“Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Genesis 4:9
The Torah passage שֹׁפְטִים Shoftim (“judges,” Deut. 16:18-21:9) answers Cain’s question unequivocally “yes.” Those in leadership are required to accept ownership and responsibility for the lives of their fellow man, even for an unknown person who has been murdered by an unknown party. The horror of a crime against a fellow human being should never be ignored; the violent death of a person should be acknowledged and mourned.
Is our real “king” the head of state — or head of city — who is set up to lead us, or God above? In this reading, we learn that we are to respect human authority but also respect human life. We are told specifically not to cause children to pass through the fire. We are also commanded to own up to our negligence and to bring justice when someone intentionally kills another person.
In the media, negligence in printing or broadcasting something that was not sufficiently vetted or fact-checked can be embarrassing, but negligence in the medical field can be deadly. We must have the integrity to own up to our mistakes regardless.
This ritual of breaking a heifer’s neck when an unknown murder victim is discovered far outside the city limits (Dt 21:1-9) is not just for show. It’s a lesson that we should never be apathetic when a fellow human being dies. The point is to acknowledge that even an unknown person’s death should be mourned by others. It should not be dismissed with a shrug.
Surpassing righteousness
There is a very important Hebrew word we come across with some frequency in Shoftim: צְדָקָה tzedaqah, often translated as “charity” or used in reference to monetary offerings made to a congregation or to the poor. However, the word is more accurately translated as “justice” or “righteousness.”1 Another lexicon gives more shades of meaning: “loyalty to the community, in conduct, honesty,”“justice” of Heaven and judges, Elohim’s loyalty to the community, “justness … community loyalty,” “entitlement, just cause,” “legal right” (vindication from Yah, Isa. 54:17).2
The noun form of tzedaqah is צַדִּיק tzaddiq, which means “just, lawful, righteous.” This word can either refer to a righteous person or a thing.3 The LXX (Septuagint) translates it 189 times as δίκαιος dikaios.4
The Greek word dikaios is more than just rule-keeping.
“Being dı́kaios, just, means that one conforms in his actions to his constitutionally just character. The rules are self-imposed. When this absolute justice is applied to man, it is stated that there is no man who, in his behavior, can fully meet the expectations of God in his life (Rom. 3:10). Dı́kaios may also apply to the person who establishes his own rules of life. Such were the Pharisees whom the Lord exposed as righteous in their own eyes (Matt. 9:13; 23:28; Luke 18:9). Having set up and kept, or pretended to keep, certain standards, they called themselves righteous or just in the sight of God. Most of these rules and regulations, however, were not those of inner holiness and conformity to God, but mere performance of external ceremonial ordinances (Rom. 10:3).”5
“For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10:3 NAS95)
God’s righteousness as revealed in the Torah is the foundation of the law. Those who are appointed as judges or leaders need to know the law, follow it, and apply it equally. However, they should also acknowledge that, just as criminals are imperfect and unrighteous, so are they.
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” [Genesis 15:6]. (Romans 4:1-3 NAS95)
Abraham was “reckoned as righteous” by God all the way back when he was still living in his hometown of Ur. Ur of the Chaldeans was a very sophisticated city within a very sophisticated culture, but God called him away from there. Abraham didn’t know where God was calling him, but because he knew God, he was willing to trust Him and go wherever God wanted him to go.
As we read Abraham’s story in Genesis, we see how his trust in God grew in small steps as well as in leaps and bounds. The people of Mesopotamia, where Abraham grew up, had all sorts of ideas of who God was and how to worship Him. But Abraham chose to follow the God of his forefather Noach, rather than the imaginations and delusions he had been taught in Mesopotamia.
“You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
“Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, that you may live and possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 16:18-20 NAS95)
Righteous judgment is everyone’s job
This Torah portion is not for the lawyer class or those who study law in buildings with lofty marble columns. It’s for everyone, because we all have to make judgments from time to time, and we are all responsible for ensuring that justice is done. Our judgments should be righteous.
Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) said that when we judge, we should judge righteously. He got that directly from the Torah. Yeshua was talking to common people, not to a law school class. This is basic instruction for everyone.
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2 NAS95)
Yeshua also said that in the way we judge, we will be judged, and the measure we use to judge others will be used against us. Our judgments should be infused with humility, charity, mercy, and kindness. Our judgments should also not “recognize faces,” meaning they should be impartial.
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” (John 7:24 NAS95)
Boundary minders: ‘As we forgive our debtors’
We should not allow any conflicts of interest to cloud our judgment. If you have a conflict of interest in a matter, you should recuse yourself and refer it to someone else to avoid the appearance of evil. Conflicts of interest can work in such a way that you may be unduly favorable to one party or unduly unfavorable. Either scenario should be avoided at all costs, so matters can be decided with integrity. Followers of Messiah Yeshua must use judgment (i.e., discernment), but not be judgmental (i.e., condemnatory). Yeshua said that true citizens of Yisrael must be able to judge and to use the Law as intended.
Every Shabbat, we pray and express gratitude that Yeshua has removed our sins, transgressions, and iniquities. How would we feel if the Judge of Heaven and Earth remembered our sins, transgressions, and iniquities instead of forgetting them? We should fear such a possibility. When God chooses to forget our sins for Yeshua’s sake, we should extend that mercy to others.
If we find ourselves in a situation where someone has a grievance against us, we should work for peace as far as possible. However, if they refuse to reconcile, we can let it go and let God handle the situation. We can leave the vengeance to God.
“You shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the LORD your God gives you to possess.” (Deuteronomy 19:14 NAS95)
The verse about not moving property boundary markers, inserted in the middle of Shoftim, may seem like a non sequitur in the overall context of the reading. However, it is relevant because we should ensure that boundaries — both physical and relational — are respected, and we should not push others’ boundaries.
This becomes particularly contentious in probate and inheritance cases. Often, arguments over who should get great-grandma’s antique chair have nothing to do with the chair itself. Attorneys often have to act as psychological counselors to get their cases resolved. This is why estate attorneys will sometimes bring in trained counselors to help families deal with each other and sort out their boundaries before the reading of a will, so the family can process their relationships with the deceased and with one another.
“Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.” (Proverbs 31:9 NAS95)
Modern society needs self-governed citizenry
The society we read about in the Torah is quite different from our own, but the lessons from this portion are highly relevant to our lives right here and now. We are living in a culture that has set aside and ignored the words of God, and it’s going downhill because we are a society of people who are not self-governed.
If people in a society no longer live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, and refuse to regulate themselves, the law has no choice but to multiply in response. Laws are words on paper, but they only mean something if they are followed. Just like money, laws only have value if we agree on their worth. What happens if money loses its value? In a culture that is not self-regulated, violence, looting, and theft will become rampant if there’s no money to lubricate commerce. But in a self-regulated and self-governed culture, commerce is conducted through bartering and negotiation.
The Torah called for leaders of tens, hundreds, and thousands and more difficult cases were handled at increasingly higher levels. This system is replicated in the U.S. government and also in the church. The Torah is not just for those in robes who sit in a courthouse. Each one of us is a judge. The Apostle Paul said that we should be able to judge simple matters because one day we will be judging angels.
We should bring every thought captive, analyze it, and discern whether it is righteous or not. We must have a standard by which to choose what is right and reject what is wrong. The Bible gives us the proper input to make good decisions. Without the instructions in the Bible, we can easily end up saying that bad things are good and that good things are bad. We are living in a culture that has decided evil is good and good is evil, and it doesn’t know how to judge right from wrong.
Summary: Tammy
- Stigers, Harold G. Harris, R. Laird, Gleason L. Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke, eds. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT). Accordance electronic edition, version 2.8. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980. Pararaph 14,701. ↩︎
- Koehler, Ludwig, Walter Baumgartner, and M. E. J. Richardson, eds. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT). Accordance electronic edition, version 3.7. 5 vols. Leiden: Brill, 2000. Paragraphs 15,556–15,563. ↩︎
- TWOT, paragraph 14,702. ↩︎
- HALOT, paragraph 15,524. ↩︎
- Zodhiates, Spiros, ed. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Revised, Accordance electronic edition, version 1.3. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 1993. Paragraph 4,891. ↩︎
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