Deuteronomy 22

Deuteronomy 22:4

You shall not see your countryman's donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up.

If only we today had this mentality of helping our fellow man.  How many times to any of us go past a broken down car, or a person who is looking for something, and not think twice about it?

What if we believed that helping those who need assistance was a divine command?  What would that do for the general consideration for Christians, and the effect of our witness?  Also, how would it change us, make us more like Christ in our compassion?

Deuteronomy 21

Deuteronomy 21:6

All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

This is an interesting issue.  A man is found dead, out in the open, no clues to who did it.  There must still be atonement, but there is no one known from whom to exact punishment.  What do you do?

God gives instruction for this case.  The nearest town is to make a sacrifice, but not in the normal way.  They don't slaughter the heifer, they break its neck.  They don't do it at the temple, they do it in an unused valley.  They don't give part of the animal to the Levites, but the Levites are part of the ceremony.  A life is still taken, but not in the normal way.  The atonement is made by the elders of that town, even though they are not guilty.

Deuteronomy 20

Deuteronomy 20:8

Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, 'Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted?  Let him depart and return to his house, so that he might not make his brothers' hearts melt like his heart.'

This is actually a very interesting instruction, and I believe its purpose is two-fold.  First, thinning the army this way makes it that much more unlikely that they could prevail themselves.  With a reduced army, God must give them the victory.

Second, fear is much like enthusiasm.  The two emotions seep into those around them, and cause them to do things they otherwise would not.  The war cry and gallant charge of war movies can actually work, because it causes the soldiers to push harder than they would otherwise.  By the inverse, a fearful man will at the least distract those around him, and quite likely demoralize them, so that they break sooner than they would.  By removing the fear from your army, you make it stronger.

Deuteronomy 19

Deuteronomy 19:8

"If the Lord you God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give you fathers--

This is an interesting verse, that explains something I'd always wondered about.  In the promises by God, it always seems the Israelites' territory is supposed to be much bigger than it actually is.  He speaks about giving them everything east to the Euphrates, and they never come anywhere close to that.

This verse shows why.  It starts with the critical term "if."  There's a condition on their land that was never explained before to my memory.  What I remember is just that they were promised the land, but never received it.  Now I understand that the expansion of their land beyond the Jordan area was only going to happen if they honored God and followed His commands.

Deuteronomy 18

Deuteronomy 18:8

They shall eat equal portions, except what they receive from the sale of their fathers' estates.

I have to admit, I'm kind of lost on this verse.  I don't know what he's trying to say, so I'm going to try to reason it out here.

First of all, what do they mean by the fathers' estates?  This is regarding the Levites, who have not inheritance among the people.  However, this is talking about those Levites who do not live/work at the temple.  So they must live in the other cities set aside for the Levites throughout the land.  Those people would have homes, and lands around them for their flocks, which means their fathers could well have estates.

The people talked about here are those Levites who have decided to leave their homes, and go serve in the temple, presumably on a long-term basis if they're selling their inheritance.  If they sell their inheritance, that means they would go to their service in the temple with money.  I guess that means that they are to use that money to pay for their expenses for as long as it lasts, rather than take a "salary" from the temple proceeds, and therefore ensure that all the Levites at the temple are on an equal footing.

Deuteronomy 17

Deuteronomy 17:18

"Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

I think this is a wonderful tradition to have.  One of the best ways to learn something is to have to write it out.  Given the detail required to copy the Law at the time, it had to be exact, too, so the king had to be paying attention to what he was doing.  That means he would really have to read it carefully, and probably multiple times as he went back and forth.

Imagine if we had this today.  What would churches be like today if every pastor had to hand-copy the entire Bible?  Do you think we would get richer sermons for it?  Or how about politicians, if they had to hand-copy the entire legal code by the end of their first term?  The lawbook would be a lot shorter, that's for sure.

Deuteronomy 16

Deuteronomy 16:19

You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

An interesting choice of words, distort.  Today, we think of twisting justice, or slanting justice, but distorting has some interesting meanings.  It says that the basic truths are still there, but that they have been reshaped in appearance.  It's not a substitution, but a bending, just enough to make something look different.

I like also the explanations of why a bribe is wrong.  To say it blinds the wise is definitely true.  A good person's judgment doesn't matter when they're being paid to provide the correct answer.  And having a correct answer automatically is definitely a perversion.  I also find it interesting how it is not said that a bribe should not be offered, but that it should not be accepted.  It is the responsibility of the judge to maintain correct standards, not the people who are in dispute.

Deuteronomy 15

Deuteronomy 15:6

For the Lord your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over man nations, but they will not rule over you.

You hear about the Jews being bankers and lenders in the Classical times, but I never knew why.  I'd forgotten about this passage.  They are commanded to be wise with their money, and that would put then in a position of wealth where they are able to lend money, which was how banking arose.

I also see God's promise to them about ruling over nations, though I guess I don't remember a time when this truly came into practice.  They certainly controlled their own land, but did they ever expand much beyond it into others' territory?  If not, why?  Did they not follow God's commands for this, and therefore forfeited this promise?

Deuteronomy 14

Deuteronomy 14:2

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

I've been reading somethings recently about holiness, including today's E&E lesson, so this verse caught my attention.  Most of my reading has been about God's holiness, but that makes the contrast here all the more interesting.

God is by definition holy, and the standard of holiness.  However, this leaves a question:  how can holiness be a descriptor for anything else, since nothing in this world is holy or perfect due to the fall?  It's been interesting reading about holiness, because though I can't say I struggle with the concept, it is something that I have trouble accepting.

The basic answer is that God can give the ability for something/someone to be made holy, though a method He provides.  In the Israelites' case, it was through the sacrificial system.  Today, it is by our acceptance of Christ's blood.  By this process, our unholiness is covered, so that God chooses not to see it, and it is therefore not held against us.  Only by this designated process can anything be considered holy, not through any other method.

Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy 13:8

you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.

I'm so very glad that we are no longer under this command as Christians.  I have had several friends turn from God's path, and many others who have strayed away.  The idea of having to kill them when they try to get me to join them would be both heartbreaking and sickening.

With that said, I think I at least understand why God commanded them to do this.  If purity is to be maintained, no trace of corruption can be allowed to stand.  Therefore any suggestion of sin must be removed as forcibly as necessary.  This is a time before grace as we now understand it, a time when they were under judgment for their works alone.  To save others, the evil must be excised.

Deuteronomy 12

Deuteronomy 12:5

But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come.

There are two reasons this verse caught my eye.  First, it foretells the establishment of the temple.  This is a very important part of the worship system, as it will be the official place of worship.  Although there will be places for the Levites throughout the other tribes' territories, they will still have a special place of worship.

Second, it answers a question about what will happen to the tabernacle once the land is theirs.  Currently, the people can easily worship at the tabernacle, because they're all together in one place.  Soon, it won't be that easy.  They will be scattered miles apart from each other, and they must know how they will worship.  Will they all have their own altars for sacrifice in every town or farm?  Or will they have to go to the nearest Levite town, and use those as worship hubs?  Or will the tabernacle continuously travel the land, like the itinerant pastors of the American frontier times?  No, the tabernacle will stay in one place, and they will come to it.  The religion will be kept intact because there will only be one place to worship, one place where God will speak from.  They will be kept together in both their culture and religion by coming together at a regular basis.

Deuteronomy 11

Deuteronomy 11:25

No man will be able to stand before you; the Lord your God will lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, as He has spoken to you.

The thing that caught my eye here is that God promised that He will put in the natives the fear of the Israelites.  I expected that He would promise instead to put the fear of Him into them, so that they would know He was the one causing Israel's success.  After all, the Israelites have already tried this invasion once and failed, so why should the people be afraid of them?

Perhaps I'm reading too much into this.  After all, at this point anyone who knows the Israelites are coming probably knows that their God is powerful, and has given them victory many times.  So maybe it's implied that this is the cause of their victory.  But I expected Him to be a bit more explicit in claiming the victory.

Deuteronomy 10

Deuteronomy 10:17

For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.

 This really spells out well who God is.  First, he is the God of gods.  He is the one who is the creator of all the other things that we revere and worship, the one who has control over them and us, and everything else.  Second, he is the ruler of rulers.  He controls what leaders do, and they can do nothing without His permission, whether they happen to believe in Him or not.  Should ever God turn against a leader, that leader will fall very quickly.

Also, He does not show partiality.  This is kind of interesting, given that Moses just finished saying that God had chosen the Israelites over all other people.  For this, I have to assume He means that He is not unjust or cruel to one person and merciful to another without reason or purpose.  Also, I find the idea of bribing God rather humorous.  I know plenty of people try to do it, mostly by what we would call bargaining, but the idea of flat-out trying to bribe God with something that He made just strikes me as funny

Deuteronomy 9

Deuteronomy 9:4

"Do not say in your heart when the Lord you God has driven them out before you, 'Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you.

A very important way of looking at events is shown here.  I know I easily fall into the trap of thinking that something good happens because I'm good, or because I'm following God's plan.  While I'm sure that's true sometimes, there are other instances where that isn't the case.  Instead, God is punishing someone else for their failures, and I just happen to be the beneficiary.

I do wonder how often this is true today for others.  It always seems like someone else is being blessed for their righteousness when good things happen, but I don't know what's going on in the rest of their lives.  Is it reward, or someone else's punishment?  I know we're not nearly as good as we like to think, but are we as blessed as we like to think, or are others punished more than we think?

Worse, when bad things happen are we being punished for our failures?

Deuteronomy 8

Deuteronomy 8:3

He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

Most of us know the second half of this verse from Satan's temptation of Jesus.  While it is an important clause, I find the beginning to be very useful in putting the verse in context.  This shows what God was referring to in that bread.  He is showing here that man with just bread is hopeless.  Without God's direction, man will eventually run out of food and die.

However, with God's direction, we will be taken to the places we need to go in order to live and prosper.  The methods He uses to do this may be unusual or previously unknown, but they will guide us to the places we needs to go.  It's even possible that those places will not provide food, and that we might die, but that is God's path for us, and we must be willing to walk it if necessary.

Deuteronomy 7

Deuteronomy 7:22

The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you.

Again, we get a look inside God's strategy for His people.  God could easily give them victory after victory, a nonstop march through the entire land with every town being cleared quickly, but he won't.  Apparently the land is not so heavily settled that predators have been driven out, and they would overrun the land while the Israelites were still setting up shop.

God knows the pace at which we can cope with new situations.  He knows how fast we can do something, and will not rush us beyond what we can take.  However, that doesn't mean that we necessarily know how much we are capable of, and He may push us faster than we thought we could go.  After all, the Israelites didn't think they would really stand a chance against one of the nations in the land, much less all seven.  They were pushed faster than they thought possible, and look what God gave them.

Deuteronomy 6

Deuteronomy 6:22

Moreover, the Lord showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household;

 Interesting choice of words here.  First, the linking the terms "great" and "distressing" is an odd juxtaposition.  We all can understand what he refers to when he speaks of the great things that God did for the Israelites.  The lengths He went to to secure their freedom were certainly impressive.  However, we don't like to think about them as being distressing.  They certainly were, however.  Many were sick, many hurt, and of course many died in the Plagues.  Every one of them was meant to cause distress to the Egyptians, and they succeeded.

It's also interesting how they are described as "signs" and "wonders."  They were signs to the people, both Egyptian and Israelite, as they were the direct work of God for a specific purpose.  We don't think about the wonders so much, though.  That's not a term in our common vocabulary, probably because wonders as those don't occur normally.  But they were some of the most amazing, large-scale supernatural events to occur in ancient times, so wonders is certainly correct.

It's also interesting that these acts are described as being performed "before our eyes."  At this point, the original generation is dead, so any people who saw what happened had to have been young, not yet adults by our measure.  Yet they still remember what was done for them, and the amazing feats that God performed to cause their freedom.  Such memories live long and strong.

Deuteronomy 5

Deuteronomy 5:29

Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!

 It's interesting that God is the one saying this.  They are days away from their first major transgression when He would have been saying this to Moses, so it is not a command or a prophecy, but rather a lament.  Looking at it as a lament changes the tone from what one might think reading the verse alone.

On its own, this sounds like God is exhorting the people to follow His commands, and telling them what good things will occur if they do.  However, as a lament it is God bemoaning how they will fail, and how much better things might have been if they only had.  It is God crying for the people He knows He will lose, and wishing that they had only done what He had told them would lead them to the greatest reward possible.  I hope this is not the mourning that He has for us.

Deuteronomy 4

Deutermonomy 4:30

When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice.

 One of the most true prophecies in the Bible.  Time and again the people would stop paying attention to God, and time and again they would be overtaken by their enemies.  However, time and again they would eventually realize their mistakes, and time and again they would cry out to God, and time and again he would come to their aid.

Today, things aren't that different.  Even for those who have an excellent relationship with God, they always seem to go to a different level when things are not going well.  It is in strife that we seem to grow the most, but we never want the strife to occur, nor should we.  Still, it is significant that here God tell the people exactly what they will do, so many times in their future.  If only they/we had listened.