And he said to the judges, Take heed what ye do; for ye judge not for man, but for Jehovah, who will be with you in the matter of judgment.
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, has just come home from a battle he should never have joined. Instead of hiding away, he travels his kingdom and appoints judges in every fortified city. His first words to them are not about legal procedure but about who the courtroom really belongs to.
The warning carries weight because of what the king had just lived through. He had allied himself with Ahab, king of Israel, and came home under God's rebuke. One writer sees the charge as the fruit of that rebuke:
The one who can say "Take heed what you do" with the most force is the man who has felt in himself the terrible fruit of a careless spirit. Peter had denied the Holy One himself. Once he was restored, he was the man God chose to charge others with the same sin, and to offer them the precious blood that had cleansed his own conscience from that guilt. In the same way the restored Jehoshaphat came from the battle of Ramoth-gilead and said solemnly to his brothers, "Take heed what you do." The man who had just escaped the trap could best say what it was and how to avoid it.
The heart of the verse is a change of audience. A judge may look like a public official serving the people. In fact he is acting for God. It matters that this king is the one saying it:
He had himself walked so sadly in the ways of man. Now he binds the judges to judge for Jehovah, not for man — proof that God's rebuke had reached his conscience. God had said to him, "Therefore is wrath upon you." Now he tells the judges, "Let the terror of Jehovah be upon you!" — because he had felt it himself.
Jesus Himself pointed back to a psalm about the judges of Israel when He spoke of those "to whom the word of God came." The office stands for God, and that is what makes it so serious:
He is there for judgment among the "gods," a term which the Lord defines for us from this very psalm (v. 6) as "those to whom the word of God came" (John 10:35) — that is, who were commissioned to represent Him — the judges of Israel. So they were identified with the One they represented. They carried the most solemn responsibility to show His character too, both His righteousness and His love to men.
The next verse fills out what judging for God looks like: no injustice, no partiality, no taking of bribes. Commentators notice that Jehoshaphat names the exact fault he had fallen into himself:
Now his snare seems to have been the gift of Ahab: "Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and for the people with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead." Ahab's gift warmed his heart, and Ahab's arguments swayed him all the more easily... We can never weigh the world's arguments and suggestions with a calm, spiritual mind while we are breathing its air or accepting its compliments.
God's own character then sets the standard for the judge:
If "there is no iniquity with Jehovah, nor respect of persons," can there be such with us?
The last clause is both comfort and warning: the Judge is in the room. Writers apply it to any place where God's people must weigh a matter and decide:
Problems, cases, questions, developments and things like that will come up and need judging. We have to find a spiritual verdict. Here the charge given to the judges in Israel can help us. The judgment is "not for man, but for the Lord." The Lord's honour and glory, His word and His principles are what must guide us in our decisions. If we consider all things from this point of view, we will desire to make sure that He "is with us in the judgment."
- Restored: the charge comes from a king just rebuked for joining himself to Ahab. The man who escaped the trap can best warn others.
- Represented: a judge does not act for the people who appointed him. He stands in God's place, and must show both His righteousness and His love to men.
- Reflected: there is no injustice, partiality, or bribe-taking with God. None of it may show in those who act for Him.
- Refused: Ahab's lavish hospitality had softened Jehoshaphat. Gifts blunt judgment, so a judge must stay free of anything that warms him toward one side.
- Regarded: He is with you in giving judgment. His honour, His word and His principles decide the case, and He hears every verdict.
And now, let the terror of Jehovah be upon you; be careful what ye do, for there is no iniquity with Jehovah, nor respect of persons, nor taking of presents.
Jehoshaphat had just come home alive from a battle he should never have joined, fought as Ahab's ally. God's reproof reached his conscience, and his next move was to set up judges across Judah — with a charge built on what God Himself is like.
The weight of this warning comes from who gives it. The man telling others to be careful had just escaped disaster himself.
In 2 Chronicles 18 we saw Jehoshaphat surrounded by the Syrian captains. Now we find him going out through the whole land to teach his brothers the fear of the Lord. We can only exclaim, "What has God done!" But he was just the man for such a work. The man who has felt in himself the terrible fruits of a careless spirit is the one who can say with most effect, "Take heed what you do." ... The restored Jehoshaphat came from the battle of Ramoth-gilead to sound in the ears of his brothers, with solemn emphasis, "Take heed what you do." He had just escaped from the snare, so he could best tell what it was, and how to avoid it.
The reason given for the judges' care is a statement about God, not about law codes. Older translations put its words as "the terror of Jehovah" and "respect of persons" — that is, favouritism. One writer shows how the charge echoes what the king had just lived through.
He who had so sadly walked in the ways of man (2 Chron. 18:3) now binds the judges to judge for Jehovah, not for man. This proves that God's reproof had reached his conscience. God had said to him, "Therefore wrath is upon you." Now he says to the judges, "Let the terror of Jehovah be upon you!" — because he himself had felt it.
The verse denies three things in God: injustice, partiality, and bribe-taking. The last of these had been Jehoshaphat's own downfall.
And notice the special feature in the Lord's character that caught Jehoshaphat's attention: "There is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts." Now his snare seems to have been the gift of Ahab: "Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance ... and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead." He let Ahab's gift warm his heart. That is why Ahab's arguments swayed him so easily. ... We can never weigh the world's arguments and suggestions with spiritual coolness while we are breathing its atmosphere, or accepting its compliments.
A gift does its work quietly. One writer explains why even a small present is enough to bend a judge.
He well knew the blinding power of presents, even when they are not given to corrupt the court on purpose. Judges are easily influenced, almost without noticing it, by gifts, however small, that come from the hands of those bringing the case.
Others point out that this is not an ancient problem only. Judges have always been tempted this way, and the standard held before them has never changed.
They were to be thoroughly impartial, refusing bribes (vv. 6-7). All history has shown the obnoxious tendency of judges to stoop to taking bribes to pervert justice.
If the verse describes God, it also measures everyone who claims to represent Him. One writer presses it as a personal question rather than a piece of information.
Often we do not need to say in words that we have learned our lesson from God. Deeds show our repentance more powerfully than words do. If "there is no iniquity with Jehovah, nor respect of persons," can there be such with us?
God shows no partiality in a courtroom. He shows none in the way He speaks to each person either.
Without respect of persons, God tells you that you are a sinner, and without respect of persons that His grace is toward you.
- Failure — Jehoshaphat's fall began with Ahab's gift. A warmed heart made a bad argument sound reasonable.
- Restoration — the man who had just escaped the snare was the best one to warn others. His repentance showed in what he did, not in what he said.
- Standard — the judges' measure was God's own character: no injustice, no favourites, no bribes.
- Danger — a gift blinds, often without the taker noticing. Even a small one bends a judge.
- Reach — God has no favourites with anyone. He tells every person alike that they are a sinner, and that His grace is toward them.