Good Morning.
You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. (Leviticus 19:35-36)
Most likely, you’ve heard the expression “he had his thumb on the scales” or something to that effect. This idiom alludes to a butcher or some other type of merchant who would cheat their customers by surreptitiously using a thumb to apply extra pressure to the scale when weighing meat or other goods to calculate the price of a sale. In a manner of speaking, this is what the commandment here is speaking to. In fact, as far as God’s concerned, to falsify weights is to neglect honesty and fairness which amounts to perverting justice. And interestingly, God further connects this kind of dishonesty with the unjust bondage Israel was subjected to in Egypt — and from which God delivered them.
So then, if a person knows what is like to be on the receiving end of injustice, why would that person attempt to be unjust with someone else? Unfortunately, there are those who believe they should do this to others because someone did it to them. The argument posed by those with this mindset say, “That’s the way the world works.” It may be the way the world works, but that is not how God’s people are to conduct themselves. Even if a person owes us money, we must not doctor weights and measures. We should never be unjust with our fellow man.
There is another old saying that comes to mind here: “What comes around, goes around,” meaning that if I do something bad to you I can expect something bad to happen to me. The world sometimes calls this karma; the Bible calls it “measure for measure.” We should never think it is appropriate to take advantage of someone because, even if they don’t notice, the One who dwells in Heaven does notice which is why He reminded His people, “I am the LORD your God.” And because He is our God, let us not be found guilty of doing something that would bring dishonor and reproach upon His name. Better to be taken advantage of than to take advantage of others.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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