When a human is oppressed or is murdered it matters to God.
It doesn’t matter what their status is in society. And the status of the murderer doesn’t matter, either. That’s because we are all created in the image of God, which gives our lives the highest value.
So, even if no one cares, God cares. That is a key concept of biblical justice. You’ll see the “cry out” theme get repeated often as you read through the scriptures.
Theme Scripture
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don’t know," he replied. "Am I my brother’s keeper?" The Lord said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground." Genesis 4:4-10
Justice Resources
As you meditate on and discuss the theme scripture, use the resources below to go even deeper in your study.
?Word
Ze’aqah – “cries out”
“Ze’aqah appears frequently throughout the Old Testament. One of its earliest usages occurs in the aftermath of the first murder: when Cain stands accused before God after killing Abel, the LORD says, “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10).
Later in the same book, God hears the outcry from those in Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:20), who the prophet Ezekiel later identifies as the neglected poor and needy (Ezekiel 16:49).
God also hears the cry for help go up to him from the enslaved Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 2:23). Even the psalmist turns to ze’aqah in order to articulate his cry of injustice against the wrongdoer; he also adds that “the LORD is near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18).”
Read more: “The Cry of the Oppressed“
?Song & ?️Film
Billie’s Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” is a modern example of the biblical principle of “Blood Cries Out”. The song’s lyrics uses trees full of fruit as a sickening metaphor for lynching.
The song is considered the start of the Civil Rights movement, and in 1999 TIme Magazine named Strange Fruit the “Song of the Century”.
NPR’s “Throughline” details the shocking history of “Strange Fruit”. The federal government ordered Billie Holiday to stop singing the song. They arrested her when she did not comply.
The song’s writer, Abel Meeropol originally wrote Strange Fruit as a poem. He was called in by New York lawmakers to testify if communists had paid him to write it.
In 2021 Hulu produced a film about Billie Holiday and “Strange Fruit”, titled “The United States vs Billie Holiday“.
?Book
“Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching” by Paula Giddings (Amazon)
Journalist Ida B. Wells was born into slavery during the Civil War and traveled across the country as a young adult, investigating lynchings.
At the time the lynchings were being misreported as mob violence against sexual predators. Wells exposed the truth – often the lynchings were of innocent Black men, and the murders were more brutal than the general public was aware of.
This biography inspired and challenged me. Wells’ faith led her to be bothered by the injustice of lynchings, and gave her the courage to report the truth. She heard the “blood cry out” and responded.
Listen to this interview with the author for a summary of the biography’s themes.
Read an overview of Ida B. Wells’s pioneering work, including her role in the creation of the NAACP.
?Podcast
Dr. Tim Mackie of the Bible Project teaches about how God feels about the taking of innocent life in two seperate podcasts.
In the “Blood Cries Out” episode from Exploring my Strange Bible, Dr. Mackie explores how Judas, the Pharisees, and Pilate handled the guilt of convicting an innocent man, Jesus to death.
In the similarly named “The Blood Cries Out” episode of the Bible Project podcast, Dr. Mackie details how John condemned Rome and future Rome-like empires for killing innocent people and basing their prosperity on slavery.
Last Week
In Week 1 of Justice Year we learned about the basis of biblical justice – all humans, male and female are made in the image of God.
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