How Does the Old Testament Mesh with the New 31
This is our 5th part of our journey through the book of Deuteronomy.
Chapter 19 of Deuteronomy concerns itself with the construction of ‘cities of refuge’ in Canaan, for people who killed someone by accident (manslaughter), allowing them to be safe from bloodline vengeance seekers. (See. Nu. 35:6 – 34, where it has already been fleshed out.) Again, returning to subject of justice.
That is far different than the punishment for a murderer:
“…if someone hates his neighbor, lies in ambush for him, attacks him, and strikes him fatally, and flees to one of these cities, the elders of his city are to send for him, take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood and he will die. Do not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper.” Dt. 19:11 – 13. CSB
In this same chapter, Moses gives us an example of a violation of the 8th Commandment: You must not steal. Ex. 20:15 NLT
“When you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession, you must never steal anyone’s land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their property.” Dt. 19:14 CSB
Obviously, Jehovah wants us to be respecters of private property…
13.Rules of engagement:
God is preparing His children for war when they cross the Jordan River:
“When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you…He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory! Dt. 20:1 & 4. NLT
Yet Jehovah is not a God of wanton destruction. He shows His merciful side found in His ‘rules of engagement’.
Potential Israeli soldiers were exempt from fighting if they were building a new house, if they needed to harvest a vineyard, if they were engaged to be married, or if they were afraid to fight (lest they spread their fear to other soldiers, or the coward was a threat because of his compromised skills in battle). (See Dt. 20:5 – 8.)
Any potential town to be attacked must first be offered ‘terms of peace.’ If accepted, no one was hurt. They were, however, subjected to forced labor as opposed to complete destruction. (Dt. 20:10, 11.)
If, however, the town did not accept the offer of peace, battle would ensue, and the Israeli army was instructed to kill all the males. The women and children were to become indentured servants according to God’s laws regarding the treatment of slaves.[1]
The males were killed so that they could not stain God’s children with their paganism. (See Dt. 20:18).
14.Situational ethics:
“If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility. Take it back to its owner.” Dt. 22:1 NLT
“Do the same if you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore your responsibility.” Dt. 22:3 NLT
This injunction applies to any lost property. The ethical thing is to always return it to its rightful owner.
“A woman shall not wear a man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is utterly repulsive to the Lord your God.” Dt. 22:5 AMP
That’s right. That’s what it says. No transvestites, no drag Queens. No gender-identity crises, other than someone who truly suffers from Gender Dysphoria, for whom we should have compassion.
“When you build a new house, you shall make a railing (parapet) around your [flat] roof, so that you do not bring the guilt of [innocent] blood on your house if someone falls from it.” Dt. 22:8 AMP
What this addresses, is the sanctity of human life. In that vein, we must do our best to make our personal environment as safe as possible.
“Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.’ Then the woman’s father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. Her father must say to them, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her. He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, “I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders. The elders must then take the man and punish (whip) him. They must also fine him 100 pieces of silver,[b] which he must pay to the woman’s father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man’s wife, and he may never divorce her.” Dt. 22:13 – 19. NLT
This guy is lying to get out of a marriage that he regrets. But instead of divorcing her, he is defaming her. Perhaps to get his ‘bride price’ back from her father. Instead, the bride price is doubled.
So, what happens if the situation was true?
“The woman must be taken to the door of her father’s home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents’ home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.” Dt. 22:21 NLT
Severe, but not only does he punish the woman, the man is punished equally should he be adulterous:
“If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil.” Dt. 22:22 NLT
God designed marriage for companionship, offspring, and fidelity. Adultery crushes families. No one gets off lightly.
“…if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country, and he rapes her, then only the man must die. Do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no crime worthy of death. She is as innocent as a murder victim.” Dt. 22:25, 26. NLT
Jehovah does not tolerate rape.
“There shall be no cult prostitute among the daughters of Israel, nor shall there be a cult prostitute (a sodomite) among the sons of Israel. You shall not bring the wages of a prostitute or the price of a dog [that is, a male prostitute] into the house of the Lord your God as payment for any vow, for both of these [the gift and the giver] are utterly repulsive to the Lord your God.” Dt. 23:17, 18. AMP
Many paganistic nations infused sexual activity into their worship of their pagan gods, bringing in cult prostitutes (both genders) to facilitate this.
“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin.” Dt. 23:21 NLT
We are to keep our relationship with God in integrity.
“Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.” Dt. 24:14, 15. NLT
Just like Jesus, we must give grace and compassion to those who are less well off.
“A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married.” Dt. 24:5 NLT
This gives them a chance to build a solid bond and perhaps form a family, and hopefully act as a deterrent to divorce.
“If a man is caught kidnapping any of his countrymen from the sons of Israel, and he treats him violently or sells him [as a slave], then that thief shall die.” Dt. 24:7 AMP
Kidnapping is literally stealing someone, violating the 8th Commandment.
“Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.” Dt. 24:16 NLT
God holds us responsible for our own actions.
“You must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchandise, and you must use full and honest measures. Yes, always use honest weights and measures, so that you may enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. All who cheat with dishonest weights and measures are detestable to the Lord your God.” Dt. 25:13 – 16. NLT
Another call for honesty and integrity.
15.First things first
“When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession and you have conquered it and settled there, put some of the first produce from each crop you harvest into a basket and bring it to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, ‘With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us.’ The priest will then take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the Lord your God.” Dt. 26:1 – 4. NLT
“Every third year you must offer a special tithe of your crops. In this year of the special tithe you must give your tithes to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows, so that they will have enough to eat in your towns.” Dt. 26:12
Confessing God as Provider and Promise-Keeper; and to share those blessings.
Finally, the Israelites (and Christians too) are to claim what our Creator holds us up to be:
“Today the Lord your God has commanded you to obey all these decrees and regulations. So be careful to obey them wholeheartedly. You have declared today that the Lord is your God. And you have promised to walk in his ways, and to obey his decrees, commands, and regulations, and to do everything he tells you. The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands. And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.” Dt. 26:16 – 19. NLT
Next time, we will listen in on Moses’ last address to God’s people!
Goodnight and God bless.
[1] Ex. 21:2 – 7, 9 & 10, 20 & 21, 26 & 27; 23:12.
Building Better Americans 148
How Does the Old Testament Mesh with the New 30
This is our 4th examination of the book of Deuteronomy (See also the 27th, 28th, and 29th posts in this series).
10.Justice
The Hebrew words Tzedek, Mishpat, and Din, are used to define righteousness, judgment, and abiding by the law. (See https://MyJewishLearning.com)
In English, ‘justice’ refers to the quality of being fair and reasonable, or the administration of the law or authority in maintaining it, by a judge or magistrate.
God is a just God. Given that He wants us to emulate Him through our obedience, He commands that we practice justice.
“Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. Pursue justice and justice alone, so that you will live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Dt. 16:18 – 20. CSB
So, the judges must be incorruptible. Their practice of justice is solely to seek the truth. Indeed, it was such an important endeavor, that their very ability to thrive and remain in the Promised Land depended upon it.
Jehovah gives us an example of the administration of justice regarding idol worship. (See Dt. 17:17:2 – 5). If the suspected individual publicly performed this within the confines of Canaan (Israel), and the transgression was thoroughly investigated, he or she was to be stoned to death. Why? Because that individual broke God’s covenant with His children – violating the first and the second of the Ten Commandments.
However, our compassionate and merciful God demanded that this ‘execution’ adhere to certain parameters so that true justice takes place.
The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness. The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from you. Dt. 17:6, 7. CSB
Why was this sequence important? Having the witnesses strike the first blow would give them pause, lest they were revealed later as false witnesses, whereby they would have committed murder, and be executed themselves.
The reason to have all the people to join in the execution, is so that this sentence would not be taken lightly. It would drive home to the executioners the realization of the seriousness of their collusion in the application of the fatal punishment.
God is omniscient and exists outside of time. Thus, He can see all things happening at once. Although He wanted to be the only ‘King’ of Israel, Jehovah knew eventually the Israelites would choose human kings, (beginning with King Saul)[1] so that they could emulate the neighboring nations.
Thus, to prepare His children’s descendants, He revealed to this generation, how to choose a ‘just’ king:
“You are about to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the Lord your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner.
“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees.This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.” Dt. 17:14 – 20. NLT
In short, the king must be a God-chosen Israelite, who does not accumulate horses to amass a large army, with which he might use to oppress his own people, and to refrain from accumulating large amounts of money that might separate him from God.
The king also had an obligation to copy and learn the book of the law (Deuteronomy) to live by, and to administer its principles in his rule.
11.No black magic allowed:
We have previously seen that Moses has warned the Israelites about emulating any of the pagan practices of the Canaanites.
Once again, God addresses them, adding a proscription against sorcery:
“…do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.” Dt. 18:10, 11. NLT
Why? Because it is an attempt to determine the future, when only Jehovah knows that. And He wants His children to depend upon Him as that only true source that He is.
12.Raising true prophets:
How can God’s children discern what lies ahead in time? Moses tells us:
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” Dt. 18:15 NLT
Moses continues speaking for Jehovah:
I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. Dt. 18:18, 19. NLT
So, God leaves nothing to chance. He will send prophets to His children to speak for Him after Moses’ death. The Hebrews believe that the sending of the His prophets ended with the advent of the prophet Malachi, in 450 B.C.
There is no mention of a final messianic redeemer in the Torah. However, the belief that there is one to come, was fostered by future Jewish sects. Someone who would reconstruct the Temple in Jerusalem, bring about everlasting peace, and redeem the Jews and resurrect their dead. (See Jewish Messianism: https://MyJewishLearning.com).
The only distinct reference in the Old Testament is found in the book of the prophet Daniel:
While I was still speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, while I was still speaking in prayer and extremely exhausted, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and he talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and wisdom and understanding. At the beginning of your supplications, the command [to give you an answer] was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly regarded and greatly beloved. Therefore consider the message and begin to understand the [meaning of the] vision.
“Seventy weeks [of years, or 490 years] have been decreed for your people and for your holy city (Jerusalem), to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make atonement (reconciliation) for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness (right-standing with God), to seal up vision and prophecy and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. So you are to know and understand that from the issuance of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until [the coming of] the Messiah (the Anointed One), the Prince, there will be seven weeks [of years] and sixty-two weeks [of years]; it will be built again, with [a city] plaza and moat, even in times of trouble.” Dan. 9:20 – 25. AMP
In the Christian view, the final prophet culminated in Jesus Christ the Messiah:
“…God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah…Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’ Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’ “ Acts 3:18 – 23. NLT
God, having spoken to the fathers long ago in [the voices and writings of] the prophets in many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the truth], and in many ways, has in these last days spoken [with finality] to us in [the person of One who is by His character and nature] His Son [namely Jesus] … Heb. 1:1,2. AMP
Stay tuned for more of the wisdom of God for living the best life…
Goodnight and God bless.
[1] 1 Sam. 9:1 – 10:27.