Fairness/equity: meshar, masculine noun (Strong’s 4339)
Root: מֵישָׁר from root יָשַׁר
Sounds like: mey-shar
Fairness & equity, a definition
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED):
Fairness is honesty, impartiality, equitableness, justice.
Equity is the quality of being equal or fair.
With those definitions in mind, what does fairness look like in the Hebrew Bible?
It is made clear that God delights in fairness. In David’s great prayer, found in 1 Chronicles, he says..
1 Chronicles 29:17a
[David:] “…I know, my God, that You put the heart to the test and delight in fairness [u-mesharim וּמֵישָׁרִ֖ים].”
Fairness was celebrated and highlighted as an honourable trait:
Proverbs 23:15-16
My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart also will be glad, and my innermost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right fairness [mesharim מֵישָׁרִֽים]
It’s a proud moment for any parent when they see their children expressing fairness in the playground, or standing up for their bullied friends with their words. Every good parent takes the time to teach fairness to their children. It’s part of growing up and it’s a big part of what being human means. We were created to be fair and just and righteous.
YHWH, Please be Fair!
It’s a human trait to want to be treated fairly so in the stories of the Bible, when things weren’t going well, the people prayed for YHWH to have mercy and show them fairness in their lives.
Psalm 17:1-5
[David to YHWH:] Hear a just cause, YHWH, give Your attention to my cry; listen to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips.
Let my judgment come forth from Your presence; let Your eyes look with integrity/fairness [מֵישָׁרִֽים].
You have put my heart to the test; You have visited me by night; You have sifted me and You find nothing; my intent is that my mouth will not offend.
As for the works of mankind, by the word of Your lips I have kept from the ways of the violent. My steps have held to Your paths. My feet have not slipped.
In other words, says David, I have been very good, so please treat me fairly and let me have a good life.
It’s an understandable prayer, a hopeful prayer, but life isn’t always fair. If the stories of the Bible have taught us anything, it’s that the struggles of life are for everyone and no one is exempt, even those who consistently exemplify remarkably good behaviour. Good people struggle. The whole book of Job makes that very clear. Paul, who devoted his whole faithful life to the ministry of the Gospel, suffered beatings, shipwrecks, and imprisonment. It certainly did not seem very fair. Injustice and suffering happen to all of us. Yeshua proved that the very best of humanity can suffer the very worst, when handed over to unfair humans.
Fairness, Justice, Righteousness
Where fairness really shines is in the hands of YHWH. He stands as the judge of absolute fairness:
Psalm 9:7-10
[David:] But YHWH sits as King forever; He has established His throne for judgment, and He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples fairly [b-mesharim בְּמֵישָׁרִֽים ].
YHWH will also be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble; and those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, YHWH, have not abandoned those who seek You.
Fairness, justice and righteousness are frequently bonded together in scripture, so to understand fairness, we must consider justice and righteousness.
In a nutshell, justice is morally consistent, balanced, and impartial, and gives equal rights to all humans. This makes justice and fairness perfect partners. You cannot stand for justice if there is an unfair advantage to one side or the other.
Righteousness is a bit harder to nail down. Righteousness has nothing to do with being “right” at all costs, particularly at the expense of others. This would be UN-fair. Instead, righteousness is about having “right-relationship” with one another. That means having a right-relationship with fellow humans of all branches and divisions, and having right-relationship with YHWH your Creator. This makes righteousness and fairness perfect partners. You cannot be righteous without being fair and equitable to everyone, even those you disagree with.
Psalm 96:10 (see also Psalm 98:7-9)
Say among the nations, “YHWH reigns; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with fairness [b-mesharim בְּמֵישָׁרִֽים].”
May the heavens be joyful, and may the earth rejoice; may the sea roar, and all it contains; may the field be jubilant, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before YHWH, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness.
YHWH created humans in His image so that we can represent what God looks like to the earth. So what does YHWH look like?
Psalm 99:4-5
The strength of the King loves justice; You have established order equity/fairness [mesharim מֵישָׁרִ֑ים]; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Exalt YHWH our God and worship at His footstool; holy is He.
YHWH loves justice, and because He loves it, He has established what fairness looks like. With fairness established, He can execute justice and righteousnes with His merciful hand. YHWH had a feeling, He made a plan based on that feeling of love, and He put the plan into action. YHWH is fair in word and deed. Now it’s up to us to replicate fairness to our fellow human beings.
As YHWH’s image bearers we are called to be fair, just and righteous, but we must learn how to be those things.
The beginning of Proverbs outlines the importance of learning. To understand where God is coming from we should…
Proverbs 1:3
…receive instruction in wise behaviour, righteousness, justice, and integrity fairness [u-mesharim וּמֵישָׁרִֽים]…
Proverbs 2:6-10
For YHWH gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He watches over the way of His godly ones.
Then you will discern righteousness, justice, and integrity/fairness [u-mesharim וּ֝מֵישָׁרִ֗ים], and every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be delightful to your soul.
Do these humans judge fairly?
YHWH is the God of all Fairness and followers of God were made to imitate His merciful heart. David was frequently frustrated with those who were not reflecting God’s character:
Psalm 58:1-2
[David:] Do you indeed speak righteousness, you gods? Do you judge fairly [mesharim מֵישָׁרִ֥ים], you sons of mankind? No, in heart you practice injustice; on earth you clear a way for the violence of your hands.
Injustice and violence are not fair. They are abuses of power. In one of Asaph’s psalms, YHWH stood as the fair judge over the “unsteady” (and unfair) humans:
Psalm 75:2-3
[YHWH:] “When I select an appointed time, it is I who judge fairly [mesharim מֵישָׁרִ֥ים]. The earth and all who inhabit it are unsteady; it is I who have firmly set its pillars.” Selah
We, unsteady humans, were not created to judge each other. YHWH is the only solid fair-minded judge. We just need to play fair and let God be the judge.
Smooth and Fair
Fairness projects a feeling of a smooth and easy ride. When things are fair, life is a little bit smoother. In Hebrew meshar works as a homonym meaning both fairness and smoothness:
Proverbs 23:31-32
Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly [b-mesharim בְּמֵישָׁרִֽים]; in the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper.
Good wine goes down smoothly and fairly. You could say it’s fairly good, but beware of it, it can bite back!
Translators have chosen to translate mesharim in Isaiah 26 as “smooth”, but I suspect fairness is the better translation:
Isaiah 26:4-7
“Trust in YHWH forever, for in Yah YHWH, we have an everlasting Rock. For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
The foot will trample it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the helpless.”
The way of the righteous is smooth fairness [mesharim מֵֽישָׁרִ֑ים]; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
Is “smooth” the right translation here? Perhaps the way of the righteous is fairness makes more sense. If you are going to live in right-relationship with one another, you must be fair. Equity is paramount for a relationship to be sound and good and Godly:
Isaiah 33:13-16
“You who are far away, hear what I have done; and you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
Sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”
[Who? This is who…] “One who walks righteously and speaks fairly [mesharim מֵֽישָׁרִ֑ים], one who rejects unjust gain and shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; one who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking at evil; he will dwell on the heights, his refuge will be the impregnable rock; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure.”
These prophetic words of Isaiah are relevant for us today. Unjust gain, bribery, being drawn to the horrors of bloodshed and being fascinated by evil… these are things that will drag you down. These are things that may draw you away from fairness, justice and righteousness.
Is Fairness Equalness?
We tend to think of fairness in kindergarten terms. If someone has something that we want, we should equally have it. But God’s fairness isn’t really talking about financial equality. Sadly, until God’s Kingdom comes, there will always be the rich and there will the poor. That seems unfair, but that is life in this world. God’s fairness addresses something bigger.
Let’s consider Yeshua’s parable about what the Kingdom of God looks like:
Matthew 20:1-16
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the labourers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and to those he said, ‘You go into the vineyard also, and whatever is right [fair], I will give you.’ And so they went.
Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day long?’
They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’
Now when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the labourers and pay them their wages, starting with the last group to the first.’
When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. And so when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius.
When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day’s work and the scorching heat.’
But he answered and said to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go; but I want to give to this last person the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’
So the last shall be first, and the first, last.”
The Kingdom of God doesn’t play by our financial rules. It’s not about money. We have unions that look after those kinds of things for us. And it’s good and right that we have equal pay for equal people. But money is not of importance in the Kingdom of God. Our world is a slave to riches, in God’s kingdom money means nothing. Fairness, in God’s eyes, is about being treated with equal kindness, compassion, mercy. When we treat each other in such a way we are being righteous. It’s about relationships, not finances.
The landowner was being generous. Everyone got the same, regardless of the amount of work. A follower of YHWH who spends their entire time on earth worshipping God will be equally treated to the person who followed YHWH only on the last day of their life. God is just, and fair, and loving to everyone who follows Him. There will be no hierarchy in the Kingdom of God because life in the Kingdom isn’t about merit or the attainment of prestige or riches. It’s about love, freedom, and kindness… living well in relationship to one another.
Play Fair!
YHWH’s declaration in Isaiah 45 brings it all home:
Isaiah 45:18-22
For this is what YHWH says, He who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it as a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited):
“I am YHWH, and there is no one else. I have not spoken in secret, in some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a wasteland’.
I, YHWH, speak righteousness, declaring things that are right fairness [mesharim מֵישָׁרִֽים]. Gather yourselves and come; come together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge, who carry around their wooden idol and pray to a god who cannot save. Declare and present your case; indeed, let them consult together.
Who has announced this long ago? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, YHWH? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Saviour; there is none except Me.
“Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”
YHWH, the Creator of heaven and earth, openly declared that righteousness and fairness were very important to Him, and they should be applied to every soul. And if those souls turn to YHWH, salvation is theirs for the taking. No division, no “me but not them”… all who turn to YHWH will be saved. It’s not up to us to judge. We just need to treat people with fairness even if we, in turn, are treated unfairly. There’s no pay-back in fairness. Life may not be fair, but God calls us to play fair, no matter the circumstances!
Next week: Learning Exodus 33:18
Hebrew Word Lessons 