Walk Blameless Under His Eye

The Lord who appeared to Abraham, who judges proud nations, and who sends out the twelve is one and the same. He does not call men into a soft religion, but into covenant faithfulness, plain speech, mercy toward the weak, and courage under threat. To Abraham He said, as Clement writes, “This was He who appeared to Abraham, and said to him, I am your God, be accepted before Me; Genesis 17:1-2 and in a way most befitting an instructor, forms him into a faithful child, saying, And be blameless; and I will make My covenant between Me and you, and your seed.” The covenant is gift, yet it is not without a mark. God’s people must bear in the body and in conduct the sign that they belong to Him.

So Isaiah’s woe falls not only on kings and empires, but on any household, shop, or magistrate that profits by bending justice against the poor. As Tertullian says, “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees; for in their decrees they decree wickedness, turning aside the needy from judgment.” The Lord sees how widows, laborers, children, and strangers are treated; proud power is only an axe in His hand, and when it boasts, He casts it down.

Then Christ sends His apostles with no promise of ease: heal the sick, drive out evil, speak peace, take no greed with you, fear God more than men, confess Christ before rulers, and endure hatred to the end. This is the path of the covenant people: marked off from the world, doing justice, carrying the gospel without bargaining, and accepting loss rather than denying the Lord.