I’ve been studying in Micah and ran across this:

Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? (Micah 6:10-11)

That reminded me of other Scriptures that condemn “scant measures” or “wicked balances” or “deceitful weights” – I mostly remembered the Proverbs that discuss them (“a false balance is abomination to the Lord”) and other passages in Proverbs.  When I looked, I found that God’s people are commanded to have just weights, just balances, and just measures in Lev and Deut. There are multiple passages in Proverbs, as well as condemnation of this practice in Hosea, Amos, and Micah.

A wicked man would keep two sets of weights; when a farmer brought in corn, for example, he would use the heavier weights to get more corn that the weights actually said. When he sold the corn, he would use the lighter weights to sell less.  Given all of the times this practice is condemned, it must have been pretty common.  One can play the same game with a measure.

This practice is strongly condemned by God. Because it is important to Him, we should consider it also.

We don’t do business today with balances, weights, and measures – but the principle of honest dealings remain. The purpose of the false balances was to intentionally cheat people. How about the practice of exaggerating what a product will do so that we can make a sale? What about false packaging? If we sell a car, do we deceive the buyer by hiding things that we know are wrong with it? We like say claim “let the buyer beware”, but this is not a Biblical principle.

How about mechanics – do they falsify the time it took to work on a car? Are the costs of parts exaggerated?  All of this is deliberately deceptive to the buyer.

Let us strive to be honest in our dealings with others!