Although princes and warriors and priests are important in a civilization, one of the most important people is always judges, or those who guard the daily distribution of judgment.
They’re doubly important in a civilization like Israel, however, because not only do the local people need to have confidence that justice is served, but their future depends on it. If the people drift into moral decay, God will get involved, no matter how “successful” the nation is otherwise.
For such an important position, you would think God would have a lot more requirements for these people. Instead, He just tells the people to “appoint for yourself” these types of men. The only stipulation is that they must judge “with righteous judgment.”
What does that mean exactly? God explains that in the following verses, stating that they should not “distort” justice and not be “partial.”
Probably the quickest way to fail at both of those things is to receive a bribe, which God states emphatically that judges should stay away from.
Normally, when we think about bribes, we imagine back room dealings between county judges and members of the mafia, where a shady-looking guy hands a crooked judge an envelope of money in exchange for letting their partner walk.
In reality, the idea in this passage could stretch even into general payment for services (ref. Micah 3:11). If that’s the case, then what Moses says is that the judge isn’t to receive anything from either interested party for hearing the case; instead, they would be paid by the state. This frees up their judgment to be as impartial as possible.
You might think that a good person wouldn’t skew judgment in either direction, regardless of what they’re given. But this Text highlights the very real temptation that exists when money enters a situation. Regardless of what you intend, it’s nearly impossible for someone not to consider gifts when they weigh outcomes.
That’s why Moses uses the words “pervert” and “blind” in this passage. It’s not necessarily that they create a patently unfair decision, but that the decision-making process is skewed in and of itself.
Judges need to do everything possible to place themselves above such contamination. Instead, their sole pursuit, every single time they hear a case, is to find justice.