Speaking
of God and his dealings with mankind, Proverbs 16:11 says:
“The just indicator and scales belong to Jehovah; all the stone weights of the
bag are his work.” (Other
versions) Yes, both the scales and marker (the "just indicator") and every stone in God's bag is just, fair and right in his dealings with mankind. Likewise, we ought to have a “complete stone-weight” in our
dealings with others. (Proverbs 11:1. Other versions)
Understanding
what this meant was common to adults back when Proverbs was written. But today,
most people only encounter scales in grocery stores and hospitals. In
stores, they are either electronic (built into most register scanners) or in bulk
and produce departments. Essentially, the stones were probably the predecessors
of weights
we use on some scales. I don’t know what form of checks-and-balances were used
to verify a valid stone-weight back then. Perhaps there was one stone held as the
“standard” and merchants brought their stones to try to match against that
standard as close as possible. (There were other means of
deceptive weighing besides using incorrectly weighted stones. This article
merely considers stones because of the scriptural reference.)
Overall,
the main concept being conveyed is fairness in our dealings with others.
Impartiality and truthfulness are necessary in our treatment of others in order
to receive God’s approval.
