Passage Read: 2 Chronicles 18-21
Meditation Verses: 19:9-10
Thought
Jesus said to not judge by appearances but to make right judgments. Jehoshaphat's instructions to his judges are helpful in understanding what Jesus meant. Judgment that pleases God is to give warning to brothers and sisters to protect them from sinning against the Lord, incurring His wrath and heaping up guilt before Him. Judgment is for the Lord, because when a judge judges, he stands in the place of the Lord and the Lord stands with him. So he needs to make sure to make the judgment God would make, in order to honor the Lord and represent Him accurately. And the Lord's goal in judgment is to rebuke the wicked and protect the righteous. Judgment does benefit men, if indeed it is righteous judgment that warns against evil, protects the innocent and rewards the righteous. The judge needs to fear the Lord, not men, and to understand the Law of the Lord so as to judge correctly, and he must not play favorites or accept anything to influence a judgment away from the accurate application of the Law. A judge who fails to fear the Lord and judge for Him will come under judgment himself, but the one who fears the Lord and judges according to His Word will be protected and blessed by the Lord.
Application
Paul writes of appointing judges in the church. There should be men who know and fear the Lord, who are worthy and capable of judging disputes among believers. Even better, the believers should be so mature as to not need judges because they have no disputes, because they live the love God commands. But in truth, we are all at varying degrees of understanding and maturity, so there is a place for the wise to judge the immature, whether in a formal, church-appointed court or informally as brothers caring for one another and promoting righteousness, correcting foolishness and rebuking wickedness. The goal is to secure undivided devotion to the Lord and to train His people to walk faithfully and accurately in His ways. If that is my goal, then judging my brothers and sisters is good and right, and their judgment of me is for the glory of God and my eternal benefit. It is both right and necessary for us to judge and be judged by one another, for God's sake and for each other's eternal benefit. But those who take the lead in judgment should be those who know God best and walk most faithfully in His ways, who understand and accept that they will be judged or rewarded for how well they judge according to God's will. Before I judge another, I need to make sure I'm seeking God's heart for that person, rather than twisting God's truths to my own benefit, knowing full well that it will be done to me according to what I do to them.