Author: Jon Green

Earlier in the book of Deuteronomy, God blessed the people of Israel with the Ten Commandments. Through Moses, He explained the law to make it very clear how they should live when they enter the Promised Land. Now in chapter 28, Moses lays out the God-breathed terms of the covenant: Blessings if they choose to obey and follow God’s commands and curses if they choose to go their own way. 

Though this section of Scripture was written about a particular people at a particular time in history, we can still draw insight from it and glean wisdom for today. The overarching story of the Bible is of a sovereign God who is making a way for His people to be in a covenant relationship with Him. In Deuteronomy, God offers His rebellious children a way to enter this covenant through the laws of Moses. Despite this blessing, the larger Old Testament tells countless stories of God’s people choosing to disobey. Therefore, they must live with the curses that are laid out in this chapter.

​All through Scripture, God begs us to understand that there is a way to live that leads to blessings and life, and there is also a way that leads to destruction and death. Israel could not keep the law; instead, it chose the way of death. 

So, God sent His Son. Romans 8:3: “What the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.” God gives us a choice to follow Him just as He did with Israel as it entered the Promised Land. In our flesh we can not choose to follow God’s life-giving way, as Paul instructs us that “the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Romans 8:6-8). 

In all our rebellion, praise be to God who has made a way through Jesus! Let’s be people who allow the Spirit of God to govern our minds and lead us through the way of life and peace.

In this chapter, we see a clear calling to take action, provide clarity, and declare truth. So often, we think that we have heard sermons over certain passages before, so we can tune it out. We know John 3:16, we know the gospel, we know the Great Commission, we know the basics. Let’s get to the deeper, more intense theology! However, if we are not applying the “basics” on a consistent basis and truly internalizing them, then we simply do not know what we think we know.

In Deuteronomy 27, God has called the people to raise an altar to Him. They have heard the law and guidance from Moses, and they know the information. Now it is time for them to not only be hearers of the Word, but also doers of the Word. We also see that they are commanded to “write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.” God did not say, “Write down the law and use as many big words as possible to make yourself sound smart.” God desires that all would know Him and keep His commandments. He wants His law accessible to all.

In our own lives, sometimes pride can get in the way of living out the Great Commission. Instead of sharing the gospel, we want to debate a topic that we feel is “above” the gospel. We believe the gospel should be shared in children’s ministries, but not with us smart and wise adults. This could not be further from the truth. In Matthew 18:2-4, Jesus clearly tells us that those who have the faith of a child will inherit the kingdom of heaven. This is not to say we should not push deeper in our theology and understanding of Scripture. However, we must also not let our “pursuit of knowledge” be an excuse to actually avoid doing what God has called us to do.

At the end of the chapter, we see that they are to declare truth openly. Not only are they called to build an altar, but they are also commanded to “declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice” laws that are to be engraved on the altar. These laws would cause a stir and perhaps some potential persecution to come upon its declarers. However, they are told to stand firm and declare the truth openly and clearly.

God has called each of us to declare the truth as well. It might get us fired, kicked out of groups, shunned by friends or family members, and more. However, none of this compares to the persecution the early Church encountered or the persecution our brothers and sisters in Christ are experiencing as we read this right now in other places around the world.

Do we trust that God is worth the persecution that will come when we declare truth? Are we ready to take action? Are we willing to be humble enough to embrace the simplicity and power of the gospel?

In the Old Testament, one sheaf of grain was to be brought before the priests as the “first fruits” offering. No other grain could be harvested until the first fruit offering was brought before the Lord (Leviticus 23:9-14). The offering served as a reminder to the Israelites that God delivered them out of slavery, and He blessed them with a land flowing with milk and honey. It was also an expression of trust and faith that the rest of the harvest would come to pass.  

In the New Testament, instead of a sheath of grain, the first fruits offering is found in Jesus. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Just as the first fruit offering paved the way, through faith, for a plentiful harvest to come, Jesus’ resurrection paved the way, through faith, for our resurrection to come.   

While we are no longer obliged to tangibly give of our first fruits, we can learn a valuable lesson from the first fruit offering.    

We like to make sure we take care of ourselves and then give what we have left. It is much more difficult to give first to God. Giving first costs us something. Yet the first fruit offering calls the Israelites to do just that—to give the first of their crop. Imagine how difficult this must have been for the Israelites, who for so long dreamt of dwelling in the Promised Land, free from the hands of the Egyptians. They finally reap a harvest and are commanded to give.      

The act of giving an offering to God serves as a reminder of His character of deliverance and provision, and as an opportunity to rejoice for all He has done. He wants to be the first place in our hearts. He wants to be before all that we do. He wants our trust and faith to rest in Him. By giving to Him first, we remind ourselves of what He has done for us, what He will do for us, and who He is to us. We express our trust and faith in Him. Everything else we do is just an overflow of our hearts being surrendered to Him. For “everything comes from God; everything exists by His power; and everything is intended for His glory” (Romans 11:36).

As a society, we are familiar with the legal principles of innocence until proven guilty, acquittal of the innocent, and punishment for the guilty. God’s punishment for the guilty described in verse 2 may seem harsh compared to punishments handed down in today’s judicial system, but scripture tells us our God is just and demands action for wrongdoing. This is not the first time we learn of a just God imposing consequences. From the beginning, when God created Adam and Eve in His image and gave them free will, God has imposed consequences and justice for wrongdoing. When the serpent in Genesis 3 deceived Adam and Eve, and they broke the one rule God gave them, God imposed punishment. God does not act out of vindictiveness. Without His justice, evil would prevail and sin would run rampant.

In his justice, God prescribed appropriate punishment that fit the level of the crime, as verses 2 and 3 illustrate. An individual found guilty was sentenced to a beating, an obsolete punishment absent from our modern correctional justice system.. The number of lashes ordered for the punishment could not exceed 40, and they had to be administered in the presence of the judge. God made this command to prevent excessive punishment, proof of His justice and fairness. 

We learn in verses 13-16 that God called the Israelites to use the same weights and measures for buying and selling. God calls His people to be fair and honest in business dealings. We, too, are called to be honest and committed to the truth, not only in our business dealings but in our everyday life. We are a sinful people who may at times find ourselves tempted to be dishonest, but with dishonesty comes consequences.  

Justice for all people was established through the cross. As theologian John Koessler of Moody Bible Institute observes, “This is the peculiar justice of the cross. It is God meeting His own righteous demands through the person and work of God the Son, Jesus Christ.”

In other words, God pronounced everyone “not guilty” when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life on earth for 33 years and then be beaten and nailed to a cross to die for our sins in our place. Jesus was buried and raised from the dead so that we may know God, invite Him to dwell in us through the Holy Spirit, and live with Him for eternity. Until the day comes when we join our Father in eternity, though, we continue to live in a broken world where justice is essential.  

As we go throughout our day, let’s thank God for His Son’s ultimate payment for our sins and let our actions today reflect those of Christ.

Deuteronomy 24 covers laws regarding marriage and divorce, ceremonial laws, and consideration for people in need. God is reminding the Israelites  towards the end of this chapter of the ways that He has been faithful to them, so they are to serve others in the same way.. Verses 19-22 address the idea of not gleaning a field, but leaving it for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. To glean means to pick up, collect, or gather. This was Israel’s welfare system. They were to leave the edges of their fields unharvested in order to protect and provide for the poor and vulnerable. Leviticus 19:9-10 says, “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners. I am the Lord your God.” People would pick up the leftover grain and fallen olives and grapes in order to provide for themselves. 

Moses is reminding the Israelites of these gleaning laws for a few reasons. The first is that God values and blesses generosity towards the poor and defenseless (v. 19). Second, the Israelities are being reminded of how they were once slaves in the land of Egypt (v. 22). They were to care for the oppressed, because they were once oppressed. The Lord commanded them to do this as an act of obedience. Additionally, this command reveals God’s heart for the widow, the orphan, and the helpless. He advocates on our behalf and calls us to do the same for others. This is also symbolic of how we are all helpless in a spiritual sense. Romans 5:6 says, “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). We need to turn to Jesus for our help, because He is our only hope. 

This law is later applied in the book of Ruth and is important in the storyline. Ruth, who was a poor widow, was generously allowed to glean the fields of a Judahite man named Boaz. Boaz was so moved by her loyalty to her mother-in-law that he instructed the harvesters to go beyond the law in order to help her. In Ruth 2:15-16, Boaz says “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.” The reaping in the fields led to romance and redemption for Ruth. Boaz made her his wife, while providentially preserving the Abrahamic line as her Kinsman-Redeemer. 

A Kinsman-Redeemer was a male relative who had the responsibility to act on behalf of a person who was in danger or in need (Leviticus 25:25). This idea of preserving the family line is outlined in the next chapter (Deuteronomy 25). Ruth, a Gentile, is in the genealogy of Jesus, and Boaz, the Kinsman-Redeemer, points to Christ. To redeem means to “buy out.” Christ is the one who paid the price for our redemption. He paid for our sins on the cross, and as believers we have been redeemed from sin and its eternal consequences. As a result of our redemption and freedom in Christ, we are to live in a way that reflects that. Our actions should evidence the faith we profess. James puts it this way: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). We are called to serve others with our lives. We serve not to receive something, but because we have already received everything in Christ.  

Let’s just acknowledge that Deuteronomy 23 is not a pleasant chapter to read! It describes bodily functions and uncomfortable topics that we’d all prefer not to think about, much less read about in the Bible. So why did God put it here, and what are we supposed to learn from it?

Before we dive into the specifics, let’s remember the context of ancient Israel. These laws were designed to set Israel apart from other societies and to protect them from internal conflict. While some of these laws may seem unfair or unloving to us, they must be viewed through this lens to understand the principles God is teaching us.

In verses 1-14, two social settings are called out specifically: the assembly and the camp. Most scholars believe “the assembly” refers to the gathering for religious practice, similar to our practice of gathering for church. But for the Israelites, it was much more than once a week! The assembly would have been the epicenter of social life and community connections. Verses 1-7 bar some groups from the assembly and direct some groups to be welcomed. This may seem unloving to us, but the goal was to prevent the influence of foreign gods and practices of other beliefs from the fledgling nation of Israel. They were so easily influenced (as evidenced in Exodus 32) that God wanted to protect them from anything that could lead them away from Him as they developed their faith. 

Verses 9-14 refer to appropriate behavior at camps during battle. These were traditionally pits of filth and perversion, focused on enjoying vices prior to battle and enjoying the spoils of war afterwards. But the Israelites’ camp was to be different: “For the Lord your God moves about in your camp…”

The principles of these laws still apply today. As Christians, we have been called to behave differently from the world. The world often promotes a “whatever you want to do, you deserve to do it” and an “every person for themselves” approach to life. But God calls His people to be different, and His laws are instructions for protection. We guard against influences that distract us from following God’s purposes, Jesus’ example, and the Holy Spirit’s guidance. We should care for those around us in a way that makes others want to know more about our faith. We should conduct ourselves as if God is walking beside us, because He is.

While specific conduct can be uncomfortable to talk about and may not be appropriate for “polite company,” God knows. He designed humans; Jesus lived as a human; and the Holy Spirit lives within Christians. He already knows what we think, say, and do. The specific examples in Deuteronomy 23 call for us to think, say, and behave differently, and God gives us these principles and His power to do that for our good and His glory.

Deuteronomy 22 is an interesting chapter, moving from the treatment of animals to the treatment of women. Some might even feel uncomfortable reading the penalties in the law for the sins discussed in the chapter. There is a lot to consider through all these verses. 

The first four verses deal with the honest and fair treatment of animals. Animals were extremely valuable in Israelite culture. Their livelihood and provision depended greatly on their livestock, providing wealth and sustenance to families and communities. In this chapter, the command was straightforward. Whether it was livestock or birds, they were to be treated well. Furthermore, any lost animal was commanded to be well cared for and returned to the owner. It makes sense that we are to do the same. No matter the animal, kindness and care reflect our heart for creation and is obviously important to God. 

Moses now changes the focus to how men treat women in engagement and marriage. The stakes were high, as the law required penalties of heavy fines and even death for the offenses of rape, adultery, or incest. God obviously took engagement, marriage, and sexual purity very seriously. This reflected His heart for relational respect and integrity within the family. As God called the Israelites then, He is calling us now to trust Him because He is faithful. Engagement and marriage must reflect this same trust. Boundaries are set by God for the health and welfare of His people, as the family unit was His creation from the beginning. 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to have the same boundaries in our own lives, which will be for our good and His glory. This is significant to God for three reasons. First, we are His creation made to honor God in every area of our lives. Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” This is a hopeful, encouraging message for us to keep us from harm while we seek His purpose in our lives. Second, His holiness is His gift to us as we pursue an abiding relationship with God. First Peter 1:16 states clearly, “For it is written, be holy, because I am Holy.” Third, God knows the devastating effect of these sins and clearly defines the law against such behavior. We have either seen or experienced the pain and heartache of sexual sin, and we know this suffering is not God’s best for His people.

St. Augustine, a famous Catholic bishop living in 400 AD, was open about his struggles with sexual lust and sin in his book Confessions. He wrote his answer to these struggles saying, “I began a search for a means of gaining strength to enjoy you, but I could not find this means until I embraced the mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ.” Embracing Jesus Christ with a sincere heart for His ways will cleanse and strengthen us to pursue purity and holiness. 

There is a lot here in this chapter that is hard to read and confusing, but let’s dive into it a little deeper and consider what it shows us about God’s character. When it comes to the laws discussed here in Deuteronomy 21, it’s important for us to remember that God is not condoning these actions; instead, He is meeting His people in their sin and pointing them to a better way. Here on this side of Eden, our world is fallen and broken. God knows this. How kind that rather than leaving us to our own direction, He gives us an honorable way to handle and respond to these situations. It’s not a justification but a redirection.

Verses 10-14 address the custom of taking females captive as the plunder of war. God’s directive restored some dignity to the captives, allowing them time to grieve their lost family members. This month-long grieving period allowed the master of the household time to cool off and think more clearly before deciding whether or not to marry the woman. God was not condoning this practice but showing His people that these female captives were not mere possessions to be sold.

Verses 18-21 go to extremes to punish rebellious sons. Parents are to bring their son to the city elders and explain that he is a drunk and a glutton who refuses to listen to them or obey. The men of the city are to stone him to death as a punishment and warning to the community. In a world that debates whether or not capital punishment in response to murder is justified, stoning a rebellious son seems incomprehensible. Let’s look at Matthew Henry’s commentary on rebellion: “Disobedience to a parent’s authority must be very evil, when such a punishment was ordered; nor is it less provoking to God now, though it escapes punishment in this world. But when young people early become slaves to sensual appetites, the heart soon grows hard, and the conscience callous; and we can expect nothing but rebellion and destruction.” GotQuestions.org points out these extreme measures were reserved for ongoing, deep-seated rebellion against parents and God: “The law requiring rebellious children to be stoned to death was meant for extreme cases to protect God’s people. It would have been heartbreaking for parents to bear the responsibility of initiating such severe measures. However, the Bible never records this law being enforced.” 

In contrast to the unrepentant son of Deuteronomy 21, Jesus offers the rebellious son another path in the New Testament, a chance to choose life rather than death. Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son relates the story of a son who wants to return to his father’s household after a period of off-the-rails rebellion. Instead of stoning him, his father welcomes him with open arms, just as our heavenly Father welcomes us when we repent and return to His household. Verses 22 and 23 are translated in ESV, “a man hanged on a tree is cursed.” In that time period, it was common to crucify a man in a prominent place to amplify the humiliation of the  punishment and deter others from committing a crime. Often our worst thoughts and actions are ones that we want to hide the most from people, so imagine the embarrassment of your transgressions not only being known by everyone but on display for all to see. Upon a closer look, we see, hidden in verse 23, mercy: “his body should not remain all night.” Even the punishment here is not in excess. Adam Clarke says about this verse, “It is worthy of remark that in the infliction of punishment prescribed by the Mosaic law, we find that mercy walks hand in hand with judgment.”

In Galatians 3:13-14, Paul references these two verses. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” Christ redeems us. We have been freed of the consequences of our faults and mistakes. We deserve to die and be cursed by God, but Jesus took our place. He traded places with us, taking the cross so that we could be welcomed into His family and forever guided by the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is believe.