Deuteronomy 26:1-19 - Deliverance of God’s Chosen

Deuteronomy 26:1-19

Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes

1 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’

4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 And you shall answer and say before the LORD your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. 7 Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; 10 and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O LORD, have given me.’

“Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God. 11 So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the LORD your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.

12 “When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year—the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the LORD your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.“‘

A Special People of God

16 “This day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have proclaimed the LORD to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will obey His voice. 18 Also today the LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, just as He has spoken.”

This shows us the deliverance of God’s chosen people by grace, His own special people which we who are in Christ (Titus 2:11, 13-14, 1 Peter 2:9-10) have now joined with to follow in willing obedience and service without compromising God’s praise and honor of His great name.  He has raised us up for His glory as begun with Israel so long ago, and will continue as He calls us out to Himself (Romans 11:2, 5-6, 25) until we are all safe and secure in the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  We are all therefore called out of darkness into the light of His grace and mercy to live accordingly in pursuit of holiness (Hebrews 12:14, 2 Corinthians 7:1) to be conformed to the righteousness (Romans 5:17, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9) and grace (Romans 5:1-2) of Christ in which we stand.  Israel was called to begin this process by the outward acts of obedience that foreshadowed the inner compliance of a willing heart transformed by God’s Spirit in us now.  They were to remember that the LORD had drawn them to Himself and brought them into the land of freedom by His grace, to be ever in grate praise for their deliverance from bondage, to worship and be ever thankful for His provision, to give back to Him what they had been given in gratitude of His grace, and to make following Him and His word the direction of their lives.  These are now possible to do in Christ by His power in us.  We should be ever thankful and praise Him therefore with ongoing worship as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) as His own special people like jewels (1 Peter 2:4-5) of the very temple of God which we have been called to become.  Do we reflect and recall all He has done in His sacrifice of suffering as we ought to have done for our sins?  Do we then worship Him with our lives (Mark 8:34-35, Romans 6:6, 11-12, 13-14, Galatians 2:20) in joy-filled willingness to please and thank Him by pursuing holiness?  The reflection on the deliverance of we who are God’s called and chosen should humble us into abject thankfulness that responds with self sacrifice for the one who sacrificed Himself for us.  We can offer nothing else but what was required for all God’s people delivered then and now as is commanded here to give back the tithes of our lives to Him. 

Deuteronomy 25:11-19 - You Shall Not Forget!

Deuteronomy 25:11-19

Miscellaneous Laws

11 “If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not pity her.

13 “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. 15 You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the LORD your God.

Destroy the Amalekites

17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.

These last assortment of laws was followed by a reminder to not forget the attacks of the adversary on the way to the promised land.  The laws addressed clean fighting with dignity and the harsh punishment for crippling defenses that could end a man’s lineage to stop others from repeating that sin.  They also covered fairness beyond while fighting into that of a fair price for the advertised amount of what was being sold as not to deceive for added profit.  It was clearly mad known that fair dealings were rewarded but the unrighteous who deal with deceit and malicious harm were to suffer shorter lives and earn the title of abomination to the LORD.  This ended the chapter as section of this discourse with the reminder of the adv, the Amalekites, who attacked God’s people on the way to the country promised by God to them.  They had no fear of God and picked off the weary at the trailing end of the army of God.  They had no dignity or sense of fair play in so doing, but God promised His people that they would one day find rest from such adversaries and then their own would find recompense (Revelation 6:10) from the LORD for their sinful actions of rejecting God and attacking His chosen ones who were the apples of His eye, beloved and protected for their future eternal home with Him.  This is a shadow of our own strife with the adversary (Revelation 12:17) which will end in victory and defeat (Revelation 20:10) of the one attempting to keep us or hinder us on the way to the promised heavenly country and the Celestial City of God in Christ.  We will hear the old words then repeated, “You shall not forget,” but it will not be us defeating the adversary, but our Sovereign Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  Hold fast and stay the course (Ephesians 610-11) as we fight the good fight against the enemy for the souls of men and women with the gospel sword until justice reigns down (Amos 5:24) from Heaven on earth.  You shall not forget, and He cannot, until righteousness and justice in His grace are executed on the earth.  May we fight a clean fight in holiness without compromising God’s word with dignity and fairness.  Amen.

Deuteronomy 25:1-10 - Measured Justice and Responsibility

Deuteronomy 25:1-10

1 “If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, 2 then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows. 3 Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother be humiliated in your sight.

4 “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.

Marriage Duty of the Surviving Brother

5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, I do not want to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’

These laws cover measured justice with punishment under constraint and fair treatment even of the animals used to harvest grain.  They also cover responsibility of family to look after widows and continue the family legacy.  For measured justice, disputes had to be settled fairly and punishment meted out fairly and appropriately, not applying undue punishment but that which fit the crime and no more in the heat of passionate application that is more appropriate than emotional vengeance for retribution.  This is the thirty-nine blows of the whip we see later (2 Corinthians 11:24) applied to Paul and (Mark 15:15) Jesus Himself, meant to punish severely but not kill.  Then we see the responsibility of caring for the oxen as they did their work in the grain planting and harvesting.  They were not to be muzzled to keep them from eating of the grain when harvesting but allowed to be fed as they worked, a fitting picture later used in 1 Corinthians 9:9, 10-11, 14 to allow those preaching the gospel to be able to be fed (supported) as they do so.  This is the pattern for paid ministers in our own time also.  Then we read about the responsibility of families to care for their own, specifically for continuing the family legacy when a childless widow was to be taken as the wife of her husband’s brother to father an heir to keep the legacy in the family of God’s people and not with an outsider.  If the brother was unwilling to do his duty, then a ritual with a sandal removed and spit in the face of the unwilling one would be done in public for refusing to build up his brother’s house.  He would then earn the derogatory name, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’  Though the custom or law of a brother taking his widowed sister-in-law as a wife is not practiced today, in a spiritual sense it carries over into marriage in the Lord and not outside the faith (1 Corinthians 7:39, 2 Corinthians 6:14) in Jesus Christ.  We see then that measured justice shows mercy and not spite in passing sentences, that responsibility means that those serving God deserve to be fed by we who are ministered to as they work in the gospel, and that responsibility also includes taking care of family and continuing the spiritual family of God in Christ by only marrying fellow believers. 

Deuteronomy 24:1-22 - Laws of Love and Care for Others

Deuteronomy 24:1-22

Law Concerning Divorce

1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, 2 when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, 4 then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Miscellaneous Laws

5 “When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year, and bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.

6 “No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone in pledge, for he takes one’s living in pledge.

7 “If a man is found kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die; and you shall put away the evil from among you.

8 “Take heed in an outbreak of leprosy, that you carefully observe and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you; just as I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way when you came out of Egypt!

10 “When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight. 13 You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before the LORD your God.

14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. 15 Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the LORD, and it be sin to you.

16 “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.

17 “You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge. 18 But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing.

19 “When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this thing.

More laws are laid out here, begging with marital obligations, the first being about divorce and the second about staying home for the first year of marriage when a war is being fought.  The laws concerning divorce were from the husband’s view only then and were based on his wife falling out of favor or being involved in something unclean to him (but not adultery).  Moses permitted the man to write a certificate of divorce contrary to God’s perfect will as we later read in Matthew 19:8, 9 of the covenant that should be kept through all trials unless for sexual immorality that already has broken that marriage covenant.  The principle that allows the newlyweds to avoid conscription for their first year shows this value of marriage being established firmly to avoid such things.  The other laws covered taking a security deposit for a debt.  It was not to take something that could interfere with the livelihood of the debtor, as that should never be the intent to harm another until the debt is paid.  Then there was the law to confine a contagious person to avoid the spread of a disease, another law of lending to avoid forceable debt collection that would adversely impact the debtor.  Another law demanded that kidnapping was to be answered by the death penalty if the abducted was mistreated or trafficked.  Similarly, servants were not to be mistreated, especially the poor ones, and they were to be paid daily for their work so as to meet their basic needs and not deprive them of these by withholding or delaying their wages.  This was sin against them and God.  The law was given to treat others as we want to be treated (Matthew 7:12, Galatians 5:14), with respect and care.  Then justice was not to be served against the children for the crimes of the parents; each was to be punished only for their own crimes, and not by association.  Similarly, justice was not to be perverted for the less fortunate as the people were reminded of God’s mercy and forgiveness of grace from Egyptian bondage.  Finally, the law concerning farming to leave the gleanings for the poor was covered.  A thorough harvest left nothing for the less fortunate and so in remembrance of the conditions in Egypt once again, greed should not have motivated the farmers to get everything harvested just to make more money for themselves at the expense of others in need.  This was actually commanded by the LORD and not a mere suggestion.  Do we also love and care for our neighbors in these ways? 

Deuteronomy 23:15-25 - Laws of Grace and Holiness

Deuteronomy 23:15-25

Miscellaneous Laws

15 “You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him.

17 “There shall be no ritual harlot of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one of the sons of Israel. 18 You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.

19 “You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest. 20 To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.

21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. 23 That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.

24 “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container. 25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.

These miscellaneous laws cover escaped servants, male or female ritual temple prostitutes and their earnings, charging interest on loans, making promises (vows) to God, and gleaning leftover grapes and grain in another’s field.  The LORD wanted nothing left to chance or deliberation for the right things for His people to do.  The first one for escaped slaves or servants brings Philemon to mind in the New Testament times; that escaped servant (Philemon 1:10) Onesimus came to be among God’s people through the gospel and his master Philemon was encouraged to return though this old law said that he could remain free and not face mistreatment for escaping.  The second law made it clear that prostitution of either men or women was anathema and any money they made from their abominable behavior could never be accepted as an offering to support the Lord’s work and for the temple as equated with ‘the price of a dog (dog also referred to a male prostitute).’  Clearly this ritualized prostitution was just as abominable as regular prostitution in God’s eyes, but the point made here is that the cults of the land around God’s people had influenced some to bring temple prostitution as in modern Hindu practices into the congregation and worship of God’s people.  It was to be shunned in no uncertain terms.  As to the third law on charging inter on loans, it was not to be done for fellow people of the LORD, only to be taken from outside the congregation of Israel.  By lending without expectation of a return, this action reflected God’s grace on them as He provided them at no cost in return, just as we ought to do (Luke 6:34, 35) now in willingly sharing (Hebrews 13:16) the grace of God with others, not for reward but to show care and love as the Lord does to us.  The fourth law concerning making vows or solemn promises to God makes it clear that it is better never to make such a promise (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, Matthew 5:33-34, 37) if you are not committed to and certain you will be able to fulfill that commitment you make to Him.  Any such promise must be followed through to completion or not made at all to impress others or even for your own spiritual standing.  We should simply say yes or no to commitments and not make brash promises.  The fifth law here covered gleaning grapes of grain to satisfy hunger in times of need without fear of being accused of theft, as long as it was eaten there and not harvested to be taken away in some container to eat later and avoid paying for the food.  All these laws demanded grace from the people as God gives us grace and holiness in life and worship because He is holy (Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:15) and expects we who have been designed and created in His image to do likewise.  These then are laws of grace and holiness for all God’s called and chosen people. . 

Deuteronomy 23:1-14 - Cleanliness Within and Without

Deuteronomy 23:1-14

Those Excluded from the Congregation

1 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the LORD.

2 “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD.

3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you. 6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.

7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land. 8 The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

Cleanliness of the Campsite

9 “When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing. 10 If there is any man among you who becomes unclean by some occurrence in the night, then he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come inside the camp. 11 But it shall be, when evening comes, that he shall wash with water; and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp.

12 “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; 13 and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. 14 For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.

Cleanliness was commanded within the congregation and without in the world around the people of the LORD.  This holds true today as it was foreshadowed in these old commands for holiness of the body of believers in the Lord and among those outside who try to influence them and us into compromising God’s will for us to honor and glorify Him in our passions and actions.  The outward appearance was the beginning of holiness to the LORD, including the representative wholeness by prohibition of eunuchs and illegitimate children who were denied entry to the congregation within the camp to keep it holy as pure as the required sacrifices of spotless lambs.  Also the enemies of God such as the Moabites mentioned specifically here were to be kept out of the camp of the congregation to avoid idolatry and immorality creeping in and bringing cursing against the LORD as Balaam had done (Numbers 31:16, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, Revelation 2:14) for a price at the incomprehensible cost of morality and conscience.  Those who helped the people of God, however, were not to be despised or kept from coming to worship within them inside the camp of the congregation, a pattern for the church today to welcome those in who are not set against the Lord and His people.  Cleanliness was also expected when going outside the camp of the congregation by keeping themselves holy and unspotted (2 Peter 3:14, James 1:27) from the world of the ungodly while among them.  This holds just as true for we who are of God’s congregation today, to keep ourselves untainted by sin as we venture through this sojourning and bear witness to the truth of the gospel and turning from sins of idolatry and immorality to Christ as our ultimate holiness in His righteousness.  He walks among us in this camp of the church body and within each of us who are His children, for the Holy Spirit of the Living God lives in these temples of us individually and corporately.  He has delivered us and continues to do so (2 Corinthians 1:10) that we might strive for holiness to conform to (Romans 8:29, 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18) and form His image in us, within and without.  May we seriously pursue holiness both within and outside the church as a witness of the holiness obtained through repentance and faith in Christ both to the world and among one another. 

Deuteronomy 22:13-30 - Honesty, Morality, and Conscience

Deuteronomy 22:13-30

Laws of Sexual Morality

13 “If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and detests her, 14 and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin,’ 15 then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 And the young woman’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he detests her. 17 Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, “I found your daughter was not a virgin,” and yet these are the evidences of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him; 19 and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days.

20 “But if the thing is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

22 “If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.

23 “If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor’s wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.

25 “But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. 27 For he found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.

28 “If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.

30 “A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor uncover his father’s bed.

These laws of sexual morality in accordance with the word of God address our honesty, morality, and good conscience in these matters.  The honesty here was entering into marriage with a woman who claimed to never have had intimacy with another man, but then was proven to have lied to gain a husband as she and her parents claimed she was moral and pure in word and deed yet the evidence showed otherwise.  She would be stoned for this sin then.  If, however, the evidence provided by her parents proved her innocence and of her virginity and proved the dishonest husband was lying, then restitution was required for shaming and dishonoring the woman’s good name.  He would be punished and fined for this dishonest and immoral behavior to hopefully stir his seared conscience (1 Timothy 4:1-2, Ephesians 4:18-19) and keep others from dishonoring the good and moral women among God’s people.  All evil was to be put away, even though the punishment then was unequally applied to the man and woman; may we learn from that today and not put the onus on the woman alone as often happens in a world where culture sometimes overruns God’s people into treating sin with a seared conscience and unequal consequences.  The consequences for adultery are also covered here, yet in that instance both were held accountable (with the death penalty).  Similarly a particular instance is mentioned where a woman is raped away from where others could hear her cries for help contrasted with it happening in an urban setting where she could be heard but did not cry for help as if it might be consensual.  In the case where it could not be proven she could be heard, it was assumed to be non-consensual and only the man would be charged.  If it was where others could hear but she did not cry out, it was assumed to be consensual and both were held accountable and punished, especially because the man humbled and shamed her husband and did such a thing.  In today’s western society, however, such morality and honesty about such affairs often remains because the conscience of people does not find shame or offense to God in such immorality, even with the final example here of two unmarried people (man and woman only, any other combination was considered an abomination to God and man, per Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26-27, with absolute consequences) caught in sexual immorality where they were penalized and made to marry without the possibility of divorce.  Such used to be the general principle in the past in our culture, but that has long since passed as the conscience now is taught to accept dishonesty and immorality as acceptable for personal gain because God is no longer feared or revered.  This then is God’s will and word that is now scorned and disobeyed to the dishonest and immoral end of seared consciences.  To please our Creator and Sovereign Lord, we must not allow these things in our own lives if we claim to be His people in Christ and choose to truly love and live for Him and not our own passing pleasures (Hebrews 11:25) of sin.

Deuteronomy 22:1-12 - Accountability and Watchcare

Deuteronomy 22:1-12

1 “You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother. 2 And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until your brother seeks it; then you shall restore it to him. 3 You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you must not hide yourself.

4 “You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again.

5 “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God.

6 “If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.

8 “When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from it.

9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled.

10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

11 “You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together.

12 “You shall make tassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself.

This collection of miscellaneous laws covered everything from accountability and involvement to care for your neighbors to sexual purity and identity reinforced by appropriate clothing to caring for animals to safe building designs to protect others to purity in farming of crops and animals to purity in clothing materials and also to religious significance in certain clothing design elements to remember the LORD and faithfulness towards Him.  The last one with four tassels on the garments was from Numbers 15:38, 39-40 that prescribed and described their placement and meaning to remind them to avoid sin and seek Him in holiness and obedience to His word.  This part still applies to us today, the remembrance of following the scriptures we take in by hearing, reading, studying, and memorizing with appropriate meditation on meaning and application.  This is to continue to focus on following our Lord and pursuing holiness (Hebrews 12:14, 1 Peter 1:15-16) to Him (Exodus 28:36, 38, 2 Corinthians 7:1) in our sanctification.  The others were not for us to follow in the letter, but the intent, that we may in various ways remind ourselves to love our neighbors as ourselves in care and assistance in times of need (Colossians 1:10, 1 Timothy 6:18, Titus 3:14) to do all we should be doing (Hebrews 13:21) as we follow our Lord and Deliverer, Jesus Christ.  This extends to being good stewards of the world and around us as originally entrusted to our fore-bearers, Adam and Eve, though not at the expense of the people made in God’s image.  It does include care in our farming of good treatment of animals and responsible management of crops with the aim of purity in our efforts for the good of others and not to serve the environment as an end.  It also means in a related sense that we build responsibly to keep safety a priority in our design and building as well, again to love our neighbors as ourselves for their good and God’s glory in their watchcare.  These then are examples and not legalistic checklists to put God’s word into practice for accountability and watchcare of one another and ourselves to follow His word in holiness in all we do and pursue in living for Him. 

Deuteronomy 21:15-23 - Inheritance, Rebellion, and Obedient Respect

Deuteronomy 21:15-23

Firstborn Inheritance Rights

15 “If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved, 16 then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn. 17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

The Rebellious Son

18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city. 20 And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.

Miscellaneous Laws

22 “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.

Here rights of the firstborn and rebellion meet with a final law about not allowing a man hung on a tree to be kept on it after dark, but buried respectfully to keep the land clean from further effects of sin.  The issue of the firstborn son as the inheritor was clarified to not be chosen by a question of who was loved more, but who was born into that right by God’s decree.  This is somewhat similar to we who have been chosen in Christ by the merit of our Father’s love as chosen to inherit and not because we have been more loved by the world for our good deeds.  God’s love is not earned.  It is the grace of His love in choosing us anyway and on His Son’s righteousness and not on our own merit.  Those who are unloved by the world are shown an abundance of His love in Jesus Christ, just as the son of the unloved wife received double that of the preferred one due to the chosen order of God made clear here.  As for rebellion, this law ensured that disobedience and rebellion against parental authority was to be answered by disciplinary measures, and if the son refused to obey and respect them, then he was to be taken to task before the leaders of the people to answer for his sin.  Surely we do not stone disobedient children today, but discipline is required and consequences are to be imposed.  As Exodus 20:12 first stated and Ephesians 6:1-3 explained further, it is God’s word to us that children are only rewarded with life by willing obedience to their parents because it is the right thing to do; the result of disobedience to the gospel takes it a step further in this analogy by resulting in eternal punishment for disobedience and disbelief of our heavenly Father in sending His Son to be likewise obeyed by repentance from sin and faith in His work and righteousness for us as His children.  These passages then address inheritance, rebellion, and obedient respect for earthly matters with a mindset as unto God.

Deuteronomy 21:1-14 - Laws of Unsolved Homicide and War Brides

Deuteronomy 21:1-14

The Law Concerning Unsolved Murder

1 “If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities. 3 And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a yoke. 4 The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled. 6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 7 Then they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. 8 Provide atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people Israel.’ And atonement shall be provided on their behalf for the blood. 9 So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.

Female Captives

10 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your wife, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her.

These laws of unsolved homicides and female captives taken in war are not directly related, yet have some things in common.  Both require careful attention and diligence to ensure God is honored and our impulsiveness is kept at bay.  Israel was commanded to exercise due diligence when a body was found, not jumping to conclusions, but to first determine the nearest location and put the case in their jurisdiction, not necessarily of the one who discovered the body.  They were to also seek the LORD through sacrifice and a sign of their innocence, and to have the spiritual leaders settle the matter as our judges do today.  This cleared the innocent from suspicion of guilt so the real perpetrators could be found and justice served.  As for war brides, female prisoners of war, they could be taken as wives as long as they were respected and treated well with dignity.  This means they were to be allowed to grieve their families before the marriage was consummated.  Also if she was not pleasing to the new husband, she had to be set free and not sold as a slave and not treated badly because she had been humbled by killing her family and then taken as a wife and let go afterwards.  These laws do not apply today as we do not go around taking women in war for wives, yet the principles of treating wives well in a divorce are similar.  Divorce should be amicable and thoughtful, especially if it is the woman’s first marriage due to any attached stigma that others may feel.  We can certainly learn some godly principles from these examples.

Deuteronomy 20:1-20 - Spiritual Rules of Engagement

Deuteronomy 20:1-20 

Principles Governing Warfare

1 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. 2 So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. 3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; 4 for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’

5 “Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. 6 Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it. 7 And what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.’

8 “The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’ 9 And so it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

10 “When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it. 11 And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you. 12 Now if the city will not make peace with you, but war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 And when the LORD your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword. 14 But the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and you shall eat the enemies’ plunder which the LORD your God gives you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.

16 “But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, 17 but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you, 18 lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.

19 “When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food. 20 Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, to build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it is subdued.

These were the rules of engagement (ROE) in warfare given to God’s people as they entered the promised land.  They were not just to bluster their way into the enemy territory without a plan, the plan that their LORD provided to fight the good fight acceptably.  The first element was not to fear the enemy as they engaged them.  They were reminded that the battle belonged to the LORD (1 Samuel 17:47, Proverbs 21:31, Ephesians 6:10) and that they could trust Him to fight for them with His power and strength which they lacked in themselves.  We hear the words echo down through time to the present day as we fight the good fight of the gospel, “the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to deliver you.”  Yes, we trust in Him (Nahum 1:7, Psalm 22:4, Isaiah 26:3) even now as we engage the enemy of the Lord in the power of His might (Ephesians 3:16, Colossians 1:11) to lay siege to the lies and deception of the adversary who vainly attempts to keep the called and chosen from hearing the gospel (Revelation 12:17) and responding by faith with repentance to receive the Son of God (John 1:12, 5:24) to overcome the wicked one and be delivered once and for ever to enter the promised heavenly kingdom set before us.  The second ROE element was to be sure to care for your family before entering the battle as seen in those told to stay home and take care of their wives and household.  The third was not to rush into the fray while still fearful of fighting.  That would have to be faced and dealt with before causing losses due to a faint heart not fully committed to fight the good fight and win the battles.  The fourth ROE element was to offer terms of peace to those resisting the inevitable, an allusion perhaps to clearly presenting the consequences of sin as the bad news before offering the good news of peace with God through His Son’s person and work on the cross to them.  The consequences of eternal defeat must be clearly explained and the opportunity provided to submit to the Lord before that terrible judgment of inevitable defeat in the war for their souls.  The consequences then were the annihilation of the earthly cities and all in them who do not surrender to the LORD; the eternal consequences are far worse for the abominations of sin committed against the Lord and not turned away from.  The final element was to limit or prevent collateral damage as portrayed by the saving of the trees when sieging a stronghold.  Only the ones not needed for food were to be used as if a pattern for us not to damage what others need to survive while bringing down the ideas that keep others from Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-4, 5-6) as the war is fought in the heavenly realm by God’s word and power to save the hearers.  These are our spiritual rules of engagement with the adversary.