21: 2-3. All deeds are right in the sight of the doer,
but the LORD weighs the heart.
To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Ain’t that the truth! Our human capacity to deceive ourselves, let alone deceive others, seems limitless. Immediately after doing something questionable, we, or at least I, begin to rewrite the narrative, by which I mean go back over the event in my mind and find an excuse for my bad behavior. I try to convince myself: “It didn’t happen like that, it happened like this,” or “When I said that, it should have been clear that I meant this.” Soon, I fool myself into thinking, “I’m not such a bad fellow after all.”
Perhaps that is how the priest and the Levite justified themselves when they passed by the bloody victim lying in the road. On the other hand, the Good Samaritan refused to justify himself and did right instead. In another incident, Jesus warned the Pharisees, "If you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice', then you would not have condemned the guiltless" (Matthew 12: 7).
As you know, a conjunction such as ‘but’ turns the conversation around. The first phrase has to do with ‘deeds’, but we all know that the same deed can spring from different motives, and that our true intentions can be hidden while we pretend that we act with the best of intentions. For example, Jesus warned people about being ostentatious in their giving. Jesus implied that if it is your intention to impress others, then you get your reward when people see you and are impressed. Rather than show off, it would be better to give your gift in private, then “your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6: 1-4).
Solomon has spoken of this before. Proverbs 17: 3 says that you can test silver in the crucible and gold in the furnace; “but the LORD tests the heart.” Likewise, David praises God for judging the wicked, as “you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God.” However, David also praises God’s mercy; “God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day” (Psalm 7: 9-10).
The analogy of ‘weighing the heart’ is probably borrowed from the Egyptians. In their theology, the goddess of truth, justice, and harmony was Ma’at. She is often pictured weighing the heart of a newly deceased person on a scale against a feather, the ostrich feather which she wore in her hat. The job of the pharaoh, and thus everyone, was to do things that preserve harmony and thus ward off chaos. A light heart meant one could go on up to Aaru (heaven); but a heavy heart condemned the deceased to stay in the underworld.
Perhaps that relates to things Solomon says in this chapter.
21: 10, 13, 15. The souls of the wicked desire evil;
their neighbors find no mercy in their eyes.
If you close your ear to the cry of the poor,
you will cry out and not be heard.
When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
but dismay to evildoers.
You might ask yourself, ‘Why does doing justice bring joy to the righteous?’ And, conversely, ‘When justice is done, why does it bring dismay to evildoers?’ The Contemporary English Version puts it well: “When justice is done, good citizens are glad and crooks are terrified.” The Hebrew word translated ‘dismay’ means ‘ruin’, ‘destruction’, or ‘terror’, so their translation is appropriate.
The words translated as ‘justice’ and ‘righteousness’ show up multiple times in this chapter, thus indicating these are important concepts. As with the rest of the Bible, it is God himself who is concerned that justice be done and righteousness be accomplished. Remember, for example, Amos’ famous statement, which is God’s desire since Amos is a prophet (mouthpiece) of God: “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream” (Amos 5: 24). Put that on your bumper sticker.
Justice brings joy because the true believer wants what God wants. When justice is done, the victim is rescued and the oppressor is punished. So, when justice is done, the true believer is pleased, but the oppressor is terrified that the law actually works and the judgment is not in their favor.