Bible Verses About Courts of Justice

So Ephron’s field at Machpelah near Mamre, the cave that was in it, and all the trees within the boundaries of the field were deeded over

to Abraham’s possession in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city.

After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.

The next day Moses took his seat to judge the people, and they stood around him from morning until evening.

When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?”

“Because the people come to me to inquire of God,” Moses replied.

“Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.”

But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good.

Surely you and these people with you will wear yourselves out, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone.

Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him.

Teach them the statutes and laws, and show them the way to live and the work they must do.

So Moses went out and relayed to the people the words of the LORD, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.

Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.

Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp.

A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”

Then Moses returned to the camp, along with the elders of Israel.

At that time I said to you, “I cannot carry the burden for you alone.

The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over and bless you as He has promised.

But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes all by myself?

Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”

And you answered me and said, “What you propose to do is good.”