Last week in our Dallas Morning News there was an article regarding two men who had served 30 years in prison for a crime to which another man had recently confessed. It was also found the prosecution had withheld evidence that may have been crucial to their defense.

The journalist stated that both men would be paid a large sum of money for their false imprisonment. I couldn’t help thinking if I were one of them, no amount of money would be adequate compensation for the time lost from my life, the cost, financial and otherwise, to my family and the misery of a Texas state prison.

The above is simply just one current example signifying that although “equal justice under the law” was one of the founding principles of our country, it is still much more a goal than a reality. Inequality of access to justice is often the result of either a person’s income or their personal connections.

As someone connected to the Enron scandal is quoted as saying: “If you’re going to steal money, steal a lot! It will help pay the lawyers.” But what has that to do with our text from the Book of Exodus?

Our passage is taken from a book of the Bible that records the Law that became part and parcel of the story of the Israelites. Chapters 1-18 record the narrative of God’s deliverance of Israel.

Chapters 19-24 (including the Ten Commandments and our background scripture for this week) deal with the myriad laws that grew from that salvation history and became the backbone of the Israelite faith. Chapters 25-40 consist of the laws governing the worship of Israel, including a warning against idolatry.

I urge you to read all of Exodus 22:1-23:9 to grasp the broad sweep of this section, which is regarded as the oldest extant record of Jewish law; a law that rested not on the authority of a king, but upon their God.

Nevertheless, mindful of time and space limitations, I will concentrate on 23:1-9, for here we find one of the earliest references to the concept of “equality under the law.” In the interests of equal justice, 23:1 warns against false testimony, while 23:2 is concerned with the human tendency to believe that justice is always expressed by a majority vote.

There are times when, to achieve justice, we must stand against a majority: “You shall not follow a majority to do evil; nor shall you bear witness in a in a suit, turning aside after a multitude, so as to pervert justice” (v. 2). Jesus was not in a majority on Calvary, probably not even on Palm Sunday.

Further, Exodus tells us: “You shall not pervert the justice due to the poor in this suit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not slay the innocent and righteous” (23:6, 7). Rank, race, social and legal connection can and often do pervert the justice process. Both conservatives and liberals can and should work to secure that impartiality.

A few years ago a friend told me the bank handling his mother’s estate was making extravagant expenditures from his inheritance and, although he was an executor of that will, he was not consulted.

He hired a lawyer, but in several years he had spent $30,000 for the lawyer and because the bank was nationwide and could hire a whole stable of sharp lawyers, the bank could afford to “wait him out,” knowing his financial ability was not even nearly equal to the costs of pursuing  justice. His is not a unique experience.

Justice for all?

I have been reading a fascinating book by John M. Barry, Roger Williams and The Creation of the American Soul (Viking, 2012). Williams, whom you may remember as the founder of Rhode Island, would more justly be regarded as one of the most influential advocates of religious liberty in America.

Barry says that both Massachusetts and Plymouth began “behaving imperially,” attempting to devour Williams’ plantation and “also the freedom he was attempting to establish. They dwarfed him in military power, economic strength and connections and influence in England. He countered only with an idea” – an idea that spoke to him from his Bible.

Reading this volume, I have been continuously reminded that many of the religious groups that came to this land seeking religious freedom were, in fact, seeking it only for themselves.

The Puritans, for example, fled from England in order to escape growing restriction and persecution at the hands of the Church of England and King Charles.

But, having established their communities in what was to become Massachusetts, they began to persecute and exclude any who didn’t agree with their own religious beliefs and practices.

This was true of many who came here seeking religious freedom. It has taken a long time for many Americans to accept as the plan and purpose of God: One law for all, whatever a person’s status.

In fact, I suspect that many Americans still have not accepted that the challenge of “liberty and justice for all” is the will of the God they worship and intend to serve.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.