God's Delight

"Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight."

Proverbs 11:1

As I read through Proverbs it is no wonder people connected righteousness with good works.  The contrasts are extreme between right and wrong, good and bad, the wise and wicked.  A tree is known by its fruit, a child known by his doings, and it follows a righteous man will do righteously.  The error entered in when people imagined themselves to be righteous because they did right things.  Both Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God:  Abel's offering was accepted and Cain's rejected because God looks upon the heart.  Samuel was ready to anoint the eldest son of Jesse named Eliab king because of his stately bearing, yet God had refused him and chose David, the youngest of Jesse who was tending sheep.

Proverbs 11:1 says God delights in a "just weight" which conveys honesty in business.  In one sense focusing on the fine-tuning of scales misses the point entirely.  A man for fear of losing business or being jailed as a crook ensures his scales are accurate, and another man in the fear of God dials in balances and measures to honour God and be honest towards others even if it costs him.  Do you see the difference?  When the corrupt tax-collector Zacchaeus came to faith in Jesus Christ, his first order of business was to give half of his goods to the poor and restore all funds he unlawfully excised from people fourfold.  The man whose heart was once abominable before God previously exposed by selfishness, greed and theft was suddenly changed and desired to make restitution.

Attempts to keep the Law of Moses never resulted in making anyone righteous before God:  Law was a mirror which exposed hearts full of sin and a straight line which revealed our natural crookedness.  The Law and the Prophets pointed to Jesus who became righteousness for all through faith in Him.  It is being born again by faith in Christ which causes our sins to be forgiven by the atonement provided in Jesus' shed blood and imputes His righteousness to us.  Paul explained in Romans 9:30-33, "What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; ³¹ but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. ³² Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. ³³ As it is written: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

Dishonesty is an abomination before a just God, and a just weight is His delight.  Let us not think God cares more about the precision of our measurements than the character of our hearts.  No man can commend himself to God as righteous because he has given every customer a fair share, for God looks upon the heart.  He sees our selfishness and greed, hears our mumuring, grumbling and gossip.  He knows how we use the proceeds of the sale and if He or others are in our thoughts concerning our expenditure.  The one who delights in God and fears Him will be guided righteously by God His redeemer.  When we have done wrong like Zacchaeus the LORD directs His own to repent and make amends.  Having been made righteous by grace through faith, we are to walk righteously and are enabled to do so by the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin, helps and comforts us always.