Tag: judge

To Judge

Posted on by jovial_cynic

And they said, “Stand back!” Then they said, “This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them.” So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.
Genesis 19:9 (NKJV)

The ancient Hebrew uses double-words for emphasis.

When the wicked men of Sodom accuse Lot of acting as judge, they use a double-word structure. This phrase never appears anywhere else in the scripture.

וַיִּשְׁפֹּט שָׁפוֹט – vayyishpot shafot

“And he judged, judging.”

The root word שָׁפַט “shafat,” meaning “to judge,” first appears in Genesis 16:5, when Sarai says to Abram, “may God judge between you and me.”

The next is when Abraham pleads with God: “won’t the Judge of the earth do rightly?”

And then it’s here, in double-emphasis.

In the first instance, Sarai is claiming the moral high ground, using a phrase reserved for someone willing to stand before God in her accusation against her husband.

In the second instance, Abraham addresses God’s own moral high ground, appealing to God’s righteousness and God’s unique ability to render judgement rightly in light of mercy.

So when the text shows us that men of Sodom use this word, we are shown an irony.

In the same way “yadah” (to know) has been corrupted, so has “shafat” (to judge). Because there is nothing to judge at this point.

The word shafat presents a picture of someone deciding who is wrong and who is right. The “judge,” or law-giver applies wisdom to examine the evidence and make the determination when there is disagreement, or when it’s hard to tell due to limited evidence.

But the readers have already been told that the men of Sodom are wicked; judgement has already been established back in Genesis 13:13.

But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.
Genesis 13:13 (NKJV)

The men of Sodom calling Lot a judge is irony for the reader.

Do Not Judge

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
Matthew 7:1-3 (NIV)

The teaching about “not judging others” is a bit more nuanced than simply “don’t judge.”

If you ask God to judge between you and another, you’re putting yourself in a rather precarious position. You’d better be righteous.

Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
Genesis 16:5 (NIV)

Imagine a heavenly court whereby if you bring an accusation against someone and demand that the court determine who is at fault, the FIRST thing the court does is examine you, the accuser.

At any rate, we have a rule that if someone calls upon G-d to determine if concerning an accusation leveled against a fellow human being he or she had been correct, the first thing the heavenly tribunal does is to examine if the accuser has led a blameless life himself or herself.
Chizkuni on Genesis 16:5:4

And if they find you to be unrighteous or guilty of anything, the first thing they do is punish YOU for your sins. Only then will they address the accusation.

That is what the teaching is that informs us of this “do not judge” teaching. It is a warning.

If faults are found in the accuser’s life, he is judged, i.e. punished first, before the accusation is examined in greater detail.
Chizkuni on Genesis 16:5:4

In the case of Sarai, we want to blame her for lack of faith, or perhaps we want to apply a modern standard and accuse her of causing infidelity. But notice that God does not discipline her here.

But also, what is her accusation, exactly?

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Genesis 15:2-3 (NIV)

The rabbis suggest that in Genesis 15, when Abram prayed for a child, he prayed only for himself and not for his wife. Remember: she was the one who was barren. She is the one who needed prayer.

She accuses him of being selfish in his prayer, and she is vindicated.

There are so many lessons to learn here, if we have the ears to hear.

To Judge Rightly

Posted on by jovial_cynic
We use the word “judge” to often mean “condemn” or “find guilty,” but the Scriptures don’t use the word that way. The word “judge” means “judging correctly” to determine who is wrong.

But the Hebrew word contains another valuable meaning: to plead on behalf of the accused.

I. to judge, contend, plead
1. (Qal)
1. to act as judge, minister judgment
2. to plead a cause
3. to execute judgment, requite, vindicate
4. to govern
5. to contend, strive
H1777: דִּין (dîn)

This is a beautiful image, because it means every mention of God acting as judge, or judging the nations, points to a God who is going to rightly determine fault, but who is ALSO going to defend the accused.

And this makes Genesis 6:3 rather interesting.

Many translators went with “contend,” which means to struggle with, or assert a position in an argument. Like… “deal with,” or “address.”

But this word is “judge.” Because we naturally read this as “condemn,” we often read the shortening of years as punishment.

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
Genesis 6:3 (NIV)

But it can be understood this way:

My Spirit won’t arbitrate/defend humans eternally. They’re flesh, not Spirit like Me. But I’ll arbitrate and defend them for 120 years – all the years of their lives. I will not abandon them.

While we often focus on the years being shortened as the primary issue, the first thing God says is that He will not judge eternally, because humans are not immortal. But we can then infer that He will arbitrate and defend us even in our shortened lives.