Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes, that they may judge the people with just judgment.
Moses moves from the yearly feasts to the everyday running of the land: courts, judges, and honest verdicts in every town. Why does a book so full of worship turn to courts and judges — and what does God require of human justice?
A note on wording: the ESV says "in all your towns." Older translations say "in all your gates," and the writers below use that older wording.
Verse 18 does not round off the feasts. It opens a new subject, and one writer names its purpose:
Verse 18 begins a new subject. It shows the care taken, and the means used, to preserve the blessing and to carry out the judgments needed for it. The thought is still to maintain the people in relationship with God alone. They were to appoint judges and officers in their gates.
The gate was the working courtroom of an Israelite town. This verse gives that arrangement its legal footing:
Boaz went to the "gate." Everyone recognised it as an open court of justice. There the older, wise men of good reputation in the city looked into civil and criminal cases. Moses authorised this form of local government. He set it out in his final instructions to Israel on the borders of the land of Canaan.
The location did part of the work. Everyone passed the gate, so no one could settle a case in secret:
The judges sat in the gates of the cities, because everyone going out or coming in was to be under their eye. Justice was to be open-eyed and open to all. So it too would come under the eyes of all, as able to bear the light. There was to be no favouritism, no taking of a gift. Righteousness in Israel was to be the basis of everything, the condition of life and of inheritance.
"Righteous judgment" is stricter than kindness. Warm feeling toward a neighbour has no place at the bench:
Judges and officers were to abound. They were to be set up in all their gates. Watchful care guards against favouritism, and against anything that might turn aside a righteous sentence. The land which the LORD their God gave must have justice. Kindness and mercy between one person and another, and all the warm feelings among the people, must not interfere in such questions.
Why must the law warn a judge at all? The answer says something about man:
We learn what man's judgment is worth if he is left to himself. It cannot be trusted for a moment. Man is capable of twisting judgment, of showing favouritism, of taking a bribe, of valuing a person because of his position and wealth. We know he is capable of all this, because God tells him not to do it. If God commands man not to steal, it is plain that man has theft in his nature.
Laws about idols interrupt this section on courts. One writer argues the two subjects were never separate:
What touches God, what gives a false picture of Him, has the closest bearing on the daily life of His people. It reaches their households, and it reaches matters of public judgment. Suppose we are wrong in what we allow about God Himself. Suppose we tamper with what stains His glory, or allow a dishonour to His nature by admitting these false gods, or setting up creatures in the place of God Himself. Then all the lower part of life will feel at once the destructive and corrupting effects.
The demand for impartial judgment did not stay in Israel. It reappears where Paul instructs Timothy:
In the land Israel was to appoint judges and officers who would judge the people righteously. They are warned solemnly against any perversion of justice, including partiality for one against another, and against taking any bribe. Such things are so common in the world that Israel must be sternly warned against this. In the New Testament Timothy is given a serious charge by Paul, "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality."
One part of the arrangement does not carry over. In Israel the courts enforced God's claim by the sword:
Church and state were here really one, and religious penalties were also civil ones. Of course, that is no justification for the same course today, when conditions are completely different. The kingdom of God is now "not of this world." Christ's people do not reign; they are patient sufferers. Their weapons are spiritual, not physical, and they are to show grace while God in His grace bears with men.
- Given — The courts belong to the land God gives. Righteousness is the condition of living in it and inheriting it.
- Gates — Judges sat where everyone entered and left, so justice was open-eyed and could bear the light.
- Guarded — No twisting of verdicts, no favouritism, no bribe. Even warm feeling for a neighbour must not bend a judgment.
- Glory — Laws about idols sit here on purpose. What dishonours God corrupts home life and public justice alike.
- Grace — Fair judgment still binds believers. The sword does not: Christ's people now suffer patiently, with spiritual weapons.
Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a bribe; for the bribe blindeth the eyes of the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
This command comes right after the order to appoint judges in every town of the land. It tells a judge what he must refuse to do. The reason it gives reaches far past the courtroom, into any heart that can be bought.
Judges sat at the town gate, the busiest spot in any city. One writer notes that the location itself was part of the design.
The judges sat in the gates of the cities, because everyone going out or coming in was to be under their eye. Justice was to be open-eyed and toward all. So it would come under the eyes of all, able to bear the light. There was to be no respect of persons, no taking of a gift. Righteousness in Israel was to be the basis of everything, the condition of life and of inheritance.
The verse bans three things: twisting a case, favouring a face, and taking money. One writer notes that the same charge carries into the New Testament, where Paul lays it on Timothy.
They receive a solemn warning against any perversion of justice. That includes partiality for one against another, and taking any bribe. Such things are so common in the world that Israel needs this stern warning. In the New Testament Paul gives Timothy a serious charge: "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality" (1 Tim. 5:21). Among believers such a warning should hardly be necessary, but it is.
We usually picture partiality as favouring the powerful. One writer shows that kindness can bend a verdict too.
Judges and officers were to abound. They were to be appointed in all their gates. Watchful care guards against respect of persons and against anything likely to turn aside the sentence of righteousness. The land which the Lord their God gave must have justice. Loving-kindness and mercy between one person and another, and all warm affections among the people, must not interfere in such questions.
The reason the verse gives is that a gift blinds even wise eyes. One writer explains what Samuel understood about gifts.
Samuel well knew the blinding power of presents, even when they are not given directly to corrupt the court. He knew how easily judges may be influenced, almost without noticing it themselves, by gifts, however small, from the hands of those in the case.
One writer pictures two very different men before the same judge.
They were not to twist judgment, but to let it flow in its own straight and even channel, regardless of persons. The poor man in shabby clothing was to have the same impartial justice as the man with a gold ring and fine clothes. Partiality and prejudice were not to warp the decision of the judgment seat, and bribery was not to stain the robe of justice.
The same writer draws an uncomfortable conclusion from the command itself.
On the other hand, we learn what man's judgment is worth if he is left to himself. It cannot be trusted for a moment. Man is capable of twisting judgment, of respecting persons, and of taking a gift. He is capable of valuing someone because of his position and wealth. That he is capable of all this is clear from the command not to do it. We must always remember this. If God commands man not to steal, it is plain that man has theft in his nature.
Most readers will never sit as a judge. A writer on the same command in Exodus says the danger still applies, in a quieter form.
This verse forbids all forms of bribery, which is an appeal to the feelings of the one who is bribed. Where bribery is widespread, justice is almost unknown. Another translation reads, "The bribe blinds those whose eyes are open." Let us read this verse in its spirit as well as its letter. Self-interest can blind the eyes of a sincere Christian who would never for a moment think of accepting a bribe.
- Open — Judges sat in the gate, in full view of everyone coming and going. Justice could bear the light.
- Impartial — The same verdict for shabby clothing and for a gold ring. Wealth, prejudice, even affection may not turn aside the sentence.
- Blinding — A gift works on the feelings, and small gifts do it almost without the receiver noticing.
- Revealing — That the command had to be given proves the capacity is in us; the law is a mirror of what the heart can do.
- Wider — Read in its spirit, the warning reaches past the judge who takes cash. Self-interest can close the eyes of a sincere believer too.
Perfect justice shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and possess the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
As Israel prepares to enter the land, Moses turns from feasts and worship to the courts — judges in every town, no bribes, no twisted verdicts. This verse sums up that section: a doubled command to follow justice, tied to a promise of life in the land God is giving.
Israel's judges sat where everyone could see them. One writer explains why that mattered, and how the nation's hold on the land depended on it.
The judges sat in the gates of the cities, because everyone going out or coming in was to be under their eye. Justice was to be open-eyed and toward all, so it would come under the eyes of all, able to bear the light. There was to be no respect of persons, no taking of a gift. Righteousness in Israel was to be the basis of everything, the condition of life and of inheritance.
Courts were not an afterthought to Israel's religion. They were the political side of the same calling.
In its religious worship the nation of Israel was to show itself to be the holy nation of Jehovah. It was to do the same in its political life. This thought links the laws already given with those that follow. Civil order is what every nation and state must have if it is to be stable and prosper. It rests on a careful upholding of what is right, through a well-ordered court system and an impartial administration of justice.
The life promised here is life on earth, in one particular place.
"That you may live" does not mean the possession of eternal life, but a long earthly life in the promised land. See chapters 5:33; 6:2; 8:1; 11:21; 16:20; 25:15; 30:6, 16; 32:47.
A ban tells you something about the person who receives it. One commentator reads the warnings about twisted verdicts and bribes as a mirror.
On the other hand, these commands show us what man's judgement is worth if he is left to himself. We cannot trust it for a moment. Man is capable of twisting justice, of showing favouritism, of taking a bribe, of valuing a person because of his position and wealth. He is told not to do these things, and that alone shows he can do them all. We must always remember this. If God commands man not to steal, it is plain that man has theft in his nature.
Two things can pull a verdict off course. The first is money.
But how morally lovely, how pure, how refined and elevated were the divine rules for Israel! They were not to twist judgement, but to let it flow in its own straight and even channel, quite apart from persons. The poor man in shabby clothing was to have the same impartial justice as the man with a gold ring and fine clothes. No favouritism or prejudice was to warp the court's decision, and no bribe was to stain the robe of justice.
The second is warmer and harder to refuse: affection between neighbours.
The land Jehovah their God gave them must have justice. Loving-kindness and mercy between one person and another, and all the warm feelings among the people, must not interfere in such questions.
Israel's judges are gone, but the temptation is not.
The law solemnly warns them against any perversion of justice, including favouring one person over another, and against taking any bribe (v.19). Such things are so common in the world that Israel needed this stern warning. In the New Testament Paul gives Timothy a serious charge: "I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality" (1 Tim. 5:21). Among believers such a warning should hardly be necessary, but it is.
The earth still groans under oppression. One commentator looks ahead to the king who will rule by these laws.
What a day it will be for this oppressed and groaning earth, when the admirable laws recorded in the inspired pages of the Pentateuch govern it! Then a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will decree justice. "Give the king your judgements, O God, and your righteousness to the king's son. He shall judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with judgement" — no twisting, no bribery, no partial judgements then.
- Justice public. Judges sat in the gates, so every verdict could bear the light. Righteousness was the basis of everything, and the condition for holding the land.
- Justice promised. The life offered is not eternal life but long life in the land God was giving.
- Justice exposed. The very ban on bribes and favouritism proves what the human heart can do; if God forbids it, it is in us.
- Justice unbought. Neither a rich man's gold ring nor warm feelings between neighbours may bend a verdict.
- Justice crowned. The earth groans now, but a king is coming who will judge the poor with righteousness — no twisting, no bribery.