First, what we want to reflect on is "judgment."

In today's passage, Proverbs 18:5 mentions the word "judgment," and in verse 17, the word "dispute" appears, which in the Bible refers to "judgment" (source: internet). There are several Bible verses where these two words appear together, and one example is Ezekiel 44:24: "In disputes, they shall judge according to my ordinances..." The word "dispute" refers to a legal case in modern terms. When there is a plaintiff and a defendant who argue over who is right but cannot come to a conclusion, they may take the case to court to receive a judgment (source: internet). So, what does it mean to judge according to God's ordinances? There are several ways to think about it, but here are some of the principles the Bible speaks about (source: internet):

1. First, 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 advises believers not to sue each other.

2. Second, Matthew 5:25-26 and 40 encourage reconciliation before taking legal action.

3. However, if reconciliation fails, thirdly, Exodus 18:13 shows that judgment is necessary (e.g., when the people of Israel came to Moses to settle disputes). Of course, this refers to worldly judgment.

4. Fourth, Deuteronomy 1:16 and 25:1 state that judges must listen to disputes between people and render a fair judgment. The judge must declare the righteous as righteous and the wicked as guilty.

For a judge to make a fair decision, they must apply the words from Proverbs 18:17: "In a dispute, the first one to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines." What does this mean? It means that in a dispute, both sides must be heard. In modern terms, this would be referred to as "cross-examination." Furthermore, Exodus 23:3 warns that a judge should not show partiality toward the poor in a dispute. In other words, the judge should not favor the poor simply because they are poor and listen only to their side.

Additionally, Proverbs 18:5 teaches that it is wrong to "favor the wicked or to deprive the righteous of justice in judgment." This means that we should not favor the wicked and make the righteous suffer unjustly, because it is not right in God's sight. We already reflected on Proverbs 17:15, which says, "He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord." A judge must not perform acts of injustice, as such actions would be despised by God.

Brothers and sisters, did you know that a pastor can be judged and even dismissed from their position? In Korea, there has been ongoing talk about dismissing a well-known pastor from a large church due to accusations of sexual misconduct, among other things. So, who can judge a pastor? The answer is that the presbytery has the authority. According to Article 19 of Chapter 4 in the Constitution of the Korean Presbyterian Church, it says: "Matters concerning pastors fall under the jurisdiction of the presbytery, while matters concerning general church members fall under the jurisdiction of the local session. However, if the higher assembly orders the lower assembly to resolve a matter and the lower assembly fails to comply or act negligently, the higher assembly has the authority to make a final decision" (source: internet). According to this rule, judicial matters involving pastors are handled by the presbytery, while all other disputes involving lay members (such as elders, deacons, deaconesses, assistant deacons, evangelists, and other baptized members) are handled by the local session.

Before the local session judges a member of the church, there is an important principle to keep in mind. That principle is found in Matthew 18:15-17: "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." In other words, before taking judicial action, the session must try to reconcile the member in love and lead them to repentance.

In the process of admonishment, (1) the plaintiff should initially address the defendant one-on-one. (2) If the defendant does not listen, the plaintiff should bring one or two witnesses to confirm the matter. (3) If even after the witnesses' testimony the defendant refuses to listen, the matter should be brought before the church. (4) If the defendant refuses to listen to the church, they should be regarded as an unbeliever.

The purpose of this process is not to hate or seek revenge on the defendant, but to help the defendant recognize their sin, repent, and turn back to God.

Secondly, what we want to reflect on today is the casting of lots.

Look at today’s passage, Proverbs 18:18:
"Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart."
When we examine the procedures for judgment in the Bible, we find that when disputes arose, sometimes casting lots was used to resolve the issue. Here, we must consider why casting lots was practiced in the first place.

There are two major reasons we can identify:
(1) One was to seek God's will when carrying out a particular task,
(2) and the other was to make decisions in situations where it was difficult to decide (source: internet).
Thus, the practice of casting lots carried the meaning of entrusting everything to God’s will (source: internet). In other words, casting lots is an act taken only by those who truly desire to do things according to God’s will (Park Yoon Sun).

This means that when two strong parties are in conflict, rather than trying to resolve the dispute through their own strength or by taking it to a worldly court, they instead choose to resolve the matter by casting lots—seeking God's will. In other words, because both sides in the dispute are willing to bring their conflict to an end based on the outcome of the lot, their attitude is appropriate before God (Park Yoon Sun).

However, the problem arises when the conflict becomes so severe that a resolution cannot be found. In other words, when one or both sides are unwilling to end the dispute, they not only refuse to cast lots but also choose not to resolve the matter according to God’s will. Instead, they often turn to secular courts. This is why verse 19 of today’s text says:
"A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city; disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel."

What does this mean? Think about how difficult it would have been back then to conquer a fortified city during war. If you've seen old Korean dramas depicting historical wars, you may have caught a glimpse of how hard it was to breach strongholds. In the same way, it’s incredibly difficult to reconcile with family members or close friends who have been hurt. King Solomon said, “Such disputes are like barred gates of a fortress,” meaning they are extremely hard to eliminate (Walvoord).

When I meditated on this verse, I was reminded of a news story in Korea a few months ago about the conflict between the chairman of Samsung and his siblings. Even though they were close siblings, there seemed to be no sign of reconciliation in the midst of their dispute. That reminded me of today’s scripture: “A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city.” I couldn’t help but agree with that truth. It seems that when disputes between close relations—like spouses, family members, or siblings—intensify, they can become outright enemies. Seeing this, we must seriously reflect on how to avoid conflict and pursue reconciliation.

Why is that important? Because God desires peace among us, and Jesus came to this earth to reconcile us. Therefore, as disciples of Jesus, we too must faithfully carry out the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).

But how can we do this effectively?
Pastor Eric Foley of Peacemaker Ministries explains that in the midst of conflict, disputes, and division in the church, there are three types of people:

• Peace-makers (those who make peace),

• Peace-breakers (those who break peace), and

• Peace-fakers (those who pretend to keep peace).

He especially pointed out that “among Korean people, there is an unusually high number of peace-fakers.” He went on to say:
"In Korean culture, there has long been the idea that revealing conflict damages one’s honor and authority, so people prefer to hide and gloss over issues. But the problem starts right there."
He warned that this approach only reduces communication and widens relational gaps, offering no real solution.

He emphasized the importance of true peacemaking based on biblical principles, saying:
"We must respect others’ character and culture, confess our own faults, repent, and through forgiveness and reconciliation, achieve true peacemaking."
According to Pastor Foley, biblical peacemaking is this:
"When conflict arises, before trying to determine who is right or wrong, we must pray at the foot of the cross, love, and act—just as Jesus Christ forgave us sinners through His blood on the cross—in order to carry out the ministry of reconciliation" (source: internet).

Friends, we must faithfully fulfill this ministry of reconciliation. Whether it’s within the church, in our families, or at our workplaces, we must seek to resolve relational conflicts in the Lord. A life worthy of the gospel is a life of reconciliation.

Not only must we share the gospel of Jesus Christ to promote reconciliation between God and people, but we must also work to resolve conflicts and disputes among neighbors and take up the ministry of reconciliation. Casting lots was one way of doing this in the past, and though some may still use that method today, we must faithfully carry out t

I would like to conclude my meditation on the Word. These days, the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Hapdong) uses a lottery system to elect its general assembly officers. However, the church is currently in conflict due to an unfortunate incident. Therefore, I think there is a possibility that it may even go to trial in a secular court. If we cannot find a solution in the Lord and resolve the conflict, I think we may end up relying on a more unfortunate matter, the judgment of a secular court. If that happens, it will only become more shameful. This is by no means God’s will. Not only the Hapdong Presbyterian Church of Korea, but also the immigrant churches here in the United States where we live, going to a secular court due to a dispute is by no means serving as light and salt to the world. Even if we go to trial, we must resolve it within our church, presbytery, and ourselves. We must resolve it through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must faithfully fulfill the ministry of reconciliation. Therefore, we must keep the unity of the church in the Lord and become an example to the world.