Chapters 19-21

 

Deu 19:1  When Jehovah your God shall cut off the nations whose land Jehovah your God is giving to you, and when you dispossess them, and live in their cities, and in their houses, 

Deu 19:2  you shall separate three cities for you in the midst of your land, which Jehovah your God is giving you to possess it. 

Deu 19:3  You shall prepare the way for yourself, and shall divide into three parts the border of your land which Jehovah your God shall cause you to inherit, so that every manslayer may flee there. 

Deu 19:4  And this is the case of the manslayer who shall flee there, that he may live: whoever strikes his neighbor unawares, and has not hated him yesterday and the day before; 

Deu 19:5  even he who goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand brings a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips from the wood and finds his neighbor so that he dies; he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall live; 

Deu 19:6  that the avenger of blood not pursue the manslayer when his heart is hot, and shall overtake him because the way is long, and shall strike him so as to die, and he had no sentence of death, for he did not hate him yesterday or the day before. 

Deu 19:7  On account of this I am commanding you, saying, You shall separate to yourself three cities. 

Deu 19:8  And if Jehovah your God shall enlarge your border, as He has sworn to your fathers, and shall give to you all the land which He has spoken to give to your fathers, 

Deu 19:9  if you will keep these commandments which I am commanding you today, to love Jehovah your God, and to walk in His ways forever, then you shall add to yourself another three cities to these three. 

Deu 19:10  And innocent blood shall not be shed in the midst of your land, which Jehovah your God is giving to you as an inheritance, and there be blood on you. 

Deu 19:11  And if a man hates his neighbor, and lies in wait for him, and rises up against him, and strikes his life from him, so that he dies, and flees to one of these cities, 

Deu 19:12  then the elders of his city shall send and bring from him there, and give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 

Deu 19:13  Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the innocent blood from Israel, and it shall be well with you. 

Deu 19:14  You may not remove your neighbor's landmark, which those formerly have set in your inheritance, which you shall inherit in the land which Jehovah your God is giving you, to possess it. 

Deu 19:15  One witness shall not rise against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin which he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses a thing shall be raised up to judgment. 

Deu 19:16  If a vicious witness rises up against any man to charge apostasy against him, 

Deu 19:17  then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days. 

Deu 19:18  And the judges shall carefully investigate and, behold, if the witness is a false witness, and he has testified falsely against his brother, 

Deu 19:19  then you shall do to him as he plotted to do to his brother. And you shall put away the evil from among you. 

Deu 19:20  And those who remain shall hear and fear, and thereafter shall not add to commit any such evil among you. 

Deu 19:21  And your eye shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. 

Deu 20:1  When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots, a people more than you, you shall not be afraid of them. For Jehovah your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 

Deu 20:2  And it shall be, when you draw near to battle, the priest shall come and speak to the people, 

Deu 20:3  and say to them. Hear, Israel, you are drawing near today to battle against your enemies. Do not let your heart be faint; do not fear nor tremble, nor be terrified before their faces. 

Deu 20:4  For Jehovah your God is He who is going before you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. 

Deu 20:5  And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, Who is the man that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, that he not die in battle and another man dedicate it. 

Deu 20:6  And who is the man that has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, that he not die in battle, and another man use its fruit. 

Deu 20:7  And who is the man who has betrothed a woman, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, that he not die in the battle, and another man take her. 

Deu 20:8  And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, Who is the man who is afraid, and faint of heart? Let him go and return to his house; then the heart of his brothers will not melt like his heart. 

Deu 20:9  And it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, commanders of the armies shall be appointed at the head of the people. 

Deu 20:10  When you come near a city to fight against it, then call to it for peace. 

Deu 20:11  And it shall be, if it answers peace to you, and shall open to you, then it shall be that all the people found in it shall be forced laborers for you, and shall serve you. 

Deu 20:12  And if it shall not make peace with you, and shall make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it. 

Deu 20:13  And Jehovah your God shall give it into your hand; and you shall strike every male of it by the mouth of the sword. 

Deu 20:14  Only, the women, and the little ones, and the livestock, and all in the city, all its plunder, you shall seize for yourself. And you shall eat the plunder of your enemies which Jehovah your God has given to you. 

Deu 20:15  So you shall do to all the cities very far away from you, which are not of the cities of these nations. 

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these peoples which Jehovah your God is giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not keep alive any that breathes. 

Deu 20:17  But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as Jehovah your God has commanded you; 

Deu 20:18  so that they may not teach you to do according to all their filthy deeds which they have done for their gods; and you would sin against Jehovah your God. 

Deu 20:19  When you shall lay siege to a city many days, to fight against it, to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees in order to force an axe against them. For you shall eat of them, and you shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field a man, that it should be used by you to lay siege? 

Deu 20:20  Only the tree which you know not to be a fruit tree, you may destroy it, and may cut it down, and may build a bulwark against the city making war with you, until you have subdued it. 

Deu 21:1  If one is found slain in the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you, to possess it, lying in the field, and it is not known who has struck him; 

Deu 21:2  then your elders and your judges shall come out. And they shall measure to the cities which are around the one slain. 

Deu 21:3  And it shall be, that the city nearest to the one slain, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked with, and which has not drawn in the yoke. 

Deu 21:4  And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to an ever-flowing stream, which is not plowed nor sown. And they shall break the heifer's neck there by the stream. 

Deu 21:5  And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near (for Jehovah your God has chosen them to minister to Him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah) and by their mouth shall every controversy and every stroke be tried. 

Deu 21:6  And all the elders of that city nearest to the one slain shall wash their hands by the stream, over the heifer whose neck was broken. 

Deu 21:7  And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it. 

Deu 21:8  O Jehovah, be merciful to Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not allow innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel. And the blood shall be forgiven them. 

Deu 21:9  And you shall put away the innocent blood from among you, for you shall do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah. 

Deu 21:10  When you go out to battle against your enemies, and Jehovah your God has given them into your hands, and you have taken them captive; 

Deu 21:11  and you have seen in the captivity a woman of beautiful form, and you desire her, even to take her to you for a wife, 

Deu 21:12  then you shall bring her into the midst of your household. And she shall shave her head, and prepare her nails, 

Deu 21:13  and shall remove the clothing of her captivity from her, and shall live in your house, and shall sorrow for her father and her mother a month of days. Then afterwards you shall go in to her, and shall marry her; and she shall be a wife to you. 

Deu 21:14  And it shall be, if you do not delight in her, you shall send her away at her desire; and you shall not at all sell her for silver; you shall not treat her as a slave, because you have humbled her. 

Deu 21:15  If a man has two wives, the one loved, and the other hated; and they have borne him sons, both the loved one and the hated one; and if the first-born son was of her who was hated, 

Deu 21:16  then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which is his, he is not able to cause to inherit the first-born son of the one loved before the first-born son of the one hated, who is truly the first-born. 

Deu 21:17  But he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the hated one, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the firstfruit of his strength, the right of the first-born is his. 

Deu 21:18  If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not listen to his father's voice, or his mother's voice; even though they discipline him, he will not listen to them; 

Deu 21:19  then his father and his mother shall lay hold on him and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place; 

Deu 21:20  and they shall say to the elders of his city, This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not listen to our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 

Deu 21:21  And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, and he shall die. So you shall put away the evil from among you, that all Israel shall hear, and fear. 

Deu 21:22  And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 

Deu 21:23  his body shall not remain all night on the tree; but burying you shall bury him the same day. For he that is hanged is a reproach to God. And you shall not defile your land which Jehovah your God is giving to you as an inheritance. 

Main Points: Cities of refuge, penalty for murder, don’t move border landmarks, penalty for false witnesses, guidelines for war/battle, guidelines for war/plunder, rules for unsolved murder/slayings, rules concerning the taking of a plundered woman, rules for inheritance with multiple wives, dealing with a rebellious son, rules for an executed body.

1.    What was the purpose of the cities of refuge (19:1-13)? Apparently, if you accidentally killed someone, their relatives could exact recompense by killing you (out of anger). In this text, there is no crime committed for vengeance killing. As a measure of justice, cities were set up where the slayer could run to and live in peace. Today, we practice this with lesser charges (not murder, but manslaughter).    

2.    What was required to convict a crime (19:15-21)? What was to happen to a malicious witness? 2 or more witnesses are required before a charge can go before the court (see also 17:6). If someone falsely accuses another: you shall do to him as he plotted to do to his brother.... life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Whatever the punishment was to be against the accused is levied against the false accuser. Is this just?
Note in these type of cases there is to be an emotional detachment: “your eye shall not pity” Pity: H2347 - chûs – “to cover”  - We must also assume that anger or vengeance would never be a motive for those judges. How does a person do this, or can they?

3.    Who did not have to go to war (20:1-9)?
The one who:
--built a house but has not dedicated it (lest he dies and another man dedicate it)
--planted a vineyard but has not eaten of its fruit –(lest he dies and another man eats it)
--is betrothed and not yet “taken” her – (lest he die and another man take her)
--is afraid (so others do not become afraid)
These first three were steps taken out of a sense of equity/justice. Considering that a person should enjoy the fruits of their labors.
The final instruction is more of a pragmatic strategy, understanding that a fearful soldier may do more harm than good in battle.

4.    What were the people to do before conquering a city (20:10-20)? What cities did this NOT apply to and why? Before going to war, see if the city is willing to subjugate peacefully. If they do, they will serve the Israelites. If they do not, then all the males are to be executed. Everyone, everything who is left is considered plundered property. This ONLY applies to the cities outside the land God is giving them. Those cities are to be completely destroyed. Is this an extension to the seven cities?
Also – the rule NOT to use fruit trees for building a seige is another pragmatic requirement. Fruit trees provide food, a valuable commodity and one that carries a certain special place in biblical stories.

5.    What was to be done for unsolved murders/slayings (21:1-9)? First, this was not done to “solve” the murder, but rather: “you shall put away the innocent blood from among you.” We must remember God told Cain:  “The voice of the blood of your brother cries to Me from the ground.” (Gen 4) – There were specifics to the HOW it was supposed to happen and by whom. The city nearest to the dead person was to send elders and judges. They were to offer sacrifices for the atonement for the offence. This gives us an insight to God’s world. He cannot/will not ignore an injustice like this. He expects authorities to do acknowledge the incident and its physical/spiritual impact. 

6.    What was to be done with a rebellious son (21:18-21)? What lessons do we learn? In this case the offence is gluttony* and drunkenness. His parents are to report him and have him executed (stoned). Ultimately these rebellions are associated with disobedience towards authority, and idolatry was the pinnacle of disobedience. Disobedience to parents is not unlike idolatry, where someone decides to do what they want outside of God’s paradigm. See also 13:6, 17:1 (execution for idolatry). This strict compliance reveals the level of importance for a unified effort. It is very much in keeping of a goal oriented military force…which is what Israel was at that time nationally.
What do we learn about gluttony*? The word for gluttony used could (in my opinion) be better interpreted as lazy and amoral. The glutton interpretation is an interesting decision (see ADDITIONAL below for the definition). 

7.    What was to be the perception regarding a person who is hanged on a tree (21:22-23)? Turn to Galatians 3:13 and consider how Paul uses this passage regarding Jesus: (see below)
Gal 3:10  For as many as are out of works of Law, these are under a curse. For it has been written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things having been written in the book of the Law, to do them." Deut. 27:26 
Gal 3:11  And that no one is justified by Law before God is clear because, "The just shall live by faith." Hab. 2:4 
Gal 3:12  But the Law is not of faith, but, "The man doing these things shall live in them." Lev. 18:5 
Gal 3:13  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us; for it has been written, "Cursed is everyone having been hung on a tree;" Deut. 21:23 
The one who is hanged is cursed by God. Leaving that person overnight would defile the land….which God gave them. This action was to be done in respect for God’s gift. It was in respect for Him.
The “cursed” on the tree statement shows the foreshadowing of the Christ. But we must not forget that in the law, this execution happened to sinners. Jesus was not a sinner and by THAT was able to both satisfy the blood requirement of a perfect sacrifice AND still retain a position of authority. It was a brilliant plan by design. The very thing seen as weakness (death) became the source of hope/life.
 

ADDITIONAL:

21:10-20 In these verses God is protecting women. We must remember that (in this case) He is addressing cultural norms and not establishing it. Note that in the case of a captured woman, she is protected should her “husband” not desire her. He is under strict rules concerning her rights.
Similar, if a man has more than one wife and he loves one more: If the “hated” wife bears the first born son, that son will inherit the double portion. That rings justice to the son, and to the wife.

 

Rebellious: maw-raw' A primitive root; to be (causatively make) bitter (or unpleasant);

Gluttony: zaw-lal' A primitive root (compare H2107); to shake (as in the wind), that is, to quake; figuratively to be loose morally, worthless or prodigal:unpleasant);

Chapters 17-18

 

LITV

Deu 17:1  You shall not sacrifice to Jehovah your God an ox or sheep in which there is a blemish, any evil thing, for it is a hateful thing to Jehovah your God. 

Deu 17:2  When there is found among you, in one of your gates which Jehovah your God is giving to you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah your God, in transgressing His covenant, 

Deu 17:3  and has gone and served other gods, and worshiped them; or the sun, or the moon, or of the host of the heavens, which I have not commanded; 

Deu 17:4  and it has been revealed to you, and you have heard, and searching have searched; and, behold, it is true; and the thing is confirmed, that this hateful thing has been done in Israel, 

Deu 17:5  then you shall bring out to your gates that man or that woman who has done this evil thing, the man or the woman; and you shall stone them with stones, and they shall die. 

Deu 17:6  At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses shall he that is to die be put to death. He shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness. 

Deu 17:7  The hand of the witnesses shall be first on him, to put him to death; and the hand of all the people last. And you shall put away the evil from among you. 

Deu 17:8  If a matter is too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between cause and cause, or between stroke and stroke, matters of strife within your gates, then you shall rise and go up to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose. 

Deu 17:9  And you shall come in to the priest, of the Levites, and to the judge who is in those days, and shall inquire. And they shall declare the word of judgment to you. 

Deu 17:10  And you shall do according to the word which they declare to you from that place which Jehovah shall choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you. 

Deu 17:11  You shall do according to the mouth of the law which they direct you, and according to the judgment which they deliver to you. You shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, right or left. 

Deu 17:12  And the man who acts with pride so as not to listen to the priest who is standing to serve Jehovah your God there, or to the judge, even that man shall die; and you shall put away evil from Israel. 

Deu 17:13  And all the people shall hear, and fear, and shall not presume any more. 

Deu 17:14  When you come into the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you, and have possessed it, and settled in it; and you shall say, Let me set a king over me like all the nations around me, 

Deu 17:15  then you shall certainly set a king over you. You may not give an alien the rule over you, one who is not your brother. 

Deu 17:16  Only, he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to turn back to Egypt so as to multiply horses, since Jehovah has said to you, You shall not again return in this way any more. 

Deu 17:17  And he shall not multiply wives to himself, and his heart shall not turn aside. And he shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 

Deu 17:18  And it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this Law in a book, from before the priests, the Levites. 

Deu 17:19  And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Jehovah your God, to keep all the Words of this Law and these statutes, to do them; 

Deu 17:20  so that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left; so that he may prolong his days over his kingdom, he and his sons in the midst of Israel. 

Deu 18:1  The priests, the Levites, all the tribe of Levi shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat fire offerings of Jehovah, even His inheritance. 

Deu 18:2  And he shall have no inheritance among his brothers. Jehovah Himself is his inheritance, as He has spoken to him. 

Deu 18:3  And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from those that offer a sacrifice, whether an ox or sheep, that they shall give to the priest the leg, and the two cheeks, and the stomach, 

Deu 18:4  the first of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your flock, you shall give to him. 

Deu 18:5  For Jehovah your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to serve in the name of Jehovah, he and his sons continually. 

Deu 18:6  And if a Levite comes from one of your gates of all Israel, where he has been living, and comes with all the desire of his soul to the place which Jehovah shall choose, 

Deu 18:7  then he shall serve in the name of Jehovah his God, as all his brothers the Levites who stand before Jehovah do. 

Deu 18:8  They shall eat portion like portion, except of the sales of what belonged to his father. 

Deu 18:9  When you come to the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you, you shall not learn to do according to the hateful acts of those nations. 

Deu 18:10  There shall not be found in you one who passes his son or his daughter through the fire, one that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or one divining, or a whisperer of spells, 

Deu 18:11  or a magic charmer, or one consulting mediums, or a spirit-knower, or one inquiring of the dead. 

Deu 18:12  For all doing these things are an abomination to Jehovah. And because of these filthy acts Jehovah your God is dispossessing these nations before you. 

Deu 18:13  You shall be perfect with Jehovah your God. 

Deu 18:14  For these nations whom you shall expel listen to observers of clouds, and to those divining. But as to you, Jehovah your God has not given to you to do so. 

Deu 18:15  Jehovah your God shall raise up to you a prophet from among you, of your brothers, one like me; you shall listen to him, 

Deu 18:16  according to all that you desired of Jehovah your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, nor let me see this great fire any more, lest I die. 

Deu 18:17  And Jehovah said to me, They have spoken well, what they have said. 

Deu 18:18  I shall raise up a prophet to them from among their brothers, one like you; and I will put My Words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. 

Deu 18:19  And it shall be, whoever will not listen to My Words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it at his hand. 

Deu 18:20  But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, that which I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 

Deu 18:21  And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah has not spoken? 

Deu 18:22  When a prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah, if the thing does not happen or come about, that is the thing which Jehovah has not spoken; that prophet has spoken it proudly; you shall not be afraid of him. 

 

Main point(s): Proper sacrifices (no blemishes), requirements for witnesses (more than one), appoint/obey judges, rules for the (future) king, provisions for Levites, do not follow idolatry/diviners, God will appoint prophets – how to discern the validity of a prophet.

 

1.    What is God warning against doing (1-7)? Why does this issue keep repeating itself in the book? What do we learn? The context is idolatry. It keeps coming up because it is a weakness of mankind in general and Israel is no exception. It takes discipline and a persevering heart to grow faith. These people show that issue of a lack of dedication and God is taking them to task for it. This section is actually an extension of the end of chapter 16 where it starts the narrative against idolatry. QUESTION: Why would God include the offering of a blemished animal within this context? NOTE: Also this is simply the writing style for pre-litigation. It is a CONTRACT. God is not just rambling. In this section, He refers to the aforementioned sin and its remedy “execution.” Then He lays down the ground rules for that execution in regards to the WITNESS testimony. It must be two or more, never just one. Why?

 

2.    What are the people to do regarding their leaders and judges (8-13)? Are there any new covenant concepts found here? Consider Romans 13 and Heb. 13:17. Once they judge an issue: “you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you” – These were cases that people could not find remedy between themselves, so they brought the case before the appointed judge and priest. It was the responsibility of these authorities to know the law/will of God. (See “Additional” for NT Verses) – The first part of Romans 13 addresses the need to submit to authorities (similar with Heb 13:17), the second part of ICor.13 reveals  the heart of the Christian in the phrase: “love is the fulfillment of Law.” IF a person practices the second part (love), the first part will work itself out. There are very strong words from Paul in ICor.6 when it comes to disputes between brothers “Why not instead be wronged? Why not instead be defrauded?” 
Does love ignore justice?

3.    Was it acceptable for Israel to have a king (14-29)? What were the requirements for appointing a king? What were the requirements for the king himself? There is no obvious reason from this text to think that God did not want Israel to have a king. We find later that the reasons they ask for a king are at issue. They are “rejecting God” when they ask, so they are asking for the wrong reason(s). In this section God appears to have no issue with it. The term “Let me set a king over me like all the nations around me” could be construed as offensive to God. Israel was to be separated from the rest of the nations. They were to LOOK different and ACT different. We read at the end of Judges and find that Israel had lost its way. Each man was doing “that which was right in his own eyes.” Where were the judges and priests? THEY had failed. There were no issues with God’s system. In ISamuel 8, Samuel ”made his sons judges” (Joel and Abijah). They were corrupt and it suggests that Samuel did not inquire from God whether or not to do this. God spoke to Samuel before, why not again? Why didn’t he STOP Samuel from this great error? This brings into question not so much “did God not want Israel to have a king”, but knowing the futility of Israel’s inability to adhere to the priest/judge system, a king would be needed. Is not Christ our king? This foreshadowing reveals how man gets it so wrong, but God can make it right.
The king was to be selected from Israel (not a foreigner). The king is not to make profit from his authority, or increase wives. He is not to lead them, or cause anyone to want to return to Egypt. He is to be humble and remain that way. He is to get a copy of the law and read it continually to keep himself in check/obedient. It stands to reason that God would prefer the nation to be led through judges and priests. That system would be disseminated throughout the land and would be less subject to corruption to a nation as a whole. Once you have a monarchy, corruption can occur instantly.

4.    What were the requirements regarding the priests and Levites (18:1-8)? God is the inheritance of the Levites, which indicates they serve Him and the people. They received no other inheritance (acreage). They were to live in specific cities throughout Israel as ministers of God to the people. Because of these restrictions, the remaining tribes of Israel were to supply them with their needs. Specific offerings were to be given to the priesthood. If a priest were top migrate to a new city, he was to be welcomed.

5.    What must the people not do (18:9-14)? Child sacrifice and the reliance on people who purport powers. “one that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or one divining, or a whisperer of spells, Deu 18:11  or a magic charmer, or one consulting mediums, or a spirit-knower, or one inquiring of the dead. These were considered “filthy acts.” (abominable)
It was for these very acts that God was disposing the inhabitants of the land!

 

6.    What were the people to expect (15-22)? What did it mean that this one would “be like Moses”? What would he do? What are the people commanded to do when he comes? Who is this referring to? Explain. The focus here is on authority. First, God is choosing the person to succeed Moses. It was not to be someone the people choose. This person would be confirmed by his word/prophecy. If a person prophesied and it did not come to pass, he was to be ignored.
When God did choose someone, the words he spoke were to be considered as weighty as God’s words, and were to be obeyed as such. Those who did not listen, God says “I will require it at his hand.”
We see later writings that point out who these people are: Joshua, Judges, and the remaining books are full of people who spoke for God. Ultimately, Jesus fulfills this role for eternity (there no longer remains the need for someone to do it in that authoritative sense). With the word of God, we too carry a measure of this mission.  

Additional:

Romans 13
Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject to higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, but the existing authorities have been ordained by God. 

Rom 13:2  So that the one resisting authority has opposed the ordinance of God, and the ones opposing will receive judgment to themselves. 

Rom 13:3  For the rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the bad. And do you desire not to fear the authority? Do the good, and you will have praise from it; 

Rom 13:4  for it is a servant of God to you for the good. But if you practice evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword in vain; for it is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to the one practicing bad things. 

Rom 13:5  Because of this, it is necessary to be subject, not only on account of wrath, but also on account of conscience. 

Rom 13:6  For on this account you also pay taxes, for they are ministers of God, always giving attention to this very thing. 

Rom 13:7  Then give to all their dues: to the one due tax, the tax; to the one due tribute, the tribute; to the one due fear, the fear; to the one due honor, the honor. 

Heb 13:17  Yield to those taking the lead of you, and submit, for they watch for your souls, giving an account, that they may do this with joy, and not with grieving; for this would be unprofitable to you. 

 

Filthy acts: - translated as abominable in the KJ simply means something disgusting.

Chapters 15-16

 

LITV

Deu 15:1  At the end of every seven years you shall make a release. 

Deu 15:2  And this is the manner of the release: Everyone who has a loan to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because a release has been proclaimed for Jehovah. 

Deu 15:3  You may exact it from a foreigner, but your hand shall release whatever is yours with your brother, 

Deu 15:4  only that there shall be no one in need among you. For Jehovah will greatly bless you in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you for an inheritance, to possess it, 

Deu 15:5  only if hearing you listen to the voice of Jehovah your God, to take heed to do all this command which I am commanding you today. 

Deu 15:6  For Jehovah your God will bless you as He promised you. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you. 

Deu 15:7  If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers inside any of your gates in your land which Jehovah your God is giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, nor shut your hand from your needy brother. 

Deu 15:8  But opening you shall open your hand to him, and lending you shall lend him enough for his need in that which he lacks. 

Deu 15:9  Beware that there is no evil thought in your heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release draws near; and your eye be evil against your needy brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to Jehovah against you and it be sin to you. 

Deu 15:10  Giving you shall give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because Jehovah your God will bless you for this thing, in all your work, and in all that you put your hand to. 

Deu 15:11  For the poor will never cease from the midst of the land. On account of this I command you, saying, Opening you shall open your hand to your poor and needy brother in your land. 

Deu 15:12  If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 

Deu 15:13  And when you send him out free from you, you shall not let him go away empty. 

Deu 15:14  You shall richly adorn him from your flock, and from your threshing floor, and from your winepress, with that which Jehovah your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 

Deu 15:15  And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah your God redeemed you. On account of this I command you this thing today. 

Deu 15:16  And it shall be, if he says to you, I will not go out from you, because he loves you and your house, because it was good for him with you; 

Deu 15:17  then you shall take an awl, and shall put it through his ear, and through the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And you shall do so to your slave-girl also. 

Deu 15:18  It shall not seem hard in your eyes when you send him away free from you. For to the double of the hire of a hireling he has served you six years. And Jehovah your God will bless you in all that you do. 

Deu 15:19  The firstling males that are born of your herd and of your flock, you shall sanctify to Jehovah your God. You shall do no work with the firstling of your ox, nor shear the firstling of your flock. 

Deu 15:20  You shall eat it before Jehovah your God year by year in the place which Jehovah shall choose, you and your household. 

Deu 15:21  And if there is any blemish in it, lameness, or blindness, or any evil blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to Jehovah your God. 

Deu 15:22  You shall eat it inside your gates; the unclean and the clean alike, as the gazelle and as the hart. 

Deu 15:23  Only, you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water. 

Deu 16:1  Observe the month Abib, and perform the Passover to Jehovah your God. For in the month of Abib Jehovah your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 

Deu 16:2  And you shall sacrifice a Passover to Jehovah your God of the flock, and of the herd, in the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there. 

Deu 16:3  You shall eat with it no leaven. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction. For you came out of the land of Egypt in haste, so that you may remember the day that you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 

Deu 16:4  And there shall be no leaven seen with you in your borders seven days; nor shall any of the flesh which you sacrificed the first day at evening remain all night until the morning. 

Deu 16:5  You may not sacrifice the Passover offering inside any of your gates, which Jehovah your God gives you. 

Deu 16:6  But at the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, you shall sacrifice the Passover offering at evening, at the going of the sun, at the time when you came out of Egypt. 

Deu 16:7  And you shall cook and eat in the place which Jehovah your God shall choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go into your tents. 

Deu 16:8  You shall eat unleavened bread six days, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to Jehovah your God. You shall do no work. 

Deu 16:9  You shall number to yourself seven weeks. When the sickle begins to reap in the standing grain, you shall begin to number seven weeks. 

Deu 16:10  And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to Jehovah your God according to the measure of the freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give according as Jehovah your God blesses you. 

Deu 16:11  And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your slave-girl, and the Levite that is inside your gates, and the alien, and the fatherless, and the widow that are among you, in the place which Jehovah your God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there. 

Deu 16:12  And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall take heed to do these statutes. 

Deu 16:13  You shall keep the Feast of Tabernacles seven days after you have gathered in from your threshingfloor, and from your winepress. 

Deu 16:14  And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your slave-girl, and the Levite, and the alien, and the fatherless, and the widow that are inside your gates. 

Deu 16:15  You shall keep a solemn feast seven days to Jehovah your God in the place which Jehovah shall choose; for Jehovah your God shall bless you in all your produce, and in every work of your hands, and you shall be altogether joyful. 

Deu 16:16  Three times in a year shall all your males appear before Jehovah your God in the place which He shall choose: In the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks and in the Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before Jehovah empty, 

Deu 16:17  but each with his gift of his hand, according to the blessing of Jehovah your God, which He has given you. 

Deu 16:18  You shall appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates which Jehovah your God gives you, tribe by tribe. And they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 

Deu 16:19  You shall not pervert judgment. You shall not regard faces, nor shall you take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous. 

Deu 16:20  You shall follow perfect justice, that you may live and possess the land which Jehovah your God is giving you. 

Deu 16:21  You shall not set up for yourself pillars of any trees, which you make for yourself near the altar of Jehovah your God. 

Deu 16:22  And you shall not raise up for yourself any standing image, which Jehovah your God detests. 

 

Main Point(s): Community institutions: The year of “release”, taking care of the poor. Specific festivals that were to be observed at the appointed place God chooses (not common, but sacred).

 

1.    What happened every seven years (1-7)? How does this foreshadow God’s future working? It was a year of “release.” shemiṭṭâh shem-it-taw' From H8058; remission (of debt). Also there was a directive to NOT borrow from foreigners, though it was ok to lend to them. The thought of “remission” is prolific to the Christian, in that Jesus sets us free from the debt of sin. The Christian understands that this is wholly a blessing from God, and looks to do the same in their life for others. The Christian also understands that borrowing puts them in a position of servitude to the lender. In the spiritual sense, Christians do not allow undue influences in their life. Things that could cause a compromise toward God are not to be  included in the Christian life.

2.    What was to be the heart of the people (8-18)? What would God do if they had this heart? Verse 15 applies context, “remember you were a slave in the land of Egypt.” If a brother (fellow countryman) is in need, LEND money to him. Do not regard the fact that the 7 year cycle happens before he can repay you. Just GIVE him the money, God will take care of you. (Don’t have a grieved (spoiled attitude about it)). IF you own a Hebrew slave, release them after six years of service, and make sure they leave with property for their service. If they decide they want to stay, then a ceremony was performed to seal the deal (to signify the slave being “attached” to the house (owner). That person would become a slave for their lifetime and “forever.” I assume there were some rights that would come to the slave at that point.
If they leave, don’t be upset about it, they were to consider the value that person brought to their life. With these guidelines God will bless them.

2a. God at this point also dedicates the first-born of the flocks to Himself and describes them as to be without defect….a strong foreshadowing of the Christ. He does this before re-institutionalizing the Passover.

 

 

3.    What was the purpose of the Passover (16:1-8)? How does this foreshadow God’s future working? “For you came out of the land of Egypt in haste, so that you may remember the day that you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.” This was a remembrance of “where they came FROM” and where God had “brought them TO.”  However, it was not just about them. It was more about God. There are strict guidelines for the sacrifice and the PLACE where those sacrifices were made. In the same way Christians do this when we examine ourselves together in communion. We gather at the appointed place by God. We look to the perfect sacrifice given by God and consider its impact on our lives….where He has brought us to spiritually.

4.    What was the purpose of the Feast of Weeks and Feast of Booths (9-17)? It was initiated at harvest and was to be a joyous festival to God. It celebrated God and His blessings. It was to be a reminder to them where they came from (slavery) to where God had brought them (prosperity). It was a reminder for them that points back to Jehovah.

Note also these three instances that are a requirement for them to gather at the place God establishes. Passover-Feast of Weeks-Feast of Passover. These are a to be a constant cultural mainstay for Israel.

 

5.    What must be important when they come into the land (18-20)? They were to appoint judges in their territories. These were to be people of respect and integrity.  “You shall follow perfect justice” is the commandment. This marks and official end to the Patriarchal system.
God’s perfect sense of justice is exhibited in the statements: “You shall not regard faces, nor shall you take a bribe”
Imagine being that judge. You are given power and sometimes may need to discern against friends or family. Not an easy place to be.