18 "You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes , and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment . 19 " You shall not distort justice ; you shall not be partial e , and you shall not take a bribe , for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous . 20 "Justice , and only justice , you shall pursue , that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 21 " You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the Lord your God , which you shall make for yourself. 22 " You shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:18-22
Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:18-22
(Read Deuteronomy 16:18-22)
Care is taken for the due administration of justice. All personal regards must be laid aside, so that right is done to all, and wrong to none. Care is taken to prevent following the idolatrous customs of the heathen. Nothing belies God more, or tends more to corrupt the minds of men, than representing and worshipping, by an image, that God, who is an almighty and eternal Spirit, present every where. Alas! even in gospel days, and under a better dispensation, established upon better promises, there is a tendency to set up idols, under one form or another, in the human heart.