2 Chronicles 19:1-11: a reflection

1Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. 2Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked, and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, wrath is on you from before the LORD. 3Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have put away the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.” 4Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. 5He set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you don’t judge for man, but for the LORD; and he is with you in the judgment. 7Now therefore let the fear of the LORD be on you. Take heed and do it; for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.” 8Moreover in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed certain Levites, priests, and heads of the fathers’ households of Israel to give judgment for the LORD and for controversies. They returned to Jerusalem. 9He commanded them, saying, “You shall do this in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. 10Whenever any controversy comes to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, you must warn them, that they not be guilty toward the LORD, and so wrath come on you and on your brothers. Do this, and you will not be guilty. 11Behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters. Also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and may the LORD be with the good.”

When Jehoshaphat appoints judges over the land, he charges them to do justice as before God himself, judging not merely for people but for the LORD, without partiality or bribery. Consider what you do, he tells the judges, for you don't judge for man, but for the LORD; and he is with you in the judgment. Let the fear of the LORD be on you; take heed and do it, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, nor partiality, nor taking of bribes. Jehoshaphat sets the judges' work in the highest frame: they act not merely for people, but for the LORD, who is with them, and who is himself just, impartial, and untouched by bribery. Because they judge for God, they must judge as he does, with justice, without partiality or bribes. This shows the call to do justice as before God, without partiality or bribery. Do justice as before God, impartially and without bribery. We act not merely for people, but for the LORD. God is just and impartial; those who act for him must be too. Act with integrity, mindful that you act before God.

Notice how Jehoshaphat frames the judges' responsibility. He does not tell them merely to be fair, or to follow the law; he lifts their work to the highest frame: you don't judge for man, but for the LORD, and he is with you in the judgment. Their work of judgment was done not merely for people, but for God himself, in his presence, as his representatives. And because they judged for God, they were to judge as he does: with the fear of the LORD upon them, without injustice, without partiality, without taking bribes, because God himself is just, impartial, and untouched by bribery. This holds a lesson beyond judges. Much of what we do, our dealings, our decisions, our treatment of others, is done not merely before people, but before God, in his presence, as those who act for him. And because we act before and for God, who is just and impartial and cannot be bribed, we are called to act as he does: with justice, without partiality, without being swayed by favoritism or personal gain. To remember that we act before God, not merely before people, lifts our conduct to a higher standard: to do justice and act with integrity, as those who act in the presence of the just and impartial God. We do well to do justice and act with integrity, mindful that we act not merely before people but before God. Act with justice and integrity, mindful that you act before God. We act not merely for people, but for the LORD who is with us. God is just and impartial; act as those who represent him. Let the awareness that you act before God lift your conduct.

That is worth taking to heart, for we act not merely before people but before God, and we do well to do justice and act with integrity, without partiality or bribery, as Jehoshaphat charged the judges to judge for the LORD. We can act merely to please people, or be swayed by favoritism or personal gain; but Jehoshaphat charged the judges that they judged not for man but for the LORD, who is just and impartial and cannot be bribed. We act before God. In your dealings and decisions, remember that you act not merely before people but before God; do justice and act with integrity, without partiality or bribery, as one who acts for him. Do justice and act with integrity, without partiality or being swayed by favoritism or personal gain, mindful that you act not merely before people but before God, as Jehoshaphat, appointing judges over the land, charged them to consider what they did, for they judged not for man but for the LORD who was with them in the judgment, telling them to let the fear of the LORD be on them and to take heed, since there is no injustice with the LORD, nor partiality, nor taking of bribes; for Jehoshaphat set the judges' work in the highest frame, that they acted not merely for people but for the LORD himself, in his presence and as his representatives, and because they judged for God they were to judge as he does, with justice and without partiality or bribes, since God himself is just, impartial, and untouched by bribery, which holds a lesson beyond judges, since much of what we do, our dealings, decisions, and treatment of others, is done not merely before people but before God, as those who act for him, and because we act before and for God who is just and impartial and cannot be bribed we are called to act as he does, with justice and without being swayed by favoritism or personal gain, so that to remember we act before God lifts our conduct to a higher standard, and we do well to do justice and act with integrity mindful that we act in the presence of the just and impartial God.

Lord, when Jehoshaphat appoints judges over the land, he charges them to do justice as before you yourself, judging not merely for people but for the LORD, without partiality or bribery. Consider what you do, he tells the judges, for you don't judge for man, but for the LORD; and he is with you in the judgment. Let the fear of the LORD be on you; take heed and do it, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, nor partiality, nor taking of bribes. Jehoshaphat sets the judges' work in the highest frame: they act not merely for people, but for you, who are with them, and who are yourself just, impartial, and untouched by bribery. Because they judge for you, they must judge as you do. Show me how Jehoshaphat frames the judges' responsibility. He does not tell them merely to be fair; he lifts their work to the highest frame: you don't judge for man, but for the LORD, and he is with you in the judgment. Their work was done not merely for people, but for you, in your presence, as your representatives. And because they judged for you, they were to judge as you do: with the fear of the LORD upon them, without injustice, partiality, or bribes, because you yourself are just, impartial, and cannot be bribed. This holds a lesson beyond judges. Much of what I do, my dealings, decisions, treatment of others, is done not merely before people, but before you, in your presence, as one who acts for you. And because I act before and for you, who are just and impartial and cannot be bribed, I am called to act as you do: with justice, without partiality, without being swayed by favoritism or personal gain. To remember that I act before you lifts my conduct to a higher standard. Take that to my heart, for I act not merely before people but before you. In my dealings and decisions, help me remember that I act before you, Lord; help me do justice and act with integrity, without partiality or bribery, as one who acts for you, the just and impartial God, letting the awareness that I act before you lift my conduct.