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Here A Little - There A Little
Moses' Mosaic
Thus far, Moses has mentioned seven qualifications for public office. Three in Deuteronomy
1:13. Four more in Exodus 18:21. And another in Deuteronomy
17:14-15. All the information was not in one place.
- Wise.
- Understanding.
- Known.
- Able men.
- Such as fear God.
- Men of truth.
- Hating covetousness.
- Must be a 'brother' and not a 'stranger'.
Here A Little - There A Little: A key to Bible understanding, and
finding the answers to your questions is in the "here a little, there a
little" principle mentioned in Isaiah 28:9-11. At first glance Exodus
l8:l3-27 and Deuteronomy l:9-18 appeared to be just two accounts of the same event.
Closer examination revealed that qualifications for leaders contained in one are
not found in the other. We had to examine both accounts to find all the
qualifications. A great deal of the Bible is written this way. For example;
Samuel, Kings and Chronicles are parallels similar to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John. Examples are:
- Solomon's prayer and God's answer in l Kings 8:22-9:9 and 2 Chronicles
6:l2-7:22.
- 2 Samuel l0 and l Chronicles l9.
- 2 Kings l8:l3-l9:37, 2 Chronicles 32:l-23 and Isaiah 36 & 37.
- 2 Kings 20:l2-2l and Isaiah 39.
Deuteronomy 1:16-17 and Leviticus 19:15.
Deuteronomy 1:16-17 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear [the causes] between your brethren, and judge righteously between [every] man and his brother, and the stranger [that is] with him.
17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; [but] ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment [is] God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring [it] unto me, and I will hear it.
Leviticus 19:15 Ye shall do no
unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor
honour the person of the mighty: [but] in righteousness shalt thou judge thy
neighbour.
Quoting from page 14 of The Biblical Basis of the Constitution by Dan
Gilbert, Justice Holmes said, "At the foundation of our civil liberty lies
the principle which denies to government officials an exceptional position
before the law and subjects them to the same rules of conduct that are commands
to the citizen."
This central principle of the American Constitution - that
no one is above the law, nor beneath the law, that all citizens are 'equal
before the law' is derived directly from the Bible. In Leviticus 19:15, it is
provided: Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the
person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty.
The American Colonists
were the first group of men in the history of the world to write into the
enduring law, the Constitution, of their nation a confirmation and enforcement
of this Divine Commandment." Chief Justice Taft said, "Equal
protection of the laws means and safeguards 'equality of treatment of all
persons'. The Divine principle, 'Ye shall not respect persons in judgment', was
given its highest human expression in the American Constitution's provision for
a 'government of laws not of men."
The very oath which each Justice of the United States Supreme Court takes
upon ascending the Bench is based upon Deuteronomy 1:16-17. That oath is,
"I do solemnly swear that I will administer justice without respect of
persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will
faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon
me as Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, according to the best
of my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the
United States: So help me God."
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