[Endnote 29]. (1) "If men could lose their natural rights so as to be
absolutely unable for the future to oppose the will of the sovereign" (2)
Two common soldiers undertook to change the Roman dominion, and did change
it. (Tacitus, Hist. i:7.)
[Endnote 30]. (1) See Numbers xi. 28. In this passage it is written that
two men prophesied in the camp, and that Joshua wished to punish them. (2)
This he would not have done, if it had been lawful for anyone to deliver the
Divine oracles to the people without the consent of Moses. (3) But Moses
thought good to pardon the two men, and rebuked Joshua for exhorting him to
use his royal prerogative, at a time when he was so weary of reigning, that
he preferred death to holding undivided sway (Numb. xi:14). (4) For he made
answer to Joshua, "Enviest thou for my sake? (5) Would God that all the
Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His spirit upon
them." (6) That is to say, would God that the right of taking counsel of God
were general, and the power were in the hands of the people. (7) Thus Joshua
was not mistaken as to the right, but only as to the time for using it, for
which he was rebuked by Moses, in the same way as Abishai was rebuked by
David for counselling that Shimei, who had undoubtedly been guilty of
treason, should be put to death. (8) See 2 Sam. xix:22, 23.
[Endnote 31]. (1) See Numbers xxvii:21. (2) The translators of the Bible
have rendered incorrectly verses 19 and 23 of this chapter. (3) The passage
does not mean that Moses gave precepts or advice to Joshua, but that he made
or established him chief of the Hebrews. (4) The phrase is very frequent in
Scripture (see Exodus, xviii:23; 1 Sam. xiii:15; Joshua i:9; 1 Sam.
xxv:80).
[Endnote 32] (1) "There was no judge over each of the captains save
God." (2) The Rabbis and some Christians equally foolish pretend that the
Sanhedrin, called "the great" was instituted by Moses. (3) As a matter of
fact, Moses chose seventy colleagues to assist him in governing, because he
was not able to bear alone the burden of the whole people; but he
never passed any law for forming a college of seventy members; on the
contrary he ordered every tribe to appoint for itself, in the cities which
God had given it, judges to settle disputes according to the laws which he
himself had laid down. (4) In cases where the opinions of the judges
differed as to the interpretation of these laws, Moses bade them take
counsel of the High Priest (who was the chief interpreter of the law), or of
the chief judge, to whom they were then subordinate (who had the right of
consulting the High Priest), and to decide the dispute in accordance with
the answer obtained. (5) If any subordinate judge should assert, that he was
not bound by the decision of the High Priest, received either directly or
through the chief of his state, such an one was to be put to death (Deut.
xvii:9) by the chief judge, whoever he might be, to whom he was a
subordinate. (6) This chief judge would either be Joshua, the supreme
captain of the whole people, or one of the tribal chiefs who had been
entrusted, after the division of the tribes, with the right of consulting
the high priest concerning the affairs of his tribe, of deciding on peace or
war, of fortifying towns, of appointing inferior judges, &c. (7) Or, again,
it might be the king, in whom all or some of the tribes had vested their
rights.
(8) I could cite many instances in confirmation of what I here advance. (9) I
will confine myself to one, which appears to me the most important of all. (10)
When the Shilomitish prophet anointed Jeroboam king, he, in so doing, gave him
the right of consulting the high priest, of appointing judges, &c. (11) In fact
he endowed him with all the rights over the ten tribes, which Rehoboam retained
over the two tribes. (12) Consequently Jeroboam could set up a supreme council
in his court with as much right as Jehoshaphat could at Jerusalem (2 Chron.
xix:8). (13) For it is plain that neither Jeroboam, who was king by God's
command, nor Jeroboam's subjects, were bound by the Law of Moses to accept the
judgments of Rehoboam, who was not their king. (14) Still less were they under
the jurisdiction of the judge, whom Rehoboam had set up in Jerusalem as
subordinate to himself. (15) According, therefore, as the Hebrew dominion was
divided, so was a supreme council set up in each division. (16) Those who
neglect the variations in the constitution of the Hebrew States, and confuse
them all together in one, fall into numerous difficulties.