Bible: Beginning to End - Deuteronomy 15-25: Moses' Second Address Part 2

Episode Date: March 11, 2022

*For copyright reasons, I had to combine these episodes into one episode. Read Deuteronomy 15-20 Read Deuteronomy 21-25 Contact Us Visit our Website          On Instagram @biblebeginningtoend     On Twitter: @biblebeginning1      Via email: [e-mail] Discuss each episode on Reddit Click Here for our YouTube Channel. Supporting the Show Financial contributions are never required, but if you'd like to support the show, here are a couple of ways: Be a listener and share the show with your friends! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to become a monthly supporter via Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠* ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to make a one-time contribution via Paypal⁠⁠⁠.* *Note that the Bible Beginning to End podcast is not a registered 501(c)3 or charitable organization. Therefore, any monetary support provided is not tax deductible. 10% of any profits made from this podcast via ad revenues or listener support will be donated to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Asha's Refuge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a Christ-centered nonprofit that "exists to assist the most disadvantaged refugees/asylees in achieving a successful resettlement in the Memphis, TN area.". Episode Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 1 1:55 - Ad Break 1:56 - Deuteronomy 15 10:45 - Deuteronomy 16 17:02 - Deuteronomy 17 23:27 - Deuteronomy 18 28:14 - Deuteronomy 19 33:26 - Deuteronomy 20 38:17 - Outro 1 39:26 - Intro 2 40:37 - Deuteronomy 21 48:35 - Deuteronomy 22 1:00:17 - Deuteronomy 23 1:07:35 - Deuteronomy 24 1:13:59 - Deuteronomy 25 1:19:23 - Outro 2 Bible Verse Copyright Statement Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. To purchase an NLT, please visit https://amzn.to/3wUpUef

Hello and welcome back to Bible beginning to end, where we are reading through the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. And if you are new to the podcast and you're listening currently in 2022, I just want to give a quick reminder that this is an ongoing project. So we are in Deuteronomy right now, and then as the months progress, we will get further and further into the scriptures until one day eventually we will have read through the entire Bible. So thank you for your patience on this journey as I do work a full-time job so it can be difficult for me to find time to record. But I'm getting there little by little and I really appreciate everyone's emails and hearing how this podcast is really impacting your lives and how God is using it to help.

you guys grow closer with him that's really amazing and more than I ever really imagined for the show to be. So that was just a little aside from me. But back to our regularly scheduled program. As you know, right now, we are reading through Deuteronomy. And we are continuing through Moses' second address to the Israelites, reminding them of the laws and regulations that God has set forth for them. So the chapters we're reading today are going to continue reminding the Israelites of these regulations. And we're going to pick up right where our last section left off. So as always, I'll be asking questions along the way to get your brain thinking. So whether you are in the car or at home or on a walk, just use this time to meditate on God's word

and really listen to what he's saying to you. So, Deuteronomy 15 is called Release for Deuteronomy 15 verse 1. At the end of every seventh year, you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money. This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives. For the Lord's time of release has arrived. This release from debt, however, applies only to,

to your fellow Israelites, not to the foreigners living among you. There should be no poor among you. For the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession. You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. The Lord your God will bless you as he is promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you.

But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns, when you arrive in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward them. Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone alone because the year for canceling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the Lord, you will be considered guilty of sin. Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly. For the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need. So pause there

at the end of that section, how is God telling the Israelites to treat the poor living among them? Is this a command or is it a suggestion? Why is it important for us as Christians to take care of those in need? How can you take care of those in need around you? Who are the people in need around you? The New Testament is going to talk about being generous with our resources. How do we do that? now in light of the New Testament and Jesus' sacrifice, what does that look like now? And then why do you think God has this command in place about canceling debts? What should our hearts be toward those we let borrow money or we give money to? How should the spirit be guiding us in our giving? And what kind of spirit should we have when we give? The next section is release for.

Hebrew slaves, if a fellow Hebrew sells himself or herself to be your servant and serves you for six years, in the seventh year you must set that servant free. When you release a male servant, do not send him away empty-handed. Give him a generous farewell gift from your flock, your threshing floor, and your wine press. Share with him some of the bounty with which the Lord your God has blessed you. Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I'm giving you this command.

But suppose your servant says, I will not leave you because he loves you and your family, and he has done well with you. In that case, take an all and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life, and do the same for your female servants. You must not consider it a hardship when you release your servant. remember that for six years they have given you service worth double the wages of hired workers

and the Lord your God will bless you in all you do. So pause there. Here again, we have another section talking about generosity and giving of our resources. Why did God want the Israelites to treat their servants this way? What does it tell us about how God values each human being? And then also, why are they supposed to give them so much when they leave their service? The resources and money that we have, everything that we have, who does it belong to? Does it belong to us or does it belong to God?

And then once you attribute your resources to the right person, the right being, God, how does that change the way that you see your money, your resources, your clothes, your home, whatever that may be. Does it make it easier or more difficult to have a giving spirit? And then seeing this design, how can we take this information, this example, and use it with the people around us who might be working with us? Not necessarily working for us. We, of course, don't have servants like they did in the Old Testament, but the people we work with. Maybe it's, maybe it's if you're a manager or you are a business owner or you have people working under you, people you're working with, how are we supposed to treat the people we work with? The fact that God sees

every human being with dignity, worthy of love, how does that change the way that you see people? The next section is sacrificing firstborn male animals. You must set aside for the Lord your God all the firstborn males from your flocks and herds. Do not use the firstborn of your herds to work your fields, and do not shear the firstborn of your flocks. Instead, you and your family must eat these animals in the presence of the Lord your God each year at the place he chooses. But if this firstborn animal has any defect, such as lameness, or blindness, or if anything else is wrong with it, You must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. Instead, use it for food for your family in your hometown.

Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat it just as anyone may eat a gazelle or deer. But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water. So pause there at the end of that section. Again, this isn't necessarily the same topic, but the same topic. the theme is similar. In this section, we have them giving of their first flocks and herds to God. Now, again, this is very specific to the Old Testament. We don't necessarily, you might, you might have flocks and herds that you take care of on a farm, but we don't necessarily have these laws in

place where we have to sacrifice these animals in these specific ways. But, but we don't necessarily have, what is the overall theme that God is talking about here? Who are they giving the first of their flocks and herds to? Who are they sacrificing them to? And in doing this, how are they positioning their heart? Are they positioning their heart towards God or toward themselves? Why does God even have this rule in place? What might it remind the Israelites of?

Remember, because of Jesus, we don't have to follow these specific laws, but what can we still take away from them? And how has Jesus transformed something like this into a way of being? The next chapter is Deuteronomy 16, and it starts with Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Deuteronomy 16, verse 1, in honor of the Lord your God, celebrate the past. Passover each year in early spring in the month of Abib, for that was the month in which the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. Your Passover sacrifice may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the Lord your God at the designated place of worship. The place he chooses for his name to be honored, eat it with bread made without yeast,

and for seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. As when you assume, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread, the bread of suffering, so that as long as you live, you will remember the day you departed from Egypt. Let no yeast be found in any house throughout your land for those seven days. And when you sacrifice the Passover, Lamb, on the evening of the first day, do not let any of the meat remain until the next morning. You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you, you must offer it only at the designated place of worship, the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Sacrifice it there in the evening as the sun goes down on the anniversary of your Exodus from Egypt. Roast the lamb and eat it

in the place the Lord your God chooses. Then you may go back to your tents the next morning. For the next six days you may not eat any bread made with yeast on the seventh day proclaim another holy day in honor of the lord your god and no work may be done on that day so pause there we've got a summary of the festival of the passover what are the israelites celebrating in this festival and then in your own personal life how can you celebrate the things that god has brought you from the things that he's saved you from okay The next section is the Festival of Harvest. Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the grain at the time of harvest. Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest. To honor the Lord Your God, bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you have received from him. This is a time to celebrate before the Lord Your God at the designated place of worship.

He will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants. the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you. Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, so be careful to obey all these decrees. Okay, so pause there. What are they celebrating for the festival of harvest? Why is this festival important? Okay, the next section is the Festival of Shelters.

You must observe the Festival of Shelters for seven days at the end of the harvest season. After the grain has been threshed and the grapes have been pressed, this festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows from your towns. For seven days, you must celebrate this festival to honor the Lord your God at the place he chooses. For it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all. Okay, so pause there. What is the festival of shelters and what are the Israelites celebrating in this festival? Deuteronomy 1616.

Each year, every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals, the festival of unleavened bread, the festival of harvest, and the festival of shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord's, your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the Lord without a gift for him. All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God. Okay, so pause there. Why did the Israelites have to bring a gift to these festivals? The last section in this chapter is Justice for the People, Deuteronomy 1618. appoint judges and officials for yourselves from each of your tribes in all the towns the Lord your God is giving you.

They must judge the people fairly. You must never twist justice or show partiality. Never accept a bribe for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the decisions of the godly. Let true justice prevail so you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You must never set up a wooden Asherapole beside the altar you build for the Lord your God, and never set up sacred pillars for worship, for the Lord your God hates them. All right, so pause there. What is God's heart towards justice?

How does he feel about justice? And then how is he having the Israelites structure their society so that justice can prevail? How should we be led by the Spirit now? to seek justice in modern times currently today. And then finally, what were those last two verses about the Osherapole and the sacred pillars? Why does God put those verses here and tell them that they shouldn't build these types of pillars or poles around the temple? Okay, chapter 17 does not start with a new section.

it picks right up with verse one saying, never sacrifice sick or defective cattle, sheep, or goats to the Lord your God, for he detests such gifts. When you begin living in the towns the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman among you might do evil in the side of the Lord your God and violate the covenant. For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars, the forces of heaven, which I have strictly forbidden.

When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then the man or woman who has committed such an evil act must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death. But never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses. the witnesses must throw the first stones, and then all the people may join in. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.

Okay, so pause there and really reflect on what you think about the way God has set up punishment for those who are worshipping other gods. This might sound extreme. This might be one of those things that you wrestle with that you really have to think about, but really think on it and spend some time with it. I encourage you to look at some New Testament text where Jesus speaks to matters of stoning and the way we should react to those who are caught in sin.

So maybe take a moment to turn to John 8, verses 1 to 11, and see how God came as Jesus to fulfill the covenant. and how that text in John might affect how you read and experience this text in Deuteronomy. Okay, Deuteronomy 17 verse 8. Suppose a case arises in a local court that is too hard for you to decide, for instance, whether someone is guilty of murder or only of manslaughter, or a difficult lawsuit, or a case involving different kinds of assault. Take such legal cases to the place the Lord your God will choose

and present them to the Levitical priests or the judge on duty at the time. They will hear the case and declare the verdict. You must carry out the verdict they announce and the sentence they prescribe at the place the Lord chooses. You must do exactly what they say. After they have interpreted the law and declared their verdict, the sentence they impose must be fully executed. Do not modify it in any way. anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the Lord your God

must die. In this way, you will purge the evil from Israel. Then everyone else will hear about it and be afraid to act so arrogantly. So pause there. One question might be, what's the difference between murder and manslaughter? And then also, how do you feel about this other piece of God's plan for justice where if you can't decide, you bring it to the Levitical priests, and they will decide. Deuteronomy 17 verse 14, starting the new section called Guidelines for a King. You are about to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think we should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us. If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the Lord your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite. He may not be a foreigner.

So pause there. Is God telling them here that they have to elect a king? And then how do you feel about the process God has set up in selecting a king? Why do they have to be an Israelite and not a foreigner? That might be a question that you ask. Verse 16, the king must not be. build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you you must never return to Egypt. The king must not take many wives for himself because they will turn his heart away from the Lord, and he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself. When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instructions

on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priest. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord, His God, by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way, and it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel. Okay, so pause there. What rules has God set in place for the king? Why do you think God chose these specific rules? What kind of character should the king have if they choose to elect one? Are they

king just dripping in riches and lavishing in expensive food and gifts and things of the world? Or are they supposed to rule with humility and live simply. What does God have in place? Okay, the next chapter is Deuteronomy 18, which starts with gifts for the priests and Levites. Remember that the Levitical priests, that is, the whole of the tribe of Levi, will receive no allotment of land among the other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites will eat from the special gifts given to the Lord, for that is their share. They will have no land of their own among the Israelites. The Lord himself is their special possession just as he promised them. These are the parts the priests may claim as their share from the cattle, sheep, and goats that the people bring as offerings, the

shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach. You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time. For the Lord your God chose the tribe of Levi out of all tribes to minister in the Lord's name forever. Suppose a Levite chooses to move from his town in Israel, where he is living, to the place the Lord chooses for worship. He may minister there in the name of the Lord, his God, just like all his fellow Levites who are serving the Lord there. He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings even if he has also received support from his family. So pause there. Why do you think God put these rules and laws in place to support the Levitical priests? The next section is a call to holy living, Deuteronomy 189.

When you enter the land, the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering, and do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord or God will drive them out ahead of you. But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things. So pause there.

Why does God warn the Israelites about the practices of the people who are currently living in the land God is going to give the Israelites? What are they doing that goes against God's law and God's design? The next section is true and false prophets. Moses continued, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet, like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him,

but this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, Don't let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire for we will die. Then the Lord said to me, what they have said is right. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites.

I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him. I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf. But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another God must die. But you may wonder, how will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord? If the prophet speaks in the Lord's name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared. Okay, so pause there.

How is God going to give the Israelites a prophet? How are the Israelites supposed to be able to differentiate between a false prophet and a prophet who is actually from God? in our lives today, how are we able to tell the difference between something that is of God, that God is actually telling us, versus something that is of our own desire or from the world? And lastly, why did the Israelites need a prophet in the first place? Okay, Deuteronomy 19 starts with cities of refuge. When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he is,

giving you, you will take over their land and settle in their towns and homes. Then you must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Survey the territory and divide the land the Lord your God is giving you into three districts with one of these cities in each district. Then anyone who has killed someone can flee to one of the cities of refuge for safety. If someone kills another person unintentionally without, previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety. For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood, and suppose one of them swings an axe to chop down a tree, and the axe head flies off the handle, killing the other person. In such

cases, the slayer may flee to one of the cities of refuge to live in safety. If the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too far, an enraged Avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person who caused the death. Then the slayer would die unfairly, since he had never shown hostility toward the person who died. That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge. And if the Lord your God enlarges your territory as he swore to your ancestors and gives you all the land he promised them, you must designate three additional cities of refuge. He will give you this land if you are careful to obey all the commands I have given you, if you always love the Lord your God and walk in his ways. That way, you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the Lord

your God is giving you as your special possession. You will not be held responsible for the death of innocent people. But suppose someone is hostile toward a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and murders him and then flees to one of the cities of refuge. In that case, the elders of the murderer's hometown must send agents to the city of refuge to bring him back and hand him over to the dead person's avenger to be put to death. Do not feel sorry for that murderer. Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people, then all will go well with you. So pause there. What is the purpose of these refuge cities? What do you think about this design God has set up? Why is it needed? And who is going to be using these refuge cities? Okay, the next section is concern for justice. When you arrive in the land,

the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession, you must never steal anyone's land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their property. You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, then both the accuser and accused must appear before the Lord by coming to the priests and judges in office at the time. The judges must investigate the case thoroughly.

If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you. Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing. You must show no pity for the guilty. Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand. foot for foot. Okay, so pause there. What system does God have in place for justice? And also, what system does God have in place for those who falsely accuse other people of crimes? And then like we did

earlier, I want us to hear what Jesus has to say about this very famous verse here in Deuteronomy 1921, an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. It's always good to see these cross references. So I know we're just listening here and you may not be aware of them, but if you're looking in a study Bible, it will usually show these things. So go and read, if you have a moment, Matthew 5, 38 to 42. And you can even extend it and read all the way to 48 and see how the New Testament, how God's design and sacrifice through Jesus changed the way we might read this scripture. Our final chapter for today will be Deuteronomy 20, which is all about regulations concerning war. So, Deuteronomy 20 verse 1, when you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an

army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt is with you. When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops. He will not say to them, listen to me, all you men of Israel. Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today. Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them, for the Lord your God is going with you. He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory. Then the officers of the army must address the troops and say, Has anyone here just built a new house, but not yet dedicated it? If so, you may go home.

You might be killed in battle, and someone else would dedicate your house. Has anyone here just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so you may go home, you might die in battle, and someone else would eat the first fruit. Has anyone here just become engaged to a woman but not yet married her? well, you may go home and get married. You might die in battle and someone else would marry her. Then the officers will also say, is anyone here afraid or worried?

If you are, you may go home before you frighten anyone else. When the officers have finished speaking to their troops, they will appoint the unit commanders. So pause there, why is God telling the officers they need to give these opportunities to their troops? Why is that so important? verse 10 as you approach a town to attack it you must first offer its people terms for peace if they accept your terms and open the gates to you then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor but if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight you must attack the town when the lord your god hands the town over to you use your swords to kill every man in the town but you may keep for your shes you all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the plunder from your

enemies that the Lord your God has given you. So pause there. Why does God have the Israelites offering terms for peace before they attack? And then also, how do you feel about them attacking and taking over these towns? This might be one of those things that's difficult to reconcile. But what is God telling you about these Old Testament texts? What does He told us about the people the Israelites are fighting and what do we know of God. Really sit with these difficult questions and think about what the scriptures are telling us. Verse 15, but these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of the nations in the land you will enter. In those towns that the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every

living thing. You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Parasites, Hivites, and Jebucites, just as the Lord your God has commanded you. This will prevent the people of the land from teaching you to imitate their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the Lord your God. So again, let's pause there, and this is another difficult passage and the question you might be asking is how can a merciful god a just god order the destruction of entire populations of people you know i don't give you the answers here i just offer these questions up for you to sit with to pray on to read and study to understand god more deeply so ask yourself that question and really sit with it verse 19

when you are attacking a town and the war drags on, you must not cut down the trees with your axes. You may eat the fruit, but do not cut down the trees. Are the trees your enemies that you should attack them? You may only cut down trees that you know are not valuable for food. Use them to make the equipment you need to attack the enemy town until it falls. Okay. So that was the end of chapter 20 and where we are. are going to stop today. We are still in the middle of Moses's second address, and we will finish

that next time as he is continuing to prepare the Israelites to receive and live in the promised land. This long journey. There has been so much preparation and instruction to just prepare them for this gift that God is giving them. So I hope you are enjoying listening. Still love getting your emails. Continue to reach out. Um, ways to support the show and our email and our social media and our website. It's all in the description of these podcast episodes. Thank you so much for listening. I pray that God is really speaking to you through His word and every day you're learning something new and growing closer to him. And I will talk to you in the next one.

Hello and welcome back to Bible beginning to end, where we are reading through the scriptures together from Genesis to Revelation. As always, I will be asking questions along the way but not offering any answers or commentary so that you might use this time to really sit with the scriptures and see what God is telling you about them. Right now, we are reading through Deuteronomy, and we are continuing through Moses' third address to the Israelites as they prepare to enter and receive the promised land. So the sections we're going to read today really pick right up where the last sections left off, where Moses is continuing to remind the Israelites of the covenant God made with them many years ago. So last time we discussed some of the regulations for things like justice, war, kings, if they choose to elect them, and we will continue going through different regulations and pieces of the covenant God made with Israel.

And we're going to start with Deuteronomy 21. And this section is called cleansing for unsolved murder. Deuteronomy 21 verse 1 When you are in the land The Lord your God is giving you Someone may be found murdered In a field And you don't know who committed the murder

In such a case Your elders and judges Must measure the distance From the site of the crime To the nearby towns When the nearest town has been determined That town's elders Must select from the herd

a heifer that has never been trained or yoked to a plow. They must lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and that has a stream running through it. There, in the valley, they must break the heifer's neck. Then the Levitical priests must step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in the Lord's name. They are to decide all legal and criminal cases. The elders of the town must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken. Then, they must say, our hands did not shed this person's blood, nor did we see it happen. O Lord, forgive your people, Israel, whom you have redeemed.

Do not charge your people with the guilt of murdering an innocent person. then they will be absolved of the guilt and this person's blood. By following these instructions, you will do what is right in the Lord's sight and will cleanse the guilt of murder from your community. So pause there. What type of murder are we talking about in this section? And why does this town have a responsibility to go through this cleansing ritual when this type of murder occurs? The next section is marriage to a captive woman. Suppose you go out to war against your enemies,

and the Lord your God hands them over to you, and you take some of them as captives. And suppose you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you are attracted to her and want to marry her. If this happens, you may take her to your home, where she must shave her head, cut her nails, and change the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. She will stay in your home, but let her mourn for her father and mother for a full month.

Then you may marry her, and you will be her husband, and she will be your wife. But if you marry her and she does not please you, you must let her go free. You may not sell her or treat her as a slave, for you have humiliated her. So pause there. Why was this woman required to go through all of these feelings? physical changes and period of mourning before becoming this man's wife. And in general, what do you think about this section about these men going and finding these women and taking them as their wives?

Why is that addressed here? And then also, what do you think about this piece at the end where God says, if you decide you don't want her as your wife anymore, you have to let her go. And why do you think God makes it a point to say that the man has humiliated her, and that's why he has to let her go free? Okay, the next section is Rights of the Firstborn. Suppose a man has two wives, but he loves one and not the other, and both have given him sons.

And suppose the firstborn son is the son of the wife. wife he does not love. When the man divides his inheritance, he may not give the larger inheritance to his younger son, the son of the wife he loves, as if he were the firstborn son. He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son of his father's virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him. Okay, so pause there. Why are we talking about men having two wives? Does God anywhere in scripture or here approve of men having two wives? Or is the Bible including this because this is a practice that happened whether God approved of it or not? And if God didn't approve of it,

why does he address this issue? And then why does God put such important? on the first-born son. Why is there an inheritance that goes to the first-born son? Okay, the next section is dealing with a rebellious son. Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him. In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders

as they hold court at the town gate. The parents must say to the elder, this son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey he is a glutton and a drunkard then all the men of his town must stone him to death in this way you will purge this evil from among you and all is real will hear about it and be afraid okay so pause there clearly this is not how we discipline our rebellious children today but why do you think this is the punishment God set in place during this time? And do you think that it was something that was ever actually carried out? Remember in the last episode, I encouraged you to go to John 8, 1 through 11 and see how Jesus responds to punishments like this one. And maybe that can help you reconcile these more difficult passages where you might be be asking yourself, why does God include a punishment like this in the Bible? And you can also ask yourself, what is at the heart of this message? What are they talking about in this section? What are the sons in this section accused of? And what is something that parents may need to be looking for in their children to address? What might you see within yourself? What rebellions might be in

yourself that you need to address with God and addressing them in this new way in light of the new covenant that Jesus came to fulfill. Okay, the next section is just called various regulations. Verse 22, if someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree, the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day. for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defilement of the land of the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. Okay, that's the end of Deuteronomy 21, but I'm going right into Deuteronomy 22 because it continues these various regulations. So, Deuteronomy 22, verse 1, if you see your neighbor's ox or sheep or goat wandering away,

don't ignore your responsibility, take it back to its owner. If its owner does not live nearby or you don't know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. Do the same if you find your neighbor's donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don't ignore your responsibility. If you see that your neighbor's donkey or ox has collapsed on the road. Do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet. A woman must not put on men's clothing and a man must not wear women's clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the Lord, your God. If you happen to find a bird's nest in a tree, we're on the ground and there are young ones or eggs in it, with the mother sitting in

the nest, do not take the mother with the young. You may take the young, but let the mother go so that you may prosper and enjoy a long life. When you build a new house, you must build a railing around the edge of its flat roof. That way, you will not be considered guilty of murder if someone falls from the roof. You must not plant any other crop between the rows of your vineyard. If you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes from the vineyard or the other crop. You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together. You must not wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together. You must put four tassels on the hem of the cloak with which you cover yourself on the front, back, and sides. Okay, so pause there. At the end of that list of general regulations, why do you think God includes

all of these specific regulations. You might need to take some time to research the history behind these things. What is the context of these regulations for the original intended audience? And what does it mean for us now? Maybe take some time to look up each of these regulations and see what each of them mean and where they came from and why people think God included them here. But do that after you've sat with it first and had God speak to you about these scriptures. The next section is regulations for sexual purity.

Verse 13, suppose a man marries a woman. But after sleeping with her, he turns against her and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin. then the woman's father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. Her father must say to them, I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her. He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin, but here is the proof of my daughter's virginity. Then they must spread her bedsheets before the elders.

The elders must then take the man and punish him. They must also find him a hundred pieces of silver, which he must pay to the woman's father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man's wife, and he may never divorce her. Okay, so pause there, because that's a very interesting section. It's something very, maybe foreign to us.

Why do you think it's included here? there are going to be more regulations for sexual purity so maybe as we're reading them think why was this included why do you think god included these sections here and the one that we just read i want you to ask the question what did these regulations mean for the man and what did they mean for the woman and what did they mean for the woman's family how do you feel about the way these situations were handled here in scripture. You can pray on these things. These are some tough passages to read

because they are so different than the world we live in now. And so this is a perfect opportunity to talk to God and say, why is this here? Why was it this way? And then do some research on your own and see what society was like back then.

See what scholars have said about these regulations, but do that after. You've really sat with it for yourself. Verse 20, but suppose the man's accusations are true and he can show that she was not a virgin. The woman must be taken to the door of her father's home and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents' home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you. Okay, so pause there. How do you feel about this reaction and regulation and punishment if the woman accused has actually

committed the crime? Another question you also might be asking is, well, what if the man was promiscuous before marriage? Is there any form of punishment for him? A fair question to ask, and these might... be ones that you're wrestling with, so really sit with them and think on them. Okay, verse 22, if a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil. Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin, who is engaged to be married,

and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man's wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you. Okay, so pause there. What do we see here, and then what do we know God will say about stoning in the New Testament, in the light of grace and through Jesus' sacrifice?

Again, go to that section in John that I told you about earlier because it specifically addresses a woman caught in adultery. So it will really show you what God did through Jesus's sacrifice in the New Testament. Verse 25, but if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country and he rapes her, then only the man must die. do nothing to the young woman she has committed no crime worthy of death she is as innocent as a murder victim since the man raped her out in the country it must be assumed that she screamed

but there was no one to rescue her suppose a man has intercourse with a young woman who is a virgin but is not engaged to be married if they are discovered he must pay her father 50 pieces of silver then he must marry the young woman because he violated her and he must never divorce her as long as he lives. A man must not marry his father's former wife,

for this would violate his father. Okay, so pause there. That's the end of the chapter. I must say that this is a very difficult and might be a very difficult section for you guys to read. We've got so many different situations laid out here and different punishments versus based on what action was taken, based on whether it was a man or woman who did the action.

So I want you to sit with this because I think it was really hard for me to come up with questions for this section. Because again, and I'm being honest, some of these passages are hard to read and hard to reconcile. You might be asking yourself, death? Really? The consequence of so many of these things in the Old Testament is death? But what I want to ask you is, what does the Bible say for the wages of sin is death? And can we truly experience the new life in Christ

if we don't understand that fundamental fact that the wages of sin is death? is death. Because the truth is that the wages of sin is still death, an eternal death. But the beauty that we have through Christ is that eternal life, regardless of our sin here on earth. And that is a new message worth celebrating, I think. And I apologize because that was me giving a little commentary, which I did.

don't usually do, but I think that that was something important to say as we read these old scriptures and we walk through this relationship with God based on that understanding. And so really sit with these past laws and regulations and ask yourself, what are they there for? What are they teaching us? How do we reconcile these things? And remember that it is okay to ask these questions. It is okay to sit in the uncomfortableness because God is a God of peace and he will bring the answers that you seek. And so it is okay to ask yourself, how can adjust God have such strong laws, such final laws and regulations? These are human questions to ask. And these are questions that God has already answered.

through Jesus in the New Testament. And so I encourage you to seek that out and jump ahead if you want to read through the New Testament and see how God reconciles these things through Jesus. The next chapter is Deuteronomy 23, Regulations Concerning Worship. If a man's testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the Assembly of the Lord. If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants

for ten generations may be admitted to the Assembly of the Lord. No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the Assembly of the Lord. These nations did not welcome you with food or water

when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Bollum, of Bayor from the Pether in distant Aram Nahyram to curse you. But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the Lord your God loves you. As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites. Do not detest the Edomites or the Egyptians because the Edomites are the Egyptians because the Edomites are your relatives and you lived as foreigners among the Egyptians. The third generation of Edomites and Egyptians may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Okay, so pause there. Again, we have another maybe difficult passage. What is God talking about here? Why are these certain people not allowed in the assembly of the Lord? What have they done? Have they done these things purposefully? or by accident to be removed from the assembly of the Lord. The next section is Miscellaneous Regulations.

When you go to war against your enemies, be sure to stay away from anything that is impure. Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a nocturnal emission must leave the camp and stay away all day. Toward evening he must bathe himself and at sunset he may return to the camp. You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself.

Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excretement. The camp must be holy for the Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you. or he will turn away from you. Okay, so pause there. Why are they supposed to keep this camp so holy?

And what does that look like? Verse 15, If slaves should escape from their masters and take refuge with you, you must not hand them over to their masters. Let them live among you in any town they choose and do not oppress them. No Israelite, whether man or woman, may become a temple prostitute.

When you are bringing an offering to fulfill a vow, you must not bring to the house of the Lord your God any offering from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man or a woman, for both are detestable to the Lord your God. So pause there with that regulation. And in light of the other regulations we saw regarding adultery and sexual assault and things like that, why does God put such a high emphasis on protecting our physical bodies. Why do you think God puts such an emphasis on preserving and protecting our bodies? See, a lot of these regulations are about, you know, cleansing of the body after certain things have occurred, protecting people from prostitution and sexual immorality. Why do you think God put such an emphasis on the, you know, the,

things. Verse 19, do not charge interest on the loans you make to a fellow Israelite, whether you loan money or food or anything else. You may charge interest to foreigners, but you may not charge interest to Israelites so that the Lord your God may bless you and everything you do in the land you are about to enter and occupy. Okay, so pause there. Why do you think God has this rule where they can't charge interest on loans made to each other. How should we treat each other within the family of God? What does it look like to truly be in a family of believers? Verse 21, when you make a vow to the Lord your God,

be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow, but once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God. Okay, so pause there. Why are vows so important? Why should we be careful when we enter into vows?

What is a vow and what differentiates it from promises? You know, what actually makes a vow? Verse 24. When you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not carry any away in a basket. And when you enter your neighbor's field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle. Okay, so pause there. That's the end of chapter 23, but Deuteronomy 24 is going to pick right up. There's no new section. and it's just continuing with these miscellaneous regulations. But what I want you to be thinking is, why these regulations? Why do you think God is specifically choosing to talk about these specific topics?

Entering into your neighbor's vineyard. Entering into your neighbor's field of grain. Prostitution and taking vows. These are some really specific things. He could talk about a lot of things, but why do you think he's talking about these specific things and continue thinking on that as we read through some more regulations. Deuteronomy 24, verse 1, suppose a man marries a woman, but she does not please him.

Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house. When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man. But if the second husband also turns against her, writes a document of divorce, hands it. to her and sends her away, or if he dies, the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled. That would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession. So pause there and ask yourself this question, does that little section support divorce? Or is it recognizing that divorce happens and giving instructions?

in the case that that might happen within the Israelite community. And then beyond that, what is at the heart of this section other than talking about divorce cases that might occur? Verse 5. A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home bringing happiness to the wife he is married. So pause there, what might that regulation tell us about how much God values family and honoring our commitments? Verse 6.

It is wrong to take a set of millstones or even just the upper millstone as security for a loan, for the owner uses it to make a living. If anyone kidnaps a fellow Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnap. must die. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you. In all cases involving serious skin diseases, be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical priests. Obey all the commands I have given them. Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam as you were coming from Egypt. So pause there. Do you remember what God did to Miriam as they were coming from Egypt? If not, Take a look at numbers 12, specifically verse 10.

Deuteronomy 2410, If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security. You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you. If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight. Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm. through the night and bless you, and the Lord your God will count you as righteous.

Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. You must pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don't, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin. Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes. Okay, so pause there. What is that telling us about sin?

When we sin, who is to blame? Who is responsible for those sins? verse 17 true justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans and you must never accept a widow's garment as security

for her debt always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. This is why I have given you this command when you are harvesting your crops

and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don't go back and get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all you do. When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don't go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don't glean the vines after they are picked. remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command. So pause there at the end of chapter 24. Why did God tell them to leave some of their crop for the orphans, foreigners, and widows? Why did God say it was

important for them to remember their own slavery in the land of Egypt and how to say, that connect with this regulation God gives them about leaving their crop for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. What in your life do you need to remember? What is God calling to your mind to remind you of the places you've been and how that should affect how you see the people around you? Do our past experiences shape us and affect us to teach us how to treat others? Okay, Deuteronomy 25 continues right on and finishes up this section called Miscellaneous Regulations. So Deuteronomy 25 verse 1, suppose two people take a dispute to court and the judge declares that one is right and the other is wrong. If the person in the wrong is sentenced to be flogged, the judge must command him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate to the crime, but never give more than 40 lashes.

More than 40 would publicly humiliate your neighbor. You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain. If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband's brother should marry her and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law. The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel. But if the man refuses to marry his brother's widow, she must go to the town gate and say to the elders assembled there,

my husband's brother refuses to preserve his brother's name in Israel. He refuses to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law by marrying me. The elders of the town will then summon him and talk with him. If he still refuses and says, I don't want to marry her, the widow must walk over to him in the president, presence of the elders, pull his sandals from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she must declare this is what happens to a man who refuses to provide his brother with children. Even afterward in Israel, his family will be referred to as the family of the man whose sandal was pulled off. So let's pause here because that's a very different regulation. It's something

very foreign to us. We don't practice this today, similar to the one that started out this chapter about discipline and punishment. But what I want you guys to think about is what is at the heart of these regulations? Where are they coming from? Why did God put them in place? Who is God trying to protect in these regulations? And what can we still take away from it? Even though we don't follow these regulations in the light of Jesus's sacrifice, what can we still take away from certain things and certain passages in the Old Testament? Verse 11, if two Israelite men get into a fight and the wife of one tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man, you must cut off her hand.

Show her no pity. And so pause there because, again, some of these regulations, it might be easy to see. Okay, yeah, this is about fairness or this is about justice or this is about this and that. But some of them may seem so foreign to us that they're a little difficult to process. Like, what are they talking about here? What does this mean? So again, sit in those questions, sit with them and really think on them and do some research after you have

and see what the historians say, what the Bible theologians and scholars say about these texts. But I encourage you to spend a little time thinking on it for yourself. What might they be getting at? What do you think could be going on in society at this time to require a regulation like that? So really spend some time thinking on those things. Verse 13, you must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchant. and you must use full and honest measures. Yes, always use honest weights and measures so that you may enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. All who cheat with dishonest weights

and measures are detestable to the Lord your God. Okay, so pause there. Like I was saying before, some of these are clear cut. You know, why do you think God included this regulation? Verse 17. Never forget what the Amalekites did to you as you came from Egypt. They attacked you when you were exhausted and weary, and they struck down those who were straggling behind. They had no fear of God. Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the land he is giving you as a special possession, you must destroy the Amalekites and erase their memory from under heaven. Never forget this. Okay. So that was an interesting place to leave us for today with him reminding them of the Amalekites. So why do you think God is saying don't forget

this? Why do you think he's reminding them of this specific instance? What do you think God is trying to tell them? Okay, so thank you all for listening to this episode. I am so glad. You are on this journey with me. And I hope that you keep listening, keep reaching out. I love hearing from you all. And I will talk to you in the next one.