Deuteronomy 16:18-17:1318Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. 20That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 21Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee. 22Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth. 1Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavoredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God. 2If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 5Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. 6At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you. 8If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose; 9And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment: 10And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: 11According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. 12And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. 13And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously. (Deuteronomy 16:18‑17:13)
IN THE three great feasts earlier in the chapter the Lord had been guiding the religious life of the people when they got into the land. Now He makes provision for them in civil matters. "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, . . . and they shall judge the people with just judgment."
Thus there would be many judges and civil authorities to see that righteousness was maintained for it was Jehovah's land. The smaller matters the judges would settle, but the difficult cases were to be referred to the sanctuary in the place which the Lord should choose. The priest and the judge that were there should give judgment about it.
The judges sat in the gates of the cities, so they could see every one going out or coming in. Justice was to be shown to all, and there was to be no respect of persons. The judge was not to take a gift or a bribe.
But it is remarkable that the very next verses are a warning against idolatry. "Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth." God is a jealous God and in the maintenance of righteousness His claim comes first. If a man or woman had gone out and served other gods, or bowed down to an idol, or the sun, or the moon, when the thing was known, he or she was to be brought to the gate, and if proved guilty in the mouth of two or three witnesses, the guilty one was to be put to death. "So shalt thou put the evil away from among you."
Thus the civil authority was exercised in religious matters. So God ordained in. Israel but this does not carry through into Christianity. Before God there is no such a union of church and state now. The Lord's kingdom is "not of this world," and the Church His bride is called to be separate from the world and its politics all during the time of His rejection.
We are told to pray for kings and all that are in authority, "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty," but we are not to join with the world in its plans and activities. We are to shine for Christ as lights in the world's darkness, to carry the blessed message of His love to sinners everywhere, while waiting for His coming from heaven.
Messages of the Love of God 5/18/1975