Righteous Judge,
You do not leave justice in the realm of lofty ideas
You bring it down to the details of daily life.
You speak of servants and their freedom,
of wounds and restitution,
of the value of life and the dignity of every person.
You protect the vulnerable from abuse
and the guilty from disproportionate vengeance.
An ear pierced at the doorpost becomes a sign
of a servant who chooses love over release.
Even in law, You weave the language of covenant.
You command that violence be restrained,
that harm be answered with fairness,
not with endless cycles of revenge.
“Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth”
is not a call to cruelty,
but a boundary against escalation.
You care for the stranger,
for the dependent,
for the animal under a heavy load.
You hold masters accountable,
guard the unborn,
and demand restitution for negligence.
Lord, teach me to see Your heart in these commands
not as dry regulation,
but as a reflection of Your justice and mercy.
Shape my own dealings to mirror Yours
quick to make wrongs right,
careful with power,
mindful that every human life bears Your image.
Keep me from using “justice”
as a mask for vengeance.
Let my pursuit of what is right
restore rather than ruin.
And when I stand guilty,
remind me of the mercy seat
that my case has been heard,
my debt paid,
my life spared.
In the name of Jesus,
the Servant Lord who bore my penalty
and upholds my worth,
Amen.