Judge Without Partiality
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 1:9-18 (NASB)
9 “I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I am not able to bear the burden of you alone. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number. 11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you! 12 How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife? 13 Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ 14 You answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’ 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes.
16 “Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him. 17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear 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.’ 18 I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.
SUMMARY
Moses reminds the people that he had appointed wise and experienced leaders among the people of Israel because it was too hard for him to supervise the people alone, as the Israel population multiplied to as many as the number of stars in the sky. He chose wise, understanding, and experienced men from each tribe to rule over the Israelites. Moses tells the leaders that God is in charge of making all judgments and decisions. Thus, he says the leaders have to judge fairly with justice and not act as if one person is better than another.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
Moses advised the leaders to judge fairly and equally and reminded them that judgement belongs to God. My heart broke watching the video that captured how George Floyd died, as well as the protests that have been taking place across the nations. When I first saw the protests in LA, I was upset that people were gathering outside without practicing social distance. As a nurse battling with COVID-19 positive cases in the LA county, the only thing that concerned me was the surge of coronavirus cases. Even though the death of George Floyd was upsetting and heartbreaking, it was hard for me to empathize because I was already overwhelmed by the loss of my patients from COVID-19.
APPLICATION
I repent for being ignorant and for not really paying attention to the pain and suffering of our African American brothers and sisters. I felt God touching my heart this week, showing me that I need to be more aware of the social injustice in America and pray for unity and healing.
PRAYER
Dear God, I pray for justice and healing for our nation. We mourn over the death of George Floyd and want to better understand the pain and hurt of our Black brothers and sisters. I repent for my ignorance and passivity on racism issues and I pray for peace and unification of the people in this country. I pray that You would embrace us with Your everlasting love and peace and stop all the violence, looting, chaos, and hatred. Help us and heal our nation, Lord.
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