Psalm 19:7 – “The Law of the Lord is perfect…”
In the past few weeks I have seen one of the greatest debacles ever displayed in American politics and law. I am not writing this as a conservative or a liberal, as I think in many ways both have sold out to the American people focusing only on their special agendas with little to no care of how it affects the American people in general. I write this as a Christian, as a husband, and as a father who desperately cares about the way my sons and daughter will be treated in the world they grow up in, and sees all people as image bearers who deserve to be treated justly and fairly in all matters. The allegations against Judge Kavanaugh and the accusations made by Dr. Ford are extremely serious and in no way should have been taken lightly or utilized for political leverage, much of which has happened on both sides.
After the accusations came out, immediately, both sides already splintered in such a way that seems beyond repair, began to sharpen their knives ready to plunge them into the other. Dr. Ford brought forth extremely troubling evidence, but closer examination of those witnesses and evidence proved to be extremely shortcoming, and in many ways dead ends. Her testimony was moving and heart wrenching for anyone to hear, but there were so many inconsistencies, and significant memory lapses which indeed can be caused by trauma. Judge Kavanaugh fully denied any of the claims, and the evidences put forth against him did not in any way corroborate the accusations made against him. Therefore, without any other evidence coming forth we were left with the basic “he said, she said.” Not a single shred of evidence or witness was put forth that in any way would be sufficient to convict or condemn Judge Kavanaugh, and therefore that is what we were left with. Judge Kavanaugh based upon his record as a judge, family man, and with a lack of any corroborating evidence sustaining the claims against him should not be demonized the way he has been by so many on one side and should be allowed to serve on the Supreme Court, while the other side should not denigrate Dr. Ford who may very well have been harmed by someone and is just unable to support her claims. It is likely that the full truth of what happened 36 years ago exists only in the mind of God. Yet here we stand both sides completely polarized with the precedence of American law and politics hanging in the balance, and I am reminded more than ever why God’s Law is still very relevant.
John Jay, the first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, fully based American Judicial Law on the biblical principles laid out by God through Moses. He writes, “Legal punishments are adjusted and inflicted by the law and magistrate, and not by unauthorized individuals. These and all other positive laws or ordinances established by Divine direction, must of necessity be consistent with the moral law. It certainly was not the design of the law…to encourage a spirit of personal or private revenge. On the contrary, there are express injunctions in the law of Moses which inculcate a very different spirit. A Spirit of justice and truth.”
There is so much about these kind of cases that God specifically dealt with in the Law we have revealed to us in Scripture. In Deuteronomy 19, God takes up the necessary requirements to bring a just accusation against a person, and what ought to be done based upon the accusation being brought forth. We read:
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst” (Deut. 19:15-19).
God in his inscrutable wisdom wrote specific requirements in his law that would protect a person from being falsely accused, by establishing a proper basis with which one should be justly convicted by (two or three witnesses). In our day these witnesses could be any sufficient means of evidence which corroborate with the testimony of the victim against the accused. But also do you see that God actually wrote a clause that if one was found to be a false witness they would actually receive the punishment that the one they falsely accused faced. This was done we are told in those verses, to keep anyone else from ever doing such evil. God in this short passage provided a way in which the accused and the accuser would both rightly and fairly be treated in a court procedure.
However, I know many will read this and say well women were second class citizens in the Bible, so that would have only worked for men so don’t try to use your Bible here. Well I would say that you are 100% wrong on your statement. God radically cared for women and victims, specifically in the area of sexual assault and rape. Look at this passage from Deuteronomy 22:
Deuteronomy 22:25-27 “But if in the open country a man meets a young woman, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.”
Do you see that, God says if a man rapes and sexually assaults a woman, not only should he be convicted if it is found true, he should die (a punishment that I very much still agree with). But not only that, the woman is to be cared for and protected by her community with no shame at all added to her character! That shows just how much God cares for the sanctity of women, and the protection of them from being harmed.
God’s law is absolutely perfect, and it served as the basis in forming our entire judicial system in America and rightly so. But we are seeing what happens when God’s law is removed. An entire system, where men and women’s lives hang in the balance, is robbed of all objectivity and justice. God’s law is perfect because it reflects His nature: just, true, righteous, and compassionate. When any system of law is divorced of these elements, chaos and totalitarianism are simply steps away. Which is why God’s law will always be relevant.
The Ramblings of a Young Minister 