We think a judge is someone who confronts criminals

and sentence them, if they are guilty or set them free, if

they are innocent. A Judge in the time the Judges is not
the same as what we know as it today. In this study we will
look at what it means to be a Judge according to Scripture
and if this function is still valid and needed for today.

Judge:

Judge is the Hebrew word "shaphat" - - judgment,

act of judgment, to judge, to govern, vindicate, punish, to act
as lawgiver or judge or governor.

We see the Scriptural meaning of a “Judge” is to Govern, A Judge is anointed to do the

to Lead, to teach the Law or Torah to YHVH’s people and following:
to apply YHVH’ s Torah to judge and to confront those who
are rebellious and out of line. Do we need leaders today? • Lead people
Do we need the Torah today? Do we need issues resolved • Lead the people in war
and reprimand people who rebel and go astray? Yes, we • Teach the people the Torah
need all these things to help the people to follow YHVH in • Use the Torah to sort out
one accord and to understand His Instructions so that they disputes among the people
can represent the Messiah as one Body. We also saw this
in the first section in the prophetic meaning of the Book of • Facilitate discussions
Judges that it applies to us as believers today. Without regarding issues.
Judges / Leaders, the people will do whatever they think is • Enforce the Torah in seeing
right in their own eyes and there will be no unity and no that the consequences of
Body of Messiah. sin are dealt with fairly.

Background - Judges or Leaders found in

Scripture

After YHVH led Israel out of Egypt they were led by Moses, (a prophet), and then by
Joshua who led the people into the Promised Land. After Joshua there were twelve
Judges who led the people within the Promised Land. Israel then wanted a king like
the pagan nations and YHVH gave them Saul. Saul was a wicked king and had a
short reign and was replaced by David, a righteous king YHVH chose.

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Israel always needed some form of leadership (judge) because of their ‘human
nature’ and number, to keep them in line and to guide them into the Will and Plan of
YHVH. Moses was the first leader and the first judged over the people of Israel.

Moses had to sort out all the issues and disputes in the camp and it were a
tremendous task because there were about 7000 Israelites (with about 600 chiefs)
and a mixed multitude of other slaves, which would properly make it in the order of
10 000 people in total. (See article on ‘How many people left Egypt’ for detail) This
was not effective because Moses was doing this daily and it took up all of his time
and he couldn’t even get to all the people who needed advice. Jethrow, Moses’
father-in-law, advised him to set up leaders over the people and to teach them
YHVH’s Laws so that they would be able to judge the people as he did.

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We see that Moses chose people with certain attributes to help him to govern the
people and to sort out any issues they might have. If the matter was to great, they
brought it to Moses to resolve. Moses appointed leaders over 1000, leader over 100,
leaders over 50 and leaders over 10. The ratio is mostly 1:10, 1 leader for every 10
people. This is a guideline to us to when appoint leaders to guide YHVH’s people in
His Assemblies and I believe that this will be very relevant in the last day events to
lead the people through the Tribulation. (We will go into more detail later in this
study).

The lowest form of leadership is found within the family unit where the Husband is
the leader of his family and his wife is his helper and his children must listen to his
counsel and guidance. YHVH uses the smallest things to accomplish the greater
things, and in the same way, uses the family as the foundational foundation of
leadership. The governing of your family is the most important part of the Assembly
of YHVH, which forms the foundation of His structure. If the family units are
corrupted, the whole assembly will be corrupted and everything will turn into chaos
and be destroyed. You cannot become a leader if your family is not in order that is
why Satan attacks families in order to break down the body of Messiah.

You as believer in Messiah are in a process of being ‘trained’ to become one of the
leaders YHVH wants to appoint to help guide His flock and teach them His Torah and
His ways. This is necessary because there will be a lot of people who will come into
the Kingdom at the end of time and YHVH will rise up people to govern the masses.

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How do I become a Leader?

The fist step in attaining leadership is to get your family in line with the Word of
YHVH and to govern them with YHVH’s wisdom, and to teach them YHVH’s truth by
setting the right example. A true and effective leader will lead by example.

The next step is to be discipled and you must find someone you can learn from. You
can learn from people over the Internet but it is much more practical if you can learn
from the people in your local fellowship. You can only disciple someone if you
yourself have been discipled. To be humble and teachable is the key in learning
everything you need to be equipped as a leader.

The last step is patience and experience. You need to live what you have learned
and learn wisdom from living as you apply His Torah. As you learn and live, you will
grow into the full stature of what YHVH wants in a leader so that He can use you to
serve His people. You will also be equipped by the Gifts of the Spirit and your life will
start to bear the fruits needed in a leader.

Assembly vs Voice

Both words; ‘Assembly’ and ‘Voice’, share the same root and work
An assembly is a group
in a similar manner. What has Voice to do with Assembly?
of believers in the same
area who share the
Voice – “qol” - – ‘swift, one who is swift, light, words, ‘a same beliefs in Messiah.
It is not a building or a
gathering of thoughts’. It also form the root of “qolah’ Church structure, as we
which is the assembly of people. know it today, it is a
group of families who
The basket of thoughts: Your voice is the expression of the assemble in their
thoughts you have gathered in your mind. You may have a specific houses just like the first
person in mind; you have an opinion of that person in your mind. century Believers.
Then you might have a current event and you put all these together
and ‘string’ these thoughts together to form words that you utter with
your voice and you place thoughts in the person’s mind whom you are talking to.
They might add some thoughts to your basket and together you ‘collect’ all the
thoughts of events and emotions of that person until both of you have the same
thoughts in each of your ‘baskets’.

The Assembly: An Assembly is a group of people who have the

same thoughts in their ‘baskets’ regarding their faith and this
cause them to group together to express their faith without
opposition. If there is someone with a different thought on a
specific topic and have a different belief or opinion, there will be
‘resistance’ between people with different thoughts or views.
These differences will stimulate a natural re-grouping process
within the bigger group and smaller groups will form that share
similar views. This is the beginning of division within the group and
will result in disputes. Satan sows thoughts that are slightly twisted or altered and this
causes a difference in people’s faith and causes di-vision (more than one vision). To
have unity in a group, you must have the same ‘thoughts’ in everybody’s ‘baskets’
regarding your faith.

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Leadership: YHVH raised leaders or elders to re-establish the truth and to see that
everybody have the same foundational believes. This is why people in a Assembly
have to be open to receive from the people YHVH appointed so that there can be
unity. This is why YHVH raised up Judges / Leaders to ‘iron out’ these differences
with the truth and wisdom so that His Body can be established.

Seventy Elders – Anointed Leaders like Moses

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Moses could not bear the weight alone and pleaded with YHVH, YHVH told him to
choose 70 Elders from the people and He anointed these people with His Spirit to be
equipped so that they could fulfill the role as Prophets, to be just like Moses. These
elders were chosen from the existing group of leaders (approx 600) to have a special
anointing, similar to Moses, to help to do the work Moses did. This sounds just like
the event when the people received the anointing of the Spirit when they were in the
upper room. To be an Elder you have to be chosen, and anointed by YHVH to be
able to guide and judge His people like Moses. They were the people who could hear
directly from YHVH and gave the Vision and Plan of YHVH to the people so that they
could be led through the Wilderness. These 70 leaders acted as Judges and as
Prophets who taught the Torah to the other leaders, administered and facilitated and
resolved difficult issues, and who had the vision to lead the people to where they
needed to go. They were a higher level of leadership if you will.
Elder: “zaqen” – - means - beard, chin, old age, elder, experienced in life
and wisdom (of those having authority)

Interesting to see that it also means beard, similar to the instruction not to cut the
edges of your beard found in Lev 19:27. The beard is a sign of authority and it is a
physical reminder to that man that his mouth is covered and to only speak words of
YHVH. This means that these Elders are very committed in their walk and
relationship with YHVH. Elders are defined as people who are advanced in age and
have a lot of life experience and wisdom. People who can be seen as ‘elders’ in
Scripture: 1) Moses, he was called at age 40 and led Israel at age 80. 2) David, he
started to reign as king at age 30. 3) Y’shua, He started His ministry at age 30 after
His Mikvah. This gives us a rough estimate of when people can be seen as elders;
between the ages of 30 and 80 and most probably closer to 80 than to 30 to fit the
‘old age’ and ‘experienced’ attributes. The word “zaqen” (elder) has the following
deeper meanings if we look at the meanings of each letter:
Zayin – Sword, word

Qof – back of the head or repentance

Nun – fruitfulness or fruit of the Spirit.

Each one of these letters represents some of the more important qualities they need
to be chosen as an Elder and leader like Moses:

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 – Sword – Word: They must know the Word and know how to apply it with
wisdom and tact so that others may receive it with gladness.

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Discreet means to be ‘tactful’ and he must always communicate in such a way

that his message will be received and that the people may change if they hear it.
They will have the maturity to correct someone without causing offence in order to
set a matter straight.

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They are also skilled in using the Word against the enemy and defend the faith. They
are equipped in the Word and understand the basis of the Word as well as the Plan
of YHVH and have the ability to instruct and teach others. They are not confused and
have a solid answer for most questions.

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– Repentance: They are people who live a life of repentance (Qof).

They are humble in spirit and are teachable and will change instantly
when they realize they have made a mistake or believed a lie. They are
always aware of their weaknesses and mistakes and rectify it
immediately, seeking YHVH’s will. They live a life that is true to the faith
and are blameless in the eyes of the assembly because they change
whenever they have made a mistake.

– Fruitfulness: They have fruitful lives and their faith and labour
bears fruit and more people are added to the Kingdom.

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They multiply themselves through discipling others and are willing and
eager to teach new people coming into the Kingdom. They follow YHVH’s Word and
are blessed as a result of this and are led by the Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit are
evident in their lives. They have a servant’s hearts and serve the people in love for
the benefit of the Kingdom.

Two Types of Leaders

We saw two distinct types of Leaders; Leaders like Moses or Elders (70) and
Leaders like Judges (600).

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Elder or Leader – Vision & Plan: The leaders like Moses are the leaders
that are specifically anointed by YHVH to do the front line work and to lead
people out of the System. They will normally function in the Gifts of an
Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist and Teacher. They also have the gifts of
Wisdom, Knowledge & Discernment of spirits, faith healing, miracles, tongues
and interpretation of tongues. These signs can also be seen in the life of
Moses. This ‘type of leader’ may or may not have all the Gifts mentioned
above, but will be given as the Spirit permits. There were 70 Leaders like this
and the number 7 means Plan of YHVH. They have the Vision and Plan of
YHVH for that specific time frame and they guide and lead the people to fulfill
that plan that is part of YHVH’s greater Plan.

Leader or Judge – Serve the People: The other type of

leader is someone that will function as a Judge and will
normally have these following Gifts; Pastors, Shepherds,
Teachers, Administration, Wisdom, Knowledge,
Discernment of Spirits, Faith, and Hospitality. There were
approx. 600 Leaders (chiefs) like this and the number 6
means Man. They have to look after the concerns and
needs of the people and deal with everyday issues to
ensure the unity in love and truth. They submit under the Elders and make the
governing of the people practical and possible, especially in a very large group.

These two types of leaders support one another in establishing Unity among YHVH’s
people and to lead them in His Plan. The one is not greater than the other and they
need each other and are servants of the people unto the Glory of Y’shua the Messiah
and the Kingdom of YHVH. If you want to become a leader, you must first become a
servant.

Attributes of an Elder / Leader & Leader / Judge

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Those who pursue to be leaders chooses a good thing because wait on YHVH to
there are not many leaders today and there will be many people appoint (anoint) you.
who will come into the Kingdom who will need guidance in
following YHVH. You will only desire to lead when YHVH has called you to be a
leader because He has put that desire in your heart. Each one of you who believe in
Messiah is a ‘potential leader’ if you make yourself available to serve others. Search
the Scripture and study the Word to be equipped and skilled therein so that you can
give an answer to those who seek the truth. Sort out your life so that you bear the
fruit of the Spirit and also these attributes listed in 1 Tim 3:1-7.

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• Be a good husband of only one wife and run your household orderly in the
guidelines of the Torah. Bring up your children in the ways of YHVH and do
not allow rebellion in your house. Your wife needs to be your helper, be
submissive and learn from you. You need to be the spiritual leader of your
house and they must learn from you. This is the most important attribute.
• You should be temperate, slow to anger and have a lot of patience. You
should approach others in love and kindness and not allow frustration and
anger to make you ineffective and unapproachable.
• You should always be sensible and have knowledge and wisdom to help
others in any situation. Draw from past experience and teach them the right
way based on the wisdom found in the Torah.
• You should be well ordered and do not let disorder and confusion reign in
your life. Plan your life and have your priorities right. Put YHVH first and
arrange your life revolving around Him. If you put Him first everything will fall
into place. Be prepared when you bring a word of knowledge or teaching and
have an orderly planned structure in arraigning events and fellowship
gatherings.
• When people assemble in your home, be hospitable and receive everyone
with an open heart. Do not treat some different to others and let everybody
feel accepted and welcome.
• Always be ready to teach and uplift someone in the Word. Study the Word
so that you will be able to teach others and make sure that you are not
confused in matters and lead others astray.
• Do not be a drunkard and set the right example when you assemble
together as well as in your personal life.
• Do not be contentious, being touchy and arguable about everything. Learn
to listen before you speak and make the other person feel worthy and
accepted and value his opinion. Have room for smaller differences and
search the truth together to maintain love and unity.
• Do not be materialistic and greedy, wanting to have material possessions
and desiring worldly success. Be content in what you have and where you are
at and ask YHVH’s will to be done in your life. Seek His Face and not His
hand and do not serve Him to be blessed.
• Be gentle and humble in your approach so that others want to be with you
and listen to you. Do not be arrogant and rood chasing people away.
• Do not be quarrelsome, hot-tempered in any difference of opinion. Do not
confront people hitting them over the head with the Scripture. Be gentle in
your approach; be tactful without causing offence or disputes.
• Do not be covetous, lusting after the needs of the flesh. Always maintain a
balance in eating, drinking and any sort of pleasure so that you will not be
controlled by your flesh and set a bad example of breaking the tenth
Commandment.
• Do not be a novice wanting to rule other people in the beginning of your walk
without life experience or wisdom in the Word. If you are a new believer, start
by being a disciple and learn everything you need before you pursue
leadership.
• Do not be puffed up or arrogant, especially if you know more than others.
To be a leader is to be a humble servant and it is not a position to be in the
“limelight” and in the public eye to be seen and honored by everyone. If you
do not want to be humble and serve, do not become a leader.
• Have a good report with other people and a track record where you have
helped people to change for the better. Live what you preach and do not be a
hypocrite living out a different example to what Y’shua lived.

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You have to be patient and wait upon YHVH so that He can call you into leadership
and to serve and feed His flock. YHVH will anoint and equip you with the Gifts of His
Spirit for the specific role He wants you to fulfill. Remember, all of you are potential
leaders and YHVH wants to use everybody with a willing heart. Be patient because it
may take years to experience following YHVH so that you can learn what He wants
to teach you so that you can be an effective leader one day.

When to Appoint Leaders / Judges

The first line of leadership is seen in Moses, when he led the people out of Egypt. 70
Elders were anointed with the same Gifts as Moses to equip them to deal with the
large flock and difficult issues. Today, these people work as Apostles (send ones) or
‘missionaries’ if you will, to grow the group of people into a healthy Assembly after
accepting the message of Messiah. This is the fulfilment of the Great Commission
found in Mat 28, just before Y’shua left them.

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They had to go into the nations where people have not heard the true message of
Messiah, and they had to teach the people so that His Flock could be assembled and
gathered. These Flocks were established and governed by leaders chosen from
among them, who were taught by the Disciples (Apostles). The leaders within these
flocks acted as “Judges” who overlooked the people’s spiritual growth and ensured
the health and unity of the Assembly.

Today is almost the same; YHVH sends people to places where there are people
who did not know the true Gospel of Y’shua and the Torah. YHVH uses certain
people to spread the Word of Truth and to gather like-minded people. Before you
know, there will be a few families gathering together and a natural process takes
place where an Assembly is formed. All these people assemble together in their
homes. This is the example given to us in Scripture of how the Assembly is formed
and how the Assembly should operate. It is a stronger and more interactive way of
fellowship where people can learn and be discipled, different to the mainstream
church system of today. There are a lot of these small fellowship groups right across
the world today where YHVH is calling His people back to His ways, out of the
system called Babylon. These are informal assemblies that are guided and led by the
Spirit through anointed leaders that serve the people.

The Pauline Model of Leadership

If Moses is our archetypical TaNaK Prophet/Leader, then Paul is of the equivalent

status in the category of Brit Chadasha Assembly Leaders. Paul planted Assemblies
across Asia and Europe, seeing them multiply into many congregations and
thousands of believers. He also presided over significant spiritual growth of those in
his Assemblies.

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 Ephesians 4 is the closest he comes to a theology of leadership. In this passage,
leaders are simply those with gifts of equipping. The leader equips the saints to do
the work of the ministry. The body is healthy and matures when each member is
equipped and fully functioning. Paul illustrated this in relation to the Corinthians when
he describes himself and Apollos as servants to whom Elohim has simply assigned
certain tasks in the building of his Assembly. So what was Paul’s model of
leadership? He does not give us a systematic description but in his more pastoral
letters (1 & 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus) we see some of his approach.
Paul was a servant who undergo all types of self-sacrifice for the sake of the gospel
and Elohim’s people.

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Putting this together we can summarise the Pauline Model as follows. Paul acted as
an overseeing Apostle/Leader that oversaw many Assemblies. He equipped and
encouraged Elohim’s people (Elders & Deacons/Ministers) to exercise their Gifts and
ministries and to grow in spirituality and fruitfulness. These Elders and
Deacons/Ministers were equipped through the Gifts of the Spirit and can act in
different areas to support the Body. They equipped the Body through teaching of the
revealed Word of Elohim. The Elders were ready to correct and rebuke in those
cases where individuals are not correctly hearing from YHVH and are moving off on
tangents, false doctrines or backsliding. The Elder did not hear from YHVH on behalf
of the people, nor did he set high-level vision for the Assembly. Rather, the Elders
and Ministers served the Assembly through this equipping, encouraging, teaching
and correctional ministry thus allowing each member to reach their full potential
before YHVH. The members were encouraged through Discipleship to become the
next line of leadership that will serve the newcomers in the Assembly.

(Jerusalem Counsel)

(Paul &
Peter)

(Elders)

(Deacons)

Looking from a bigger perspective; Y’shua is the head of the whole Body, right
across the world. He appoints Leaders (Elders / Missionaries / Evangelists / Prophets
/ Teachers) to establish new smaller groups within areas where the Word needs to
be proclaimed.

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He then appointed Leaders (Judges / Shepherds / Prophets / Teachers) from among
these people to act as shepherds in these smaller groups to administer and guide
and feed His flock spiritually and to ensure sound doctrine and unity. Inside each of
these flocks He appointed leaders through the Gifts of the Spirit to assist the
shepherd or teacher to help if the group grows beyond ten families. Then you get the
flock, the people who help disciple and the new people who are being discipled, the
potential new leaders of tomorrow. All these people are appointed and equipped
through the Gifts of the Spirit to edify and serve the people so that they can be in
unity and represent His presence in that area.

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We are privileged to live in this time because of technology, we can fellowship and be
in contact with other believers in Messiah across the Globe. YHVH has also risen up
leaders within the Global community to help with the work of equipping and leading
His people and to unify them in the Faith. These people act as Apostles and fulfil the
work similar to what Paul did. Here are some examples of our leaders in the Global
community; Michael Rood, David Lancaster (FFOZ), Grant Luton, Eddy Chumney,
Monte Judah, Brad Scott, Lew White, est. They equip the Elders/Leaders who “birth”
the Assemblies in certain areas, and the Leaders/Judges who disciple people and
who look after the Flocks, the smaller Bodies of Messiah. Y’shua is the head of us all,
collating us all under Him into one big Body of Messiah. Bless His Holy Name and
His wisdom and His orderly way of linking and gathering us all under him through all
these anointed people.

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