The Birth of Political Campaigns

Deuteronomy 1: 9-18

Moses continues his spiel.  He's hosting "A Very Special This is Your Life."  - Hey Israelites, remember when you had all these kids- like a ton- like so many that it became impossible for me to actually lead you by myself anymore?  That was pretty cool- and I hope you keep procreating like rabbits, I hope God keeps on blessing you like that.  But as I said, you are all too large a group to be controlled by one little Moses, so I told you to choose some of your best men- smart, compassionate and respected fellas, and I'll put them over you.  

You might recall your thoughtful and articulate response, "Great idea!"

After  I rolled my eyes, I appointed the leaders you brought me.  I told them- You will be your tribe's Judge Judy.  Whenever there's a problem, it'll be your job to hear the dispute and to judge fairly.  I don't care if you're judging between two Israelites or and Israelite and a foreigner- still be fair.  And by fair, I mean impartial.  

Don't be intimidated. Don't be afraid of the people you may have to bring judgment against. Don't be worried that you'll mess up.  You will be speaking on behalf of God, so you have a pretty good ally on your side.  Pretty, pretty good.  

And if something comes along that's too hard for you to figure out, bring it by- I'll be happy to take those cases.  After all, I'm Moses. 

It seems Moses here is recapping the recent oral history of the people as historians of this time were want to do.  This chapter seems to serve a dual purpose- it refreshes the Israelites on their people's history (since the history books were a little tough to come by) and catches up readers as well (last week on God's Law and Order...)

I'm glad to see the emphasis on treating the non-Israelite fairly.  Even in a culture where membership (and specifically here genetic membership) is everything, God emphasizes fair treatment to people not in the club- an idea too often neglected by God's people today.