“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous." vv.18-19
Read chapter 16
The gates was where the local town council sat as the basic unit of government. This is where business was conducted and seats of judgment set up at this city entrance for judges, officers and elders. We see this in Ruth 4 when Boaz meets with other elders of the city in the seats that were set up at the city gate to discuss a matter. These judges and officers were to judge with just judgment, not perverting the the law which in Hebrew it's literally "regard faces." The were to accuse and judge according to what the person did and not who the person was. Unfortunately that is exactly what happened of judges showing partiality, taking bribes, letting rich rob the poor, not obeying the laws of the sabbath year or year of jubilee that all ultimately led to their downfall and God sending time in to captivity. In places of leadership, spiritual character and truth is far more important than popularity, talent or wealth. This is the opposite of what we are seeing today in who's leading in the presidential nominations.
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