Bible in one year 5/8 /2022 Deuteronomy Chapter 21-23
By
Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian
Arts Ministries; Biblical precepts & Gospel music; Pastoral ministry
&Counseling
Deuteronomy
Chapter 21 Manslaughter; Marriage and family life
In the event of undetected
homicide in the open countryside, the elders of the nearest city had to make atonement according to this prescribed ritual, under the jurisdiction of the
priests. When a man lying in a field and it is not known who killed him, the
priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward to decide all cases of dispute
and assault. Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their
hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, they shall declare :
“our hands didn’t shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this
atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O Lord, and do not
hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man.” (v.7) and the blood
shed will be atoned for. (vv.1-9). Atoned for. (v.8) Apparently the city
incurred guilt by not making nearby roads safe for travel.
Marriage and family life – if a man has two wives,
he loves one but not the other, both bear him sons, but the first born is the
son of the wife he doesn’t love, when he wills his property to his sons, he
must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he does not
love. He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by
giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his
father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.(vv.15-17). The
firstborn received a double share of the father’s estate (Gen.48:22; 1Chron.5:1).
Verse 18 is an example of rebellion was given in 13:6-11. Anarchy in the home
breeds anarchy in society; that is why this was such a serious matter. However,
the elders were the final authority, not the father. According to Jewish
tradition, this punishment was never carried out, though it was a strong deterrent to juvenile delinquency! If a man guilty of a capital offense is put
to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree
overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a
tree is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is
giving you as an inheritance.(vv.22-23). Hanging was not the usual means of
death but a sequel to death, in order to expose the corpse to ultimate disgrace
(Gal.3:13).
Deuteronomy Chapter 22 Command concerning The Family and Daily life
A
woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing. In that
society male and female dress were similar, making distinctive styles for the
sexes especially important. (v.5). if you come across a bird’s nest beside the
road, the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother
with the young, but be sure let the mother go, so that it may go well with you
and you may have a long life. (v.6-7). Do not plow with an ox and a donkey
yoked together. (v.10). The step and
pull of the two beasts in unequal. Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven
together.(v.11). It is said that idolatrous priests wore garments of this
mixture, thinking it to be magical. When a man married a girl, dislike her, and
gave her a bad name, and accused her virginity, the elders shall take the man
and punish him by whipping him with forty stripes (v.18;25:3) and shall fine
him a hundred shekels of silver and give to girl’s father. (vv.18-19).The fine
was equivalent to about fifty oz. of silver. Betrothal was considered equally
as binding as marriage.(v.23). Rape of a betrothed girl demanded the death of
the man involved.(vv.25-27). Rape of a virgin obliged the man to marry her.
(vv.28-29). Marrying one’s stepmother was prohibited (Lev.18:6;18:8).
Deuteronomy
Chapter 23 Commands Concerning the congregation
This
restriction concerning emasculated persons and eunuchs was perhaps partially
designed to prevent the copying of certain heathen practices. (v.1). No
Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the
Lord, even down to the tenth generation.(v.3). For they hired Balaam son of
Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on Israelites. (v.4-5).
The masculine forms indicate that a male Ammonite or Moabite is meant. Female
proselytes, like Ruth of Moab, could marry male Israelites. Do not abhor an Edomite.(v.7). The Edomites
descended from Esau, the brother of Jacob (Gen.25:22 ; Obadiah). Verse 13, this
important sanitary rule related to the army on maneuvers. Verses 15-16 this
regulation refers to a non-Israelite slave fleeing from a cruel Canaanite
master. Both female and male cult prostitutes were common in Canaanite
religion.(v.17). Verse 24-25, this liberty, which allowed a man to take from
his neighbor’s vineyard or field what he needed to eat, was kept from becoming
license by prohibiting him from carrying anything away. (Matt.12:2).
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Chapter
21Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
21:1 If a man is found
slain, lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess,
and it is not known who killed him,
21:2 your elders and
judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring
towns.
21:3 Then the elders
of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and
has never worn a yoke
21:4 and lead her down
to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing
stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck.
21:5 The priests, the
sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to
minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all
cases of dispute and assault.
21:6 Then all the
elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer
whose neck was broken in the valley,
21:7 and they shall
declare: "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done.
21:8 Accept this
atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O LORD, and do not
hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man." And the
bloodshed will be atoned for.
21:9 So you will purge
from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what
is right in the eyes of the LORD.
Marrying a Captive
Woman
21:10 When you go to
war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands
and you take captives,
21:11 if you notice
among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her
as your wife.
21:12 Bring her into
your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails
21:13 and put aside
the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house
and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and
be her husband and she shall be your wife.
21:14 If you are not
pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or
treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
The Right of the Firstborn
21:15 If a man has two
wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the
firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love,
21:16 when he wills his
property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son
of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife
he does not love.
21:17 He must acknowledge
the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of
all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of
the firstborn belongs to him.
A Rebellious Son
21:18 If a man has a
stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not
listen to them when they discipline him,
21:19 his father and
mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his
town.
21:20 They shall say
to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not
obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard."
21:21 Then all the men
of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you.
All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
Various Laws
21:22 If a man guilty
of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree,
21:23 you must not leave
his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is
under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is
giving you as an inheritance.
Chapter 22
22:1 If you see your
brother's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to
him.
22:2 If the brother
does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you
and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him.
22:3 Do the same if
you find your brother's donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore
it.
22:4 If you see your
brother's donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get
it to its feet.
22:5 A woman must not wear
men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests
anyone who does this.
22:6 If you come across a
bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother
is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young.
22:7 You may take the
young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and
you may have a long life.
22:8 When you build a new
house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of
bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.
22:9 Do not plant two
kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but
also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.
22:10 Do not plow with an
ox and a donkey yoked together.
22:11 Do not wear clothes
of wool and linen woven together.
22:12 Make tassels on the
four corners of the cloak you wear.
Marriage Violations
22:13 If a man takes a
wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her
22:14 and slanders her and
gives her a bad name, saying, "I married this woman, but when I approached
her, I did not find proof of her virginity,"
22:15 then the girl's
father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at
the gate.
22:16 The girl's father
will say to the elders, "I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but
he dislikes her.
22:17 Now he has slandered
her and said, 'I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.' But here is the
proof of my daughter's virginity." Then her parents shall display the
cloth before the elders of the town,
22:18 and the elders shall
take the man and punish him.
22:19 They shall fine him
a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this
man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his
wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
22:20 If, however, the
charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found,
22:21 she shall be brought
to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her
to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while
still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you.
22:22 If a man is found
sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman
must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
22:23 If a man happens to
meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her,
22:24 you shall take both
of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death--the girl because she
was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated
another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
22:25 But if out in the
country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only
the man who has done this shall die.
22:26 Do nothing to the
girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of
someone who attacks and murders his neighbor,
22:27 for the man found
the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was
no one to rescue her.
22:28 If a man happens to
meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are
discovered,
22:29 he shall pay the
girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has
violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.
22:30 A man is not to
marry his father's wife; he must not dishonor his father's bed.
Chapter 23Exclusion From the Assembly
23:1 No one who has
been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD.
23:2 No one born of a
forbidden marriage nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the
LORD, even down to the tenth generation.
23:3 No Ammonite or
Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down
to the tenth generation.
23:4 For they did not come
to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and
they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse
on you.
23:5 However, the LORD
your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for
you, because the LORD your God loves you.
23:6 Do not seek a
treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.
23:7 Do not abhor an
Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as
an alien in his country.
23:8 The third
generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.
Uncleanness in the
Camp
23:9 When you are
encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure.
23:10 If one of your
men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp
and stay there.
23:11 But as evening
approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.
23:12 Designate a
place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself.
23:13 As part of your
equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole
and cover up your excrement.
23:14 For the LORD
your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to
you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything
indecent and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
23:15 If a slave has
taken refuge with you, do not hand him over to his master.
23:16 Let him live
among you wherever he likes and in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress
him.
23:17 No Israelite man or
woman is to become a shrine prostitute.
23:18 You must not bring
the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of
the LORD your God to pay any vow, because the LORD your God detests them both.
23:19 Do not charge your
brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn
interest.
23:20 You may charge a
foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the LORD your God may
bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to
possess.
23:21 If you make a vow to
the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will
certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.
23:22 But if you refrain
from making a vow, you will not be guilty.
23:23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to
do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
23:24 If you enter your neighbor's vineyard,
you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket.
23:25 If you enter your neighbor's grainfield,
you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his
standing grain.
Bibliography,
Ryrie, Charles C. The
Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986
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