Deuteronomy 23 Regulations concerning Worship
1 “If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.” Does this mean that eunuchs are to be excluded from worship? Not necessarily. The phrase “the assembly of the Lord” can also be used to indicate a political assembly. David Guzik tells us: “Poole suggests that the idea of the assembly of the LORD is the leadership or the rulers of Israel. These people were barred not from the religious life of Israel, but from the political life of the nation. Trapp agrees, saying on shall not enter the assembly of the LORD: “Shall not go in and out before the people as a public officer.” Clarke adds, “If by entering into the congregation be meant the bearing a civil office among the people, such as magistrate, judge, etc., then the reason of the law is very plain.”
c. Shall not enter the assembly of the LORD: To whatever extent eunuchs were excluded, it was because God’s covenant with Israel was vitally connected with the idea of the seed, and emasculation is a “crime” against the seed of man. Additionally, most eunuchs were made to be so in pagan ceremonies where they, in their emasculated condition, were dedicated to pagan gods.
i. Isaiah 56:3-5 shows that even eunuchs and foreigners could be accepted before the LORD if they would obey Him, and they would be received before those who were complete in their body but disobeyed God. Acts 8:27-38 is the record of a eunuch coming to faith in Jesus.”
2 “If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.” Again, this might refer to civil leadership rather than to religious rites. But many of those considered illegitimate were products of mixed marriages between Jews and Canaanites. Mention of the tenth generation actually means a permanent exclusion.
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. 4 These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram-naharaim to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the Lord your God loves you. 6 As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.” Again, Guzik clarifies: “This had the same application as the previous laws in this section, concerning the civil leadership of Israel. It did not apply to membership in the community of Israel as a whole.
“Disbarment from the assembly was not synonymous with exclusion from the covenant community itself as the one example of Ruth the Moabite makes clear…. There can be no doubt that Ruth was welcomed among the people of the Lord as one of their own.”
7 “Do not detest the Edomites or the Egyptians, because the Edomites are your relatives and you lived as foreigners among the Egyptians. 8 The third generation of Edomites and Egyptians may enter the assembly of the Lord.” Again, God is not barring people from worshiping Him but making sure His people will remain pure and will be kind to those who have been kind to them.
Miscellaneous Regulations
9 “When you go to war against your enemies, be sure to stay away from anything that is impure.
10 “Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a nocturnal emission must leave the camp and stay away all day. 11 Toward evening he must bathe himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.
12 “You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement. 14 The camp must be holy, for the Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you.
God cares for the cleanliness of His people and wants them to care as well. Sloppiness in hygiene goes along with sloppiness in worship and poor heart attitudes.
15 “If slaves should escape from their masters and take refuge with you, you must not hand them over to their masters. 16 Let them live among you in any town they choose, and do not oppress them.” God cares for slaves and demands His people should protect them.
17 “No Israelite, whether man or woman, may become a temple prostitute. 18 When you are bringing an offering to fulfill a vow, you must not bring to the house of the Lord your God any offering from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man or a woman, for both are detestable to the Lord your God.” One of the horrors of Canaanite worship was temple prostitution, even though it could be extremely lucrative. God wants His people to have nothing to do with it, period!!
19 “Do not charge interest on the loans you make to a fellow Israelite, whether you loan money, or food, or anything else. 20 You may charge interest to foreigners, but you may not charge interest to Israelites, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the land you are about to enter and occupy.” If you think loan sharks preying on the poor are a new phenomenon, think again. Humans have been greedy ever since the Fall and God wants His people to care for one another.
21 “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. 22 However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow. 23 But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.” Don’t joke with God! It’s no sin to refrain from making a vow, but once you do so, you must fulfill it. Don’t make promises you cannot keep, whether to God or to man.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not carry any away in a basket. 25 And when you enter your neighbor’s field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle.” God wants His people to be generous, particularly to the poor; however, there are always those who want to take advantage, even though they have plenty themselves. This injunction allows people who are truly hungry to keep themselves alive without allowing selfish people to profit unduly.
Throughout all these commands, God continues to demonstrate His desire for His people to be pure, to behave well, and to live gracious and holy lives. While God forbids those who might have undergone castration in pagan rites from holding public office, there are never restrictions against those with pure hearts who choose to honor Him.
How kind are we to those around us? Are we feeding the hungry and relieving the needs of the poor, or are we hiding behind stereotypes, claiming those people have no right to exist? Let us remember that God has ordered us to love our neighbors without demanding that they share our political views, our financial status, or even our language. May God help us to live pure lives imbued with holiness, grace, and charity to all those around us!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to be channels of Your Love, Your Mercy, and Your Grace. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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