Day #77

Sermon - Audio
Deut 21-23 - Audio
Deut 21-23 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment



WARNING - Some interesting passages today :)

21

v1-v9 = If someone was found murdered and no one knew anything of it, then the elders must make a sacrifice to atone/cleanse the land. In Numbers 35:33-34 we see that unknown/unavenged murders pollute the land. The removal of guilt was done with the blood of an unblemished heifer.

v10-v14 = I encourage you to reread these verses...Basically, if you're a captive women being taken the male shaves your head (purification), pare your nails, and lets you cry for a month over the death of your parents. Then he can still reject you anytime he wants with no consequences....hmmmm

v15-v17 = no matter the status of how a man feels about his wife or child, firstborn is firstborn.

v18-v21 = Again, I encourage you to reread these verses...Basically, if you have an unruly child that continues in a pattern of bad behavior, he will be stoned. I guess spanking isn't so bad now huh?

v22-v23 = Christ became a curse for us - "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written,"Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith." Gal 3:13-14

22

v1-4 = Some might see this as a sin of omission, or doing nothing. God condemns this. To not help your brother find his lost animal or to help him in time of need is a sin against God.

v5 = Listen up cross-dressers. Sidenote: Cross-dressing actual began as a form of idol worship in the ancient world.

v6-v7 = "The respect for the life of other creatures here parallels that shown for the integrity of the natural environment even in the context of war (20:19-20). Desire to avoid the simultaneous consumption of two generations of the same creature is also evident in other laws." (JSB)

v8 = A house had to be built with a railing across the roof so no one would fall. If you didn't do this, the guilt would fall on the owner of the home. Safety was the responsibility of the home owner.

Midrash = Charles Spurgeon on Deuteronomy 22:8, titled “Battlements,” shows how just as there was to be a railing for the protection of people on the roofs of Israel’s homes, there are also spiritual railings for our protection. Many people, in regard to sin, get too close to the edge and fall off. Then it’s too late! We need to have “railings” protecting us from the edge. Such railings will not only protect us, but others also.

v9-v11 = "These laws prohibit mixing various items, reflecting God’s ordering of creation “according to its kind” (e.g., Gen. 1:25). They also reminded Israelites that God had separated them from other peoples to be distinct and holy" (ESVSB).

v13-21 = This is why Mary being pregnant was such a big deal. Joseph didn't bring any accusations against her, therefore, she was not stoned.

v22-23 = adultery - death for both

v24-27 = rape - death for man

v30 = We also see this same sort of thing in the church of Corinth in 1 Cor 5:1-2). Sleeping with your father's wife is like sleeping with your father, much like the account with Noah's sons.

23

v2 = 10th generation might mean "indefinitely." The types of forbidden unions may have been ones from incestuous relationships or mixed marriages between Israel and their neighbors.

v3-6 = Moab and Ammon were the two sons of Lot's daughters that were born through incest (Gen 19:30-38)

v7 = "You shall not abhor an Edomite." Except, Herod the Great was an Edomite!

v7-8 = "The point here and in v. 3 is that, though redemption is at the Lord’s initiative and by His grace, privileges such as access to the assembly were determined by how one related to the Lord and to His people" (ASB).

v9-v14 = The people are to keep themselves from becoming unclean in their camp. God "walks in the midst of your camp," thus the camp must be holy.

v17-v18 = God is not interested in "dirty" money.

v19-v20 = We see once again that a brother (Israel) is to be treated differently than a foreigner. The people of Israel were supposed to care for one another and be "open-handed."

v21-v23 = We so flippantly throw around vows to one another, but to God it is no small thing.

In Matthew 5:34-37 we see that Jesus discusses the fact that we shouldn't need to make vows. He was basically telling us that our integrity should be enough.

Ecc 5:4-6 = "When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?"

v24-25 = People were allowed to eat off one anothers food, but not collect it. This was to help look after the entire community and especially the poor.