Juror Number 8

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled, Juror No. 8, was written by Tim Gustafson. One man is dead, another man's life is at stake, says the judge somberly in the classic 1957 film, Twelve Angry Men. The evidence against the young suspect appears overwhelming. But during deliberations, it's the brokenness of the jury that's exposed. One of the twelve, Juror No.

8, votes not guilty. A heated debate ensues in which the lone juror is mocked as he points out discrepancies in the testimony. Emotions escalate and the jury member's own murderous and prejudicial tendencies come to light.

One by one, the jurors switch their votes to not guilty. When God gave his instructions to the new nation of Israel in Exodus chapter 23, he insisted on honest courage. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, God said, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.

Interestingly, the court was neither to show favoritism to a poor person nor to deny justice to your poor people. God, the righteous judge, desires our integrity in all our proceedings. In Twelve Angry Men, the second juror to vote not guilty said of the first, it's not easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others.

Yet that's what God requires. Juror No. 8 saw the real evidence as well as the humanity of the individual on trial. With the gentle guidance of his Holy Spirit, we too can stand for God's truth and speak for the powerless.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Exodus, chapter 23, verses one through nine. Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit. If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you falling down under its load, do not leave it there.

Be sure you help them with it. Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twist the words of the innocent. Do not oppress a foreigner.

You yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners because you were foreigners in Egypt. Let's pray. Father, when we face ridicule for standing for your truth, fill us with courage and help our response to be in love rather than anger. May the world see your power and strength as we trust you to speak wisdom through us. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Stephen Tabor and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.