Burunche’s Blog

Deuteronomy 22:13-19 Laws governing sex

If a man marries a woman, sleeps with her, and then turns on her, calling her loose, giving her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman, but when I slept with her, I discovered she wasn’t a virgin,” then the father and mother of the girl are to take her with the proof of her virginity to the town leaders at the gate. The father is to tell the leaders, “I gave my daughter to this man as wife and he turned on her, rejecting her. And now he has slanderously accused her, claiming that she wasn’t a virgin. But look at this, here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.” And then he is to spread out her bloodstained wedding garment before the leaders for their examination. The town leaders then are to take the husband, whip him, fine him a hundred pieces of silver, and give it to the father of the girl. The man gave a virgin girl of Israel a bad name. He has to keep her as his wife and can never divorce her.

20-21 But if it turns out that the accusation is true and there is no evidence of the girl’s virginity, the men of the town are to take her to the door of her father’s house and stone her to death. She acted disgracefully in Israel. She lived like a whore while still in her parents’ home. Purge the evil from among you.

What must it have been like to be a woman in Bible times? If your husband tired of you, he could accuse you of premarital sex in hopes that you would be disgraced and even stoned by the men of the town! The only protection a girl had was the “proofs of her virginity,” that is, the blood on the wedding garments from the wedding night when her husband would perforate her hymen with his penis. The problem is that sometimes the hymen is very rudimentary. And what if a wicked man makes away with the blood-stained wedding garment? Premarital sex for females is completely forbidden, while lying about a virtuous girl also carries severe penalties-whipping and a heavy fine. But at the end, the man must keep the girl as his wife. What will happen to a girl whose husband has bent every effort to discredit her and have her stoned? What will be her fate and the fate of her children?

22 If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both must die. Purge that evil from Israel. Adultery is expressly forbidden. Remember that later when the Pharisees catch a woman in adultery and drag her to Jesus, somehow the man isn’t even mentioned. Hmmm. Is he another Pharisee?

23-24 If a man comes upon a virgin in town, a girl who is engaged to another man, and sleeps with her, take both of them to the town gate and stone them until they die—the girl because she didn’t yell out for help in the town and the man because he raped her, violating the fiancée of his neighbor. You must purge the evil from among you.

25-27 But if it was out in the country that the man found the engaged girl and grabbed and raped her, only the man is to die, the man who raped her. Don’t do anything to the girl; she did nothing wrong. This is similar to the case of a man who comes across his neighbor out in the country and murders him; when the engaged girl yelled out for help, there was no one around to hear or help her.

I have always found these laws to be cruel. What if the man gags the girl so that she cannot cry out? The poor girl might be killed while innocent.

28-29 When a man comes upon a virgin who has never been engaged and grabs and rapes her and they are found out, the man who raped her has to give her father fifty pieces of silver. He has to marry her because he took advantage of her. And he can never divorce her.

30 A man may not marry his father’s ex-wife—that would violate his father’s rights.

Again, what kind of a future does a virgin who has been raped have when her rapist is forced to marry her? Such practices have not been limited to Bible times. I am aware of a situation in one small town where a virtuous girl was forced to marry her rapist, perhaps because he was a pastor’s son. Although that lady was as good and sweet and kind as she could be, her husband remained a bitter man and a possible sexual predator.

God forbids a man to marry his stepmother. This would be a form of incest, a sin that God hates.

We might find some of these laws shocking; however, by standards of the time, they were lenient. Traditionally, women caught in any compromising situation might be killed immediately without trials, investigations, or any kind of protection. At the same time, such laws would also ensure that virgins would be accompanied by male relatives whenever they went out in public, also for their protection.

Today, abduction and sexual trafficking have become major threats. Kidnappers are now targeting stores such as Walmart and Target and grocery stores even in small cities. Such horrific crimes should not be tolerated in any society. Let us pray that God will bring revival throughout America and throughout the world so that such actions will become matters of history rather than current events.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, please send revival throughout the world. Protect the vulnerable, particularly women and children. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 22

22 1-3 If you see your kinsman’s ox or sheep wandering off loose, don’t look the other way as if you didn’t see it. Return it promptly. If your fellow Israelite is not close by or you don’t know whose it is, take the animal home with you and take care of it until your fellow asks about it. Then return it to him. Do the same if it’s his donkey or a piece of clothing or anything else your fellow Israelite loses. Don’t look the other way as if you didn’t see it.

4 If you see your fellow’s donkey or ox injured along the road, don’t look the other way. Help him get it up and on its way.

Not only has God commanded the Israelites to avoid envying their neighbors’ possessions, but now He’s ordering them to take care of stray or injured animals. It’s not permissible for someone to find their neighbor’s donkey wandering on the road and quietly collect it without informing the neighbor. Lost items of all kinds are to be handled the same way. “Don’t look the other way as if you didn’t see it.” Sins of omission are just as deadly as sins of commission.

“5 A woman must not wear a man’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing. This kind of thing is an abomination to God, your God.” David Guzik in his Enduring Word Commentary explains this verse this way: There are ways for men to deliberately dress like women, and for women to dress like men. When this is done, it goes against God’s principles as revealed in His commandments and is disruptive to natural order.

ii. This is not a command against women wearing a garment that in some ways might be common between men and women. A woman can wear trousers without looking like a man. It is a command against dressing in a manner which deliberately crosses or blurs the distinction between the sexes.

iii. “As elsewhere, Scripture considers the natural differences between male and female to be the Lord’s creation and so should not be disregarded or camouflaged.” (Kalland)

“6-7 When you come across a bird’s nest alongside the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, don’t take the mother with the young. You may take the babies, but let the mother go so that you will live a good and long life.” Here God lays out principles of conservation. Sparing the mother ensures that there will be more eggs and more young, but to take the mother and the eggs or the mother and the young means wiping out those birds completely.

8 “When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof to make it safe so that someone doesn’t fall off and die and your family become responsible for the death.” Flat roofs were very common in Bible times and were used as places to dry grain and even as auxiliary sitting rooms. But a flat roof without a railing is an invitation to a disaster and embarrassment and ruin to the family, as well as to visitors.

9 Don’t plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard. If you do, you will forfeit what you’ve sown, the total production of the vineyard.

10 Don’t plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

11 Don’t wear clothes of mixed fabrics, wool and linen together.

At first, we read these laws and scratch our heads. What’s the big deal here? But the Canaanites used combinations of seeds, animals, and fabrics to achieve mystical spiritual results. These combinations were thought to give spiritual power. God wants His people to depend on Him alone and not on occultic practices. Guzik remarks, “The apostle Paul later expressed the principle of this command like this: Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14) Those to whom Paul was writing were well acquainted with the occultic practices of yoking different animals together. God wants His people to be completely holy without any compromise.

The question for us is this: Are we compromising to go along with popular culture? Do we wear jewelry or special garments in hopes of impressing people and thereby gaining influence or power over them? Are we entering into agreements with those whose ethics are murky? Are we arguing ourselves into association with those whom we know to be spiritually dark? Do we even pride ourselves in “walking on the wild side,” rebelling against convention as if rebellion in and of itself is virtuous?

“12 Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you use to cover yourself.” God wants His people to be immediately identifiable by their mode of dress. Even today, ultra-observant Jews will still wear tassels. Of course, the tassel issue could be carried to extremes. Jesus criticized the Pharisees for enlarging the borders of their garments to show everyone how spiritual they were. (Matthew 23:5) While God is not demanding we wear tassels, does our mode of dress honor Him?

We have a close friend who is a Muslim, and we have had many fascinating discussions about the way so-called Christian young people dress, even when they attend church. The dress of many young church-going women horrifies our Muslim friend. These days, even in villages, young ladies may be wearing low-cut dresses with tight short skirts. One famous Christian musician has stopped singing during offering time at his church because he has found the low-cut dresses of the ladies parading forward with their offerings to be too distracting. Forty years ago, we lived in mid-town Memphis, Tennessee, and the prostitutes practiced their trade half a block from our house. These days, some of these “Christian” young ladies are dressing like those prostitutes. Sorry, folks, but it’s possible to look beautiful without looking like a sex worker.

Throughout this chapter, God continues to stress that He desires His people to be holy, to be concerned for others, and to be proactive in their care for the belongings of others. God does not want His people engaging in any practices that might open them up to demonic attack. May we continually look heavenward, so that we will please God in all aspects of our lives.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to live lives that honor You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 21

1-8 Purifying the land after a killing by an unknown murderer: If a dead body is found on the ground, this ground that God, your God, has given you, lying out in the open, and no one knows who killed him, your leaders and judges are to go out and measure the distance from the body to the nearest cities. The leaders and judges of the city that is nearest the corpse will then take a heifer that has never been used for work, never had a yoke on it. The leaders will take the heifer to a valley with a stream, a valley that has never been plowed or planted, and there break the neck of the heifer. The Levitical priests will then step up. God has chosen them to serve him in these matters by settling legal disputes and violent crimes and by pronouncing blessings in God’s name. Finally, all the leaders of that town that is nearest the body will wash their hands over the heifer that had its neck broken at the stream and say, “We didn’t kill this man and we didn’t see who did it. Purify your people Israel whom you redeemed, O God. Clear your people Israel from any guilt in this murder.”

8-9 That will clear them from any responsibility in the murder. By following these procedures, you will have absolved yourselves of any part in the murder because you will have done what is right in God’s sight.

* * *

The shedding of innocent blood brings curses on a land. Here God makes provision for unforeseen tragedy-the discovery of a murder victim with no murderer in sight. The leaders and judges of the nearest city will work together with the Levitical priests, offering a heifer as a sacrifice to atone for the sin of murder.

How spiritually pervasive is the sin of murder? We have lived in three different American cities that were former centers of the slave trade. In each of those places, there were sections of town that were spiritually clean and other sections that were so soaked in evil that even passing through those areas was nerve-wracking. We lived in an apartment in New Orleans that had such terrible spiritual heaviness that we were sure someone had murdered someone there. We had to do spiritual warfare daily to cleanse the place so that we could tolerate being there.

Compassion toward female captives in wartime 10-14 When you go to war against your enemies and God, your God, gives you victory and you take prisoners, and then you notice among the prisoners of war a good-looking woman whom you find attractive and would like to marry, this is what you do: Take her home; have her trim her hair, cut her nails, and discard the clothes she was wearing when captured. She is then to stay in your home for a full month, mourning her father and mother. Then you may go to bed with her as husband and wife. If it turns out you don’t like her, you must let her go and live wherever she wishes. But you can’t sell her or use her as a slave since you’ve humiliated her.

* * *

Beautiful young women were valued as spoils of war; however, what happened once the soldiers took these women home? God cares about such women and demands that they be well treated, giving them a month to mourn her father and mother before the soldier can sleep with her. If the relationship fails to work out, the woman must be free to leave without the threat of slavery.

15-17 When a man has two wives, one loved and the other hated, and they both give him sons, but the firstborn is from the hated wife, at the time he divides the inheritance with his sons he must not treat the son of the loved wife as the firstborn, cutting out the son of the hated wife, who is the actual firstborn. No, he must acknowledge the inheritance rights of the real firstborn, the son of the hated wife, by giving him a double share of the inheritance: that son is the first proof of his virility; the rights of the firstborn belong to him.

* * *

While there are those who argue in favor of polygamy, the reality may be grim. Here God warns that a firstborn son is a firstborn son, whether his mother is the father’s favorite wife. The firstborn is to receive all the rights due him, no matter what. Here in Ghana, we have witnessed terrible treatment of children from unfavorite wives, including watching as an unfavorite wife was forced to stand in the hot noonday sun for ninety minutes, waiting for her husband to agree to pay her children’s school fees. Maintaining one’s status as a favorite wife is not easy either, for there is always the chance that the husband will find a younger cuter lady to wed, demoting the current wives in the process.

18-20 When a man has a stubborn son, a real rebel who won’t do a thing his mother and father tell him, and even though they discipline him he still won’t obey, his father and mother shall forcibly bring him before the leaders at the city gate and say to the city fathers, “This son of ours is a stubborn rebel; he won’t listen to a thing we say. He’s a glutton and a drunk.”

21 Then all the men of the town are to throw rocks at him until he’s dead. You will have purged the evil pollution from among you. All Israel will hear what’s happened and be in awe.

* * *

Forget “touchy-feely” parenting! God has no patience with disobedient rebels who disgrace the family. We don’t know how many times this injunction was carried out; however, the mere threat of it should have been enough to bring many potential rebels into line.

22-23 When a man has committed a capital crime, been given the death sentence, executed and hung from a tree, don’t leave his dead body hanging overnight from the tree. Give him a decent burial that same day so that you don’t desecrate your God-given land—a hanged man is an insult to God.

Here God assumes that someone committing a capital crime such as murder will be hanged; however, even in death, the body of the murderer deserves respect. This command continued to be observed even up through Jesus’ day, for the bodies of crucified criminals had to be removed before sundown. The soldiers broke the legs of the other men crucified with Jesus so that they would die from asphyxiation, being unable to raise themselves up to take deep breaths; however, Jesus was already dead so there was no need to break his legs.

What shines through all these various commands is God’s concern for the sanctity of His creation and His concern for the disadvantaged, such as women captured in battle. God wants His land to remain spiritually clean, for He knows that failure to discipline rebellion, failure to protect the vulnerable, and failure to cleanse the land will pollute the land with demons.

What lessons might we gain from this collection of commands? We must be careful to avoid polluting our homes and work places with violent or pornographic material from social media. Thirty-five years ago, we visited a Christian friend and I borrowed her computer. When I entered the small room where the computer was located, I immediately felt an evil presence. I prayed and rebuked the devil; however, I suspected that someone-perhaps a visiting teen-ager- might have been the culprit. As a small child, I learned a song in Sunday School that applies. “Oh be careful, little eyes, what you see. Oh be careful, little eyes, what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful, little eyes, what you see.” Simple but true.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to honor You in every bit of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

20 1-4 When you go to war against your enemy and see horses and chariots and soldiers far outnumbering you, do not recoil in fear of them; God, your God, who brought you up out of Egypt is with you. When the battle is about to begin, let the priest come forward and speak to the troops. He’ll say, “Attention, Israel. In a few minutes you’re going to do battle with your enemies. Don’t waver in resolve. Don’t fear. Don’t hesitate. Don’t panic. God, your God, is right there with you, fighting with you against your enemies, fighting to win.”

People have lousy memories! Those fleeing Egypt watched as God drowned one of the largest most powerful armies in the entire Middle East. But that was then and this is now, and some of those who witnessed that miracle have refused to teach their children and grandchildren of the wonders of God. So now, the Israelites are gathered on the east side of the Jordan while Moses has to remind them of those things that should be in the forefront of their minds.

It’s tempting to criticize the Israelites; yet, how many times have we been guilty of the same thing-doubting God’s infinite power, even though He has delivered us so many times? We aren’t any better than those Israelites.

5-7 Then let the officers step up and speak to the troops: “Is there a man here who has built a new house but hasn’t yet dedicated it? Let him go home right now lest he die in battle and another man dedicate it. And is there a man here who has planted a vineyard but hasn’t yet enjoyed the grapes? Let him go home right now lest he die in battle and another man enjoy the grapes. Is there a man here engaged to marry who hasn’t yet taken his wife? Let him go home right now lest he die in battle and another man take her.”

8 The officers will then continue, “And is there a man here who is wavering in resolve and afraid? Let him go home right now so that he doesn’t infect his fellows with his timidity and cowardly spirit.”

Jesus told his disciples that “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 62:9) God wants to make certain that anybody serving in the army is doing so whole-heartedly, not wishing he was somewhere else. God knows that courage is catching but so are cowardice and indifference.

Personal testimony: Recently, there have been several extremely witty videos on Facebook from various sections of the “We Do Not Care” Club. Older ladies throughout the planet are proclaiming that they are fed up with meeting unreal expectations and that they are doing the best they can, just the way they are. I had watched a number of these videos when I realized that I was beginning to parrot, “I DO NOT CARE!” The problem was that there were things about which I had to care because nobody else would. As funny as the videos are and as much as they are blessing ladies throughout the world, I have had to stop watching them, lest the “I do not care” attitude affect my work and my attitude towards my patients and family.

9 When the officers have finished speaking to the troops, let them appoint commanders of the troops who shall muster them by units.

10-15 When you come up against a city to attack it, call out, “Peace?” If they answer, “Yes, peace!” and open the city to you, then everyone found there will be conscripted as forced laborers and work for you. But if they don’t settle for peace and insist on war, then go ahead and attack. God, your God, will give them to you. Kill all the men with your swords. But don’t kill the women and children and animals. Everything inside the town you can take as plunder for you to use and eat—God, your God, gives it to you. This is the way you deal with the distant towns, the towns that don’t belong to the nations at hand.

16-18 But with the towns of the people that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, it’s different: don’t leave anyone alive. Consign them to holy destruction: the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, obeying the command of God, your God. This is so there won’t be any of them left to teach you to practice the abominations that they engage in with their gods and you end up sinning against God, your God.

19-20 When you mount an attack on a town and the siege goes on a long time, don’t start cutting down the trees, swinging your axes against them. Those trees are your future food; don’t cut them down. Are trees soldiers who come against you with weapons? The exception can be those trees which don’t produce food; you can chop them down and use the timbers to build siege engines against the town that is resisting you until it falls.”

Notice the distinction between cities that are simply to be conquered in contrast to tribes designated for annihilation. The Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites are to be wiped out completely-don’t leave anyone alive. But when the Israelites conquer other cities, they are to spare the women and children while killing all the men. They are also allowed to take the spoils from both kinds of cities. Reading Genesis, you realize that Abraham was friends with some of the Amorite chiefs who were noble men. But God tells Abraham that his descendants will not return from Egypt “until the iniquity of the Amorites is complete.” This means that for generations, there may have been God-fearing Amorites, perhaps having been influenced by association with Abraham. Sadly, even the Amorites have become degenerate and now require complete destruction.

God cares for fruit trees! God warns His people that when they are going to mount a siege, they should spare all the fruit trees, using only those trees that do not bear fruit for their siege engines. God doesn’t want His people to get so carried away with war lust that they forget that life will continue after the battle ends.

These verses might serve as a warning to those of us who become so goal-oriented that we forge the environment in which we function. These days, solar farms have become quite popular, and I applaud the advent of solar energy. But I also agree with those who argue for placing these panels on rooftops rather than on productive farm land. America has been blessed with some of the greatest farm land in the world; yet, much of it has already been covered with cement as the suburbs have burgeoned. Why sacrifice more of this glorious land when solar panels can be placed anywhere?

Sound advice about the psychology of warriors, the need to eliminate spiritual enemies, and concern for the environment-this chapter is short but packed. And through it all, the Love of God continues to shine through. “But,” you reply, “God is ordering the destruction of some of those tribes.” True, but evidently, those tribes have become so depraved that they require destruction. We should take the destruction of those tribes as warnings for ourselves. Are we worshiping God and following Him, or pursuing our own selfish interests? Only those who confess their sins and turn to God can be spared. But confessions can be extremely simple. Remember the thief on the cross who had a simple conversation with Jesus through which he gained heaven. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” still will gain you heaven.

PRAYER:  Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and that nothing good lives in us. But You are merciful, and You have sent Jesus to die for our sins. We accept Jesus’ sacrifice, begging you to forgive us and help us to love and serve You forever. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 19:1-13 Cities of Refuge

1-3 When God, your God, throws the nations out of the country that God, your God, is giving you and you settle down in their cities and houses, you are to set aside three easily accessible cities in the land that God, your God, is giving you as your very own. Divide your land into thirds, this land that God, your God, is giving you to possess, and build roads to the towns so that anyone who accidentally kills another can flee there.

4-7 This is the guideline for the murderer who flees there to take refuge: He has to have killed his neighbor without premeditation and with no history of bad blood between them. For instance, a man goes with his neighbor into the woods to cut a tree; he swings the ax, the head slips off the handle and hits his neighbor, killing him. He may then flee to one of these cities and save his life. If the city is too far away, the avenger of blood racing in hot-blooded pursuit might catch him since it’s such a long distance, and kill him even though he didn’t deserve it. It wasn’t his fault. There was no history of hatred between them. Therefore I command you: Set aside the three cities for yourselves.

8-10 When God, your God, enlarges your land, extending its borders as he solemnly promised your ancestors, by giving you the whole land he promised them because you are diligently living the way I’m commanding you today, namely, to love God, your God, and do what he tells you all your life; and when that happens, then add three more to these three cities so that there is no chance of innocent blood being spilled in your land. God, your God, is giving you this land as an inheritance—you don’t want to pollute it with innocent blood and bring guilt upon yourselves.

11-13 On the other hand, if a man with a history of hatred toward his neighbor waits in ambush, then jumps him, mauls and kills him, and then runs to one of these cities, that’s a different story. The elders of his own city are to send for him and have him brought back. They are to hand him over to the avenger of blood for execution. Don’t feel sorry for him. Clean out the pollution of wrongful murder from Israel so that you’ll be able to live well and breathe clean air.

* * *

Why are cities of refuge so important? In Moses’ day, when someone dies, relatives and friends are obligated to avenge the death. Vengeance must be taken to cleanse the land from the stain of murder. Most of us fail to recognize that our actions leave spiritual impressions on the land we occupy, polluting it. Land that is loved behaves differently from land inhabited by murderers. Remember the story of Cane and Abel? God tells Cane that Abel’s blood is crying out from the ground

Here God draws a distinction between accidental deaths and premeditated murder, a distinction that has remained ever since. The American legal system recognizes three grades of murder: first degree, second degree, and third degree. First degree murder is the worst and implies malice aforethought and premeditation. Second degree murder occurs when the murderer intends to cause bodily harm but has not been plotting the murder. Third degree murder is similar to second degree and is only recognized in a few states. Third degree murder also involves an intent to harm but lacks premeditation. AN example of third-degree murder is a drug dealer who sells someone sufficient drugs for them to overdose. (https://loio.com/guides/personal/criminal-law/the-difference-between-1st-2nd-3rd-degree-murders/ )

God orders the Israelites to establish three cities of refuge and to build roads to these cities so that innocent people pursued by avengers might reach the cities safely. Eventually, God will also designate three cities on the east side of the Jordan for those living in that area. But not just anybody can gain refuge in these cities. If someone truly commits murder, the elders of his own city are to contact the elders of the city of refuge and demand the individual be sent back to them for justice to take place.

14 Don’t move your neighbor’s boundary markers, the longstanding landmarks set up by your pioneer ancestors defining their property.

* * *

Remember that God eventually draws the boundaries for the various tribes and inheritances are sacred. Centuries later, Naboth defies King Ahab because Ahab demands Naboth give him the vineyard Naboth has inherited so Ahab can tear it up for a vegetable garden.

15 You cannot convict anyone of a crime or sin on the word of one witness. You need two or three witnesses to make a case.

16-21 If a hostile witness stands to accuse someone of a wrong, then both parties involved in the quarrel must stand in the Presence of God before the priests and judges who are in office at that time. The judges must conduct a careful investigation; if the witness turns out to be a false witness and has lied against his fellow Israelite, give him the same medicine he intended for the other party. Clean the polluting evil from your company. People will hear of what you’ve done and be impressed; that will put a stop to this kind of evil among you. Don’t feel sorry for the person: It’s life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Although the idea of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” seems too harsh to some of us, in many cultures, limiting vengeance in this fashion is quite moderate and a revelation. In Bible times, avengers might destroy as many people as possible or murder while the original damage was limited to a missing tooth. Even today, some cultures believe in wiping out entire families, not merely punishing individuals.

What of the injunction against false witness? God has already forbidden that in the Ten Commandments. God hates liars, and He particularly hates false witnesses who lie so an innocent person will suffer. Today, DNA evidence has helped free many wrongly convicted of crimes, but what will happen to those who have knowingly given false testimony? God will judge these people.

While God ordained cities of refuge for the Israelites, we all need places of refuge. Face it, folks, we mess up a lot. We say things we shouldn’t, do things we shouldn’t, and hurt people even when we have the best intentions. Psalm 130:3-4 tells us, “If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that’s why you’re worshiped.”

1 John 1:8-10 tells us, “If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—simply come clean about them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.”

Today, ask God to reveal your sins and then beg Him to forgive you and help you to change. Nothing is more freeing.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, open our eyes to our sins and help us to make full confession to You so that You can forgive us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 18:1-2 The Levitical priests—that’s the entire tribe of Levi—don’t get any land-inheritance with the rest of Israel. They get the Fire-Gift-Offerings of God—they will live on that inheritance. But they don’t get land-inheritance like the rest of their kinsmen. God is their inheritance.

3-5 This is what the priests get from the people from any offering of an ox or a sheep: the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the stomach. You must also give them the firstfruits of your grain, wine, and oil and the first fleece of your sheep, because God, your God, has chosen only them and their children out of all your tribes to be present and serve always in the name of God, your God.

6-8 If a Levite moves from any town in Israel—and he is quite free to move wherever he desires—and comes to the place God designates for worship, he may serve there in the name of God along with all his brother Levites who are present and serving in the Presence of God. And he will get an equal share to eat, even though he has money from the sale of his parents’ possessions.

God wants the Levites to serve Him wherever they go, without fear of poverty or hunger. These commandments assure support for the Levites; at the same time, the Levites also have limitations. Holy callings also contain restrictions, for God’s service must take first place above everything else. Although the practice of having individual congregations support their pastors in a system referred to as the congregational model sounds good in theory, the reality is quite different. We have several pastor friends who must work full-time jobs to support their families because their respective congregations simply can’t do it.

* * *

9-12 When you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you, don’t take on the abominable ways of life of the nations there. Don’t you dare sacrifice your son or daughter in the fire. Don’t practice divination, sorcery, fortunetelling, witchery, casting spells, holding séances, or channeling with the dead. People who do these things are an abomination to God. It’s because of just such abominable practices that God, your God, is driving these nations out before you.

13-14 Be completely loyal to God, your God. These nations that you’re about to run out of the country consort with sorcerers and witches. But not you. God, your God, forbids it.

We read these injunctions against child sacrifice and think, “Well, we would never do such things!” But is that true? Do we truly value our children so that we will love them, train them in God’s ways, and protect them, or are we sacrificing our children to our schedules and our jobs? These days, many children spend so little time with their parents and so much time on-line that they can scarcely relate to others when in social situations. At the same time, there are cyber-criminals preying on lonely children, grooming them, and convincing them that their parents don’t care about them while the on-line “friend” does so. The results of these alliances can be tragic and deadly. I am grateful for having grown up before social media and the internet became substitutes for personal contact.

15-16 God, your God, is going to raise up a prophet for you. God will raise him up from among your kinsmen, a prophet like me. Listen obediently to him. This is what you asked God, your God, for at Horeb on the day you were all gathered at the mountain and said, “We can’t hear any more from God, our God; we can’t stand seeing any more fire. We’ll die!”

17-19 And God said to me, “They’re right; they’ve spoken the truth. I’ll raise up for them a prophet like you from their kinsmen. I’ll tell him what to say and he will pass on to them everything I command him. And anyone who won’t listen to my words spoken by him, I will personally hold responsible.

20 “But any prophet who fakes it, who claims to speak in my name something I haven’t commanded him to say, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.”

21-22 You may be wondering among yourselves, “How can we tell the difference, whether it was God who spoke or not?” Here’s how: If what the prophet spoke in God’s name doesn’t happen, then obviously God wasn’t behind it; the prophet made it up. Forget about him.”

* * *

Once more, God addresses the question about prophets and prophecy. Notice God promises to raise up prophets in the same spirit as Moses. Moses has always told the truth, no matter how unpalatable it might be. But there are always those willing to fake prophecy for attention, money, or power. The test of a prophet is whether the prophecy comes true. Be careful! If a prophet promises something wonderful, you might convince yourself that prophecy is true, even when the Holy Spirit is shaking His head, “No! Don’t believe it!”

James warns us,” Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God;” for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” James 1:13-14 When we want a prophet to say something, we will twist and manipulate pronouncements to suit ourselves, refusing to listen to the Holy Spirit.

Once more, God is calling his people to be holy, whether they are Levites or part of the general congregation. God wants His people to protect their children and to follow His rules, not copying idolatrous neighbors.

While circumstances might change, God’s call on His people to holiness never changes. May God help us, so that we will follow Him and nobody and nothing else.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to live holy lives treasuring all those around us, particularly our children. Help us to listen for Your Voice, not merely for prophets who pander to our desires. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 17

The Message

17 And don’t sacrifice to God, your God, an ox or sheep that is defective or has anything at all wrong with it. That’s an abomination, an insult to God, your God.

In the beginning, the Israelites did reasonably well about this; however, later on, as their kingdoms were about to fall, they were dumping defective animals at the temple and selling or eating the good ones. Malachi 1:8 says, “When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”

* * *

2-5 If you find anyone within the towns that God, your God, is giving you doing what is wrong in God’s eyes, breaking his covenant by going off to worship other gods, bowing down to them—the sun, say, or the moon, or any rebel sky-gods—look at the evidence and investigate carefully. If you find that it is true, that, in fact, an abomination has been committed in Israel, then you are to take the man or woman who did this evil thing outside your city gates and stone the man or the woman. Hurl stones at the person until dead.

6-7 But only on the testimony of two or three witnesses may a person be put to death. No one may be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The witnesses must throw the first stones in the execution, then the rest of the community joins in. You have to purge the evil from your community.

Remember Jesus’ kangaroo trial? The Pharisees tried to present two witnesses, but even they couldn’t agree on details. Finally, Jesus’ enemies had to stir up the mob to put pressure on Pontius Pilate, claiming he was no friend to Caesar if he allowed Jesus to live.

8-9 When matters of justice come up that are too much for you—hard cases regarding homicides, legal disputes, fights—take them up to the central place of worship that God, your God, has designated. Bring them to the Levitical priests and the judge who is in office at the time. Consult them and they will hand down the decision for you.

10-13 Then carry out their verdict at the place designated by God, your God. Do what they tell you, in exactly the way they tell you. Follow their instructions precisely: Don’t leave out anything; don’t add anything. Anyone who presumes to override or twist the decision handed down by the priest or judge who was acting in the Presence of God, your God, is as good as dead—root him out, rid Israel of the evil. Everyone will take notice and be impressed. That will put an end to presumptuous behavior.

* * *

God is the One who has ordained law courts and judges. The idea is to have virtuous men who will judge as justly as possible so that they will issue correct judgments. What’s the point of following wrong decisions? And yet, in Luke 18 Jesus tells the story of an unjust judge as if this is a common phenomenon, something with which his audience might easily identify. The Romans had a phrase: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Translated, this means “Who will watch the watchmen?” Today, many turn to social media to bully others into silence, but at what cost? It was John Morley, a nineteenth century newspaper editor who said, “You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.” God’s truth will always stand, whether or not we agree with it.

14-17 When you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you and take it over and settle down, and then say, “I’m going to get me a king, a king like all the nations around me,” make sure you get yourself a king whom God, your God, chooses. Choose your king from among your kinsmen; don’t take a foreigner—only a kinsman. And make sure he doesn’t build up a war machine, amassing military horses and chariots. He must not send people to Egypt to get more horses, because God told you, “You’ll never go back there again!” And make sure he doesn’t build up a harem, collecting wives who will divert him from the straight and narrow. And make sure he doesn’t pile up a lot of silver and gold.

18-20 This is what must be done: When he sits down on the throne of his kingdom, the first thing he must do is make himself a copy of this Revelation on a scroll, copied under the supervision of the Levitical priests. That scroll is to remain at his side at all times; he is to study it every day so that he may learn what it means to fear his God, living in reverent obedience before these rules and regulations by following them. He must not become proud and arrogant, changing the commands at whim to suit himself or making up his own versions. If he reads and learns, he will have a long reign as king in Israel, he and his sons.”

BRAAACK!!! TIME OUT!!! No king in Israel ever followed these instructions. King David likely came the closest to studying God’s Word, but he failed on several occasions. David was quite wealthy; in fact, much of the funds to build Solomon’s temple came from David. Solomon made a hopeful beginning and then immediately acquired 700 wives and 300 concubines plus becoming one of the major horse traders in the Middle East. None of the kings ever copied the Mosaic Law or studied it thoroughly; in fact, by the time of King Josiah, the Law had been lost. 2 Kings 22:11-13 and 2 Chronicles 34:19-21 tell us that when the priests were redoing the temple and found the scrolls containing the Law, Josiah tore his clothes in grief because he realized how far his people had fallen from keeping God’s commandments. Josiah instituted sweeping religious reforms; however, he died in battle at age 39 when he foolishly challenged the Egyptian Pharoah Neco.

Reading these laws is both exhilarating and discouraging. Only this morning, one friend was complaining bitterly about the report local police filed regarding an accident in which her husband’s car was struck by another vehicle. Names, dates, details of the crash, and even drivers’ licenses were all inaccurate. When my friend’s husband attempted to correct the report, the police bullied him. Clearly, God knew what He was doing when He gave Moses these laws, and clearly we are still making the same mistakes that caused God to issue these laws in the first place!

The advice for kings can apply to leaders in any position-study God’s Word constantly and let it guide you. Be most concerned about becoming an effective leader and do not worry about gathering riches or other possessions. Remember that Jesus told us, “Where your treasure is, your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

God wanted the Israelites to view Him and His Word as their greatest treasure; instead, they continually wandered off into idolatry of all kinds, despite their hopeful beginnings. We should not feel too superior, for we might easily copy that behavior. May God help us to remain true-hearted, following Him completely!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 16

The Message

16 1-4 Observe the month of Abib by celebrating the Passover to God, your God. It was in the month of Abib that God, your God, delivered you by night from Egypt. Offer the Passover-Sacrifice to God, your God, at the place God chooses to be worshiped by establishing his name there. Don’t eat yeast bread with it; for seven days eat it with unraised bread, hard-times bread, because you left Egypt in a hurry—that bread will keep the memory fresh of how you left Egypt for as long as you live. There is to be no sign of yeast anywhere for seven days. And don’t let any of the meat that you sacrifice in the evening be left over until morning.

5-7 Don’t sacrifice the Passover in any of the towns that God, your God, gives you other than the one God, your God, designates for worship; there and there only you will offer the Passover-Sacrifice at evening as the sun goes down, marking the time that you left Egypt. Boil and eat it at the place designated by God, your God. Then, at daybreak, turn around and go home. 8 Eat unraised bread for six days. Set aside the seventh day as a holiday; don’t do any work.

9-11 Starting from the day you put the sickle to the ripe grain, count out seven weeks. Celebrate the Feast-of-Weeks to God, your God, by bringing your Freewill-Offering—give as generously as God, your God, has blessed you. Rejoice in the Presence of God, your God: you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid, the Levite who lives in your neighborhood, the foreigner, the orphan, and widow among you; rejoice at the place God, your God, will set aside to be worshiped.

12 Don’t forget that you were once a slave in Egypt. So be diligent in observing these regulations.

13-15 Observe the Feast-of-Booths for seven days when you gather the harvest from your threshing-floor and your wine-vat. Rejoice at your festival: you, your son, your daughter, your servant, your maid, the Levite, the foreigner, and the orphans and widows who live in your neighborhood. Celebrate the Feast to God, your God, for seven days at the place God designates. God, your God, has been blessing you in your harvest and in all your work, so make a day of it—really celebrate!

16-17 All your men must appear before God, your God, three times each year at the place he designates: at the Feast-of-Unraised-Bread (Passover), at the Feast-of-Weeks, and at the Feast-of-Booths. No one is to show up in the Presence of God empty-handed; each man must bring as much as he can manage, giving generously in response to the blessings of God, your God.

* * *

18-19 Appoint judges and officers, organized by tribes, in all the towns that God, your God, is giving you. They are to judge the people fairly and honestly. Don’t twist the law. Don’t play favorites. Don’t take a bribe—a bribe blinds even a wise person; it undermines the intentions of the best of people. 20 The right! The right! Pursue only what’s right! It’s the only way you can really live and possess the land that God, your God, is giving you.

* * *

21-22 Don’t plant fertility Asherah trees alongside the Altar of God, your God, that you build. Don’t set up phallic sex pillars—God, your God, hates them.

God wants His people to celebrate, but to do it His way! So God ordains three major feasts, times at which all men should appear at the town God will give them for major worship. These feasts are Passover, Pentecost, and Succoth, the Feast of Booths. These feasts are tied to events occurring throughout the agricultural year to allow people to have something to offer to the Lord. At the same time, God is also warning His people NOT to have anything to do with the fertility cults represented by Asherah trees, particularly to avoid planting any Asherah trees next to the Altar of the One True Living God. Such an act would be a total abomination.

First, God wants His people to perpetually celebrate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. To that end, families are to preserve rituals designed to help all generations to commemorate that great event. At the same time, anything having to do with leaven is to be eliminated from homes and from the diet for seven days-why? Because leaven was used to brew beer in Egypt and leaven has become a symbol of evil influences. God is demanding His people purge their homes and their hearts of any evil.

The Feast of weeks or Pentecost is an early harvest festival at which the Israelites are to present first fruits. Presenting the first of anything is an act of supreme faith because you don’t know if the little you have in your hand is all you will gain for the year. Offering first fruits is akin to offering first-born lambs; who knows if the sheep will deliver any more lambs?

Finally, the feast of booths is a late harvest festival, celebrating successful harvests for the year. God follows the instructions for these festivals with instructions about judges and eschewing idol worship. Sometimes people can become so caught up in a celebration that they might do something wrong; just judges are a necessity. And as the Israelites have come from Egypt with its thousands of idols and are now surrounded by idolatrous tribes, they must persistently fight against the temptation to copy their neighbors.

What meaning do these descriptions have for us? God wants us to live joyously and to celebrate, including all those around us-strangers, widows, orphans, the poor, the sick, the lonely. One of the terrible things about cell phones and tablets is that people can become so fixated on them that they refuse to really see the needs of others.

I have become somewhat addicted to a series of stories posted on Facebook in which small people-store clerks, retirees, disabled veterans, and others, spark movements of kindness simply by extending small gestures of help to those around them. God has never intended His people to become self-centered, for the entire Bible carries messages of compassion and help. When a lawyer quizzed Jesus about the greatest commandments, Jesus replied, “You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Nothing has changed. God wants His people to share whatever they have whenever they are celebrating. May God help us to reach out to all those around us so that they too will be able to share in the joy of celebration!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to lovingly and joyously share our celebrations with all those around us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Deuteronomy 15 

1-3 “At the end of every seventh year, cancel all debts. This is the procedure: Everyone who has lent money to a neighbor writes it off. You must not press your neighbor or his brother for payment: All-Debts-Are-Canceled—God says so. You may collect payment from foreigners, but whatever you have lent to your fellow Israelite you must write off.”

Hoo-boy! You can just imagine the response from the Israelites when Moses announces this principle. In the back of the crowd, there are undoubtedly guys muttering into their beards, “Cancel all debts every seven years? Ridiculous! All that debtors must do is wait out the seven years and then they go free. How can we ever get paid?” God wants His people to prosper; however, He doesn’t want people to suffer. On the other hand, the Israelites are free to continue to collect debts from foreigners without the seven-year debt forgiveness.

4-6 There must be no poor people among you because God is going to bless you lavishly in this land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, your very own land. But only if you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God, diligently observing every commandment that I command you today. Oh yes—God, your God, will bless you just as he promised. You will lend to many nations but won’t borrow from any; you’ll rule over many nations but none will rule over you.

7-9 When you happen on someone who’s in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that God, your God, is giving you, don’t look the other way pretending you don’t see him. Don’t keep a tight grip on your purse. No. Look at him, open your purse, lend whatever and as much as he needs. Don’t count the cost. Don’t listen to that selfish voice saying, “It’s almost the seventh year, the year of All-Debts-Are-Canceled,” and turn aside and leave your needy neighbor in the lurch, refusing to help him. He’ll call God’s attention to you and your blatant sin.

10-11 Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.

Hmm! Seems as if God has been listening to those grumblers in the back of the crowd. And God knows those who are already plotting ways to evade His laws to squeeze as much profit out of their neighbors as possible. These fellows have been clutching their purses to their bosoms for years and they are not happy about God’s proscriptions against greed.

What these people fail to recognize is God’s incredible generosity. God has given us life and all good things that we enjoy without asking anything in return apart from our love and devoted service. All God is requesting is that His people copy His Nature, sharing their resources with all those around them. And what about servants? Does God care about them as well?

12-15 “If a Hebrew man or Hebrew woman was sold to you and has served you for six years, in the seventh year you must set him or her free, released into a free life. And when you set them free don’t send them off empty-handed. Provide them with some animals, plenty of bread and wine and oil. Load them with provisions from all the blessings with which God, your God, has blessed you. Don’t for a minute forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and God, your God, redeemed you from that slave world.

For that reason, this day I command you to do this.”

Imagine what it must have been like to be a freed servant? Suddenly, you are free and your former bosses are giving you animals, and “plenty of bread and wine and oil.” Servants are to be “loaded with provisions.” Why? God wants the Israelites to always remember that they were slaves in Egypt and God delivered them.

16-17 “But if your slave, because he loves you and your family and has a good life with you, says, “I don’t want to leave you,” then take an awl and pierce through his earlobe into the doorpost, marking him as your slave forever. Do the same with your women slaves who want to stay with you. Don’t consider this an unreasonable hardship, this setting your slave free. After all, he’s worked six years for you at half the cost of a hired hand. Believe me, God, your God, will bless you in everything you do.”

At first, this practice sounds both painful and unfair. Why wouldn’t a slave want freedom by any means? But nothing is ever simple. Suppose a slave has grown up with a family and is essentially a family member in a comfortable setting. Sometimes slaves would even inherit from the owner if there was no other heir. Once set free, a slave would be left to his or her own devices with no protection; under such circumstances, some slaves might definitely choose to remain with a family. This might be particularly true if a slave has married another slave and has a family. Security and family unity can be worth a great deal.

19-23 “Set apart to God, your God, all the firstborn males in your herds and flocks. Don’t use the firstborn from your herds as work animals; don’t shear the firstborn from your flocks. These are for you to eat every year, you and your family, in the Presence of God, your God, at the place that God designates for worship. If the animal is defective, lame, say, or blind—anything wrong with it—don’t slaughter it as a sacrifice to God, your God. Stay at home and eat it there. Both the ritually clean and unclean may eat it, the same as with a gazelle or a deer. Only you must not eat its blood. Pour the blood out on the ground like water.”

Once more, God is identifying firstborn males as special. Rather than being used as work animals, these animals are to be eaten during special feast days. But these animals must be perfect; otherwise, they should simply be considered on the same scale as gazelles or deer. But once more, God warns about the need to pour the blood of the animal out on the ground as a form of offering to Him. Again, remember that many pagan religious ceremonies involved painting worshipers with blood or drinking blood. God wants His people to be holy.

Being generous can sometimes be scary. What if someone asks for help when you have virtually nothing yourself? God will be no man’s debtor. True story: One Wednesday night, I was at a church service when offering time came. I realized I had $1.37 left in my checking account. At that point, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. “Jean, will you trust Me?” I shrugged my shoulders and wrote out a check for that small amount. Then the miracles began. Suddenly, friends with a garden left fresh vegetables on my doorstep. Other friends invited me to eat supper with them. I lived across the street from the hospital, so commuting was no problem, and I could eat at the hospital when I was on call. I did quite well until my next paycheck.

Obviously, you must pray for guidance before sharing your resources. But you cannot out-give God!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to trust You and to share with those in need. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.