Deuteronomy

The first of these dealt with the issue of homicide. The Sixth Commandment had already addressed this in principle (Deut. 5:17), but not all homicide was murder. Killings were to be considered on a case-by-case basis. If the killing was purely accidental, the perpetrator could flee to a designated city of refuge until his case could be judged (see Num. 35:9-34). If, however, the deed was intentional or there was malice aforethought, the killer was to be apprehended and slain by the avenger of the aggrieved party.

The second civil statute concerned the removal of boundary markers. Land was at the very heart of covenant inheritance, so for one to cheat his neighbor by moving property lines was to infringe on God's gift to him. Central to equitable civil law was the innocence of the accused unless proven guilty. One was not to be condemned on the testimony of one witness only; there were to be at least two for corroboration. False witnesses were to suffer the consequences of their perjury to the degree the accused party would have obtained if he had been found guilty and punished, showing that care must be taken to provide justice.

Holy War (20:1-21:14). As a nation about to engage the Canaanite nations in wars of conquest, Israel was given guidelines for this undertaking. God's people were to trust that God was with them and that He would achieve the victory (20:1-4). This allowed for many kinds of exemptions from military service. The sheer numbers of troops would not determine the outcome but only faithfulness to the Lord's commands.

In wars against distant nations, terms of peace were to be offered first. If they were accepted, the populace would be spared but would be reduced to the service of Israel and its God. If, however, the cities were devoted to the Lord as part of Israel's inheritance in Canaan, they were to be annihilated lest their peoples draw Israel away into apostasy.

From time to time homicides would occur without witnesses. Israel's sense of corporate solidarity was such that the citizens of the village nearest the corpse were held liable. They were to offer up a heifer as an atonement for the whole community to absolve it of guilt.

As a result of war, prisoners would frequently come under Israelite control. Females in such cases could become the wives of their captors after a period of adjustment. If the arrangement proved unsatisfactory, they were to be freed.

More Distinctives of Law (21:15-22:4). Though the Lord nowhere sanctions multiple marriages, He did provide guidelines for making the best of a bad situation. A preferred wife was to have no advantage over a less-loved wife in the allocation of inheritance rights to their respective sons.

Rebellious sons who were unmanageable to their parents could be prosecuted by them and even executed by the civil authorities. In any capital case, however, the corpse was not to lie exposed after sundown but was to be buried that very day (cf. John 19:31).

The final example of civil law has to do with lost property. Any Israelite who found anything belonging to a fellow citizen either had to return it to him or wait for him to come and claim it. If it were an animal that had fallen by the wayside, brotherliness mandated that the beast be lifted up and restored.

Purity of God's People (22:5-23:18). As the Mosaic covenant testifies over and over again, Israel was a holy people and was to live a holy life before the world. Like Leviticus (see Lev. 17-25), Deuteronomy also has its "holiness code," its set of guidelines by which Israel was to achieve and maintain its purity. Though the reason for the inclusion of some of these laws may escape the modern reader, in their own time and circumstances they undoubtedly contributed to Israel's understanding of what it meant to be a people peculiar to the Lord and unique among the peoples of the earth.

Transvestism was condemned because it spoke of unnatural mixing of clothing. Rules about the protection of young birds, the building of roof railings, sowing mixed seed, plowing with mixed teams, wearing clothing of mixed material, and wearing garments with tassels either positively or negatively speak of Israel's role as a people distinct from the heathen around them.

Purity or impurity frequently expresses itself in sexual relationships. Thus a man who married a woman who, in his opinion, turned out not to have been a virgin might demand that she prove her purity. If she could, he stood condemned; but if she could not, she was to be stoned to death. Adulterers, both male and female, were to die, as were engaged girls who had undertaken sexual relations willingly. An assailant who raped an engaged woman was to pay with his life. One who raped a maiden who was not betrothed had to marry her, pay her father a generous bride price, and never divorce her. Finally, one was not to engage his father's wife (that is, his stepmother) in sexual relation.

The holiness of God's people also revealed itself in the rejection from its assembly of those who had been emasculated, born out of wedlock, or who were of Ammonite or Moabite descent. This was because these latter refused hospitality to Israel in the wilderness. The Edomites, Israel's kindred people, and the Egyptians, Israel's hosts in times of famine, could, however, eventually enter the covenant privileges.

Both male and female cult prostitutes were strictly forbidden in Israel. Their ungodly gain could not serve as an offering to the Lord. An escaped slave was welcome, however, and in fact was not to be forced to return to his master.

Finally, purification pertained to matters of bodily cleanliness, especially in the context of holy war. Soldiers contaminated by bodily secretions were to purify themselves. They were also to bury their excrement. The reason was that the Lord walked in the midst of the camp. Physical impurity was an affront to a holy God and pointed to spiritual impurity as well.

Interpersonal Relationships (23:19-25:19). Attention to the laws of purity gives rise to an association with precepts governing interpersonal relationships in general. There are areas of societal life which, though not cultic in nature, have moral and ethical implications important to covenant life and faith. Such matters as loans to fellow Israelites and foreigners, vows to the Lord, and the right to help oneself to a neighbor's grapes and grain while passing through his land illustrate the principle that one's fair dealings with both God and others are on the same level.

Similarly, the covenant addresses the problems of divorce and the newlywed; loan security; kidnapping; contagious skin diseases; the charitable care of the poor, weak, and disenfranchised; and the principle of responsibility for one's own sin and of liability to punishment.

Justice demanded that the guilty suffer appropriate punishment, that a brother of a deceased and childless Israelite raise up offspring in his name by marrying his widow, that a woman not dishonor a man sexually, and that weights and measures be according to standard. Justice even extended to the animal world, for the ox was allowed to eat of the grain it was threshing for its owner (see 1 Cor. 9:9). At the other extreme, God's justice demanded that the enemies of His chosen people experience judgment at their hands. Thus Amalek, who had attacked the elderly and defenseless of Israel in the wilderness journey (see Exod. 17:8-16), was one day to be destroyed from the earth.

Reaffirmation of Covenant (26:1-15). The specific stipulations section of Deuteronomy concludes with the laws of covenant celebration and confirmation. When Israel finally entered the land of Canaan, they were to acknowledge the Lord's faithful provision. They were to do this by offering their firstfruits to Him while reciting the history of His beneficent covenant dealings with them from the ancient days of the patriarchs to the present. This ceremony appears to have been a part of the celebration of the Feast of Weeks (or Pentecost or Harvest; see Exod. 23:16; Lev. 23:15-21). Following the offering of the first of the grain harvest to the Lord, Israelite farmers were to provide the Levites and other dependent citizens the tithe of their produce. In this manner tribute to God and support of the needy merged into one glorious act of worship.

Exhortation and Narrative Interlude (26:16-19). Having outlined the long body of stipulations, Moses commanded the people to obey them, not just perfunctorily but with all their heart and soul. The very essence of the covenant was the pledge they had made to be God's people and the Lord's reciprocal promise to be their God. It was the will of God that Israel continue to be His special people, a holy communion called to be an expression of praise and honor of the Lord.

An element of many ancient treaties was the description of the rewards for faithful compliance to its terms and the punishments befitting disobedience to it. The curses and blessings of Deuteronomy 27-28 show the influence of this treaty form.

Gathering at Shechem (27:1-10). The ceremony of blessing and cursing, to take place once Canaan had been occupied, was to occur in the vicinity of Shechem, the site of early patriarchal encounters with God (see Gen. 12:6; 35:4; Deut. 11:26-29). There Israel was to erect great plastered monuments containing the covenant text and an altar of stone upon which appropriate offerings of covenant renewal could be sacrificed.

Curses for Disobedience (27:11-26). As God's people, Israel would stand half on Mount Ebal and half on Mount Gerizim to affirm their covenant commitment. As a great responsive chorus, tribal representatives would stand on Mount Gerizim to shout "amen" at the listing of the blessings while others, on Mount Ebal, would do so when the curses were sounded.

The first list of curses deals with representative covenant violations without specifying the form the curses might take.

Blessings for Obedience (28:1-14). The blessing section promises prosperity in physical and material ways and reaffirms God's intention to make Israel an exalted and holy people.

More Curses (28:15-68). The second list of curses threatens loss of prosperity, disease and pestilence, defeat and deportation with all that would entail, and a reversal of roles between Israel and the nations. Rather than being exalted among them, Israel would become their servant. All of this would result in indescribable misery and hopelessness. In effect, covenant violation would undo the exodus and deliver the nation back into the throes of bondage.

God's Saving Acts (29:1-9). Moses rehearsed God's dealings with Israel in the exodus and wilderness. He exhorted them to pledge themselves to covenant fidelity as the new generation chosen by the Lord to represent Him on the earth. Their commitment was to be personal and genuine. If not, the time of judgment would come in which the nations would question whether or not Israel was in fact the people of the Lord.

Rebellion, Judgment, Grace (29:10-30:20). Moses anticipated not only Israel's rebellion and God's judgment but also God's grace toward the repentant. God would visit His people in their day of calamity and exile and would cause them once more to reflect on their covenant privileges.

God then would exercise His grace and restore them to full covenant partnership with its blessings.

Choices (30:11-20). Israel's pledge to faithful adherence to the terms of covenant could bring immediate and lasting reward. But disobedience would produce only judgment.

God, the True Leader (31:1-8). Though the ceremony of covenant renewal is not narrated, it is clear that the new generation of Israelites recommitted themselves to the covenant. (It is implied in 29:10-13.) Moses reaffirmed God's role as the true leader of His people.

God's Word (31:9-13). God's provision for the future of the covenant included a leader (Joshua) to succeed Moses as covenant mediator, as well as a law, the covenant text delivered to the priests for safekeeping (31:9-13).

God's Provision (31:14-29). God provided Joshua as a successor to Moses. God's provision for the future of the covenant also included a song, whose purpose was to remind the nation of the covenant pledges they had made (see 31:30-32:43). Finally, God provided a record of the law so that future generations could know God's will (31:24-29). The Lord, true to ancient treaty form, invoked heaven and earth as witnesses to the promises that Israel had sworn.

This wonderful hymn of covenant commitment extols the God of Israel for His greatness and righteousness despite the wickedness of His people. He had created them and had redeemed and preserved them. They rebelled in turn and followed other gods. This course of action provoked His judgment in the past and would do so in the future. At last, however, God would remember His covenant and bring His people salvation.

Narrative Interlude (32:44-52). Having sung his song, Moses urged his people to subscribe to its demands as a covenant instrument. Then, in response to the command of the Lord, Moses ascended Mount Nebo to await the day of his death. That so great a leader as Moses was not spared judgment when he failed to trust God and respect His holiness served as a stern warning to Israel to avoid his mistakes.

Moses' Final Act (33:1-29). Before he left them, Moses offered his fellow Israelites a will and testament similar to that with which Jacob had blessed his sons (see Gen. 49:2-27). After praising the God of deliverance and covenant, he listed the tribes by name, assigning to each a prophetic blessing. He concluded with praise of Israel's Lord and a promise that His chosen ones would ultimately triumph over all their foes.

Moses' Death (34:1-12). Having ascended Mount Nebo (or Pisgah), Moses viewed all the land of promise, a land promised to the patriarchs but denied to Moses because of his sin (see 32:51). He then died and was buried by the Lord in an unknown and unmarked grave. With great lament the people of Israel mourned his passing. Though Joshua possessed the spirit and authority of Moses, neither he nor any man to come could compare with this giant on the earth whom God knew "face to face" and who had been the great spokesman for God.

Contemporary Significance. Deuteronomy was addressed specifically to a younger generation of Israelites poised to enter the promised land. However, it conveys timeless principles and theological truths that are appropriate to the modern church and world. That new generation of Israelites serves as a model for God's people in every age. We, like they, are a people with a past in which God has acted for our salvation and has revealed His will for our lives. But it is not enough to have a proud heritage of faith. We, like they, are a people with a present. We too are personally to commit ourselves to God today. Finally, we, like they, are a people with a future dependent on our continuing faithfulness to God.

Deuteronomy's covenant anticipates that new covenant—not written on stone but on human hearts (Jer. 31:33-34)—which is finally fulfilled in Christ (Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20). The God of Israel redeemed them from bondage and chaos and chose to identify with them in an everlasting covenant bond. In and through His Son Jesus Christ, He has graciously offered the same to all people everywhere.

Ethical Value. Deuteronomy's frequent appeal for Israel to love God (6:5; 10:12; 11:1,13,22; 19:9; 30:6,16,20) shows that the aim of Old Testament law was not legalism but love-inspired service. Indeed, when Jesus was questioned about the greatest of the Old Testament laws, He quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

Israel's love—like that of the Christian (1 John 4:19)—is grounded in a prior experience of God's redeeming love. Israel's love for God—again like that of the Christian (1 John 3:18; 4:20-21)—is true love only to the extent it is shared with others (Deut. 10:19). The Ten Commandments underscore that God demands not just respect from people (5:6-15) but respect for other people (6:16-21). While the Ten Commandments have a timeless quality, they are truly significant only to those committed to the God behind them.

Craigie, Peter C. The Book of Deuteronomy. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976.

Goldberg, Louis. Deuteronomy. Bible Study Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.

Kline, Meredith G. Treaty of the Great King. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963.

Merrill, Eugene H. Deuteronomy. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994.

Rad, Gerhard von. Deuteronomy. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966.

Schultz, Samuel J. Deuteronomy: The Gospel of Love. Everyman's Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1971.

Thompson, J. A. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1974.