Righteous Judgment

Deuteronomy 1:15-18

One of the hardest things to do as a leader is, consistently judge the causes of individuals effectively. Despite the outcomes of particular judgments, not everyone will be pleased with the leader’s decision. Fortunately, the children of God have been given a proven and effective method to always please God in their decisive matters.

Our lesson’s text identifies in verse 16, that leaders are to first hear the cause between those who have issues. It’s easy to pass wrong judgment on a case, when you’ve hardly listened to the entirety of the matter, from both parties. However, when a judge hears the whole matter, he’ll gain greater understanding of how to handle each case.

After hearing and gaining a better understanding of a matter, Moses commanded the leaders to judge every man righteously (including strangers), and show no partiality. Verse 17 reads, “Ye shall not  respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it to me, and I will hear it.” The children of God had swelled in number, and Moses assigned men to assist in handling certain matters, but in times when affairs were too hard to handle, Moses decided to deal with those personally.

In any situation that demands judgment, we must always approach them in the Spirit of love. As the body of Christ, we serve a God of peace, not confusion, so all matters involving professing believers should always be handled with care, consideration, and work toward a beneficial resolution.