Judge of the Nations (Syria)

God is the judge of the nations. He sets the standards for the behaviour of nations.

All the nations will stand before him at the end of history to give an account of their behaviour.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him (Matt 25:31-32).

God makes interim judgements on the behaviour of the nations through the events of history. When prophets like Jeremiah spoke to the surrounding nations, they declared their failure to meet God’s standards for the behaviour or nations. The prophets also explained what the consequences of this failure would be. God will eventually bring about the downfall of the nation that failed to meet his standards.

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth… He made all the nations.. and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands (Acts 17:24,26).

Modern people no longer believer this. Many Christians don’t. Unfortunately, people who have lost faith in God, look for another power to judge the nations. This is wrong, and dangerous.

God has not delegated responsibility for judging the nations to the President of the United States. Yet, Obama seems to want to take this role with Syria. He has decided that the president of Syria has not met his standards for the behaviour of nations, so he must be punished. He wants to use military force to bring judgment on Syria. Unfortunately, the President of the United States might have the power to act as judge of the world, but he does not have the wisdom.

Presidents of the United States have a long history of looking out for their own interests. They tend to punish nations that they do not like, such as Syria, Iraq and Iran, but they turn a blind eye to the failures of their allies. The King of Bahrain has attacked his own citizens, but he gets away with it, because the US has important military bases on this island kingdom. Saudi Arabia has funded and organised terrorist activity all over the world, but the US president does not judge this nation, because it hold important oil reserves.

Some people want the United Nations to act as judge of the nations. However, it does not have the wisdom to make fair judgments, and it does not have the power to bring judgment evil nations and political leaders. That is why God has not delegated the role of Judge of the Nations to the United Nations Organisations.

John Kerry seems to be saying that the community of nations (whatever that means) sets the standards of behaviour for nations. That only seems to apply when the nations support his view.

I prefer to continue trusting God. He is perfectly wise, so he is the only one who can make good decisions about the rise and fall of nations. He moves slowly, but he will eventually work out his purposes, bring justice to all nations. God is till the judge of the nations.

Political leaders who set themselves up as judge of the nations are usurping a role that belongs to God. That is dangerous move that will eventually lead to their own downfall.

History of Government (6) - Judges

Moses brought about another important innovation in government. He established a system of honest judges to apply God’s law. Previously all disputes had been settled by tribal leaders.

In the wilderness, responsibility for hearing all cases fell to Moses, as he was the wisest leader. He was challenged by his father-in-law Jethro, who could see that Moses would be exhausted, if he continued with this huge responsibility. Moses needed a wake up call because he had missed God’s purpose (Ex 18).

The Bible is very precise about what Moses did.

So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials (Deut 1:15).

Moses organised the nation into an army structure of tens, hundreds and thousands, based on family and tribal affiliations. This military style organisation was essential, while the nation was marching to the promised land. He then took wise and respected tribal leaders and made the commanders over the tens, hundreds and thousands. The word commander is a military term.

These military commanders were the wisest people in their families and tribes, so they also served as judges.

They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves (Ex 18:26).

The important innovation that Moses made was to introduce performance standards for role of judging.

And I charged your judges at that time: Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge fairly, whether the case is between brother Israelites or between one of them and an alien. Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for judgment belongs to God. (Deut 1:16-17).

Judges are acting for God, the perfect judge, so they must demonstrate wisdom and integrity. They must not be motivated by the fear of men.

This standard gave the people the freedom to take their cases to the judges with the greatest wisdom. If a judge made a bad decision, they could appeal to a judge with greater reputation for wisdom. This standard ensured that the best judges would be recognised and widely used.

The earliest judges functioned within a tribal environment. They would start off as leaders in their families and sub-tribes. The wisest of these local leaders would become judges. The best judges would rise to be appeal judges for their entire tribe.

This aspect of God’s government has never been revoked. The heart of godly government is wise judges applying God’s law.

Justice (9) - Lack of Justice

The prophets of the Old Testament were often concerned about the lack of justice in Israel. They were not complaining about inequality of incomes, they were upset about the break down of correct judicial processes. Many victims of injustice were unable to obtain justice.

Understanding the nature of the judicial process helps us to understand the reasons for lack of justice. There can be four reasons why people might be unable to obtain justice:

1. Inadequate judges
2. Bad Law
3. Judgments not Enforced
4. Criminal Kings and Rulers

Inadequate judges are a common cause of lack of justice. The example of Solomon shows that judges need wisdom. If judges lack wisdom then they will often make bad judges. The situation becomes even worse if judge are dishonest or corrupt. When judges choose made bad decisions the poor and the weak will be unable to obtain justice, because the judges will frequently ignore the facts and decide in favour of those with money and power.

Jeremiah laments a situation where the judges just look after their own interests.

Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor (Jer 51:27,28).

Zephaniah describes a situation where judges are like wolves.

Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves That leave not a bone till morning (Zeph 3:3).

This is still the situations in many parts of the world. Judges look after their mates among the rich and powerful. The poor and weak do not have a chance. God hates this failure of justice.

These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the LORD (Zech 8:16).

Fifties and Hundreds

Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves (Ex 18:25-26).

The Law of the Somalis describes a justice arrangement that is remarkably similar to the arrangements described in Exodus and Deuteronomy.

I was struck when reading about this that a biblical system of justice will not work in Western Society, because urbanisation, industrialisation and the democratic state have destroyed the extended families and tribes that still function in many other parts of the world. In the western world, the fifties, hundreds and thousands no longer exist. All we have is millions loosely attached to the democratic state, with nothing in between.

Before Gods justice system can be restored, the fifties, hundreds and thousands will have to be restored to Western culture. In my book Being Church Where We Live, I describe how Christians can build real community by choosing to buy houses and live in the same locality as other members of their church.

Church is something we are, not something we can attend. To be the body of Christ in the place where we live, we must live close to the rest of the body. Our Church should be a central part of our being, so we must belong where it is.

Each Church should be attached to a particular locality, so there can be as many Churches as there are different localities. Ideally, there should be one Church in each location and each location should have one Church. To have a number of different kinds of church in the same locality is inconsistent with the New Testament.

Radical Christians should begin being the fifties and thousands back into our culture. If a group of Christians establish a beachhead in a neighbourhood and win many of their neighbours to Jesus, they are establishing a fifty or a hundred. If this process is repeated, it will eventually become a thousand. God’s system of justice could gradually be established in these neighbourhood communities

Neighbourhood Christian communities will become the fifties, hundreds and thousands that are the western equivalent of the extended family and tribe.

Laws of the Somalis

I am currently reading a book called the Law of the Somalis by Michael Von Notten. He married a Somali woman and lived there for many years. His book is one of the most significant, I have read for a while.

Von Notten describes how a set of customary laws and tribal judges can work to establish a peaceful society, without any need for a national parliament, statutory legislation, national police and other state paraphernalia. The customary laws of Somalia are quite similar to God’s laws in Exodus and Leviticus, including restitution for theft. The system of judges is similar to that described in Deuteronomy. What the Laws of the Somalis shows is that God’s law works, even if he is not acknowledged.

The sad thing is that attempts by colonial powers and world powers to impose democracy on a tribal culture is destroying a legal system that worked effectively. God has never given democracy a tick (Ex 23:2) but he has given his approval to tribal culture (Gen 49). Democracy just does not work in a tribal culture.

When the electorate is composed of close-knit tribal, religious, linguistic or ethnic communities, the people invariably vote, not on the merits of any issue, but for the party of their own community. The community with the greatest numbers wins the election, and the minority parties then put rebellion and secession at the top of their political agenda. That is nothing but a recipe for chaos (p.127).

The winners use the power of government to benefit their own members, which means exploitation of the members of other clans. Consequently when there exists a governmental apparatus with its awesome powers of taxation and police and judicial monopoly, the interests of the clans conflict. Some clan will control that apparatus. To avoid being exploited by other clans, each must attempt to be that controlling clan.

A democratic government has every power to exert dominion over people. To fend off the possibility of being dominated, each clan tries to capture the power of that government before it can become a threat. Those clans that didn't share in the spoils of political power would realize their chances of becoming part of the ruling alliance were nil. Therefore, they would rebel and try to secede. That would prompt the ruling clans to use every means to suppress these centrifugal forces… in the end all clans would fight with one another (p.136).

Efforts to impose democracy on a tribal society actually produces rule by warlords.

Tomato Justice (4) - McDonalds

I presume that McDonalds buys the cheapest tomatoes it can obtain, provided the quantity and quality is right. It will be quite concerned about continuity of supply as a lack of tomatoes could be embarrassing for its restaurants.
Buying the cheapest product available is not a sin or a crime. It is something that we all do, when whenever we buy something we need. Choosing the cheapest supplier that meets the required quality and quality standards generally leads to efficient processes. McDonalds is not wrong in looking for the cheapest supplier of tomatoes.

McDonalds also functions in a very competitive market. If their sandwiches get too expensive, they might lose market share to other food chains. They have to manage their supply contracts carefully to remain competitive in their own market.

McDonalds could offer a higher contract price for tomatoes. If they did, they would get a lot more suppliers wanting to supply tomatoes. They would have to find another way to choose between prospective suppliers.

The higher price contract may not go to the existing suppliers. A more expensive supplier that is now competitive may get the contract. If the current supplier loses the contract, the pickers that people are concerned about might not benefit. They may even lose their jobs if the grower stops producing tomatoes.

Justice does not require McDonalds to pay a higher price for tomatoes. If they did pay a higher price than they need to, it would be an act of generosity and not an act of justice.

The complete series is here.

Judges not Needed Much

God's preferred method of government is judges interpreting the law.

As the Kingdom of God expands, the need for judges should diminish. According to the gospel, when a Christian realises that someone may have a case against them, he should seek the person out and settle as quickly as possible.

Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison (Matt 5:25).

Christians will sort out there problems before they go to court. As this happens, more and more, judges will have less and less to do.