(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
you wrote this at the end of chapter 26
ReplyDelete(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 are His peculiar (valued) people and will make them above all nations in praise, name, honor, and that they will be a holy people unto Him.)
Where are you getting "peculiar" from? I read read the paragraph before it and I didn't see that word...?
Nathaniel Wayne
Thanks for catching that Nathaniel. In the KJV, Deuteronomy 26:18 starts by saying, "And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people..."
ReplyDeleteThe ASV traslated this as, "and Jehovah hath avouched thee this day to be a people for his own possession..."
The words "peculiar" and "possession" came from the Hebrew word cĕgullah which means: "possession, property, valued property, peculiar treasure".
25:5
ReplyDeleteSuppose man A was married to woman A and man B to woman B. Man A and B are brothers living in the same household. Woman A and B are sisters.
Man B dies, according to this verse, man A must take his brother's wife as his own, and NOT marry a stranger.
We have seen that multiple wives were fine so long as everyone currently in the covenant accepted the new wife.
However, at this point it was a sin to uncover a woman's nakedness near her sister, because of potential jealousy issues.
So. How would these conflicting laws be dealt with?
Would the brother be off the hook of fulfilling this law because there was a preeminent law that forbade the marrying of his wife's sister?
Interesting scenario. I don't know. What are you're thoughts?
DeleteWere I the judge in this matter, I would say that the marriage of sisters is the law upheld of the two.
DeleteI say this because the obligation of raising seed to your brother is one that was initiated by God, and not controlled by the person who should fulfill it. Marriage of sisters, however, is initiated by humans, and NOT commanded to be done, but commanded to be avoided.
12:26
ReplyDeleteWhat is the year of titheing?
It states the "third year" and then says "year of titheing".
Was it only every third year that people were supposed to tithe? If it was, then it seems like the Levites would have been sustained by the sacrificial offerings that took place daily.
From my understanding, the Third Year Tithe was a special tithe to assist those in need, such as orphans, widows, strangers, and Levites.
DeleteLike the first tithe, the third tithe is a full ten percent of a person's increase. Yet, while the first tithe is paid year by year, the third tithe is paid only on the increase earned during the third and sixth years of a seven-year period.