12.5 Justice and the Civil Law
March 2008
References and Notes:
The Law in Every Day Life
The Sanhedrin
Health and Dietary Laws
Jewish writings
References
Law, law, law! Why so much talk about law? Now, wait just a minute. I don’t think you really want to live in a place with no law at all. It seems that people are quite happy to live where people are law abiding. Laws are given to protect the rights, freedoms, and properties of people. Laws help people to get along with each other!
The civil laws were given to Israel to regulate the life of the community. These laws were largely an expansion of the last six of the ten commandments, and in this regard support permanent principles. They were tied to the theocratic government of Israel, and ended when the theocratic government ended in A.D. 34. These laws were not part of the covenant.
“And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
“And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.
“And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
“Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again” (Leviticus 24:17-20).
When the generic term “law” is spoken of in the Bible, it can refer to the civil, ceremonial, or moral law; or all three! It may also refer to the first five books of Moses. In some New Testament passages it is difficult to determine which law is being spoken of except by context. There is not too much controversy over the civil law, except where the Jewish rabbis added numerous traditions and regulations to the law making it burdensome.
There is no question but that men must be in compliance with the law of God. But how about the civil law? A Christian must regard the civil government as also being ordained by God. The nature of sinful man is such that there will always be wicked men who will be restrained only by fear of punishment, and who at times need to be dealt with severely.
For the Christian, the civil government holds no terror. A person who keeps the law of God will also be a law abiding citizen, loving and helping his neighbors.
1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2 “Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
3 “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
4 “For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
5 “Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
6 “for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
7 “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour” (Romans 13:1-7).
The question arises: What if the law of man contradicts the law of God? The early church faced this repeatedly when the civil government tried to stop their witnessing and their preaching. In our modern world, this situation is most likely to arise in military organizations. Here we need to remember what Peter said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
In recent history, atrocities on a massive scale were committed because men felt that they had to “obey orders.” What can the Christian do in that situation? There were a few who refused to carry out wicked orders and suffered imprisonment and death as a result. On a personal basis, how can a person protect a refugee in his home, yet tell the truth when questioned? Bill Gothard, of “Basic Youth Conflicts” made an interesting comment: You must obey, but obey creatively! Another approach is to tell the truth, thus giving the problem to God, who has a thousand ways to solve even the most difficult problem. In the story of Corrie Ten Boom, she had a sister Betsy, who absolutely could not tell a lie, even to the Nazi’s. There were no refugees who suffered as a consequence, and Betsy was never imprisoned.
There are situations that will arise for which we cannot prepare. We have the promise that the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say:
11 “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:
12 “For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say” (Luke 12:11-12).
The everlasting covenant is best shown in how people treat each other. This is shown in the common goals and in the personal ethics of the community. It is shown in how people worship, and how the moral law forms the character of each individual. It is also shown in the civil laws that govern society.
The Hebrews in Egypt were an oppressed slave people. They had native ability, of course, but as slaves they had no opportunity for education or advancement. In this condition, their principle daily concern was simply self preservation.
It would not be easy for a leader to communicate with or to lead such a people. Moses, with a named staff of Aaron and his sons, Miriam, Joshua, and Hur led the people. There were also tribal leaders. Initially, Moses personally acted as judge for the entire nation. This was a crushing burden, not relieved until his father-in-law visited him just before they reached Sinai.
As a result of his advice, Moses organized a government whereby a hierarchy of lesser officials were appointed, with Moses reserved only for major problems.
Shortly after Israel left Sinai, a council of seventy members were appointed from the higher ranks of these officials. It is reasonable to believe that the Sanhedrin had its roots in this council.
16 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
17 “And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone” (Numbers 11:16-17).
This body was initially made up of elders and officers of the people. The official Sanhedrin began during the Persian period with the Jews who returned to Jerusalem. At that time it consisted of priests and members of aristocratic families. Later Scribes, mostly Pharisees, were added as a third group.
The Great Sanhedrin, consisting of seventy one members, was the highest advisory, legislative, or administrative body in Jewish life. In the time of Jesus they had authority over all matters relating to the Jewish religion, and much authority over civil life also including the death penalty for specific crimes. They also worked to develop and interpret the “Oral Law” which became the binding authority on all Jews. Violation of this law could be punished even by the death penalty (1). They met in the “Chamber of Hewn Stones in the Temple.” In villages and towns of more than 120 people were lesser Sanhedrins of twenty three members each; and in small villages there was a court of three judges.
While not a democratic institution, every effort was made to ensure justice and fairness through the qualifications of the judges and the rules by which they operated. A judge must be capable, trustworthy, wise, discerning, experienced and impartial regarding treatment of rich and poor. He must be knowledgeable in business and even know something about the evil ways of present life in order to judge with knowledge. Also he must be a family man with children, mature but not aged (2).
Much more is said about qualifications, but even this much is daunting. Could our present judges and elected representatives qualify under even this short list? It is not certain how members were appointed. The aristocratic nature of the body and the presence of class lines would indicate that it was not by popular vote. They were probably appointed by the Sanhedrin itself, or by the Romans (3).
In the Greater Sanhedrin as well as in the lesser courts, there were no attorneys. Instead, the accusing witness stated the offense in the presence of the accused and the accused could call witnesses on his own behalf. The court questioned the accused, the accusers and the defense witnesses. Decisions were rendered by the judges, each of whom were required to come to an independent decision.
Could such an arrangement be immune to bias or to influence or money from one side of a case? These problems were recognized and every effort was made to avoid any miscarriage of justice. It is beyond the scope of this project to go into detail the safeguards built into this system. Please see the references and the internet websites listed.
At Creation the original diet included “every herb bearing seed ... and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed” (Genesis 1:29). God gave man a vegetarian diet! He must have known something! The vegetarian diet has now been proven superior to the common diet built around flesh foods. People who follow this diet have less heart disease, cancer, stroke, and live longer.
After the flood, God permitted flesh foods in the diet, except that blood was forbidden (Genesis 9:3, 4). Note also that before the flood people lived over 900 years. After the flood the life spans rapidly decreased until men were dying of old age at seventy, as they do now. Was this because of their diet?
There was a distinction between clean and unclean animals when they entered the ark. Permission to eat flesh foods probably extended only to those clean meats. Clean meats are described in detail in Leviticus 11 and Deut 14:3-21.
44 “For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
47 “To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten” (Leviticus 11:44, 47).
The reason God made this distinction between clean and unclean meats was to promote holiness. The same injunction was given in Deuteronomy 14. The laws promoting cleanliness and sanitation were for the same reason. It is God’s purpose that we partake of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), that Christians be holy, even as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). God desires such to worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).
To achieve the goal that God has for His people does not come naturally, nor does it come easily. It requires that each person denies him/herself, makes a total commitment to serve God, and consents to the full action of grace in his/her life.
These are matters that cannot be measured by the usual scientific instruments. The committed Christian will usually recognize the importance of these factors in his experience.
The following is given for interest. The Jews had extensive writings and a highly developed theology about the promised Messiah, much of which was true and offered insight into the thinking at the time of Christ. Unfortunately, much was also misleading and lead many to reject their Messiah when He came.
The Talmud is the authoritative body of Jewish tradition comprising the Mishnah and the Gemara.
The Mishnah is the collection of mostly halakic Jewish traditions compiled about 200 AD and made the basic part of the Talmud.
The Gemara is a commentary on the Mishnah forming the second part of the Talmud.
(Webster’s ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1984
The Midrash is a halakic exposition of a Bible text. The Midrashic literature was written during the first Christian Millenium.
Halakah is the body of Jewish law supplementing the Jewish law and forming the legal part of the Talmud.
Targums are the Aramaic translations and paraphrases of portions of the Old Testament.
In this collection of writings, the law had been greatly expanded by detailed regulations and instructions, much of which was supported by tradition alone. By the time of Jesus Christ, the system had become burdensome and unwieldy.
One more term is of interest. Today, the most frequently employed Hebrew term for the Bible is the acronym “Ta-Na-Kh” (TANAKH), derived from the initial letters of the names of its three major divisions: Torah (five books of Moses), Neviim (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings). For those who are interested I would recommend an interesting and helpful book, The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions, by Ronald L. Eisenberg: The Jewish Publication Society, 2004.
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1. Eisenberg RL: The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions. Philadelphia, 2004.563-570
2. Shoenberg S: The Sanhedrin. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Sanhedrin.html>
3. Langbert M and Friedman HH: Perspectives on Transformational Leadership in the Sanhedrin of Ancient Judaism. <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/economic/friedman/sanhedrin.htm>