Shoftim (Judges) Devarim 16:18-21:9

 Our Torah portion this week is named Shoftim, and the name comes from the first verse in the portion.

“You shall appoint judges (shoftim) and officers (shotrim) for yourself in all your gates which Yehovah your Elohim gives you, tribe by tribe. And they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.” (Deuteronomy 16:18)

Similar to most legal systems today, the Bible instructs Israel to establish a judicial body, shoftim, and an enforcement arm, shotrim. Both officials are instructed to judge righteously, and are given the authority to do so. The court and police system used today are based on this model.

Elohim is concerned that we treat each other fairly and justly. In our business dealings as well as our personal relationships. He is adamant that those who are entrusted with the power and authority to make legal rulings and administer punishment judge righteously.

You shall not pervert judgment. You shall not regard persons, nor shall you take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous. (Deuteronomy 16:19)

Judge Righteously

What does it mean to judge righteously in a Torah sense? It means the judge listens to both sides of the case and makes his decision based on the information in the case and on what the Torah instructs. The judge is not to be biased for or prejudiced against either party. He is not to look on how they look, how wealthy they are, what their social status is, how politically connected they are, their occupation, or any other factor other than the facts germane to the case.

Judges are especially cautioned not to accept a bribe – because it will pervert their judgment.

The story is told of a well-known rabbi who heard a case. During the presentation of the two parties, the rabbi was unsettled and confused about how to rule. He became so concerned that he excused himself from the case and had another judge preside. After leaving the courtroom, he discovered in his pocket a bribe from one of the parties. He realized that even though he had no knowledge of the bribe, it still had the effect of perverting his ability to make a righteous decision.

This caution calls to my mind our current judges and officials who openly and clandestinely accept bribes in the form of massive contributions from special interest people and groups. I can see numerous examples of the results of this corruption in world news. The Torah forbids this.

The American political and judicial systems have become the opposite of how the Torah instructs officials to be. I don’t know about you, but that causes me great concern for our nation.

Go Back to the Foundation

Another issue that arises from this instruction to judge righteously is precedent. Since righteous judgment comes from Torah, precedent is a subtle evil that perverts justice. Precedent is the concept that a decision by a judge in a prior case has the status of law, and a judge in a new case can use the previous ruling as a basis for a new ruling rather than returning to the foundation of actual law.

In matters pertaining to Elohim, the Torah is the foundation. Decisions should be weighed against the standard of the Torah. Most church doctrines and practices today rely on precedent not on Torah.

Relying on precedent leads people, groups and nations far off-course from the foundational principles. That deviant course builds a nation and a church that bears little resemblance to the intent of the founders. For those who desire to follow Elohim Yehovah and conform to His image, individually and collectively, the course of precedent leads down the wrong path.

What if the direct answer to a problem or conflict can’t be found in Torah? What should a righteous judge do? As we learn and understand Torah more fully, that is less likely to occur, but when it does, the judge is required to make a decision that complies with Torah and does not violate it, or refer the case to a higher court.

The Right Thing for the Right Reasons

Devarim 16:20 begins tzedek tzedak, righteous righteous, or righteous justice, shall you pursue. The two tzadeks are placed side by side to show that even if a situation is not explained explicitly in the Torah, it is essential the judge make a decision that is just/righteous, and do it in a manner that is just/righteous, and for just/righteous reasons.

In the system Torah establishes, if the judge in a city is unable to make a righteous and just ruling, he is instructed to refer the case to a higher court in Jerusalem. What the higher court decides is final. The punishment for not complying with their decision is death.

As with the elimination of religious iconography in the last portion, the death penalty for disobedience may seem excessive. Perhaps it seems so because: 

1. Our society is not based on Torah. 
2. We have become so liberal and lax in administering correctional punishment that the truth now appears extremist. 
3. The Torah instructs us to choose judges and officers because of their integrity, honesty, righteousness and their knowledge of and obedience to Torah. 
4. All of the people in Elohim’s camp know and have agreed to live by the Torah.

As for today, I fear it would be horrendous to place such power in the hands of the people currently in positions of authority. They don’t meet the Torah standard, and when the wicked rule, the people mourn. (Proverbs 29:2)

The Hebrew wording in verse 20, terdof, indicates the judge is to pursue, run after [Strong’s root yaraf H7291 to run after (usually with hostile intent - chase, put to flight, follow (after, on), hunt, pursue] justice and righteousness. This is not a half hearted attempt to appear just, but a forceful seeking and hunting for the just and righteous ruling. Yehovah is serious that judges examine each case and make righteous decisions for the right reason based on an unbiased weighing against Torah instructions. As Moshe told the people: (Devarim 6:5)

  

Careful what you worship

 

In verses 21 and 22 Elohim warns not to plant a tree or erect a monument (matzeybah) for the purpose of worship, or to put one in a place that it could be construed to be for worship. There has been, and continues to be, problems with both issues. People attach importance to objects in the vicinity of Elohim’s acts. Hence, a tree planted in the area of the altar or temple could, over time, be imbued by worshippers with a sense of awe or an aura of godliness. It can in turn become a focus of worship.

The worship can take at least two forms: 

1. Worshipping Yehovah using the object to focus that worship. Such was the gold calf at Sinai. It is clear they were worshipping Yehovah, but they were doing it in a forbidden manner. (Dev 12:3-4) 
2. Rather than the object being used to focus worship, it becomes the focus of the worship. The people begin to worship the object. Such as the serpent on the pole Moshe lifted up in the wilderness. Over time, it became an object of worship and had to be destroyed. (2Ki 18:4)

 It is interesting that in John 3:14, Yeshua compared Himself to the serpent on the pole. When I see the ornate crucifixes and how followers revere and bow down before them, I wonder if the instrument of torture and death has become an object of worship akin to the serpent on the pole.

The Torah cautions that Yehovah hates such things so much that in Devarim 17:2-7 the death penalty is required for those who do so.

Unblemished or perfect

In verse 17:1 we come upon what may be one of the most misunderstood and damaging teachings in Torah and Christianity. The unblemished sacrifice. Some of the rationalizations for not keeping Torah come from the idea that “Nobody’s perfect,” or “nobody can keep all those laws,” or “I can’t be perfect.”

The idea of perfect is often confused with the instruction of unblemished. In Hebrew, the word blemished is moom (Strong’s # H3971). Unblemished, or what is sometimes translated as perfect, is the Hebrew word tameem (Strong’s # 8549), without blemish.

A blemished animal cannot be offered as a sacrifice. In Romans 12:1 Paul says we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Elohim.” In order to understand what Paul is saying, we need to return to the Torah (remember the Torah is the foundation and standard) and find out what an acceptable sacrifice is. – it is unblemished, tameem.

Returning to Vayikra (Leviticus) 21:18-20 we see what constitutes a blemish on one who approaches the altar, and in Vayikra 24:20 we see additional blemishes, a missing tooth or eye. In Vayikra 22:20-24 we see explicit instructions about what blemishes make animals unfit for sacrifice. Take a moment and look at the list, I’ll wait...

Did you notice that these blemishes are not minor imperfections? Not in man or animal. These are major deformities. Animal or man without blemish is not perfect; they just have all their parts and don’t have open wounds or weeping sores. They are not ‘perfect’ like a flawless diamond, just unblemished. Without glaring damage. Such as the book of Acts requires for someone to comply with to come into fellowship, sexual purity, obedience to food laws and give up false gods. (Acts 15:20)

Elohim knows we are not perfect, but He does expect us to give up our glaring sins. He knows we make mistakes, that we are human (Watch out and don’t get confused by the rational lie that we are “only human” though. If you have received birth from above and the Holy Spirit is in you, you are no longer “only human,” there is a spark of Elohim within you as well) What He wants is for us to put away our sins and turn our backs to them.

We are promised that Elohim will take our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. One way to look at this is that it’s a really long way away. Another way is that if you are facing west and your sins are in front of you, and you turn to face east, your sins are as far as the east is from the west, yet, as Elohim told Cain – “sin crouches at the door.” Even though we have turned away, we must be ever diligent not to turn back to them, because they are waiting within reach if we do.

Nobody Can Keep All the Torah

Yep. Unless you are elected king, you aren’t required to keep the instructions in verses 17:16-20. But we can all learn and benefit from these verses, in fact, this is one of the places we learn the value of daily Scripture study. If it helps the king make decisions, can it do less for us?

And, unless you are a cohen – a priest or Levite, verses 18:1-8 don’t apply to you either.

Do as I Say Not as They Do

In Devarim 18:9 Elohim warns us specifically not to engage in the abominable rituals the inhabitants of the land practice.

The first abomination is the act of passing a child through the fire. There are different views on what the actual practice was, but it is generally agreed that the child was killed. The goal of the practice was to gain favor from some god for prosperity. The practice reminds me of the current trend of sacrificing children through abortion – for career, convenience, finances, timing - prosperity. I see little difference.

In 18:10-14 Elohim forbids His people to engage in or consult with astrologers, mediums, diviners, sorcerers, magicians or charmers.

It is interesting that Elohim never says these ‘arts’ don’t work. Which anticipates the rationalizations of believers who seek out these abominable practices, “but it really works.” What Elohim instructs is “Don’t do it.” Kind of like the food laws – can you eat pig? Yes, it is possible to chew its flesh and swallow it, but He says, "Don’t do it!"

In verse 18:13, we are told to be perfect before Yehovah. The word, translated in some Bibles as perfect, is the Hebrew word tameem we discussed earlier in this portion, without blemish. Having all the original equipment and not having gaping wounds or sores.

A Prophet Like Moshe

In 18:15, Elohim promises Israel that even though Moshe is going to leave them, they will not be left without guidance. Yehovah will raise up a prophet and they are to listen to the prophet. In a way this foreshadows Yeshua Messiah who is to come, the New Testament refers to him as such. Torah says that Elohim will punish whoever won’t shema, listen to and obey the prophet. We see in 19:20 that if the prophet acts defiantly against Elohim and tells us a message came from Elohim when in reality the prophet made it up, don’t fear the prophet. We are given a test for the prophecy – if it doesn’t happen like the prophet said, he acted presumptuously. This is a valuable guide today when we have prophets so-called, giving all sorts of predictions and causing many to err, in doctrine and in actions.

This test can apply equally to a false prophet and a real prophet. Even a real prophet may take upon himself to give a prophecy that he didn’t receive from Yehovah. He might do so with a positive intent and for the best of reasons. He may wish to give strength to a ruler or the people in hard times. He may want to encourage people when they are discouraged. Regardless why a person does it, it is against Torah to say something comes from Elohim when it doesn’t; that applies to a prophet and to anyone who intentionally claims that some word or teaching comes from Elohim when it doesn’t.

In the interest of space, I will conclude this week’s study here; next time around, we will cover other parts of the portion. Until next week’s portion, Learn and Live Torah. Shalom.

P.S. Please share your thoughts on the portion and this study with me and other readers by posting your comments below.