Bmidbar Ministries_Shoftim: Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9; Isa. 51:12-53:12; Matthew 5:38-42

8/22/2019 Bmidbar Ministries_Shoftim: Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9; Isa. 51:12-53:12; Matthew 5:38-42

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This weeks parasha isShoftim, or Judges comes from the word

shaw-fat'and it means to judge, or to pass a sentence. In the beginning of

the portion we read,

Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thygates, which

the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge

the people withjust judgment1. I appreciate what the Etz Hayim

commentators have to say about this verse, In all the settlements,

[l]iterally, at all your gates. We must set guardians at the gates of our

soulsour mouths (that we do not lie or speak malicious gossip), our ears

(that we not be eager to hear malicious gossip), and our eyes (that we not

form the habit of seeing the worst in others) [Shnei Lubot Ha-Brit]2.

Later in this same Torah portion we read about the consequences of a

maliciouswitness, but its here at the start that I want to draw our attention

to the connection between honesty and truth which essential in making a

right ruling during any controversy within the corporate body, but on a

1Dev.16:18

2Etz Hayim Torah and Commentary, Shoftim comm. V.18 p.1088.


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personal level we must first be willing to uphold and take responsibility for

being accountable unto ourselves, because as children of YHVHs covenant

we have been instructed repeatedlyThou shalt not bear false witness

against thy neighbour.3

In the King James translation we read that a judge shall judge the

people with just judgment. In Stones Edition Tanach we read the

translation as righteous judgment or better still, righteous rulings because

as we read a few verses later, appointed judges are prone to temptation and

influence just like any individual and so judges are not to be offered bribes.

Do not distort right-ruling. Do not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a

bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous4.

In fact, as it is used in the verse,pursue as it is used here comes from

the Hebrew word raw-daf'and means topursue with a hostile intent, with

justification, or to strive eagerly. Have you ever pursued someone with a

hostile intent? Growing up as a youth I was a target of ridicule at times and

recall a few occasions where I abandoned fear andpursuedmy aggressors

with hostile intent, perhaps you may relate. The fact is, it s that kind of

unhindered, full-on ferventpursuitThe Father is instructing judges to

acquire when resolving a controversy between parties in dispute.

The question still lingers though. In a perfect world we would work

things out between ourselves and there would be no need for the

appointment of judges and officers to enforce the law, but YHVH being the

God of order He is understands there will be times when we require

assistance to bring resolution to our tangled messes. But personally

shouldnt we strive to live righteously in our own life? And not to condemn,

because we know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ

Jesus5, but because if we are to live as Yeshua did, then our lives should be

modeled after Him right? Doesnt the Brit Chadasha sayFor, let this mindbe in you which was also in Messiah .6

3Exo 20:16

4Deu 16:19

5Rom.8:1

6Php 2:5


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I would like to share with you a word picture that I believe will

encourage you today. We say that an appointed judge, and also for us to live

righteouslywe must understand and pursue Right Rulings in our lives.

First of all I want to look at the word used for Right. It comes from Strongs

#H6663 tsaw-dak'and it means to be (causativelymake) right(in amoral or forensic sense): - cleanse, clear self, (be, do) just (-ice, -ify, -ify

self), (be, turn to) righteous (-ness). Its the same word repeated in the

following verse:

You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I

am the LORD your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt. You

shall thus observe all My statutes, and all My

ordinances, and do them: I am the LORD7.

As defined in the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon,

this three letter word means straight, and

righteous: One who is uprightor righteous

is one who walks a straight path. There is a

2-letter root word found in the first two letters

of the Tzadi and the Dalet, pronounced Tsad. Its meaning is to hide, and a

side. Interestingly, it also means a stronghold. Justice must be a

stronghold in order to be effective. If it compromises its borders, allowing

the boundary markers to be moved much in the same way as we read in this

weeks parasha

Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time

have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the

LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it8

7Lev 19:36-37 NAS

8Deu 19:14


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we miscarry justice, we are now guilty of having wronged one another, we

become guilty then of having our neighbors blood on our own hands

which will result in bringing a curse not only upon us personally but upon

the body of Messiah as a whole! If you recall from last weeks study in

Reeh, we examined what a curse is and what it means. The word is kaw-lal'from Strongs #7043. A Kuf-Lamed-Lamed, and what we discovered in the

Paleo Hebrew was that it means to choose to lessen the voice and authority

of our Shepherd Yeshua! If you need

examples, go back to Exodus and

reacquaint yourself with the ten

plagues brought down upon

pharaoh and all of Egypt due to his

choice to harden his heart againstYHVHs Word9. But when we receive

YHVHs word and trust in Him to judge

us and follow His example we read,

So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when

thou shalt do that which is rightin the sight of the LORD10.

The word rightas it is used here in this last verse of the Torah

parasha is yaw-shar'. It is also used in defining Tsadawk, or

Righteousness in the Paleo Hebrew. Yawshar means upright, and a cord

as a tight rope is straight. A righteous one is one who is straight and firmly

holds up truth just as the cord is straight and firmly holds the wall of the

tent upright11. According to Hirsch it also translates as being faithful to

duty, and possesses a gradational variant known as a related root that

means to save12! In the Paleo this word also means Remnant! Who is the

remnant? We are! Beloved, listen, when we conduct our lives according to

YHVHs definition of justice, we become upright and are rebuilding the tent

of David like strong, straight cords used to hoist and hold up the walls ofThe wilderness tabernacle. When we conduct our lives in this way together

we then raise the house of YHVH on earth that invites the lost to come

9Shemot (Exo.) chapters 7-11

10Deu 21:9

11Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of The Bible, Jeff Benner, #1480L, p.286

12Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, Matityahu Clark, para. 3, p.112


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home and become found! We see this word repeatedly in Torah, and

especially if we expect to worship YHVH and be in His presence.

Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the uprightshall

dwell in thy presence13.

TZADDI. Righteous artthou, O LORD, and upright(yashar)are thy

judgments (mishpatim, from where we get shaw-fawt/judges)14.

Mishpatim, or judgmentsthese are what

we are to obey in order to live upright and

to establish justice in our lives and

communities. Too often we treat Torah as abuffet, because Yeshua paid it all we can

pursue a life of comfort, of pleasure, and

concentrate on building our little sand castles here right? We know that s

foolishness, but oftentimeswould we not all agree if we were ruling

rightly, that we say one thing and do another? We have His mishpatim in

order to have upright lives, but also to do so much more; that relationships

can be restored, that disease will flee, that salvation will enter a softened

heart and a tame neck so everyone can experience the peace and freedom

that comes from walking in The Truth of Torah as demonstrated by our

Messiah Yeshua. Beloved we read in the Brit

instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live

sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed

hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ

Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every

lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession,

zealous for good deeds. These things speak and exhort and reprove with allauthority. Let no one disregard you15.

13Psa 140:13

14Psa 119:137

15Tit 2:10-14 NAS)


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For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for

you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed

no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He

did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept

entrustingHimselfto Him who judges righteously; and He Himself boreour sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to

righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were

continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd

and Guardian of your souls16.

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves

for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin

resulting in death, or ofobedience resulting in righteousness?17

Do we then make void the law throughfaith? God forbid: yea, we

establish the law18.

If we are going to judge, let us judge righteously, not apart from Gods

Word. He says to prepare the way for the cities of refuge19. I am convinced

that one of the most powerful reasons why we do not see the physical

healings as recorded by the first century apostles is that too many within

the body want to play the part, but have reserved justice for themselves.

Why do I say that? Because whether or not one is willing to admit it, we allhave a measure of immaturity. There are times I want to go to my own

corner and just be alone. And its during those times that I have to be

careful because its easy to assume, to move the boundary markers of

justicetaking onus off of self and putting unrealistic expectations upon

others that I myself am unable to carry. Meanwhile we continue to behave

like parted waters rather than a congregation gathered together at the sea

side singing the song of YHVHs praises.

161Pe 2:21-25 NAS

17Rom 6:16 NAS

18Rom 3:31

19Deut.19:3


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AA FFiinnaall WWoorrdd

And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life:

that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this

law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above

his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the

right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his

kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel20.

That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not

aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left; the heart of

this message is about humility.Humility leaves room for forgiveness.

Humility restores relationshipand fosters mutual respect for one another.

Humility gives grace when truthfully, we really deserve the stocks. If we

allow YHVH to write His Word upon our hearts we will rule righteously,

because a King first and foremostis a servant unto all. Look at Yeshua. To

rule, we must learn how to serve, and when we serve one another in love,

we then are able to move into the presence of YHVH and experience that

intimacy that transforms us out of one-dimensional doom-sayers, into who

we were created to be all alongUpright, Righteous Over-comers.

Right on.

20Deu 17:19-20

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Bmidbar Ministries_Shoftim: Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9; Isa. 51:12-53:12; Matthew 5:38-42