(The previous post covered God's Doctrine of Marriage, divorce, and putting away.)
Deuteronomy 25
(This chapter continued giving information on various laws.)
1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, and the judges judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked;
2 and it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his wickedness, by number.
3 Forty stripes he may give him, he shall not exceed; lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
(If a punishment worthy of being beaten was pronounced, the stripes were not to exceed forty. In 2 Corinthians 11:24, Paul stated that he was beaten five times with thirty-nine stripes.)
4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the grain.
(Paul referenced this verse in 1 Corinthians 9:10.)
5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her.
(This passage was referenced in Ruth 3:12-13.)
6 And it shall be, that the first-born that she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead, that his name be not blotted out of Israel.
7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother unto me.
8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand, and say, I like not to take her;
9 then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto the man that doth not build up his brother's house.
10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
(Remember, in Genesis 38 Judah's second son said he would perform this duty and did not do it. God killed him for his hypocrisy. Judah withheld his third son from performing this duty.)
11 When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets;
12 then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall have no pity.
(When two men had a fight, if the wife of the one that got hit grabbed the one that hit by his genitalia, her hand would be cut off.)
13 Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small.
14 Thou shalt not have in thy house diverse measures, a great and a small.
15 A perfect and just weight shalt thou have; a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
16 For all that do such things, even all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
(The weights need to be perfect and just. Also, all things that were done needed to be righteous. Anything other than Right and Just was an abomination to God.)
17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt;
18 how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
19 Therefore it shall be, when Jehovah thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget.
(They were told to remember what Amalek did to them and to blot out the rememberance of Amalek from under heaven: "thou shalt not forget it." Amalek came from Esau. Throughout the Old Testament, God continued to bring up removing the Amalekites.)
Deuteronomy 26
(Verses 1-15: instructions for bringing the first-fruits and tithes.)
1 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein,
2 that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which thou shalt bring in from thy land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee; and thou shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.
(When they went into the Promised Land, possessed it, and lived in it, they would then put the first of the fruit in a basket and bring it to God.)
3 And thou shalt come unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto Jehovah thy God, that I am come unto the land which Jehovah sware unto our fathers to give us.
4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thy hand, and set it down before the altar of Jehovah thy God.
5 And thou shalt answer and say before Jehovah thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
6 And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
7 and we cried unto Jehovah, the God of our fathers, and Jehovah heard our voice, and saw our affliction, and our toil, and our oppression;
8 and Jehovah brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders;
9 and he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
(This was the big picture summary of the previous books of the Torah: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The believer was required to be able to repeat this story.)
10 And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O Jehovah, hast given me. And thou shalt set it down before Jehovah thy God, and worship before Jehovah thy God:
11 and thou shalt rejoice in all the good which Jehovah thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the sojourner that is in the midst of thee.
(The process of bringing the basket included remembering what God did for the Israelites. This would have built the faith of the person bringing the basket and the priest.)
12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithe of thine increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then thou shalt give it unto the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled.
13 And thou shalt say before Jehovah thy God, I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandment which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed any of thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:
14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I put away thereof, being unclean, nor given thereof for the dead: I have hearkened to the voice of Jehovah my God; I have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.
15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the ground which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.
(The third year’s tithes were explained.)
(Verses 16-19: Moses exhorted Israel.)
16 This day Jehovah thy God commandeth thee to do these statutes and ordinances: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.
17 Thou hast avouched Jehovah this day to be thy God, and that thou wouldest walk in his ways, and keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and hearken unto his voice:
18 and Jehovah hath avouched thee this day to be a people for his own possession, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
19 and to make thee high above all nations that he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be a holy people unto Jehovah thy God, as he hath spoken.
(The people were reminded of the Covenant between them and God. They had agreed to walk in the commandments of God and to listen to His Voice. God said to them that they were His own possession and would make them above all nations in praise, name, honor, and that they would be a holy people unto Him.)
(Notice verse 18 started by saying, "and Jehovah hath avouched thee this day to be a people for his own possession..." The KJV translated this verse as, "And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people..." In this verse, the words peculiar and possession came from the Hebrew word cĕgullah which meant "possession, property, valued property, peculiar treasure." God was saying that the Israelites were His valued and treasured people.)
Deuteronomy 27
(Verses 1-8: a command to set up a particular altar.)
1 And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandment which I command you this day.
2 And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:
3 and thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over; that thou mayest go in unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath promised thee.
(The phrase "plaster them with plaster" meant to whitewash them with lime made of burning bones.)
4 And it shall be, when ye are passed over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.
5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto Jehovah thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt lift up no iron tool upon them.
6 Thou shalt build the altar of Jehovah thy God of unhewn stones; and thou shalt offer burnt-offerings thereon unto Jehovah thy God:
7 and thou shalt sacrifice peace-offerings, and shalt eat there; and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God.
8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.
(The people were told to write the Law upon stones and to build an altar of whole stones. They were told to write the words of the Law "very plainly," meaning "very clear.")
9 And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Keep silence, and hearken, O Israel: this day thou art become the people of Jehovah thy God.
10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of Jehovah thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day.
(Verses 11-13: Moses gave the people a charge.)
11 And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,
12 These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are passed over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin.
13 And these shall stand upon mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
(Verses 14-26: the curses pronounced on Mount Ebal.)
14 And the Levites shall answer, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,
15 Cursed be the man that maketh a graven or molten image, an abomination unto Jehovah, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and setteth it up in secret. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
(Notice, after each curse the people were required to answer with the word "Amen." This word meant "so be it." After each curse was pronounced, the people stating "Amen" meant they were conscious of this and would be held to it in the future. The people were stating their will in agreement with these curses.)
16 Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.
18 Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.
19 Cursed be he that wresteth the justice due to the sojourner, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
20 Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife, because he hath uncovered his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.
(Reuben did this with his father's concubine that eventually became his father's wife according to Genesis 35:22.)
21 Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.
22 Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
(Abram did this according to Genesis 20:12.)
23 Cursed be he that lieth with his mother-in-law. And all the people shall say, Amen.
24 Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbor in secret. And all the people shall say, Amen.
25 Cursed be he that taketh a bribe to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
(Verse 25 covered murder for hire...a "hit man.")
26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
(Paul referenced this verse in Galatians 3:10.)
(This post continued to cover laws and punishments for various acts that were also mentioned in Leviticus 20.)
Day 60
Day 58: Deuteronomy 22-24
(The previous post covered the cities of refuge, the preparations by the individual to enter the Promised Land, and the punishment for being a false witness and a rebellious son.)
Deuteronomy 22
(This chapter covered miscellaneous laws.)
1 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely bring them again unto thy brother.
2 And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it home to thy house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him.
3 And so shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his garment; and so shalt thou do with every lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found: thou mayest not hide thyself.
4 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
(The first part of this chapter covered helping your brother and not hiding when your brother was in need.)
5 A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
(The law against "cross dressing.")
6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:
7 thou shalt surely let the dam go, but the young thou mayest take unto thyself; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.
(They could take the young birds but they had to leave the mother. The "dam" was the mother bird.)
8 When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thy house, if any man fall from thence.
(They were told to build walls around their roof (balcony) so it was not their fault if someone fell from there.)
9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which thou hast sown, and the increase of the vineyard.
10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.
11 Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together.
12 Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four borders of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.
(Four laws of separation.)
13 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,
14 and lay shameful things to her charge, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came nigh to her, I found not in her the tokens of virginity;
15 then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate;
(The "tokens of the damsel’s virginity" was a blood-stained sheet, the proof the wife was a virgin and not married to anyone previously. The wedding was a feast during which the bride and groom had intercourse to prove she was not married to anyone else.)
16 and the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;
17 and, lo, he hath laid shameful things to her charge, saying, I found not in thy daughter the tokens of virginity; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city.
18 And the elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him;
19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
(Notice, if the husband falsely accused the wife, he could never put her away. "Put away" meant to end the Marriage covenant by walking away from her. No bill of divorcement, which took the place of the blood-stained sheet. Without the ability to produce a blood-stained sheet (either physically or with a bill of divorcement) the woman would not be able to marry within Israel. She was removed from the community of Israel as a fornicator, an unbeliever. Notice, this passage did not state the husband could not divorce her. However, if he divorced her, another man could marry her. This passage was not about divorce...)
20 But if this thing be true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the damsel;
21 then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(Now we see what this passage was really about. The husband was not only attempting to remove her from the community of Israel, he was attempting to get her stoned as an unbeliever. Her inability to produce a blood-stained sheet would be proof she was actually married to another...that she had intercourse (was married) before the "marriage" (to the accusing "husband") in question. The man had unintentionally committed adultery. This section was critical to understanding Jesus' answers to the Pharisees relative to Marriage, divorce, and putting away. Again, the husband could have divorced her according to the Law (see Deuteronomy 24 below)...)
22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away the evil from Israel.
(We just covered the case of intercourse before "marriage." This covered the case of intercourse with other people after Marriage. If a man laid with a married woman, they both shall die. This was adultery.)
23 If there be a damsel that is a virgin betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
24 then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them to death with stones; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife: so thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(If a man laid with a virgin that was betrothed while they were around people (in the city), and she did not cry out, they both were stoned to death. Again, virgins could be betrothed, considered to be a wife, and not yet have consummated the Marriage covenant.)
25 But if the man find the damsel that is betrothed in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die:
(If a man forced himself on a woman while there were no people around (ie. in a field), then only the man would die.)
26 but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter;
27 for he found her in the field, the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
(This was rape and was a similar matter than that of murder.)
28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, that is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;
29 then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath humbled her; he may not put her away all his days.
(If a man found a virgin who was not betrothed and laid with her, they were married (consensual sexual intercourse is Marriage). He had to give fifty shekels of silver to her father, and he could not put her away all his days because he had humbled her.)
30 A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.
(According to Genesis 35:22, Reuben laid with his father’s concubine who would eventually become his father's wife, but this happened before the Law was instituted.)
Deuteronomy 23
(This chapter covered more miscellaneous laws)
1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
(Eunuchs were forbidden from entering the "assembly of Jehovah," also referred to as "the congregation of the Lord.")
2 A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
(A bastard could not enter the congregation of the Lord, even for ten generations. Ruth 4:18-24 documented the ten generations from Perez to David. Perez was the bastard son of Judah and Tamar from Genesis 38:29. This was why David could not build the temple. He was the tenth generation from a bastard. Solomon was the eleventh generation and could build the temple.)
3 An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of Jehovah for ever:
4 because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
(No person who belonged to Ammon or Moab could enter the assembly of God. One reason was because they hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. Remember, Ammon and Moab were Lot's sons.)
5 Nevertheless Jehovah thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but Jehovah thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because Jehovah thy God loved thee.
6 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a sojourner in his land.
(Edom was from Esau. Joseph's wife was an Egyptian. Hagar (Abram's wife) was an Egyptian.)
8 The children of the third generation that are born unto them shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
(Verses 9-14: cleanliness in the camp.)
9 When thou goest forth in camp against thine enemies, then thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing.
10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of that which chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
11 but it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall bathe himself in water; and when the sun is down, he shall come within the camp.
12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
13 and thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons; and it shall be, when thou sittest down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:
14 for Jehovah thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
(These directions covered the dealing with the emissions of men, both nocturnal and "bathroom" related.)
15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a servant that is escaped from his master unto thee:
16 he shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
(Israel would be a place of refuge for an escaped slave from a foreign land.)
17 There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the wages of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
19 Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest:
(Israelite women were not allowed to be prostitutes. Tamar (Genesis 38:29) did this before the Law. Israelites referred to people outside of Israel as "dogs." Jesus dealt with this slang in Matthew 15:26. Since prostitutes were not in community, and "dogs" were not in community, this passage stated that only people within the Israel community could give money to God. People in community were given the privilege of investing in the work of God. Also people in community were not allowed to put interest on anything they lent to their brother (community members). People could not make money on money. They had to make money on creating something useful within community.)
20 unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest, that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thy hand unto, in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.
(They could put interest on what they lent to a foreigner.)
21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.
23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe and do; according as thou hast vowed unto Jehovah thy God, a freewill-offering, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
(That which was gone out from their lips they shall keep and perform: vows. God did not force a person to make a vow.)
24 When thou comest into thy neighbor's vineyard, then thou mayest eat of grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
25 When thou comest into thy neighbor's standing grain, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's standing grain.
(The right to "glean" was given to travelers.)
Deuteronomy 24
(This chapter covered divorce and other various laws.)
1 When a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, then it shall be, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
(Divorce was LAWFUL. The reason given for a man to divorce his wife was not specific at all: "some unseemly thing", also translated as "some uncleanness." When she was divorced, she could marry another man. She was still in community. Putting away ended the Marriage covenant and removed at least one person from community. Divorce ended the Marriage covenant and kept both spouses in community. "Putting Away" and "Divorce" were two different processes. Either spouse could put the other away because the reason was fornication (unbelief). Only the husband could divorce the wife. It was a definite and objective ending of the covenant, complete with a bill of divorcement. Basically, the husband uncleaved from the wife. The bill of divorcement was her "blood-stained sheet.")
2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.
(Neither divorce, nor remarriage was a sin. Why do people believe either of these are sins today?)
3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, who took her to be his wife;
4 her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before Jehovah: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
(Here was the only sin associated with divorce and remarriage: a former husband could not remarry a previous wife IF she took another husband after their divorce. This law would have caused the husband to make sure he truly wanted to divorce his wife before he went through with it.)
5 When a man taketh a new wife, he shall not go out in the host, neither shall he be charged with any business: he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he hath taken.
(When a man had a new wife, he was supposed to stay at home with her, and not go to war, for one year so he could cause his wife to "rejoice and be glad." Again, the husband cleaved to the wife. The husband served the wife. The husband divorcing the wife was really the servant choosing to serve another woman. A man married to more than one wife was someone who was willing to serve more than one woman, and the first wife (and all wives) consented to her husband serving another woman.)
6 No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge; for he taketh a man's life to pledge.
7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, or sell him; then that thief shall die: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
8 Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.
9 Remember what Jehovah thy God did unto Miriam, by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt.
(Selling and speaking against people (what Miriam did as recorded in Numbers 12) in community was punishable by death and leprosy, respectively.)
10 When thou dost lend thy neighbor any manner of loan, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.
11 Thou shalt stand without, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring forth the pledge without unto thee.
12 And if he be a poor man, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge;
13 thou shalt surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before Jehovah thy God.
(A "pledge" was like collateral.)
14 Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy sojourners that are in thy land within thy gates:
15 in his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it be sin unto thee.
16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
(The sins of the fathers would not be placed on their children. Every man would be put to death for his own sin.)
17 Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to the sojourner, or to the fatherless, nor take the widow's raiment to pledge;
18 but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and Jehovah thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
19 When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands.
20 When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it after thee: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
(They were told to not glean the vineyard but to leave it for the stranger, fatherless, and widows. This was a key point to the story in Ruth 2:2.)
22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
(This post covered God's Doctrine of Marriage, divorce, and putting away.)
Day 59
Deuteronomy 22
(This chapter covered miscellaneous laws.)
1 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely bring them again unto thy brother.
2 And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it home to thy house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him.
3 And so shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his garment; and so shalt thou do with every lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found: thou mayest not hide thyself.
4 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
(The first part of this chapter covered helping your brother and not hiding when your brother was in need.)
5 A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
(The law against "cross dressing.")
6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:
7 thou shalt surely let the dam go, but the young thou mayest take unto thyself; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.
(They could take the young birds but they had to leave the mother. The "dam" was the mother bird.)
8 When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thy house, if any man fall from thence.
(They were told to build walls around their roof (balcony) so it was not their fault if someone fell from there.)
9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which thou hast sown, and the increase of the vineyard.
10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.
11 Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together.
12 Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four borders of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.
(Four laws of separation.)
13 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,
14 and lay shameful things to her charge, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came nigh to her, I found not in her the tokens of virginity;
15 then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate;
(The "tokens of the damsel’s virginity" was a blood-stained sheet, the proof the wife was a virgin and not married to anyone previously. The wedding was a feast during which the bride and groom had intercourse to prove she was not married to anyone else.)
16 and the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;
17 and, lo, he hath laid shameful things to her charge, saying, I found not in thy daughter the tokens of virginity; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city.
18 And the elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him;
19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
(Notice, if the husband falsely accused the wife, he could never put her away. "Put away" meant to end the Marriage covenant by walking away from her. No bill of divorcement, which took the place of the blood-stained sheet. Without the ability to produce a blood-stained sheet (either physically or with a bill of divorcement) the woman would not be able to marry within Israel. She was removed from the community of Israel as a fornicator, an unbeliever. Notice, this passage did not state the husband could not divorce her. However, if he divorced her, another man could marry her. This passage was not about divorce...)
20 But if this thing be true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the damsel;
21 then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(Now we see what this passage was really about. The husband was not only attempting to remove her from the community of Israel, he was attempting to get her stoned as an unbeliever. Her inability to produce a blood-stained sheet would be proof she was actually married to another...that she had intercourse (was married) before the "marriage" (to the accusing "husband") in question. The man had unintentionally committed adultery. This section was critical to understanding Jesus' answers to the Pharisees relative to Marriage, divorce, and putting away. Again, the husband could have divorced her according to the Law (see Deuteronomy 24 below)...)
22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away the evil from Israel.
(We just covered the case of intercourse before "marriage." This covered the case of intercourse with other people after Marriage. If a man laid with a married woman, they both shall die. This was adultery.)
23 If there be a damsel that is a virgin betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
24 then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them to death with stones; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife: so thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(If a man laid with a virgin that was betrothed while they were around people (in the city), and she did not cry out, they both were stoned to death. Again, virgins could be betrothed, considered to be a wife, and not yet have consummated the Marriage covenant.)
25 But if the man find the damsel that is betrothed in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die:
(If a man forced himself on a woman while there were no people around (ie. in a field), then only the man would die.)
26 but unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter;
27 for he found her in the field, the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
(This was rape and was a similar matter than that of murder.)
28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, that is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;
29 then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath humbled her; he may not put her away all his days.
(If a man found a virgin who was not betrothed and laid with her, they were married (consensual sexual intercourse is Marriage). He had to give fifty shekels of silver to her father, and he could not put her away all his days because he had humbled her.)
30 A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.
(According to Genesis 35:22, Reuben laid with his father’s concubine who would eventually become his father's wife, but this happened before the Law was instituted.)
Deuteronomy 23
(This chapter covered more miscellaneous laws)
1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
(Eunuchs were forbidden from entering the "assembly of Jehovah," also referred to as "the congregation of the Lord.")
2 A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
(A bastard could not enter the congregation of the Lord, even for ten generations. Ruth 4:18-24 documented the ten generations from Perez to David. Perez was the bastard son of Judah and Tamar from Genesis 38:29. This was why David could not build the temple. He was the tenth generation from a bastard. Solomon was the eleventh generation and could build the temple.)
3 An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of Jehovah for ever:
4 because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
(No person who belonged to Ammon or Moab could enter the assembly of God. One reason was because they hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. Remember, Ammon and Moab were Lot's sons.)
5 Nevertheless Jehovah thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but Jehovah thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because Jehovah thy God loved thee.
6 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a sojourner in his land.
(Edom was from Esau. Joseph's wife was an Egyptian. Hagar (Abram's wife) was an Egyptian.)
8 The children of the third generation that are born unto them shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
(Verses 9-14: cleanliness in the camp.)
9 When thou goest forth in camp against thine enemies, then thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing.
10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of that which chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
11 but it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall bathe himself in water; and when the sun is down, he shall come within the camp.
12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
13 and thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons; and it shall be, when thou sittest down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:
14 for Jehovah thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
(These directions covered the dealing with the emissions of men, both nocturnal and "bathroom" related.)
15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a servant that is escaped from his master unto thee:
16 he shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
(Israel would be a place of refuge for an escaped slave from a foreign land.)
17 There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the wages of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
19 Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest:
(Israelite women were not allowed to be prostitutes. Tamar (Genesis 38:29) did this before the Law. Israelites referred to people outside of Israel as "dogs." Jesus dealt with this slang in Matthew 15:26. Since prostitutes were not in community, and "dogs" were not in community, this passage stated that only people within the Israel community could give money to God. People in community were given the privilege of investing in the work of God. Also people in community were not allowed to put interest on anything they lent to their brother (community members). People could not make money on money. They had to make money on creating something useful within community.)
20 unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest, that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thy hand unto, in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.
(They could put interest on what they lent to a foreigner.)
21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.
23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe and do; according as thou hast vowed unto Jehovah thy God, a freewill-offering, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
(That which was gone out from their lips they shall keep and perform: vows. God did not force a person to make a vow.)
24 When thou comest into thy neighbor's vineyard, then thou mayest eat of grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
25 When thou comest into thy neighbor's standing grain, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor's standing grain.
(The right to "glean" was given to travelers.)
Deuteronomy 24
(This chapter covered divorce and other various laws.)
1 When a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, then it shall be, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
(Divorce was LAWFUL. The reason given for a man to divorce his wife was not specific at all: "some unseemly thing", also translated as "some uncleanness." When she was divorced, she could marry another man. She was still in community. Putting away ended the Marriage covenant and removed at least one person from community. Divorce ended the Marriage covenant and kept both spouses in community. "Putting Away" and "Divorce" were two different processes. Either spouse could put the other away because the reason was fornication (unbelief). Only the husband could divorce the wife. It was a definite and objective ending of the covenant, complete with a bill of divorcement. Basically, the husband uncleaved from the wife. The bill of divorcement was her "blood-stained sheet.")
2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.
(Neither divorce, nor remarriage was a sin. Why do people believe either of these are sins today?)
3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, who took her to be his wife;
4 her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before Jehovah: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
(Here was the only sin associated with divorce and remarriage: a former husband could not remarry a previous wife IF she took another husband after their divorce. This law would have caused the husband to make sure he truly wanted to divorce his wife before he went through with it.)
5 When a man taketh a new wife, he shall not go out in the host, neither shall he be charged with any business: he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he hath taken.
(When a man had a new wife, he was supposed to stay at home with her, and not go to war, for one year so he could cause his wife to "rejoice and be glad." Again, the husband cleaved to the wife. The husband served the wife. The husband divorcing the wife was really the servant choosing to serve another woman. A man married to more than one wife was someone who was willing to serve more than one woman, and the first wife (and all wives) consented to her husband serving another woman.)
6 No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge; for he taketh a man's life to pledge.
7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, or sell him; then that thief shall die: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
8 Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.
9 Remember what Jehovah thy God did unto Miriam, by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt.
(Selling and speaking against people (what Miriam did as recorded in Numbers 12) in community was punishable by death and leprosy, respectively.)
10 When thou dost lend thy neighbor any manner of loan, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.
11 Thou shalt stand without, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring forth the pledge without unto thee.
12 And if he be a poor man, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge;
13 thou shalt surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before Jehovah thy God.
(A "pledge" was like collateral.)
14 Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy sojourners that are in thy land within thy gates:
15 in his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it be sin unto thee.
16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
(The sins of the fathers would not be placed on their children. Every man would be put to death for his own sin.)
17 Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to the sojourner, or to the fatherless, nor take the widow's raiment to pledge;
18 but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and Jehovah thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
19 When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands.
20 When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it after thee: it shall be for the sojourner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
(They were told to not glean the vineyard but to leave it for the stranger, fatherless, and widows. This was a key point to the story in Ruth 2:2.)
22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
(This post covered God's Doctrine of Marriage, divorce, and putting away.)
Day 59
Day 57: Deuteronomy 19-21
(The previous post covered the instructions for observing feasts, warnings for eventual kings, and prophecy concerning Jesus.)
Deuteronomy 19
(Verses 1-13: Cities of Refuge to be provided.)
1 When Jehovah thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;
2 thou shalt set apart three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it.
(There were to be three cities of refuge.)
3 Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which Jehovah thy God causeth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither.
4 And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past;
(This covered the case of a person who killed another unintentionally.)
5 as when a man goeth into the forest with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbor, so that he dieth; he shall flee unto one of these cities and live:
6 lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
(This gave the why: to protect both people because the avenger's heart was hot (angry).)
7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt set apart three cities for thee.
8 And if Jehovah thy God enlarge thy border, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;
9 if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, besides these three:
(If they kept all the commandments given that day, they would add three more cities of refuge. Ultimately, there would be six cities of refuge, three on each side of the Jordan River.)
10 that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
11 But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally so that he dieth, and he flee into one of these cities;
12 then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
(Verses 14-21: other legal standards.)
14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it.
(They were not supposed to remove any landmarks (borders) which had been set up. This supported the basic right to private property.)
15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.
(One witness was not enough, there must have been at least two, like God did with Sodom.)
16 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of wrong-doing,
17 then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days;
18 and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and have testified falsely against his brother;
19 then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to do unto his brother: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(If the witness was a false witness then what was thought to be done to the defendant would be done to the false witness. Bearing false witness was punishable by death. Do we, today, consider bearing false witness between Christians to be a serious crime?)
20 And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of thee.
21 And thine eyes shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
(The classic statements like, "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" really support the fact that the Dispensation of the Law was meant to equal out Justice immediately (here on Earth). The principle is Justice, the same principle being used when Jesus expanded doctrine in His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus stated this in Matthew 5:39, "but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
People often think this is a contradiction between the Old and New Testaments. The misinterpretation here comes from not understanding the underlying principle. Both the Old Testament "eye for eye" statement and Jesus' "turn the other cheek" were founded in Justice. The Law was meant to equal it out now, Jesus intended to help people gain more for their Long Term benefit. Jesus did not say it was wrong to follow "eye for eye" but that it would be better Long Term, in relation to Justice, to "turn the other cheek.")
Deuteronomy 20
(This chapter covered instructions about warfare.)
1 When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
(They were told to not be afraid of the other nations for God was with them. The first thing emphasized as it related to warfare was their trust: was it in God or themselves?)
2 And it shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint; fear not, nor tremble, neither be ye affrighted at them;
4 for Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
(The priests were supposed to speak that not only was God with them; He fought for them against their enemies. This was meant to encourage the soldiers.)
5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
6 And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not used the fruit thereof? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit thereof.
7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.
8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart melt as his heart.
(The officers were told to speak to the people and tell any man who had a house that was not dedicated, a vineyard that he had not yet eaten of, a betrothed wife that he had not taken (not completed the Marriage covenant), or any man that was fearful or faint hearted, he should return to his house. Again, it was possible to be betrothed to a wife and not having consummated the covenant. Betrothed meant they exchanged tokens but had not had intercourse.)
9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall appoint captains of hosts at the head of the people.
(After the officers spoke to the people, they made captains of the armies to lead the people.)
(Verses 10-20: instructions for battle.)
10 When thou drawest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.
(If the people of other cities accepted the peace agreement, they would be tributaries (this word literally meant "forced laborers") to the Israelites. However, the context of this verse showed these people entered into this agreement willingly. They were not slaves or servants against their will.)
12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
13 and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
14 but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take for a prey unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee.
15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
(This stated that everything in verses 10-14 applied only to the cities far off and not of the nations that lived in the Promised Land. This would be the cities they went through on their way to possessing their inheritance.)
16 But of the cities of these peoples, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth;
(The people in the cities that God gave them as an inheritance should all be killed, everything breathing.)
17 but thou shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee;
18 that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so would ye sin against Jehovah your God.
19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?
20 Only the trees of which thou knowest that they are not trees for food, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it fall.
(The trees that did not bear fruit were to be used as enclosures. Verse 19 in the KJV ended with (emphasis added):
-"(for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the seige."
In the Bible, trees represented thinking. The brain is made up of dendrites, which came from the Greek word for "tree," and the dendrites in the brain in fact look like trees.)
Deuteronomy 21
(This chapter covered miscellaneous laws.)
(Verses 1-9: law of unsolved murder.)
1 If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him;
2 then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
3 and it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;
4 and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
(This was meant to provide atonement for the land.)
5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be.
6 And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;
7 and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
8 Forgive, O Jehovah, thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the midst of thy people Israel. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
9 So shalt thou put away the innocent blood from the midst of thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah.
(This showed what the Levites said and did in order for Israel to not be charged with the blood of a person whose slayer was not known.)
(Verses 10-23: laws relating to relatives and home issues.)
10 When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou carriest them away captive,
11 and seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and thou hast a desire unto her, and wouldest take her to thee to wife;
12 then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
13 and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
(Bewail meant "mourn." A woman who did this would have been entering this willingly.)
14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.
15 If a man have two wives, the one beloved, and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated;
16 then it shall be, in the day that he causeth his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved the first-born before the son of the hated, who is the first-born:
(The firstborn son received the birthright regardless of whether or not the wives were loved the same.)
17 but he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath; for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the first-born is his.
(The firstborn was the beginning of his (the father's) strength; the "right" of the firstborn was his. The right meant "judgment, decision, privilege.")
18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them;
19 then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20 and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
21 And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
(The case of a son who deserved no portion was covered. This son was rebellious, stubborn, gluttonous, and a drunkard. The undeserving son was stoned.)
22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree;
23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thou defile not thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
(The case concerning men who committed a sin worthy of death was covered. The man was killed and hung on a tree, then buried the same day. Why? For he that was hanged was accursed of God. (See Galatians 3:13, as well as John 19:31 in which these verses were referenced in conjunction with Jesus' crucifixion.) Notice, this "tree" stopped the guilty man's ability to think.)
(This post covered the cities of refuge, the preparations by the individual to enter the Promised Land, and the punishment for being a false witness and a rebellious son.)
Day 58
Deuteronomy 19
(Verses 1-13: Cities of Refuge to be provided.)
1 When Jehovah thy God shall cut off the nations, whose land Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;
2 thou shalt set apart three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it.
(There were to be three cities of refuge.)
3 Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the borders of thy land, which Jehovah thy God causeth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every manslayer may flee thither.
4 And this is the case of the manslayer, that shall flee thither and live: whoso killeth his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in time past;
(This covered the case of a person who killed another unintentionally.)
5 as when a man goeth into the forest with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbor, so that he dieth; he shall flee unto one of these cities and live:
6 lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and smite him mortally; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
(This gave the why: to protect both people because the avenger's heart was hot (angry).)
7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt set apart three cities for thee.
8 And if Jehovah thy God enlarge thy border, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;
9 if thou shalt keep all this commandment to do it, which I command thee this day, to love Jehovah thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, besides these three:
(If they kept all the commandments given that day, they would add three more cities of refuge. Ultimately, there would be six cities of refuge, three on each side of the Jordan River.)
10 that innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
11 But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally so that he dieth, and he flee into one of these cities;
12 then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
(Verses 14-21: other legal standards.)
14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it.
(They were not supposed to remove any landmarks (borders) which had been set up. This supported the basic right to private property.)
15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.
(One witness was not enough, there must have been at least two, like God did with Sodom.)
16 If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of wrong-doing,
17 then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days;
18 and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and have testified falsely against his brother;
19 then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to do unto his brother: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(If the witness was a false witness then what was thought to be done to the defendant would be done to the false witness. Bearing false witness was punishable by death. Do we, today, consider bearing false witness between Christians to be a serious crime?)
20 And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of thee.
21 And thine eyes shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
(The classic statements like, "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" really support the fact that the Dispensation of the Law was meant to equal out Justice immediately (here on Earth). The principle is Justice, the same principle being used when Jesus expanded doctrine in His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus stated this in Matthew 5:39, "but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
People often think this is a contradiction between the Old and New Testaments. The misinterpretation here comes from not understanding the underlying principle. Both the Old Testament "eye for eye" statement and Jesus' "turn the other cheek" were founded in Justice. The Law was meant to equal it out now, Jesus intended to help people gain more for their Long Term benefit. Jesus did not say it was wrong to follow "eye for eye" but that it would be better Long Term, in relation to Justice, to "turn the other cheek.")
Deuteronomy 20
(This chapter covered instructions about warfare.)
1 When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
(They were told to not be afraid of the other nations for God was with them. The first thing emphasized as it related to warfare was their trust: was it in God or themselves?)
2 And it shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint; fear not, nor tremble, neither be ye affrighted at them;
4 for Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
(The priests were supposed to speak that not only was God with them; He fought for them against their enemies. This was meant to encourage the soldiers.)
5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
6 And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not used the fruit thereof? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit thereof.
7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.
8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart melt as his heart.
(The officers were told to speak to the people and tell any man who had a house that was not dedicated, a vineyard that he had not yet eaten of, a betrothed wife that he had not taken (not completed the Marriage covenant), or any man that was fearful or faint hearted, he should return to his house. Again, it was possible to be betrothed to a wife and not having consummated the covenant. Betrothed meant they exchanged tokens but had not had intercourse.)
9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall appoint captains of hosts at the head of the people.
(After the officers spoke to the people, they made captains of the armies to lead the people.)
(Verses 10-20: instructions for battle.)
10 When thou drawest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.
(If the people of other cities accepted the peace agreement, they would be tributaries (this word literally meant "forced laborers") to the Israelites. However, the context of this verse showed these people entered into this agreement willingly. They were not slaves or servants against their will.)
12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
13 and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
14 but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take for a prey unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee.
15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
(This stated that everything in verses 10-14 applied only to the cities far off and not of the nations that lived in the Promised Land. This would be the cities they went through on their way to possessing their inheritance.)
16 But of the cities of these peoples, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth;
(The people in the cities that God gave them as an inheritance should all be killed, everything breathing.)
17 but thou shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee;
18 that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so would ye sin against Jehovah your God.
19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?
20 Only the trees of which thou knowest that they are not trees for food, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it fall.
(The trees that did not bear fruit were to be used as enclosures. Verse 19 in the KJV ended with (emphasis added):
-"(for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the seige."
In the Bible, trees represented thinking. The brain is made up of dendrites, which came from the Greek word for "tree," and the dendrites in the brain in fact look like trees.)
Deuteronomy 21
(This chapter covered miscellaneous laws.)
(Verses 1-9: law of unsolved murder.)
1 If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him;
2 then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
3 and it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;
4 and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
(This was meant to provide atonement for the land.)
5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be.
6 And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;
7 and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
8 Forgive, O Jehovah, thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the midst of thy people Israel. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
9 So shalt thou put away the innocent blood from the midst of thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah.
(This showed what the Levites said and did in order for Israel to not be charged with the blood of a person whose slayer was not known.)
(Verses 10-23: laws relating to relatives and home issues.)
10 When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou carriest them away captive,
11 and seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and thou hast a desire unto her, and wouldest take her to thee to wife;
12 then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
13 and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
(Bewail meant "mourn." A woman who did this would have been entering this willingly.)
14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.
15 If a man have two wives, the one beloved, and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated;
16 then it shall be, in the day that he causeth his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved the first-born before the son of the hated, who is the first-born:
(The firstborn son received the birthright regardless of whether or not the wives were loved the same.)
17 but he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath; for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the first-born is his.
(The firstborn was the beginning of his (the father's) strength; the "right" of the firstborn was his. The right meant "judgment, decision, privilege.")
18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them;
19 then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20 and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
21 And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
(The case of a son who deserved no portion was covered. This son was rebellious, stubborn, gluttonous, and a drunkard. The undeserving son was stoned.)
22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree;
23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thou defile not thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
(The case concerning men who committed a sin worthy of death was covered. The man was killed and hung on a tree, then buried the same day. Why? For he that was hanged was accursed of God. (See Galatians 3:13, as well as John 19:31 in which these verses were referenced in conjunction with Jesus' crucifixion.) Notice, this "tree" stopped the guilty man's ability to think.)
(This post covered the cities of refuge, the preparations by the individual to enter the Promised Land, and the punishment for being a false witness and a rebellious son.)
Day 58
Day 56: Deuteronomy 16-18
(The previous post covered instructions to the people concerning false prophets, idolatrous cities, the cleanness of food, and borrowing/lending money.)
Deuteronomy 16
(This chapter covered three major feasts.)
(Verses 1-8: the observance of Passover.)
1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Jehovah thy God; for in the month of Abib Jehovah thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
2 And thou shalt sacrifice the passover unto Jehovah thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Jehovah shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.
(Verses 3-4: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which here was associated with Passover.)
3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
4 And there shall be no leaven seen with thee in all thy borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which thou sacrificest the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee;
6 but at the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread; and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to Jehovah thy God; thou shalt do no work therein.
(Verses 9-12: the observance of the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost).)
9 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: from the time thou beginnest to put the sickle to the standing grain shalt thou begin to number seven weeks.
10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto Jehovah thy God with a tribute of a freewill-offering of thy hand, which thou shalt give, according as Jehovah thy God blesseth thee:
11 and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are in the midst of thee, in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.
12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.
(Verses 13-15: the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles.)
13 Thou shalt keep the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and from thy winepress:
14 and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
15 Seven days shalt thou keep a feast unto Jehovah thy God in the place which Jehovah shall choose; because Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the work of thy hands, and thou shalt be altogether joyful.
(Verses 16-17: the command to observe each of these three feasts.)
16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles; and they shall not appear before Jehovah empty:
17 every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he hath given thee.
(Instructions for the males regarding the feasts of Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Tabernacles.)
18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
(Judges and officers were to be set up in all the gates. They were to judge with righteous judgment.)
19 Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
(They were commanded to not extend or pervert judgment or accept a bribe.)
20 That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
(They were to follow Justice.)
21 Thou shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Jehovah thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
22 Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar; which Jehovah thy God hateth.
(They were not allowed to plant an Asherah (grove; group of trees often used for idolatry) or set up a pillar near the altar of God.)
Deuteronomy 17
(This chapter covered laws specifically for the rulers of Israel.)
(Verses 1-5: religious idolatry.)
1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God an ox, or a sheep, wherein is a blemish, or anything evil; for that is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
2 If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
3 and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 and it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, then shalt thou inquire diligently; and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel,
5 then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, who hath done this evil thing, unto thy gates, even the man or the woman; and thou shalt stone them to death with stones.
(Idolaters were to be stoned to death.)
6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
(There must have been at least two witnesses when putting a man to death. Jesus referenced this verse in John 8:17 when He was confronted by the Pharisees during the final six months of His public ministry.)
7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(They were to "put away" evil from among them. The word used for "putting away" in the Old Testament was: Strong's #7971 shalach which meant "to send away, for, or out.")
8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose;
9 and thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days: and thou shalt inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment.
(If there was a matter too hard for the judges and officers of the tribes to resolve, the matter was to be brought to the Levites.)
10 And thou shalt do according to the tenor of the sentence which they shall show thee from that place which Jehovah shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall teach thee:
11 according to the tenor of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
12 And the man that doeth presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the priest that standeth to minister there before Jehovah thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
(The matters brought to the Levites were considered the "highest court." The Levites' decision was final.)
14 When thou art come unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me;
15 thou shalt surely set him king over thee, whom Jehovah thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother.
(Moses said that he knew that once the Israelites got to the Promised Land, they would ask for a king like the other nations. This did not mean that God wanted this, but when it happened, they were to set a king over them that God had chosen and not a stranger who was not their brother.)
16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; forasmuch as Jehovah hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
(The king was not supposed to multiply horses to himself or cause the people to return to Egypt. The king was not supposed to multiply wives to himself or multiply gold and silver to himself. 1 Kings 10 documented that Solomon violated this Deuteronomic Code.)
18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
19 and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them;
20 that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.
(The king was supposed to write a copy of the Law and keep it and read from it all the days of his life. This command was so that he would learn to fear God, keep and do the Law and statutes, and his heart would not be lifted up above his brothers. Doing all of this would prolong his days in his kingdom. Again, a reminder of the Shaba: Deuteronomy 6. Also, this was another part of the Deuteronomic Code that Solomon ignored.)
Deuteronomy 18
(This chapter covered priests and prophets.)
1 The priests the Levites, even all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, and his inheritance.
2 And they shall have no inheritance among their brethren: Jehovah is their inheritance, as he hath spoken unto them.
(God was the inheritance of the Levites.)
3 And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.
4 The first-fruits of thy grain, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
(These were the payments due to the priests from the people.)
5 For Jehovah thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of Jehovah, him and his sons for ever.
6 And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourneth, and come with all the desire of his soul unto the place which Jehovah shall choose;
7 then he shall minister in the name of Jehovah his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before Jehovah.
8 They shall have like portions to eat, besides that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
(The Levites were provided for because they ministered to God.)
9 When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found with thee any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, one that practiseth augury, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,
11 or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah: and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13 Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God.
14 For these nations, that thou shalt dispossess, hearken unto them that practise augury, and unto diviners; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
(They were told to not learn to do the same actions as the nations they were driving out. They were to be perfect: "maximum profitability." God wanted them to be in their best possible state.
It was the very abominations that these other nations were doing that gave God the ability to respond against them according to Justice. God did not want the Israelites to violate Justice in the same way, instead He wanted them "perfect.")
15 Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
(A PROPHET (Christ) would come from the Israelites and they were told to listen to Him. Peter referenced this verse in Acts 3:22 when he preached after healing the lame man at Solomon's porch.)
16 according to all that thou desiredst of Jehovah thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
17 And Jehovah said unto me, They have well said that which they have spoken.
18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
(God confirmed this to Moses by saying He would raise up a PROPHET (Christ) from among the Israelites, He would put His Words in the PROPHET'S mouth, and the PROPHET would speak all that God commanded Him.)
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
20 But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.
21 And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken?
22 when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.
(God told Moses how to deal with a false prophet and how to tell if a prophet was false or not.)
(This post covered the instructions for observing feasts, warnings for eventual kings, and prophecy concerning Jesus.)
Day 57
Deuteronomy 16
(This chapter covered three major feasts.)
(Verses 1-8: the observance of Passover.)
1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Jehovah thy God; for in the month of Abib Jehovah thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
2 And thou shalt sacrifice the passover unto Jehovah thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Jehovah shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.
(Verses 3-4: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which here was associated with Passover.)
3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
4 And there shall be no leaven seen with thee in all thy borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which thou sacrificest the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee;
6 but at the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread; and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to Jehovah thy God; thou shalt do no work therein.
(Verses 9-12: the observance of the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost).)
9 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: from the time thou beginnest to put the sickle to the standing grain shalt thou begin to number seven weeks.
10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto Jehovah thy God with a tribute of a freewill-offering of thy hand, which thou shalt give, according as Jehovah thy God blesseth thee:
11 and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are in the midst of thee, in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.
12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.
(Verses 13-15: the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles.)
13 Thou shalt keep the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing-floor and from thy winepress:
14 and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
15 Seven days shalt thou keep a feast unto Jehovah thy God in the place which Jehovah shall choose; because Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the work of thy hands, and thou shalt be altogether joyful.
(Verses 16-17: the command to observe each of these three feasts.)
16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before Jehovah thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles; and they shall not appear before Jehovah empty:
17 every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he hath given thee.
(Instructions for the males regarding the feasts of Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Tabernacles.)
18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
(Judges and officers were to be set up in all the gates. They were to judge with righteous judgment.)
19 Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
(They were commanded to not extend or pervert judgment or accept a bribe.)
20 That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
(They were to follow Justice.)
21 Thou shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Jehovah thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
22 Neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar; which Jehovah thy God hateth.
(They were not allowed to plant an Asherah (grove; group of trees often used for idolatry) or set up a pillar near the altar of God.)
Deuteronomy 17
(This chapter covered laws specifically for the rulers of Israel.)
(Verses 1-5: religious idolatry.)
1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God an ox, or a sheep, wherein is a blemish, or anything evil; for that is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
2 If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
3 and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 and it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, then shalt thou inquire diligently; and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel,
5 then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, who hath done this evil thing, unto thy gates, even the man or the woman; and thou shalt stone them to death with stones.
(Idolaters were to be stoned to death.)
6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
(There must have been at least two witnesses when putting a man to death. Jesus referenced this verse in John 8:17 when He was confronted by the Pharisees during the final six months of His public ministry.)
7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(They were to "put away" evil from among them. The word used for "putting away" in the Old Testament was: Strong's #7971 shalach which meant "to send away, for, or out.")
8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose;
9 and thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days: and thou shalt inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment.
(If there was a matter too hard for the judges and officers of the tribes to resolve, the matter was to be brought to the Levites.)
10 And thou shalt do according to the tenor of the sentence which they shall show thee from that place which Jehovah shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall teach thee:
11 according to the tenor of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
12 And the man that doeth presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the priest that standeth to minister there before Jehovah thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
(The matters brought to the Levites were considered the "highest court." The Levites' decision was final.)
14 When thou art come unto the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me;
15 thou shalt surely set him king over thee, whom Jehovah thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother.
(Moses said that he knew that once the Israelites got to the Promised Land, they would ask for a king like the other nations. This did not mean that God wanted this, but when it happened, they were to set a king over them that God had chosen and not a stranger who was not their brother.)
16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; forasmuch as Jehovah hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
(The king was not supposed to multiply horses to himself or cause the people to return to Egypt. The king was not supposed to multiply wives to himself or multiply gold and silver to himself. 1 Kings 10 documented that Solomon violated this Deuteronomic Code.)
18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
19 and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them;
20 that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.
(The king was supposed to write a copy of the Law and keep it and read from it all the days of his life. This command was so that he would learn to fear God, keep and do the Law and statutes, and his heart would not be lifted up above his brothers. Doing all of this would prolong his days in his kingdom. Again, a reminder of the Shaba: Deuteronomy 6. Also, this was another part of the Deuteronomic Code that Solomon ignored.)
Deuteronomy 18
(This chapter covered priests and prophets.)
1 The priests the Levites, even all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, and his inheritance.
2 And they shall have no inheritance among their brethren: Jehovah is their inheritance, as he hath spoken unto them.
(God was the inheritance of the Levites.)
3 And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.
4 The first-fruits of thy grain, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
(These were the payments due to the priests from the people.)
5 For Jehovah thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of Jehovah, him and his sons for ever.
6 And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourneth, and come with all the desire of his soul unto the place which Jehovah shall choose;
7 then he shall minister in the name of Jehovah his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before Jehovah.
8 They shall have like portions to eat, besides that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
(The Levites were provided for because they ministered to God.)
9 When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found with thee any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, one that practiseth augury, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,
11 or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah: and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13 Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God.
14 For these nations, that thou shalt dispossess, hearken unto them that practise augury, and unto diviners; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
(They were told to not learn to do the same actions as the nations they were driving out. They were to be perfect: "maximum profitability." God wanted them to be in their best possible state.
It was the very abominations that these other nations were doing that gave God the ability to respond against them according to Justice. God did not want the Israelites to violate Justice in the same way, instead He wanted them "perfect.")
15 Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
(A PROPHET (Christ) would come from the Israelites and they were told to listen to Him. Peter referenced this verse in Acts 3:22 when he preached after healing the lame man at Solomon's porch.)
16 according to all that thou desiredst of Jehovah thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
17 And Jehovah said unto me, They have well said that which they have spoken.
18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
(God confirmed this to Moses by saying He would raise up a PROPHET (Christ) from among the Israelites, He would put His Words in the PROPHET'S mouth, and the PROPHET would speak all that God commanded Him.)
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
20 But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.
21 And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken?
22 when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.
(God told Moses how to deal with a false prophet and how to tell if a prophet was false or not.)
(This post covered the instructions for observing feasts, warnings for eventual kings, and prophecy concerning Jesus.)
Day 57
Day 55: Deuteronomy 13-15
(The previous post covered Moses' retelling of the events that led to them getting the Ten Commandments. Also, Moses gave Israel more instructions for how they ought to conduct themselves once they possessed the Promised Land.)
Deuteronomy 13
1 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder,
2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4 Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which Jehovah thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(They were told how to deal with false prophets. Regardless of how convincing a prophet was, if their prophecy contradicted the Word of God they proved themselves false. False prophets were put to death because they spoke against God.)
6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
7 of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
8 thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
9 but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
10 And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do not more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.
(They were told how to deal with a brother, half-brother, son, daughter, wife, or friend that led a believer to serving other gods. They were stoned to death. This issue was principally the same issue as with a false prophet: someone contradicting the Word of God and attempting to take other people out of God's Will.)
12 If thou shalt hear tell concerning one of thy cities, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to dwell there, saying,
13 Certain base fellows are gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
14 then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in the midst of thee,
15 thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.
16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, unto Jehovah thy God: and it shall be a heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
17 And there shall cleave nought of the devoted thing to thy hand; that Jehovah may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
18 when thou shalt hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.
(Moses explained how to deal with idolatrous cities. The idolatrous cities were destroyed, including the cattle and all the spoil. These cities were not to be built again. Again, this was the same issue as above. God did not want people being seduced into serving other gods.)
Deuteronomy 14
1 Ye are the children of Jehovah your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
2 For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God, and Jehovah hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
(It was a common practice for idolaters to cut themselves ceremoniously and at funerals as well as shaving a large bald spot between their eyebrows in honor of the dead. These instructions forbade that practice.)
(Verses 3-21: the command to separate themselves regarding which foods to eat.)
3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
(This began a list of things they could or could not eat based off of cleanness. God was Holy, He was clean. Israel's following of the Law in this matter was a reminder to them that God was Holy.)
4 These are the beasts which ye may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,
5 the hart, and the gazelle, and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the antelope, and the chamois.
6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, and hath the hoof cloven in two, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that may ye eat.
7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the coney; because they chew the cud but part not the hoof, they are unclean unto you.
8 And the swine, because he parteth the hoof but cheweth not the cud, he is unclean unto you: of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not touch.
(The first part of this list covered the "beasts" or mammals they could or could not eat.)
9 These ye may eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales may ye eat;
10 and whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye shall not eat; it is unclean unto you.
(The fish they could or could not eat.)
11 Of all clean birds ye may eat.
12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the gier-eagle, and the ospray,
13 and the glede, and the falcon, and the kite after its kind,
14 and every raven after its kind,
15 and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kind,
16 the little owl, and the great owl, and the horned owl,
17 and the pelican, and the vulture, and the cormorant,
18 and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
19 And all winged creeping things are unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
20 Of all clean birds ye may eat.
(The birds they could or could not eat.)
21 Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou mayest give it unto the sojourner that is within thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto a foreigner: for thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
(If anything died of itself it was considered unclean regardless of where it was on this list. However, it could be given or sold to people outside of Israel. An animal that died of itself had not been properly "bled" and therefore considered unclean. It was important that the animals were "bled" before eating them.)
("Not boil[ing] a kid in its mother's milk" was forbidden because this was a common pagan fertility ritual that God wanted the Israelites to be separated from.)
(Verses 22-29: tithes.)
22 Thou shalt surely tithe all the increase of thy seed, that which cometh forth from the field year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before Jehovah thy God, in the place which he shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of thy grain, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock; that thou mayest learn to fear Jehovah thy God always.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, because the place is too far from thee, which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to set his name there, when Jehovah thy God shall bless thee;
25 then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thy hand, and shalt go unto the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose:
26 and thou shalt bestow the money for whatsoever thy soul desireth, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul asketh of thee; and thou shalt eat there before Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household.
27 And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee.
(Tithes and "long-distance" tithes were explained.)
28 At the end of every three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase in the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29 and the Levite, because he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou doest.
(Tithes of the third year.)
Deuteronomy 15
(This chapter covered laws regarding the poor.)
(Verses 1-6: release of debts every seventh year.)
1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother; because Jehovah's release hath been proclaimed.
(Commonly referred to as The Lord's release.)
3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it: but whatsoever of thine is with thy brother thy hand shall release.
4 Howbeit there shall be no poor with thee; (for Jehovah will surely bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it;)
5 if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command thee this day.
6 For Jehovah thy God will bless thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee.
(Giving to other nations and not borrowing from them would result in reward.)
(Verses 7-11: being generous to the poor.)
7 If there be with thee a poor man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates in thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother;
8 but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth.
9 Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto Jehovah against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
11 For the poor will never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy brother, to thy needy, and to thy poor, in thy land.
(If they followed these instructions regarding giving to the poor, God would bless them in all their work: reward. Notice, it was stated in the Old Testament that the poor would never cease out of the land. According to Mark 14:7, Jesus stated we would always have the poor among us.)
(Verses 12-15: releasing slaves/servants.)
12 If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
13 And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty:
14 thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress; as Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.
15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to-day.
(Verses 16-18: the law of the bond-servant.)
16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go out from thee; because he loveth thee and thy house, because he is well with thee;
17 then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise.
18 It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou lettest him go free from thee; for to the double of the hire of a hireling hath he served thee six years: and Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all that thou doest.
(Verses 19-23: the law of the firstborn/firstling.)
19 All the firstling males that are born of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto Jehovah thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy herd, nor shear the firstling of thy flock.
20 Thou shalt eat it before Jehovah thy God year by year in the place which Jehovah shall choose, thou and thy household.
21 And if it have any blemish, as if it be lame or blind, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto Jehovah thy God.
22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle, and as the hart.
23 Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it out upon the ground as water.
(The firstling males of cattle were sanctified to the Lord. Again, the blood was forbidden to eat but was poured on the ground.)
(This post covered instructions to the people concerning false prophets, idolatrous cities, the cleanness of food, and borrowing/lending money.)
Day 56
Deuteronomy 13
1 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder,
2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4 Ye shall walk after Jehovah your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage, to draw thee aside out of the way which Jehovah thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
(They were told how to deal with false prophets. Regardless of how convincing a prophet was, if their prophecy contradicted the Word of God they proved themselves false. False prophets were put to death because they spoke against God.)
6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, that is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
7 of the gods of the peoples that are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
8 thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
9 but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
10 And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do not more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.
(They were told how to deal with a brother, half-brother, son, daughter, wife, or friend that led a believer to serving other gods. They were stoned to death. This issue was principally the same issue as with a false prophet: someone contradicting the Word of God and attempting to take other people out of God's Will.)
12 If thou shalt hear tell concerning one of thy cities, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to dwell there, saying,
13 Certain base fellows are gone out from the midst of thee, and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
14 then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in the midst of thee,
15 thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.
16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, unto Jehovah thy God: and it shall be a heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
17 And there shall cleave nought of the devoted thing to thy hand; that Jehovah may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
18 when thou shalt hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.
(Moses explained how to deal with idolatrous cities. The idolatrous cities were destroyed, including the cattle and all the spoil. These cities were not to be built again. Again, this was the same issue as above. God did not want people being seduced into serving other gods.)
Deuteronomy 14
1 Ye are the children of Jehovah your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
2 For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God, and Jehovah hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
(It was a common practice for idolaters to cut themselves ceremoniously and at funerals as well as shaving a large bald spot between their eyebrows in honor of the dead. These instructions forbade that practice.)
(Verses 3-21: the command to separate themselves regarding which foods to eat.)
3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
(This began a list of things they could or could not eat based off of cleanness. God was Holy, He was clean. Israel's following of the Law in this matter was a reminder to them that God was Holy.)
4 These are the beasts which ye may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,
5 the hart, and the gazelle, and the roebuck, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the antelope, and the chamois.
6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, and hath the hoof cloven in two, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that may ye eat.
7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that have the hoof cloven: the camel, and the hare, and the coney; because they chew the cud but part not the hoof, they are unclean unto you.
8 And the swine, because he parteth the hoof but cheweth not the cud, he is unclean unto you: of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not touch.
(The first part of this list covered the "beasts" or mammals they could or could not eat.)
9 These ye may eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales may ye eat;
10 and whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye shall not eat; it is unclean unto you.
(The fish they could or could not eat.)
11 Of all clean birds ye may eat.
12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the gier-eagle, and the ospray,
13 and the glede, and the falcon, and the kite after its kind,
14 and every raven after its kind,
15 and the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kind,
16 the little owl, and the great owl, and the horned owl,
17 and the pelican, and the vulture, and the cormorant,
18 and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.
19 And all winged creeping things are unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
20 Of all clean birds ye may eat.
(The birds they could or could not eat.)
21 Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou mayest give it unto the sojourner that is within thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto a foreigner: for thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
(If anything died of itself it was considered unclean regardless of where it was on this list. However, it could be given or sold to people outside of Israel. An animal that died of itself had not been properly "bled" and therefore considered unclean. It was important that the animals were "bled" before eating them.)
("Not boil[ing] a kid in its mother's milk" was forbidden because this was a common pagan fertility ritual that God wanted the Israelites to be separated from.)
(Verses 22-29: tithes.)
22 Thou shalt surely tithe all the increase of thy seed, that which cometh forth from the field year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before Jehovah thy God, in the place which he shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of thy grain, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock; that thou mayest learn to fear Jehovah thy God always.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, because the place is too far from thee, which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to set his name there, when Jehovah thy God shall bless thee;
25 then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thy hand, and shalt go unto the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose:
26 and thou shalt bestow the money for whatsoever thy soul desireth, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul asketh of thee; and thou shalt eat there before Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household.
27 And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee.
(Tithes and "long-distance" tithes were explained.)
28 At the end of every three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase in the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29 and the Levite, because he hath no portion nor inheritance with thee, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou doest.
(Tithes of the third year.)
Deuteronomy 15
(This chapter covered laws regarding the poor.)
(Verses 1-6: release of debts every seventh year.)
1 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother; because Jehovah's release hath been proclaimed.
(Commonly referred to as The Lord's release.)
3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it: but whatsoever of thine is with thy brother thy hand shall release.
4 Howbeit there shall be no poor with thee; (for Jehovah will surely bless thee in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it;)
5 if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all this commandment which I command thee this day.
6 For Jehovah thy God will bless thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over thee.
(Giving to other nations and not borrowing from them would result in reward.)
(Verses 7-11: being generous to the poor.)
7 If there be with thee a poor man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates in thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother;
8 but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth.
9 Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto Jehovah against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him; because that for this thing Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
11 For the poor will never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt surely open thy hand unto thy brother, to thy needy, and to thy poor, in thy land.
(If they followed these instructions regarding giving to the poor, God would bless them in all their work: reward. Notice, it was stated in the Old Testament that the poor would never cease out of the land. According to Mark 14:7, Jesus stated we would always have the poor among us.)
(Verses 12-15: releasing slaves/servants.)
12 If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
13 And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty:
14 thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress; as Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.
15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to-day.
(Verses 16-18: the law of the bond-servant.)
16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go out from thee; because he loveth thee and thy house, because he is well with thee;
17 then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise.
18 It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou lettest him go free from thee; for to the double of the hire of a hireling hath he served thee six years: and Jehovah thy God will bless thee in all that thou doest.
(Verses 19-23: the law of the firstborn/firstling.)
19 All the firstling males that are born of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto Jehovah thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy herd, nor shear the firstling of thy flock.
20 Thou shalt eat it before Jehovah thy God year by year in the place which Jehovah shall choose, thou and thy household.
21 And if it have any blemish, as if it be lame or blind, any ill blemish whatsoever, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto Jehovah thy God.
22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean shall eat it alike, as the gazelle, and as the hart.
23 Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it out upon the ground as water.
(The firstling males of cattle were sanctified to the Lord. Again, the blood was forbidden to eat but was poured on the ground.)
(This post covered instructions to the people concerning false prophets, idolatrous cities, the cleanness of food, and borrowing/lending money.)
Day 56
Day 54: Deuteronomy 10-12
(The previous post covered Moses warning not to covenant with heathen nations and not to think their righteousness had anything to do with God giving them victory.)
Deuteronomy 10
1 At that time Jehovah said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
(Moses retold when God commanded him to make the two tablets again.)
2 And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
3 So I made an ark of acacia wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in my hand.
4 And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which Jehovah spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and Jehovah gave them unto me.
5 And I turned and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they are as Jehovah commanded me.
(Moses put the tables in the Ark of the Covenant.)
6 (And the children of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.
7 From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of brooks of water.
8 At that time Jehovah set apart the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, to stand before Jehovah to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
(God had set Levi apart to bear the Ark and minister to Him.)
9 Wherefore Levi hath no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; Jehovah is his inheritance, according as Jehovah thy God spake unto him.)
10 And I stayed in the mount, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights: and Jehovah hearkened unto me that time also; Jehovah would not destroy thee.
11 And Jehovah said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people; and they shall go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.
12 And now, Israel, what doth Jehovah thy God require of thee, but to fear Jehovah thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
(All God required of them was to fear Him, obey Him, love Him, and serve Him with all their heart and soul.)
13 to keep the commandments of Jehovah, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
(They were told that keeping God's commandments and statutes was "for thy good." It benefited people to keep God's commandments.)
14 Behold, unto Jehovah thy God belongeth heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is therein.
15 Only Jehovah had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as at this day.
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
(Circumcise your heart? This should have shown the people that even the physical circumcision was a physical act that represented a spiritual truth. Also, the heart was the part of the individual through which they consummated their Covenant with God.)
17 For Jehovah your God, he is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the terrible, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.
18 He doth execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loveth the sojourner, in giving him food and raiment.
19 Love ye therefore the sojourner; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
20 Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; him shalt thou serve; and to him shalt thou cleave, and by his name shalt thou swear.
(Cleave to God. This usage of "cleave" was the same word used in Genesis 2:24 when the man was told to "cleave" to his wife. We are to cleave unto God as a man is to cleave unto his wife. This makes it pretty clear that the woman is more excellent (greater) than the man as God is DEFINITELY more excellent (greater) than us. The man and the woman do not cleave to each other. The man ought to cleave to the woman.)
21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now Jehovah thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Deuteronomy 11
1 Therefore thou shalt love Jehovah thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his ordinances, and his commandments, alway.
2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children that have not known, and that have not seen the chastisement of Jehovah your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his outstretched arm,
(God was not speaking to their children or others who did not see God’s greatness...)
3 and his signs, and his works, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land;
4 and what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red Sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how Jehovah hath destroyed them unto this day;
5 and what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came unto this place;
6 and what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben; how the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel:
7 but your eyes have seen all the great work of Jehovah which he did.
(…God was speaking to them.)
8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandment which I command thee this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go over to possess it;
9 and that ye may prolong your days in the land, which Jehovah sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land flowing with milk and honey.
(More value was presented to them if they kept God’s commandments. Their days would be prolonged in the land God gave them.)
10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs;
11 but the land, whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven,
12 a land which Jehovah thy God careth for: the eyes of Jehovah thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
(God gave them some of the specific things He would do for them if they obeyed Him.)
14 that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy grain, and thy new wine, and thine oil.
15 And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be full.
16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 and the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he shut up the heavens, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which Jehovah giveth you.
(God used the weather and farming as a way to reach Israel. They were blessed and punished in these very tangible ways. Do people today see these as methods (weather, fruit, etc.) in which God can reach them?)
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
(They were to put God’s Words in their heart and soul.)
19 And ye shall teach them your children, talking of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates;
21 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.
(This was a reminder of the Shaba: Deuteronomy 6.)
22 For if ye shall diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
23 then will Jehovah drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.
24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall be your border.
(Everywhere their feet stepped was their land. Remember, God only directed them to the land He was giving them. They did not go near other land.)
25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: Jehovah your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath spoken unto you.
26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:
(God set before them a blessing and a curse…)
27 the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you this day;
(The blessing would come if they obeyed God.)
28 and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
(The curse would come if they disobeyed God.)
29 And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.
30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?
31 For ye are to pass over the Jordan to go in to possess the land which Jehovah your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein.
32 And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and the ordinances which I set before you this day.
Deuteronomy 12
1 These are the statutes and the ordinances which ye shall observe to do in the land which Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath given thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
(They were given statutes and ordinances specifically for when they lived in the land God gave them.)
2 Ye shall surely destroy all the places wherein the nations that ye shall dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
3 and ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and ye shall destroy their name out of that place.
(They were commanded to destroy anything that facilitated worshipping other gods. Asherim meant "groves (for idol worship)" and specifically referred to a Canaanite goddess.)
4 Ye shall not do so unto Jehovah your God.
5 But unto the place which Jehovah your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come;
6 and thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock:
7 and there ye shall eat before Jehovah your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.
(All acts of worship were supposed to be towards Jehovah.)
8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes;
9 for ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
10 But when ye go over the Jordan, and dwell in the land which Jehovah your God causeth you to inherit, and he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
11 then it shall come to pass that to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, thither shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto Jehovah.
(When they crossed the Jordan and inherited the land, then God gave them a place where He would cause His Name to dwell.)
12 And ye shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is within your gates, forasmuch as he hath no portion nor inheritance with you.
13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest;
14 but in the place which Jehovah shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
15 Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh within all thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart.
16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.
17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy grain, or of thy new wine, or of thine oil, or the firstlings of thy herd or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill-offerings, nor the heave-offering of thy hand;
18 but thou shalt eat them before Jehovah thy God in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest in thy land.
(They were told not to forsake the Levites as long as they lived upon the earth.)
20 When Jehovah thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul desireth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, after all the desire of thy soul.
21 If the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to put his name there, be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which Jehovah hath given thee, as I have commanded thee; and thou mayest eat within thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul.
22 Even as the gazelle and as the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat thereof: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof alike.
23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou shalt not eat the life with the flesh.
(The blood was the life. Life was "the ability to repair." The ultimate Blood would provide the ultimate ability to repair, which was Jesus' Blood. In John 10:10, Jesus said He came that we might have life and life more abundantly.)
24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.
(They were not to eat blood of the animals they killed for food. They poured it on the earth as water. Some heathen hunters would leave the blood exposed as an offering to a god. From Leviticus 17:13 we learned that not only was the blood of the animal poured on the earth, it was also covered with dust/soil. Covering the blood would ensure offerings to this god were not happening.)
25 Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah.
26 Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which Jehovah shall choose:
27 and thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of Jehovah thy God; and thou shalt eat the flesh.
28 Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.
29 When Jehovah thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest in to dispossess them, and thou dispossessest them, and dwellest in their land;
30 take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31 Thou shalt not do so unto Jehovah thy God: for every abomination to Jehovah, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods.
(God told them not to enquire after the gods of the other nations. These nations had even burnt their sons and daughters to their gods.)
32 What thing soever I command you, that shall ye observe to do: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
(The Gospel Accounts showed the Pharisees and Sadducees added their traditions to the Law.)
(This post covered Moses' retelling of the events that led to them getting the Ten Commandments. Also, Moses gave Israel more instructions for how they ought to conduct themselves once they possessed the Promised Land.)
Day 55
Deuteronomy 10
1 At that time Jehovah said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
(Moses retold when God commanded him to make the two tablets again.)
2 And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
3 So I made an ark of acacia wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in my hand.
4 And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which Jehovah spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and Jehovah gave them unto me.
5 And I turned and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they are as Jehovah commanded me.
(Moses put the tables in the Ark of the Covenant.)
6 (And the children of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead.
7 From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of brooks of water.
8 At that time Jehovah set apart the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, to stand before Jehovah to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
(God had set Levi apart to bear the Ark and minister to Him.)
9 Wherefore Levi hath no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; Jehovah is his inheritance, according as Jehovah thy God spake unto him.)
10 And I stayed in the mount, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights: and Jehovah hearkened unto me that time also; Jehovah would not destroy thee.
11 And Jehovah said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people; and they shall go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.
12 And now, Israel, what doth Jehovah thy God require of thee, but to fear Jehovah thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
(All God required of them was to fear Him, obey Him, love Him, and serve Him with all their heart and soul.)
13 to keep the commandments of Jehovah, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
(They were told that keeping God's commandments and statutes was "for thy good." It benefited people to keep God's commandments.)
14 Behold, unto Jehovah thy God belongeth heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is therein.
15 Only Jehovah had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as at this day.
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
(Circumcise your heart? This should have shown the people that even the physical circumcision was a physical act that represented a spiritual truth. Also, the heart was the part of the individual through which they consummated their Covenant with God.)
17 For Jehovah your God, he is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the terrible, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.
18 He doth execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loveth the sojourner, in giving him food and raiment.
19 Love ye therefore the sojourner; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
20 Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; him shalt thou serve; and to him shalt thou cleave, and by his name shalt thou swear.
(Cleave to God. This usage of "cleave" was the same word used in Genesis 2:24 when the man was told to "cleave" to his wife. We are to cleave unto God as a man is to cleave unto his wife. This makes it pretty clear that the woman is more excellent (greater) than the man as God is DEFINITELY more excellent (greater) than us. The man and the woman do not cleave to each other. The man ought to cleave to the woman.)
21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now Jehovah thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Deuteronomy 11
1 Therefore thou shalt love Jehovah thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his ordinances, and his commandments, alway.
2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children that have not known, and that have not seen the chastisement of Jehovah your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his outstretched arm,
(God was not speaking to their children or others who did not see God’s greatness...)
3 and his signs, and his works, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land;
4 and what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red Sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how Jehovah hath destroyed them unto this day;
5 and what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came unto this place;
6 and what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben; how the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel:
7 but your eyes have seen all the great work of Jehovah which he did.
(…God was speaking to them.)
8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandment which I command thee this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go over to possess it;
9 and that ye may prolong your days in the land, which Jehovah sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land flowing with milk and honey.
(More value was presented to them if they kept God’s commandments. Their days would be prolonged in the land God gave them.)
10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs;
11 but the land, whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven,
12 a land which Jehovah thy God careth for: the eyes of Jehovah thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
(God gave them some of the specific things He would do for them if they obeyed Him.)
14 that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy grain, and thy new wine, and thine oil.
15 And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be full.
16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 and the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he shut up the heavens, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which Jehovah giveth you.
(God used the weather and farming as a way to reach Israel. They were blessed and punished in these very tangible ways. Do people today see these as methods (weather, fruit, etc.) in which God can reach them?)
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.
(They were to put God’s Words in their heart and soul.)
19 And ye shall teach them your children, talking of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates;
21 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.
(This was a reminder of the Shaba: Deuteronomy 6.)
22 For if ye shall diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
23 then will Jehovah drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.
24 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall be your border.
(Everywhere their feet stepped was their land. Remember, God only directed them to the land He was giving them. They did not go near other land.)
25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: Jehovah your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath spoken unto you.
26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:
(God set before them a blessing and a curse…)
27 the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you this day;
(The blessing would come if they obeyed God.)
28 and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
(The curse would come if they disobeyed God.)
29 And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.
30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?
31 For ye are to pass over the Jordan to go in to possess the land which Jehovah your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein.
32 And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and the ordinances which I set before you this day.
Deuteronomy 12
1 These are the statutes and the ordinances which ye shall observe to do in the land which Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath given thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
(They were given statutes and ordinances specifically for when they lived in the land God gave them.)
2 Ye shall surely destroy all the places wherein the nations that ye shall dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
3 and ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and ye shall destroy their name out of that place.
(They were commanded to destroy anything that facilitated worshipping other gods. Asherim meant "groves (for idol worship)" and specifically referred to a Canaanite goddess.)
4 Ye shall not do so unto Jehovah your God.
5 But unto the place which Jehovah your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come;
6 and thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock:
7 and there ye shall eat before Jehovah your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.
(All acts of worship were supposed to be towards Jehovah.)
8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes;
9 for ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
10 But when ye go over the Jordan, and dwell in the land which Jehovah your God causeth you to inherit, and he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
11 then it shall come to pass that to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, thither shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto Jehovah.
(When they crossed the Jordan and inherited the land, then God gave them a place where He would cause His Name to dwell.)
12 And ye shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is within your gates, forasmuch as he hath no portion nor inheritance with you.
13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest;
14 but in the place which Jehovah shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
15 Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh within all thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart.
16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.
17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy grain, or of thy new wine, or of thine oil, or the firstlings of thy herd or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill-offerings, nor the heave-offering of thy hand;
18 but thou shalt eat them before Jehovah thy God in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest in thy land.
(They were told not to forsake the Levites as long as they lived upon the earth.)
20 When Jehovah thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul desireth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, after all the desire of thy soul.
21 If the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to put his name there, be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which Jehovah hath given thee, as I have commanded thee; and thou mayest eat within thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul.
22 Even as the gazelle and as the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat thereof: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof alike.
23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou shalt not eat the life with the flesh.
(The blood was the life. Life was "the ability to repair." The ultimate Blood would provide the ultimate ability to repair, which was Jesus' Blood. In John 10:10, Jesus said He came that we might have life and life more abundantly.)
24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.
(They were not to eat blood of the animals they killed for food. They poured it on the earth as water. Some heathen hunters would leave the blood exposed as an offering to a god. From Leviticus 17:13 we learned that not only was the blood of the animal poured on the earth, it was also covered with dust/soil. Covering the blood would ensure offerings to this god were not happening.)
25 Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah.
26 Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which Jehovah shall choose:
27 and thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of Jehovah thy God; and thou shalt eat the flesh.
28 Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.
29 When Jehovah thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest in to dispossess them, and thou dispossessest them, and dwellest in their land;
30 take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31 Thou shalt not do so unto Jehovah thy God: for every abomination to Jehovah, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods.
(God told them not to enquire after the gods of the other nations. These nations had even burnt their sons and daughters to their gods.)
32 What thing soever I command you, that shall ye observe to do: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
(The Gospel Accounts showed the Pharisees and Sadducees added their traditions to the Law.)
(This post covered Moses' retelling of the events that led to them getting the Ten Commandments. Also, Moses gave Israel more instructions for how they ought to conduct themselves once they possessed the Promised Land.)
Day 55
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