Chapters 22-25

 

LITV

Deu 22:1  You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep driven away, and hide yourself from them. Turning you shall turn them back to your brother. 

Deu 22:2  And if your brother is not near you, and you do not know him, then you shall surely bring it home to your house; and it shall be with you until your brother inquires of it; and you shall restore it to him. 

Deu 22:3  And so you shall do with his ass, and so you will do with his clothing, and so you shall do with everything lost of your brother's, which he has lost and you have found; you may not hide it. 

Deu 22:4  You shall not see your brother's ass or his ox fallen down in the highway, and hide yourself from them. Lifting you shall help him lift it up. 

Deu 22:5  There shall not be the thing of a man on a woman, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment. For whoever does these things is an abomination to Jehovah your God. 

Deu 22:6  If a bird's nest happens to be before you in the way in any tree, or on the ground, with young ones, or eggs; and the mother is sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. 

Deu 22:7  But in every case you shall let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, so that it may be well with you, and you may prolong your days. 

Deu 22:8  When you build a new house, then you shall make a guard rail for your roof, so that you do not put blood on your house if someone falls from it. 

Deu 22:9  You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seeds, that the fruit of your seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard not be defiled. 

Deu 22:10  You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together. 

Deu 22:11  You shall not wear a garment of different kinds, of wool and linen together. 

Deu 22:12  You shall make for yourself tassels on the four corners of your cloak with which you cover. 

Deu 22:13  If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and hates her, 

Deu 22:14  then sets shameful words to charge her, and brings up an evil name on her, and says, I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her the tokens of virginity. 

Deu 22:15  Then the girl's father and her mother shall take and bring the girl's tokens of virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 

Deu 22:16  And the girl's father shall say to the elders, I have given my daughter to this man for a wife, and he hates her. 

Deu 22:17  And, behold, he has laid shameful charges, saying, I have not found in your daughter the tokens of virginity. And yet see these tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. 

Deu 22:18  And the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him. 

Deu 22:19  And they shall fine him a hundred pieces of silver, and give them to the girl's father, because he has brought an evil name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. 

Deu 22:20  But if this thing is true that tokens of virginity have not been found for the girl, 

Deu 22:21  then they shall bring out the girl to the door of her father's house. And the men of her city shall stone her with stones, and she shall die; for she has done folly in Israel, to commit fornication in her father's house. And you shall put away the evil from among you. 

Deu 22:22  If a man is 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. And you shall put away the evil from Israel. 

Deu 22:23  If there is a girl that is a virgin, betrothed to a man, and a man finds her in the city, and lies with her, 

Deu 22:24  then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city. And you shall stone them with stones so that they die, the girl because she did not cry out, being in the city; and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor's wife. And you shall put away the evil from among you. 

Deu 22:25  But if a man finds a betrothed girl in the field, and the man seizes her and lies with her; then only the man that lay with her shall die. 

Deu 22:26  And you shall do nothing to the girl; the girl has no sin worthy of death; for as when a man rises against his neighbor and murders him, even so is this matter. 

Deu 22:27  For he found her in the field, and the betrothed girl cried out, but no one saved her. 

Deu 22:28  If a man finds a virgin girl, not being betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they be found; 

Deu 22:29  then the man lying with her shall give to the girl's father fifty pieces of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has humbled her. He may not put her away all his days. 

Deu 22:30  A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt. 

Deu 23:1  He being wounded, crushed, or cut in his male member shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah. 

Deu 23:2  An illegitimate child shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah, even to the tenth generation none of his shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah. 

Deu 23:3  An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none of them enter into the assembly of Jehovah, perpetually; 

Deu 23:4  because they did not meet you with bread and with water in the way when you came out of Egypt; and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor, from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 

Deu 23:5  But Jehovah your God would not listen to Balaam, and Jehovah your God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because Jehovah your God loved you. 

Deu 23:6  You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days, perpetually. 

Deu 23:7  You shall not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not despise an Egyptian, for you were an alien in his land; 

Deu 23:8  sons of the third generation that are born to them may enter into the assembly of Jehovah. 

Deu 23:9  When you go forth into camp against your enemies, then keep yourself from every evil thing. 

Deu 23:10  If there is among you any man who is not clean because of a discharge at night, then he shall go to the outside of the camp; he shall not come in to the middle of the camp. 

Deu 23:11  And it shall be, as evening is turning, he shall bathe with water, and as the sun is going, he shall come into the middle of the camp. 

Deu 23:12  Also you shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out there. 

Deu 23:13  And you shall have a tool on your staff. And it shall be, as you sit outside, you shall dig with it, and shall turn back, and shall cover that which comes from you. 

Deu 23:14  For Jehovah your God walks in the middle of your camp to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you; therefore your camp shall be holy, so that He may see no unclean thing in you, and turn away from you. 

Deu 23:15  You shall not hand over to his master a slave that has escaped from his master to you. 

Deu 23:16  He shall live with you, among you, in the place which he chooses inside one of your gates, wherever it is good to him. You shall not oppress him. 

Deu 23:17  There shall be no prostitute among the daughters of Israel, nor shall there be a homosexual among the sons of Israel. 

Deu 23:18  You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute, or the price of a dog, into the house of Jehovah your God for any vow; for even both of these are an abomination to Jehovah your God. 

Deu 23:19  You shall not lend at interest to your brother; interest of silver, interest of food, interest of anything loaned at interest. 

Deu 23:20  To a stranger you may lend at interest, but you shall not lend at interest to your brother, so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all that you put your hand to, in the land where you go to possess it. 

Deu 23:21  When you shall vow a vow to Jehovah your God, you shall not delay to perform it; for Jehovah your God will certainly require it of you, and it shall be sin to you. 

Deu 23:22  But if you shall forebear to vow, it shall be no sin to you. 

Deu 23:23  That which has gone out of your lips, you shall keep, and shall do it. According as you have vowed as a freewill offering to Jehovah your God, do even that which you have spoken with your mouth. 

Deu 23:24  When you come into your neighbor's vineyard, then you may eat grapes to your fill, at your pleasure. But you shall not put any in your vessel. 

Deu 23:25  When you come into your neighbor's standing grain, then you may pluck heads with your hand; but you shall not move a sickle into your neighbor's standing grain. 

 

Deu 24:1  When a man has taken a wife and married her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found a thing of uncleanness in her, and he writes her a bill of divorce and puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; 

Deu 24:2  and if she goes out from his house and goes and becomes another man's wife, 

Deu 24:3  and the latter husband hates her, and writes her a bill of divorce, and puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house or if the latter husband who took her to be his wife dies; 

Deu 24:4  her former husband who sent her away is not to take her again to be his wife, after she is defiled. For it is a hateful thing before Jehovah, and you shall not cause the land to sin which Jehovah your God is giving to you as an inheritance. 

Deu 24:5  When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, and he shall not be given any thing to do. He shall be free at his own house for one year, and shall gladden his wife whom he has taken. 

Deu 24:6  No one shall take in pledge the lower and upper millstone, for he is taking a man's life to pledge. 

Deu 24:7  If a man is found stealing a person of his brothers of the sons of Israel, and has dealt with him as a slave, and sold him, then that thief shall die. And you shall put away the evil from among you. 

Deu 24:8  Be on guard in the plague of leprosy, that you watch closely and do according to all that the Levitical priests shall teach you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 

Deu 24:9  Remember that which Jehovah your God did to Miriam in the way, as you came out of Egypt. 

Deu 24:10  When you lend your neighbor any kind of loan, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. 

Deu 24:11  You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the security outside to you. 

Deu 24:12  And if the man is poor, you shall not sleep with his pledge. 

Deu 24:13  You shall certainly give back the pledge to him as goes the sun; and he shall lie down in his own clothing, and shall bless you. And it shall be righteousness to you before Jehovah your God. 

Deu 24:14  You shall not oppress a poor and needy hired servant, of your brothers or of your aliens who are in your land, within your gates. 

Deu 24:15  In the same day you shall give him his hire; do not let the sun go down on it. For he is poor, and has lifted up his heart on it; that he not cry against you to Jehovah, and it be sin against you. 

Deu 24:16  The fathers shall not die for sons, and sons shall not die for fathers; they each shall die for his own sin. 

Deu 24:17  You shall not pervert judgment of an alien, or of an orphan; and you shall not take a widow's garment as pledge. 

Deu 24:18  But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and Jehovah your God redeemed you from there. For that reason I command you to do this thing. 

Deu 24:19  When you cut down your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not turn back to take it. It shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow; so that Jehovah your God shall bless you in all the work of your hand. 

Deu 24:20  When you beat your olive tree, you shall not search the branch behind you. It shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 

Deu 24:21  When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward. It shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 

Deu 24:22  And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. On account of this I am commanding you to do this thing. 

 

Deu 25:1  If there is a contention between men, and they come to judgment, and they have been judged, and the righteous one is declared righteous, and the wrongdoer declared guilty; 

Deu 25:2  then it shall be, if the wrongdoer is a son of stripes, the judge shall cause him to fall down. And one shall strike him before his face, enough for his wickedness, by number. 

Deu 25:3  He may give him forty stripes; he shall not add more, lest, if he should exceed and beat him above these with many stripes, then your brother would be dishonored before your eyes. 

Deu 25:4  You shall not muzzle an ox when he is treading out grain. 

Deu 25:5  If brothers live together, and one of them dies, and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not go outside to a strange man; her brother-in-law shall go in to her, and take her to himself for a wife, and shall perform the duty of the levirate; 

Deu 25:6  and it shall be, the first-born which she bears shall rise up for his dead brother's name, and his name shall not be wiped out of Israel. 

Deu 25:7  And if the man does not desire to take his brother's wife then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and say, My husband's brother is refusing to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he has not been willing to perform the duty of my levirate. 

Deu 25:8  And the elders of his city shall call for him and shall speak to him. And he shall stand and say, I have no desire to take her. 

Deu 25:9  Then his brother's wife shall draw near to him before the elders, and shall take his shoe from his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So it shall be done to the man who will not build up the house of his brother. 

Deu 25:10  And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him whose shoe was taken off. 

Deu 25:11  When men fight with one another, and the wife of the one shall come near to deliver her husband from his assailant's hand, and shall put out her hand and lay hold on his genitals, 

Deu 25:12  then you shall cut off her palm; your eye shall not pity. 

Deu 25:13  You shall not have in your bag a stone and a stone weight, a great and a small. 

Deu 25:14  You shall not have in your house an ephah and an ephah, a great and a small. 

Deu 25:15  You shall have a perfect and just weight; you shall have a perfect and just ephah; so that they prolong your days in the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you. 

Deu 25:16  For anyone doing these things is hateful to Jehovah your God, everyone doing unrighteously. 

Deu 25:17  Remember what Amalek did to you by the way as you came forth out of Egypt; 

Deu 25:18  how he met you on the way and attacked your back, all the feeble ones in the rear, when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. 

Deu 25:19  And it shall be, when Jehovah your God gives you rest from all your enemies all around in the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you as an inheritance to possess it, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens; you shall not forget. 

 

Main point(s): Multiple provisions concerning everyday life (as opposed to the previous nationalistic structure building. Being neighborly, the taking of a wife, sexual laws, cleanliness, being just/honest.

 

1.    What does God expect of His people in 22:1-4? The directive is not to turn away from helping your neighbor, but rather help the situation. Even if you don’t know him. If you find something if his, hold onto it until he comes to claim it. If his animal falls “Lifting you shall help him lift it up”. The words lift it up indicates “to rise” “equally with”. The precursor is to NOT hide from the loss your neighbor is suffering. Then equally, be a good neighbor and assist to HELP the situation….do not ignore it. Not only is this a just thing to do, but the overall neighborly health is strengthened. Trust is fostered. This is basically practicing the golden rule.

 

2.    What do we learn about gender distinctions in 22:5? The term “abomination” means loathed/disgusting. This is God’s attitude toward those that practice these things. Note that Jehovah is not making any contingencies. Simply put, it doesn’t matter what they thought about the practice. These laws may be about them and their behavior, but God is not asking how they feel about these situations. We must come to the understanding that these statutes are issued from a source of justice.

 

3.    What pictures of holiness and righteousness do you see in 22:6-12?

(6-7) Find a nesting bird with chicks, take the chicks, leave the mother	There are many written analytical, metaphorical meanings to this concerning compassion etc. In the literal sense the reason given is “that it may be well with you, and you may prolong your days.” It makes pragmatic sense to understand that if the mother is killed for food, she will no longer provide food. Both are true. God was looking for His people to become wise and compassionate concerning what He was entrusting to their care.
(8)Build a house, put a guardrail on the roof	“do not put blood on your house” Blood in this case means “blood (as that which when shed causes death)” – We see that shed blood creates a trigger for justice of some sort. The call here is again pragmatic, but also one of compassion and responsibility for the safety of others.
(9) Do not sow multiple seed types together	Otherwise the resulting fruit will be defiled. (GMO? Grafting?) See also Lev. 19:19. These next three commands cover putting things together that do not belong together (keeping things pure). In this instance, we see the fruit that God made perfect, becoming something other than that perfect fruit. This is interesting to note considering most foods today are hybrids of their origins. (maintain what God has made…respect it)
(10) Do not plow an ox with a donkey	It makes practical sense not to put a much larger/stronger ox with a donkey. These would also be clean/unclean animals. (justice for the weaker animal + keeping animals of their own “kind” see (Lev 19:19)
Do no wear mixed cloth (linen and wool)	Goes along with the keeping things pure theme.
Put tassels on the four corners of your covering (cloak)	See also Num. 15:38. The purpose in Numbers was that the tassel would remind them of God. The words used are different in Numbers and the reason is not given in this text section.

 

4.    What were the laws of sexual immorality in 22:13-30? A. If a man accuses his bride of not being a virgin (an accusation against her family): The father shall go before the elders and present evidence of her virginity (garment). With this evidence, the man will be charged 100 pieces of silver (given to the father). The man CANNOT “put her away” ever. If the woman has defiled the marriage with fornication, she is to be put to death. B. A man caught sexually with a married woman: both are executed. C. When a woman is betrothed and lives in the city: If a man takes her sexually and she complies willingly – They are to be executed. D. If a man takes a betrothed woman sexually in a field (outside the city), the man is to be executed. Since even though she may have cried out, there was no one to help. E. If a man finds an unbetrothed woman and takes her sexually: HE shall give her father fifty pieces of silver, she shall be his wife and he cannot EVER put her away.
WOW! We must remember the times and culture and how God is looking to protect all parties involved.

5.    What is God teaching the people in chapter 23? (1-8) relates to who may enter into the “assembly.” This was an act of preserving purity as well as enacting justice against tribes that rejected Israel in their journey. (9-14) Cleanliness within the camp because “Jehovah your God walks in the middle of your camp….. therefore your camp shall be holy.” (15-16) Escaped slaves will live with whomever finds them (do not return them). (17-18) Rules against sexual sin. (19-20) Rules for lending. (21-23) Make sure to fulfill vows to God, do not delay. (24-25) Eating a neighbor’s crop. All of these deal with purity, justice/righteousness.

6.    What was God teaching in 24:1-4? Read Matt. 19:1-9. What had the Jewish leaders interpreted this law to mean? What does Jesus say about the reason this law was given? The verses are there to prevent a woman who is released from a marriage from ever returning to her former husband if she becomes remarried. It dictates a writ of divorce or a legal cutting of the marriage covenant which frees the woman to marry another. Her former husband has no claims to her. It protects her and the new husband from any legal claims from the former husband.
In Jesus’ day, the leaders focused on “that she finds no favor in his eyes” and ignored “because he has found a thing of uncleanness in her.” Thus “putting away for any reason.” Jesus does not give the reason why this law was given. He uses the example of creation as His basis for argument.

7.    How would you categorize the various laws given in chapters 24-25?

24:1-5 Family/Community/Cultural/Justice/Compassion – Husband wife relationships

24:6-22 Community/Cultural/Justice/Compassion -Pledges (surety), kidnapping, leprosy, do not oppress the poor-wages due, each shall be judged according to their deeds (fathers not punishable for sins of the son), do not exploit the disadvantaged, allow gleaning during harvests.

25:1-3 Cultural/Justice/Compassion How to dispense the punishment of “stripes”

25:4 Cultural/Compassion – How to treat a working animal

25:5-10 Cultural/Community/Justice/Compassion – Instances when a childless widow can expect her brother-in-law to take her to bear a child so his brother’s name will continue. (ramifications if he does not)

25:11-16 Community/Justice/Compassion -  Wives stay out of fights between men, use just measurements (weights)

25:17-19 National/Justice/War – Destroy Amalek for their attacks on Israel while in the wilderness (enemies)

Robin

 

Matt: 19:1-9

Mat 19:1  And it happened when Jesus had finished these words, He moved from Galilee and came into the borders of Judea beyond the Jordan. 

Mat 19:2  And great crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. 

Mat 19:3  And the Pharisees came near to Him, tempting Him, and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every reason? 

Mat 19:4  But answering, He said to them, Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning "created them male and female"? Gen. 1:27 

Mat 19:5  And He said, "For this reason a man shall leave father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." Gen. 2:24 

Mat 19:6  So that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate. 

Mat 19:7  They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to "give a bill of divorce," "and to put her away"? Deut. 24:1 

Mat 19:8  He said to them, In view of your hardheartedness, Moses allowed you to put away your wives. But from the beginning it was not so. 

Mat 19:9  And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, if not for fornication, and shall marry another, that one commits adultery. And the one who marries her who was put away commits adultery.