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What Does Šāp̄aṭ Pete Hegseth and Jack Smith?

What Does Šāp̄aṭ Pete Hegseth and Jack Smith?

Last updated on: January 15, 2025 at 8:42 pm by Martin Thomas Johnson

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What Does Šāp̄aṭ Pete Hegseth and Jack Smith? 2025-01-15T20:42:44-05:00 Martin Thomas Johnson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This week the big news has been about the Senate confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump’s cabinet members. The hearings are a normal part of the Senate’s vetting process for cabinet members. They are not a form of political persecution despite what many conservatives believe.

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This has been a normal political process since the formation of our nation almost 250 years ago. The only unusual thing about this administration is its pick for controversial picks like Pete Hegseth.

Deceptive
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President-elect Trump’s picks for his cabinet members give us a glimpse of his character and values. His original pick for attorney general has already been unsuccessful. The remaining candidates are just as unqualified for the leadership positions Mr. Trump has nominated them for.

God’s people are called to have nothing to do with those who practice evil (Psalm 1:1, Proverbs 24:1, Romans 16:17, Ephesians 5:11.) We cannot live and judge like the world (1 Samuel 16:7.)

What Is Judging

We live in a fallen world, and we must judge between good and evil. Judging is defined as, “To form or give an opinion or to decide something about someone or something; express a bad opinion about someone’s behavior.”

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We must judge between right and wrong and then decide who or what we will follow. God’s people are called to avoid evil and darkness (Romans 12:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:22.) This is why the Bible has so much to say about judging.

We must judge between good and evil and then obey God (John 7:24, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Ephesians 4:14, Hebrews 5:14.) Discerning helps us make better choices and judgments in life.

God’s people are to discern between good and evil and let God judge everyone according to their works (2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 2:6, 1 Peter 1:17.) The apostles remembered their Jewish education about judging and God’s final judgment.

Šāp̄aṭ****

The ancient world was evil and full of false gods, God’s people needed to discern between good and evil in order to be a holy nation devoted to God and His ways (Leviticus 19:2.) Judging in Judaism isn’t the same as what most of us understand as judging in the 21st century, the Hebrew word in the Old Testament for judge is šāp̄aṭ and it can also mean, “Govern, punish, or vindicate,” depending upon the context it was used in. God takes judging seriously because He is the ultimate judge of everyone. The Torah gives specific guidelines for how God’s people are to judge (Exodus 23:3, Leviticus 19:15-17, Deuteronomy 1:17; 16:19-20.)

A key requirement of judging in Judaism is judging fairly and carefully. Because of the sinful heart of man, God appointed judges to watch over Israel (Deuteronomy 16:18-22.)

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Ehud
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The prophesied Messiah is also a righteous judge (Isaiah 11:3-4, Micah 5:1-2.) The New Testament writers often refer to Jesus as a judge (Matthew 25:31-32, John 5:22; 16:27, Acts 10:42, Romans 2:16, 2 Corinthians 5:10, 2 Timothy 4:1, 1 Peter 4:5, Revelation 5:4.)

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The church must remember that although we won’t be judged for our sins, we will be judged for our works (Romans 14:10-12, 2 Corinthians 5:10.) That is why Jesus taught His Disciples and followers to be careful how they judged others (Matthew 7:1-5, Luke 6:37, John 8:7-11.)

Jesus often gave His harshest rebukes to the religious leaders of His day for how they judged others (Matthew 23:1-39, Luke 20:45-47.) We are to discern between good and evil, we don’t get to condemn or judge it because we too are sinful humans (Romans 3:23.)

Jack Smith

After resigning last week from office, Jack Smith released his final report on Pres. elect Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Despite what many conservatives say or want to believe, the entire world saw and heard what happened on January 6th, 2021.

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Based on what we saw and heard, it is easy to discern what the people of God should have done. However, as Mr. Smith noted, “ Trump should have been convicted if he hadn’t won the 2024 presidential election.”

God’s people don’t have to discern what to do about evil and those who do evil acts, we are called to avoid these people, not support them (Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:11, 2 Timothy 3:5.)

Greed
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This judgment isn’t condemning, but discernment to do good and obey God as opposed to our sinful hearts and men.

Our allegiance is to God, not a man, a party, or an earthly kingdom (1 Peter 2:9.) We must discern and let God judge. The late Billy Graham once said, “It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and my job to love.”

The church’s job isn’t to judge, we discern, love people, and show them the love of God (Matthew 22:39.) Because, in the end, it is our God who will šāp̄aṭ!

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