JUSTICE WHILE RACING TIME
In 1943, Friedrich Karl Berger enlisted in the German military and became a guard in the Neuengamme concentration camp complex near Meppen, Germany. After the war, Berger emigrated to Canada and then in 1959 moved to the United States. He eventually settled in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where he laid low as he raised his children and grew old. But this year, with Berger now 94, the U.S. Department of Justice finally caught up to him, and an immigration judge has ordered him to be returned to Germany for potential prosecution. The U.S. government is determined to do justice for the victims of the Holocaust while there is still time to do so.
JUSTICE WHILE FACING DEFEAT
Time was running out for Judah. God’s justice and judgment were catching up with the people and their leaders for their long-standing idol worship and their refusal to listen to God’s prophets such as Jeremiah. Even on the verge of destruction by the hands of the Babylonians, there was still time for the leaders of Judah to act. They could administer justice and stand for the oppressed in accordance with the teaching of God’s prophets.
Questions
- When have you seen time run out on the chance to bring earthly justice to someone?
- Under what conditions would you consider pursuing justice on a matter that others would rather forget?
- What purpose might God have had for demanding the leaders continue to administer justice even after declaring that the city was about to fall?
