“Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, but he went out among the people, traveling from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, encouraging the people to return to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He appointed judges throughout the nation in all the fortified towns, and he said to them, “Always think carefully before pronouncing judgment. Remember that you do not judge to please people but to please the Lord. He will be with you when you render the verdict in each case. Fear the Lord and judge with integrity, for the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes.” In Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests and clan leaders in Israel to serve as judges for cases involving the Lord’s regulations and for civil disputes. These were his instructions to them: “You must always act in the fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and an undivided heart. Whenever a case comes to you from fellow citizens in an outlying town, whether a murder case or some other violation of God’s laws, commands, decrees, or regulations, you must warn them not to sin against the Lord, so that he will not be angry with you and them. Do this and you will not be guilty. “Amariah the high priest will have final say in all cases involving the Lord. Zebadiah son of Ishmael, a leader from the tribe of Judah, will have final say in all civil cases. The Levites will assist you in making sure that justice is served. Take courage as you fulfill your duties, and may the Lord be with those who do what is right.””
2 Chronicles 19:4-11 NLT
How should one judge? The answer is obviously that they should judge with justice, fairness, and honesty, but what does any of that mean when the creature doing the judging is none of those things inherently? Though we can see things sometimes, we can’t manufacture or produce them. They are not commodities to be bartered or traded. They have to be discovered by us. And the very fact that we need these judges in difficult situations demonstrates how easy it is to miss them when they appear. Yet, they are essential to making societies work. Every facet of society, from the marriage relationship to the city-state, needs such principles to be played out during traumatic times. Jehoshaphat’s admonition to the judges was a simple one but one that is ever prescient. Those who judge ought to do so to please God. This simple edict had two basic effects. The first is to create a dependable and standardized system amongst the entire people. This meant that for that order was attainable, both far and wide. But the second was that this standard was one that was based on something transcendent to the human experience. Because of this, humanity could depend on it. Gods character became the bedrock of everything we ever wanted in a judge. God’s character is the foundation for a law that is just, honest and fair, even in the hands of humans.
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