Deuteronomy 1:14-21: a reflection

14You answered me, and said, “The thing which you have spoken is good to do.” 15So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and respected men, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes. 16I commanded your judges at that time, saying, “Hear cases between your brothers and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him. 17You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.” 18I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do. 19We traveled from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20I said to you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God gives to us. 21Behold, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD the God of your fathers has spoken to you. Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed.”

As Moses appoints judges over the people, he charges them with how to judge, and the charge cuts against two common failings. You shall not show partiality in judgment, he says; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's. The judges were to be impartial, not favoring the great over the small; and they were not to be afraid of any man's face, not swayed by fear of the great, because the judgment was ultimately God's, not theirs. To judge rightly meant neither favoring some nor fearing others, but judging as those answerable to God, whose the judgment was.

Notice the two failings the charge guards against: partiality and fear of man. A judge could be swayed by partiality, favoring the great, the important, the well-connected, over the small; or by fear, afraid of the face of some person too great to rule against. Both would pervert judgment. But Moses charges the judges to hear small and great alike, showing no partiality, and not to be afraid of any man's face, because the judgment is God's. To judge rightly, one must neither favor some nor fear others, but act justly as one answerable to God, whose the judgment ultimately is. Remembering that the judgment is God's frees us both from partiality and from fear of man.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are called to act justly, without partiality or fear of others, remembering that the matter is ultimately God's. In our own judgments and dealings, we can be swayed by partiality, favoring the important or well-connected, or by fear, afraid to do right against someone great; but the charge was to show no partiality and not to fear the face of man, because the judgment is God's. To act justly, we must neither favor some nor fear others. Do not let partiality or fear of others sway you from acting justly; remember that the matter is ultimately God's, as the judges were charged to fear no man's face. Act justly without partiality or fear of others, remembering that the matter is ultimately God's, as Moses charged the judges to hear small and great alike and not fear the face of man because the judgment is God's; for remembering that we answer to God frees us both from favoring some and from fearing others, so that we may act justly rather than being swayed by partiality or fear.

Lord, as Moses appoints judges over the people, he charges them with how to judge, and the charge cuts against two common failings. You shall not show partiality in judgment, he says; you shall hear the small and the great alike; you shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's. The judges were to be impartial, not favoring the great over the small; and they were not to be afraid of any man's face, because the judgment was ultimately yours, not theirs. Show me the two failings the charge guards against: partiality and fear of man. A judge could be swayed by partiality, favoring the great, the important, the well-connected, over the small; or by fear, afraid of the face of some person too great to rule against. Both would pervert judgment. But Moses charges the judges to hear small and great alike, and not to be afraid of any man's face, because the judgment is yours. To judge rightly, one must neither favor some nor fear others, but act justly as one answerable to you. Remembering that the judgment is yours frees us both from partiality and from fear of man. Take that to my heart, for I am called to act justly, without partiality or fear of others, remembering that the matter is ultimately yours. In my own judgments and dealings, I can be swayed by partiality, favoring the important, or by fear, afraid to do right against someone great; but the charge was to show no partiality and not to fear the face of man, because the judgment is yours. Keep me from letting partiality or fear of others sway me from acting justly; help me remember that the matter is ultimately yours, Lord, as the judges were charged to fear no man's face, that I may act justly.