoicing to the news that God is coming with justice and righteousness. These emotional reactions help us rethink justice not as judgment hovering over us, but as God restoring what’s broken, making things right, and bringing freedom. Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 10 In this episode, we look into a messianic prophecy from Isaiah 42 that shows up again in Matthew 12. It gives us a picture of the kind of justice (mishpat) that Jesus brings. His justice isn’t just for Israel, but for the whole world, and He brings it with gentleness and humility. We’ll talk about the images of “bruised reeds” and “smoldering wicks,” which show how Jesus’ justice reaches out to people others might dismiss as broken or useless. And in Matthew, we’re told that Jesus will bring justice to victory, which means Christians start from a place of victorious justice.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 09 In this episode, we look at the Biblical metaphor of Kingdom of God, and how justice and righteousness are deeply connected to it. We start by looking at how Scripture uses the idea of a “kingdom,” not as a physical place with borders, but as the active reign and rule of God wherever His authority is embraced. From there, we look at three Old Testament prophecies that describe the coming Kingdom and its King, Jesus, as one who rules with mishpat (justice) and sedeq (righteousness), bringing safety, restoration, and flourishing. Then we move to three New Testament passages to see how Jesus announces the arrival of God’s kingdom and calls us to seek both His kingdom and His righteousness first. The book of Romans describes the kingdom as righteousness, justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. We end by looking at how, through Jesus, we receive the gift of righteousness and justice and are empowered to “reign in life,” living out God’s kingdom wherever we are.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 08 In this episode, we explore why justice can seem hidden in the New Testament, and how some of that actually comes down to translation. We talk about how, when we first go searching for the English word “justice,” it barely shows up, which can make it seem like justice isn’t a New Testament priority. But if we look at the Greek, we see that a very important word, dikaiosyne, gets almost always translated as “righteousness” instead of “justice,” even though the concept actually includes both ideas together. Meanwhile, the Greek words that do get translated as justice tend to be more legal in tone, which doesn’t capture the full, holistic picture we see in Scripture. Understanding this helps us recognize that when the New Testament talks about “righteousness,” it’s often pointing to a righteousness and justice-filled way of living that shapes both our personal character and how we engage the wider world. By learning what’s hiding in translation, we start to see that justice is woven through Jesus’ teaching and the life of the early church far more than our English Bibles initially make obvious.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 07 In this episode, we dig into a big question many Christians wrestle with: “Why is it so hard to see justice in the New Testament?” We break down four reasons why justice can be hard for modern Christians to see: First, some church-history baggage that created an unnecessary “gospel vs. justice” split. Second, we look at how Western Christians often expect justice to be legal and rule-based, which doesn’t match how Jesus teaches. Third, we look at the translation challenges, like how important Greek words connected to justice often get translated as “righteousness,” making it seem like the New Testament is only talking about personal morality. Fourth, we look at how we sometimes miss the radical, justice-filled actions of Jesus because we’re so far removed from His cultural world. Justice really is a New Testament value—we just need the right lenses to recognize it.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 06 In this episode, we look at what it means in Hebrew when justice & righteousness appear together as a single phrase. We look at how this phrase points back to God’s original design in Eden, where creation was filled with shalom, and how doing justice and righteousness means expressing God’s intended order by pursuing wholeness, freedom, and flourishing for people and the world. We then trace the phrase through key moments in the biblical story: starting with God’s promise to Abraham, continuing through Israel’s calling, and showing up in descriptions of God’s reign and in prophecies about Jesus. We end with a picture of a God who delights in restoring what’s broken, freeing the oppressed, defending the vulnerable, and creating conditions where people and communities can thrive.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 05 In this episode, we look at the Hebrew word sedeq/sedeqah, another word that God repeatedly says He loves. We learn that relationships are foundational to sedeq. It’s also a standard for life that reflects God’s own ways and leads to human flourishing. Surprisingly, sedeq can also mean saving action, showing up in the Old Testament as God’s acts of deliverance. We can start to see Biblical righteousness as something that is right, does right, and makes right—an expression of God’s character that draws us so close to Him so that He can heal, restore, and save us.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 04 In this episode, we learn about an example of what “doing mishpat (justice)” looks like. In 1 Kings 3, Solomon uses the wisdom God gave him to bring justice to painful injustice. In the story, we see two traumatized women argue over the same baby, and Solomon’s unexpected strategy uncovers the real mother. Instead of centering on punishment, the story highlights justice as restoration,  mending the broken relationship between a mother and her child. In the end, it shows that biblical justice is all about restoration and making wrongs right again.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 03 In this episode, we look at the Hebrew word “mishpat,” the word that God repeatedly says He loves. Instead of treating this like an academic language study, we approach it as a way to understand God’s heart better, since knowing what someone loves helps us know them more deeply. Scripture shows us that mishpat (justice) is part of God’s character, the foundation of His throne, and the way He brings order, stability, and flourishing to His creation. While it can include legal decisions or even punishment, its focus is restoration, stopping wrongs and making things right so life can flourish. Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 02 In this episode, we look into how differently justice is understood in modern Western culture compared to ancient Hebrew culture. Western justice tends to be legalistic—focused on rules, enforcement, and punishment—while the Hebrew view is rooted in Shalom, a peace that comes because everyone and everything is whole and flourishing. Western justice focuses heavily on outside authorities and behavior, but Hebrew justice is more communal and dynamic, aiming for heart-level change and restored relationships. We look at out cultural assumptions about justice  in order to get ready for upcoming conversations about the Hebrew words for justice and righteousness.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Episode 01 In this first episode, we explore why the message “God loves justice” matters for the way we approach the whole topic of biblical justice. Many of us find justice intimidating, academic, or even controversial, but realizing that God himself explicitly says he loves justice and righteousness opens a welcoming door into understanding them. This episode lays the foundation for the podcast: short, accessible teachings designed to help us see justice and righteousness as something rooted in God’s heart, something good, and something we’re invited to love and live out too.Show notes can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠Godlovesjustice.com/shownotes⁠

Welcome to the God Loves Justice Podcast ! This is a series designed to help Christians from any background understand, love, and practice biblical justice and righteousness—core themes rooted in God’s character and woven throughout Scripture. Because many believers feel overwhelmed or confused by the topic, we aim to break it down into short, accessible 10–20 minute episodes that stay centered on Scripture rather than personal opinion. The podcast explores Bible stories that model justice, the Hebrew and Greek terms behind key concepts, common questions Christians have about justice, and the social world of the Bible, all with the goal of helping listeners live out justice and righteousness today. `