The repetition of the word “gates” (16:5, 11, 14, 18; 17:2, 5, 8) indicates that the basic unit of government in Israel was the local town council. It was made up of judges and officers who, with the elders, conducted business at the city gates (Ruth 4:1–12). The judges and officers were probably appointed or elected by the male land-owning citizens of the town, but we aren’t given the details. The word translated “officers” (kjv) means “writers, secretaries” and refers to the men who kept the official records and genealogies, advised the judges, and carried out their decisions. God was the supreme Legislator in the land, because He gave the laws; the local judges formed the judicial branch of the government; and their officers constituted the executive branch.
Godly character (16:19–20). The most important thing about the judges and officers was that they be men of character, because only just men could honestly execute just judgment. The judges were not to twist the law and “distort justice,” nor were they to “respect persons,” which in the Hebrew is literally “regard faces.” The important thing was to determine what the accused person did and not to major on who the accused person was. The Lord warned the judges not to favor their friends by acquitting the guilty, reducing the sentences, or tampering with the legal process, nor were the judges to accept bribes. “Justice” is usually pictured as a woman carrying scales and wearing a blindfold. “It is not a good thing to show partiality to the wicked, or to overthrow the righteous in judgment” (Prov. 18: nkjv).
The decisions of the judges affected not only the individuals on trial but the entire nation. If the judges freed the guilty at the expense of the innocent, the land would be defiled and God would eventually remove the nation from the land. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened during the years that preceded the fall of Israel and Judah. The courts became corrupt and allowed the rich to rob the poor and needy, and the wealthy soon owned great estates and controlled the economy. Because the leaders didn’t obey the laws about the Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee, the economy got out of balance and the land was stolen from its rightful owners. God couldn’t permit such flagrant disobedience to His law, so He punished His people severely by sending them into captivity.
Leadership in the local church must be given only to those who are qualified (Acts 6:1–7; 1 Tim. 3; Titus 1:5–9). “Everything rises or falls with leadership,” says Dr. Lee Roberson, and he is right. How tragic it is when churches choose unqualified and untried people to “fill” offices instead of to “use” those offices for the building of the church and the glory of God (1 Tim. 3:10). In the leadership of the local church, spiritual character is far more important than a person’s popularity, personality, talent, or occupation.
Devotion to God (16:21—17:7). Idolatry was the great enemy of the spiritual life of the Jewish nation, and the judges had to be alert enough to detect it and courageous enough to deal with it. The “groves” were areas dedicated to the worship of Baal’s consort, Ashtoreth, and among their idols were wooden poles that symbolized the male member. Note that the idolaters tried to locate their worship centers as close to God’s altar as possible (16:21; niv, “beside the altar”). The idolaters wanted to encourage people to worship both Jehovah and Ashteroth, and eventually Ashtoreth would win out. If the judges were devoted to God, they would carefully investigate such practices, get the facts, condemn the guilty, and remove the idols from the land. They had to put Jehovah first.
It can’t be emphasized too much that the religion of the Canaanite nations was unspeakably filthy and mingled blind superstition with gross immorality. Human nature being what it is, the Jews would be attracted to gods they could see and ceremonies that appealed to their sensual appetites. This explains why God commanded the Jews to wipe out every vestige of Canaanite religion from the land (7:1–11), for He knew that the hearts of the people were too often set on doing evil in spite of His holy laws and His warnings.
The wisdom of God (17:8–13). Many times, the local judges and courts would have to consider cases that were complicated and perplexing and too difficult for them to settle, cases involving bloodshed, accusations, lawsuits, and various kinds of assault. To assist the local officials, the Lord would establish a central “court” at His sanctuary where the priests and Levites would share their wisdom and explain the law of God. In Israel, God’s law was national law, and the best ones to interpret and apply the law were the priests and Levites.
This “sanctuary court” was not a court of appeals where a convicted person could seek a second trial, nor was it an advisory committee whose decisions could be accepted or rejected. It was a court that tried cases carefully and whose decisions were authoritative and binding. Anybody who showed contempt for the authority of the courts or the decisions that they rendered was actually showing contempt for God and His law. Such rebels were guilty of a capital crime and were subject to the death penalty. God would not have rebellious citizens in His nation or permit people to resist His law presumptuously. No sacrifices were provided in the law for people who committed “high-handed” and deliberate sins (Num. 15:30–36).
When Woodrow Wilson was president of the United States, he said, “There are a good many problems before the American people today, and before me as president, but I expect to find the solution of those problems just in the proportion that I am faithful in the study of the Word of God.” Statesman Daniel Webster said, “If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instruction and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury our glory in profound obscurity.” Living as we do in a democratic pluralistic society, we can’t expect the government to make the Bible its official guidebook, but it would help the nation if professed Christians and Christian churches would major on preaching, teaching, and obeying the Word of God.