September 1, 2020
The message of Deuteronomy is one that the church desperately needs to hear today. These final words of Moses given to the children of Israel as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land serve as a warning, an encouragement, and a charge. Through them, God exposes the idolatry of our hearts and calls us to give all of our love, worship, and devotion to Him alone in every area of our lives! Moses warns the people that when they enter the land there will be things that compete with God for their attention, their affections and their worship. We, too, have hundreds of things that compete for our hearts each and every day. In this book, God teaches us how to properly respond to the amazing grace He has given us by giving Him our undivided allegiance, our whole hearts and our whole lives. Over the next 34 days, let’s seek this ancient way together as a church!
Here we once again see God’s concern for the holiness of His people as well as for justice among His people. Moses addresses multiple issues in this chapter: atoning for unsolved murders, laws about marriage to war captives, inheritance rights, what to do with rebellious children who won’t obey even when disciplined (the solution may surprise you!), and taking criminals hanged on a tree down before nightfall.
It is important that we remember how different the ancient world in which the Law was given is from our world and culture today as we read, and we have to understand that these sorts of laws would have made Israel incredibly unique among the nations! As Moses said towards the beginning of the book, no other nation had a god so near to it as the Lord was to Israel, and no other nation had statutes and rules that were so righteous as these (see Deut. 4:5-8)! These laws made Israel shine like a beacon of light pointing the rest of the world to the glory, wisdom, righteousness, and justice of God!
One of the more specific things we see in this passage is God’s compassion towards the marginalized, the mistreated, and the unloved. We see this in His commands for justice to be done towards women taken captive in war as well as His commands for the children of the unfavored, unloved wife to be treated with equity and fairness. God knew that, in their sinful nature, His people were prone to take advantage of one another and act selfishly; these laws served to protect the helpless against that kind of behavior!
It is plain from any honest reading of the Scriptures that God has a special kind of care and compassion towards those who have nothing, those who are oppressed, marginalized, or otherwise mistreated and looked over by society. Do we share His heart in this?
Deuteronomy 21
Atonement for Unsolved Murders
21 “If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him,2 then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities. 3 And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke. 4 And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. 6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. 8 Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’ 9 So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
Marrying Female Captives
10 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife,12 and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. 13 And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.
Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn
15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
A Rebellious Son
18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives,20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed
22 “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Family Discussion Question:
- How can we be people who fight for justice on behalf of those who cannot fight for themselves? How does that help us to reflect the tender heart of God towards such people?
Dear Heavenly Father,
It is our duty to do unto others as we would want to be treated. When we see any wrong doing or injustice we should try to right it. By showing this kind of caring and love for our fellow man, we will be pleasing You, Lord. The ultimate desire of my heart is to please You. Please help me to be mindful of those around me and to do what I can to help them. I truly believe it is more blessed to give than to receive. May we all walk together arm in arm as we venture through this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Heavenly Father,
Comfort the lonely. Draw them close to your heart, let them hear your heartbeat. Still their fears, whisper in their ear, “I am with you till the end. I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Father, dry their tears and quiet their fears.
Strengthen the weak, heal the sick, comfort those who mourn.
Father, may those who doubt see you today.
Father, for those crying out to you, hold them in the palm of your hand forever and always.
Jesus, I join you in petitioning your Father for another lost soul.
Amen
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Galatians 5:9
I always try to help someone because I feel this is what God wants of me.
Praise you dear Lord for justice and righteousness. Thank you for guiding your children and giving us the holy spirit to abide with us. Renew in me a new heart, a heart that desires You and You alone. Thank you for allowing me the work of teaching others – even if we share a screen instead of the physical classroom. My prayer is for your protection from this virus for my fellow teachers and students. Help me to fight fear; instead stand boldly for your righteousness and truth.
Continue to heal our friends among us who are suffering with this virus. Please touch Luis Saucedo and continue strengthening his body in this fight. Continue surrounding our widows and widowers with comfort and your people to wipe their tears and share your Word. Continue to give our church leaders wisdom and strength to fight this good fight. Praise you for winning the battle!
Lord, use us, your church, to be peace makers during these times of cultural and political division. Give us the courage and love, not to be passive peace keepers, or aggressive peace breakers, but to boldly and assertively reach out to others, engage them by listening and sharing your love and plan for us all.
AMEN and HALLELUJAh!!! Dear Lord help us to be peaceful and and love one another. We were born to love one another. We are brothers and sisters of the Lord our God. We need to work together in this in what is going on around us. It feels at times that things are getting out of control. We need peace in our world. In Jesus name I pray Amen
This passage gives the Commandment to to honor parents that our days may be longer a whole new perspective. It tells what will happen if we don’t. It is a corrolary to that Commandment. If you don’t,…………….
How can we be people who fight for justice on behalf of those who cannot fight for themselves? The unborn are the most vulnerable. They are humans just as you and I are. They feel pain and struggle for life, but they have no voice and no way to defend themselves. More babies are killed every day in the US than those that died on 9-11! We need to pray for pro-life ministries and support them financially and/or volunteer. Pray for the closure of Planned Parenthood. Houston has the sad distinction of having the largest abortion facility in the world (11 miles from our Champions Campus).
We must also pray for women who’ve had abortions. They suffer daily.
Lord, help me!!
Our land is polluted with dead babies. We must stop abortion and cry out to God for forgiveness. No wonder our country is in chaos. This grieves God more than anything else.
God you care about every life born, or unborn. Help us not to choose in ignorance one life above another. Unborn babies yes are helpless, but so also people who are killed needlessly with no one to stand up for them, people who are poor and hungry and are desperate.and need understanding not condemnation. Help us your children to not be caught up in the lies of politics that specify or elevate one sin above another. God you are a holy God and all un righteousness will be judged by you. Father I pray for understanding and revelation to your people so that we can uncover all sin and work as hard as we all can to be faithful in all our zeal. Help us to not be like the Pharisees of your day. In Jesus name we pray with thanksgiving Amen.