fathers-in-law are not always bad. moses’ father-in-law, jethro, is arguably the greatest father-in-law in history. he provided moses and the world wisdom for the ages..
after the exodus from egypt, it is reported in the torah that
“[i]t came about on the next day that moses sat down to judge the people, and the people stood before moses from the morning until the evening. when moses’ father in law saw what he was doing to the people, he said, “what is this thing that you are doing to the people? why do you sit by yourself, while all the people stand before you from morning till evening?”
moses said to his father in law, “for the people come to me to seek god. If any of them has a case, he comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the statutes of god and his teachings.”
moses’ father in law said to him, “the thing you are doing is not good. you will surely wear yourself out both you and these people who are with you for the matter is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. now listen to me. i will advise you, and may the lord be with you. [you] represent the people before god, and you shall bring the matters to god. and you shall admonish them concerning the statutes and the teachings, and you shall make known to them the way they shall go and the deed[s] they shall do. But you shall choose out of the entire nation men of substance, god fearers, men of truth, who hate monetary gain, and you shall appoint over them [israel] leaders over thousands, leaders over hundreds, leaders over fifties, and leaders over tens. and they shall judge the people at all times, and it shall be that any major matter they shall bring to you, and they themselves shall judge every minor matter, thereby making it easier for you, and they shall bear [the burden] with you. If you do this thing, and the Lord commands you, you will be able to survive, and also, all this people will come upon their place in peace.”
moses obeyed his father in law, and he did all that he said. moses chose men of substance out of all Israel and appointed them as heads of the people, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, and leaders of tens. and they would judge the people at all times; the difficult case they would bring to moses, but any minor case they themselves would judge.” exodus 18:13
credit jethro for the foundation of the nation’s judicial system. he established the system, standards for judges’ training and qualifications.
a ten commandments-based society requires and demands a judicial system of the highest order. the system requires trained and reputable judges, access to justice, and access to a higher level of justice in cases of more substance or complexity.
with our current society, politicians and activists are anti-justice. they encourage rioting, looting, and mob rule. they condone crimes such as theft and property damage.
these anti-justice positions have led to crime sprees such as rampant car break-ins and lawlessness on the streets in major cities. the results of the conduct is so bad that planners for various conventions, prior to covid, were starting to reject cities such as san francisco as to being host their events.
let alone these consequence, the motivations in doing so may be equally perverse. they take the opportunity to raise monies for themselves at the expense of justice and their constituencies.
further, their advocacy towards defunding the police is essentially defunding the justice system as well. what need is there for court is criminals are not being arrested? we all see what happens when we go down this rabbit-hole. cities and communities have been destroyed and have become unlivable. lives are ended. people are harmed. dreams are crushed, and livelihoods are gone. all for what reason? is it so politicians and activists can line their pockets with money and maintain their power?
these individuals are perverting justice. it is time for them to leave. it is time for good people to take back and restore their cities. individuals still have the power to vote and defund these organizations.
as is stated in the torah “justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving you.” deuteronomy 16:20.
we, as members of society, can only “live” if we pursue justice! if there is no justice, there is no life to live.
be well!
The Ten Commandments Project 