Judges – Justificiation

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Judges

In Hebrew Shophetim, were the rulers, chiefs, or leaders of Israel, from Joshua to Saul. They were very different from the ordinary administrators of justice among the Hebrews, respecting whom, see JUSTICE. The Carthaginians, a colony of the Tyrians, had likewise governors, whom they called Suffetes, or Sophetim, with authority almost equal to that of kings.

The dignity of judge was for life; but the succession was not always constant. There were anarchies, or intervals, during which the commonwealth was without rulers. There were likewise long intervals of foreign servitude and oppression, under which the Hebrews groaned without deliverers. Although God alone regularly appointed the judges, yet the people, on some occasions, chose that individual who appeared to them most proper to deliver them from oppression; and as it often happened that the oppressions which occasioned recourse to the election of a judge were not felt over all Israel, the power of such judge extended only over that province which he had delivered. Thus it was chiefly the land east of the Jordan that Ehud, Jephthah, Elon, and Jair delivered and governed; Barak and Tola governed the northern tribes; Abdon the central; and Ibzan and Samson the southern. The authority of judges was little inferior to that of kings: it extended to peace and war; they decided causes with absolute authority; but had no power to make new laws, or to impose new burdens on the people. They were protectors of the laws, defenders of religion, and avengers of crimes, particularly of idolatry; they were without salary, pomp, or splendor; and without guards, train, or equipage, other than that their own wealth afforded.

The command of Jehovah to expel or destroy all the Canaanites, was but imperfectly executed; and those who were spared infected the Hebrews with the poison of their idolatry and vice. The affair of Micah and the Levite, and the crime at Gibeah which led to the ruinous war against the Benjamites, though recorded at the close of the book of :25, occurred not long after the death of Joshua, and show how soon Israel began to depart from God. To chastise them, he suffered the people of Mesopotamia and of Moab, the Canaanites, Midianites, Ammonites, and Philistines, in turn to oppress by their exactions apart of the tribes, and sometimes the whole nation. But before long, in pity for their sufferings, he would raise up one of the military and civil dictators above described. Fifteen judges are named in the Bible, beginning with Othniel, some twenty years after Joshua, and continuing till the coronation of Saul.

The time from Othniel to Saul, according to the received chronology, it is about 310 years. It is supposed that some periods overlap each other; but chronologists are not agreed as to the mode of reconciling the accounts in Judges with other known dates, and with , and , though several practicable methods are proposed, the examination of which would exceed the limits of this work.

THE BOOK OF JUDGES contains the annals of the times in which Israel was ruled by judges, and is often referred to in the New Testament and other parts of the Bible. It appears to have been written before David captured Zion, , and yet after a regal government was introduced, ; ; . Who was its author is unknown; the majority of critics ascribe it to Samuel, B. C. 1403, but many regard it as a compilation by Ezra. It illustrates God’s care over his people, mingling his long-suffering with timely chastisements. The period of the judges was, on the whole, one of prosperity; and while the providence of God confirmed his word, "If ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword," it is no less faithfully assured the, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall east of the good of the land."

Judgment

Is put, in ,, for a court of judgment, a tribunal, namely, the tribunal of seven judges, which Josephus mentions as existing in every city, and which decided causes of minor importance. See under SYNAGOGUE.

For the expression, "judgment-hall," see PRETORIUM.

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, for which the word "judgment" alone is sometimes used, is that great day, at the end of the world and of time, when Christ shall sit as judge over all the universe, and when every individual of the human race will be judged and recompensed according to his works, whether they be good or evil. The time of its coming and its duration are known only to God. It will break upon the world suddenly, and with a glorious but awful majesty. It will witness the perfect vindication of all the ways of God. The revelation of his justice, appalling but unstained, will fill the universe with approving wonder; but the revelation of his yet more amazing goodness will crown him with unutterable glory. The Redeemer especially will then receive his reward, and be glorified in his saints, who shall be raised from the dead in his likeness. He will divide all mankind into tow classes: all the righteous will be in one, and all the wicked in the other; all that love God in the one, and all that hate him in the other; all that penitently believed in Christ while they lived in the one, and all that died impenitent and unbelieving in the other. And this judgement and separation will be eternal: the former will rise in holiness and joy, and the latter sink in sin and woe forever, ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .

Julius

A centurion of the cohort of Augustus, to whom Festus, governor of Judea, committed Paul to be conveyed to Rome. Julius had great regard for Paul. He suffered him to land at Sidon, and to visit his friends there; and in a subsequent part of the voyage he opposed the violence of the soldiers, directed against the prisoners generally, in order to save the apostle, .

Juniper

Is found in the English Bible, ,; ; . The Hebrew word, however, signifies the plant Genista, or Spanish broom, which is common in the desert regions of Arabia, and has yellowish blossoms and a bitter root.

Jupiter

The supreme god of the heathen Greeks and Romans. He was called the son of Saturn and Ops, and was said to have been born in Crete. The character attributed to him in pagan mythology was a compound of all that is wicked, obscene, and beastly in the catalogue of human crime. Still he was ever described as of noble and dignified appearance and bearing. Barnabas was supposed by the people of Lystra to represent him, ,; .

Justice

A principle of righteousness and equity, controlling our conduct, and securing a due regard to all the rights of others-their persons, property, character, and interests. It has to do, not with pecuniary transactions alone, but with all our intercourse with society. It forms a chief element of the character approved in God’s word; and a truly just man has but to "love mercy, and walk humbly with God," to fulfil all righteousness. Justice in magistrates, rulers, and judges, must be fearless and impartial, and all its decisions such as will bear revision before the court of heaven, ,; ; . Judgement is peculiarly the prerogative of God, and every earthly tribunal lies under the shadow of the "great white throne." A just judgment is the voice of God; and hence an unjust one is doubly hateful in his sight.

THE JUSTICE OF GOD is that essential and infinite attribute which makes his nature and his ways the perfect embodiment of equity, and constitutes him the model and the guardian of equity throughout the universe, ; . The justice of God could not leave the world without laws, and cannot fail to vindicate them by executing their penalties; and as all mankind perpetually break them, every human soul is under condemnation, and must perish, unless spared through the accepted ransom, the blood of Christ.

THE ADMINSITRATION OF JUSTICE among the Hebrews, was characterized by simplicity and promptitude. In early times the patriarch of each family was its judge, . Afterwards, in the absence of more formal courts, the elders of a household, tribe, or city, were its judges by natural right. In the wilderness, Moses organized for the Jews a regular system of judges, some having jurisdiction over ten families, others over fifty, one hundred, or one thousand. The difficult cases were referred to Moses, and he often sought divine direction concerning them, ; . These judges were perhaps the "princes of the congregation," and the chiefs of the families and tribes of whom we afterwards read, . In the land of Canaan, local magistrates were appointed for every city and village; and these were instructed to cooperate with the priests, as being all together under the theocracy, the actual government of Jehovah, the supreme Judge of Israel, ; ; ; . Their informal courts were held in the gate of the city, as the most public and convenient place, ; ; ; and in the same place contracts were ratified, ,; . Deborah the prophetess judged Israel beneath a palm-tree, . Samuel established virtually a circuit court, ; ; and among the kings, Jehoshaphat made special provision for the faithful administration of justice, . The kings themselves were supreme judges, with almost unlimited powers, ; ,; . They were expected, however, to see that justice was everywhere done, and seem to have been accessible to all who were wronged. Frequent complaints are on record in the sacred books of the maladministration of judges, of bribery and perjury, ; ; ; ; ; .

There was no class among the Jews exactly corresponding to our lawyers. The accuser and the accused stood side by side before the judge, with their witnesses, and pleaded their own cause. The accuser is named in several places, Satan, that is, the adversary, ; . No one could be condemned without the concurring testimony of at least two witnesses, ; and these failing, he was obliged to make oath of his innocence, ; . The sentence of the judge was instantly executed; and in certain cases the witnesses cast the first stone, ,; ; ; ; ; . The same frightful celerity still marks the administration of justice in the East. The application of torture to extract evidence is only once mentioned, and that under the authority of Rome, . See SANHEDRIM and SYNAGOGUE.

Justificiation

The being regarded and treated as if innocent; or acquittal from the consequences of guilt before the tribunal of God. "Justification by faith" means that a person, on account of true and living faith in Christ as manifested by good works, will be delivered from condemnation on account of his sins; that is, his sins will be forgiven, and he be regarded and treated as if innocent and holy. Thus, besides the remission of sins and their penalty, it includes the restoration and everlasting enjoyment of the favor of God.

We obtain justification by faith in Christ. Yet neither this nor any other act of ours, as a work, is any ground of our justification. In acquitting us before his bar, God regards not our works, in whole or in part, but the atoning work and merits of Christ. He was treated as a sinner, that we might be treated as righteous. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus;" the moment we believe, our justification is as perfect as the infinite worthiness of our Redeemer. Its validity does not depend on the measure of our assurance of hope, nor on spotless holiness of life. Sanctification, indeed, or progressive growth in holiness, commences simultaneously with justification, and must in the end reach the same perfectness. Yet it is important to distinguish between the two, and to observe that, could the believer’s holiness become as perfect as an angel’s, it could not share with the atoning merits of Christ in entitling him to admission to heaven.

"The best obedience of my hands

Dares not appear before thy throne;

But faith can answer thy demands,

By pleading what my Lord hath done."

True justification, by the gratuitous gift of the Savior, furnishes

the most powerful motive to a holy life. It is followed by adoption,

peace of conscience, and the fruits of the Spirit in this life; and

by final sanctification, acquittal in the day of judgment, and

admittance to heaven, ; ; ; ;