Seeking Covenantal Justice, Reading Jonah and Malachi with African Christians

Justice, whether left in the spheres of humans or sought after from the courts of the divine, is a feature of society that is always on the balance. When justice is sought after within the spheres of a covenant like that of the Old Testament that speaks of YHWH as a God of justice, meting out justice consistently even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate him, and showing loving-kindness to those who love him and keep his commands (Exod. 20:5–6), it becomes a breach of that covenant from the perspective of the vassal when justice is not met out as stipulated in the covenant treaty. This concern over the breach of the covenant treaty on covenantal justice is brought to bear in the minor prophetic books—Jonah and Malachi. Both Jonah and Malachi wrestle with the outworking of the justice of God that was not according to the covenant stipulation of deed-consequences. Like the returnees from Babylonian exile, African Christians wrestle with the outworking of the justice of God upon those who confidently bask at wrongdoing and how the outworking of justice within the framework of deed-consequences as spoken of in scripture seems so etched in the past that it has no relevance to the present-day happenings of the African Christian. In light of the study of justice from Jonah and Malachi, which reflect situations similar to our African setting, there is a broader view of biblical justice, which has value for African Christians.