Pray for Just Judges

Hey, hey, good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions this morning We're at Deuteronomy chapter 16 verses 18 through 20 order one today. Just one paragraph. Let's have some coffee. We'll pray We'll get into God's Word Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. Lord, we thank you that you are a God of justice and you are zealous and jealous for your own glory. Lord, we pray that you would please help us. Give us your Holy Spirit, Lord, that we might hear these words. that we might have minds to understand what you've written and hearts to believe it and live it in Jesus's name. Amen. All right, here we go.
Let's get into Deuteronomy 16 verses 18 through 20. You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice, you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which Jehovah your God is giving you. Well, we need to ask our three questions. A, what is this about? B, what's the best verse to summarize this? And C, what are we called to do? So, A, what's this about?
They are to appoint just judges. They are to appoint just judges. And how do just judges operate? With impartiality. This is why the depiction from many artists about the Lady Justice is she's got a blindfold and she's got a scale. Even weights, even measures, blind towards prejudice. It's not about whether somebody's got more power or more money. No, no, no, no, no. This is what this is getting at. all the tribes they're just supposed to be judges and officers and all your gates right in the gates this is where the people would enter in and out of the city it would have and typically in israel three chambered gates if this was at church and we were in the afternoon i would show you a picture of these three chambered gates and you would have people who would be the official sitting in those gates and that's where it would be the ancient courtroom right the elders the officers the judges would be there and so they would judge the people with just judgment And what would cause perversion or twist just judgment?
Well, that's what he gets into in verse 19, right? Partiality, right? If you're favorable towards one person or towards another person, rather than dealing with the facts of the case, you deal with the person rather than the principle, right? This is a dangerous precedent, a dangerous thing to go with politics or with persons rather than with principles. And if you're gonna go for power moves or you're trying to manipulate things No, no, he's saying you're gonna judge You're gonna judge by just principles not by partiality.
They're not to take bribes. Why? Because a bribe, even if you're wise, it's going to blind you. A bribe blinds the eye of the wise. What does a bribe also do? A bribe will twist the words of the righteous, even though a judge may be typically righteous. If somebody is able to entice them with a little bit of money, kind of grease the wheels a little bit, then all of a sudden their words might start to change. They might wordsmith differently.
This is the big thing in our country right now, whether you're on the right or on the left, whether you've got thoughts about Clarence Thomas or Sotomayor, right? This is the big thing. Hold on. Are they about principle or are they about justice? Or are they about their own ease of life? Financial estate getting money Right. This is we want to have justices this ought not to be I'm not making this political commentary here, right? This is biblical in Israel Justice could be twisted and perverted. Bribery could happen. And the Lord is saying that's not to be the case, right? If you're going to have officers and judges, they must base on principle. They must go to my law, look at my law, and with impartiality, judging on the principles and the facts of the case, they must judge in the gates, right? Why? Why?
It is because the Lord is the one who has allowed them to inherit the land. The Lord's given them this land. So they weren't like to be like all the other nations, they were to have just judges. The law was to be their boast. God was to be their hope. And so they were to have justice in the land.
So what what is this about? What is this about? It's about appointing just judges and officers in the gates. What's the best verse to summarize this? Well, that's gonna be a tough one. At the base level, the first part of 18, I have underlined there. You could underline all of 18, but I really think that verses 19 and 20, right? If you wanna give just a lesson on civics and what judgment should be and shouldn't be, this is such an important passage for anyone who sits in authority judging. I think this is important. last seat calling. What are we called to do? Well, I think these principles still stand in our society today. We should pray for just judges in church courts. We should pray that the Lord would give us just judges. in all of our nation's land.
We have a stratified court system for a reason. We have a series of appeals and appellate courts and we have a Supreme Court itself. And we ought to be praying that the Lord would give us just judges who are judging without impartiality and judging by biblical principles. Right. And so this is something that we can be pleading with the Lord for. It's something that we have to plead for every generation. And for any of us who happen to sit in places of judgment, we have to take seriously.
The Lord is much displeased with perversion of justice. He will not stand for showing partiality or taking bribes, playing politics. but rather we must judge according to as best as those who sit in seats of judgment can, what is the Lord's will, regardless of who's got the power or what that could lead to with popularity. We need judges who are principled, biblically principled, impartial, and above reproach.
Let's pray. Father, we plead with you that in the churches where the elders sit in judgment, Lord, we pray that you would give them biblical principle, that they would judge with wisdom, impartiality, according to your word. Lord, we pray for our land. where our judicial system has increasingly come under attack, Lord, and even at the highest courts of our land, where there have been charges of bribery. Lord, we pray that you would please let our judges, our officials, judge with impartiality, that they would be above reproach. that they would have principled, biblical decisions that would bring you glory, Lord, for we know that our land depends upon it. So, Father, we pray that you would please help us. Lord, help us to encourage those who rule over us and judge over us to be those who would do so with righteousness and with equity.
We pray these things in Jesus's name. Amen. Well, may the Lord bless you. Because at the end of the day, you have a just judge. His name is Jesus Christ. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. He will make all things right. And he judges without partiality. For indeed, we were all sinners, worthy of death. But he has given us life by his own blood. He paid the price for our sins. May you have hope in him. And I'll see you next time.