These Curses Are Still Around Today -- Deuteronomy 27:11-26

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12 Curses The Israelites Were Warned About -- Deuteronomy 27:11-26

In verses 11-13 of this passage, Moses tells the people what is to happen when all the Israelites have crossed over the Jordan into the promised land. Six tribes were all to gather on Mount Gerizim. The other six tribes were to stand on Mount Ebal. You can see these two mountains on the map above.

The first group of tribes, who would stand on Mount Gerizim, including the priestly Levite tribe, was there to bless all the people. The job of the second group, standing on Mount Ebal, was not as clear. The text simply says (verse 13), "And for the curse," they were to stand on Mount Ebal. Commentators don't agree on whether or not this group of Israelites actually cursed all of the Israelites.

Then verse 14 comes along and says, "The Levites shall then answer and say to all with a loud voice," after which follows a list of 12 curses they had to avoid. Before we dig into the 12 curses it behooves us to get a better handle on this introduction -- six tribes on one mountain for the blessing and six on another for the curse, and the Levites then 'answering' and pronouncing the 12 curses.  Since verse 14 tells us the Levites were 'answering' we could safely assume the people were saying something first -- either something with respect to the blessing or something with respect to the curse.  Let's see what others think. 

Chuck Smith says simply six tribes were to 'pronounce' the blessings and six were to 'pronounce' the curses. He paints a picture of the two mounts each about 2,000 feet high with people standing on them pronouncing blessings and curses if one didn't obey. [What gets tricky for me is that the Levites were in the first group pronouncing blessings, but verse 14 has them reading out the curses as well -- so as queried about above, what exactly did the second group pronounce?]

David Guzik suggests that the second group simply pronounced that those who disobeyed would be cursed, rather than the actual curses which follow as spoken by the Levites in verses 15-26, and responded to by all the people saying "So be it". Guzik writes:

"God commanded this "open-air-audience-participation-sermon" to happen at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal for several important reasons.

i. This would be a beautiful place to do this. The whole nation could hear this reading of the Law, because the area has a natural amphitheater effect because of the contour of the hills.

ii. Because Gerizim and Ebal were in the geographic middle of the Promised Land, Israel had to control the middle of Canaan and the highlands to have the luxury of such an assembly at these mountains.

iii. Finally, the mountains themselves were pictures of blessing and cursing: "On all hands it is allowed that Gerizim abounds with springs, gardens, and orchards, and that it is covered with a beautiful verdure, while Ebal is as naked and barren as a rock." (Clarke)"

Now Let's Look At the Curses

Most if not all of these curses were associated with one of the Ten Commandments. The general idea being 'break the commandment and you are cursed'. Here's what would bring a curse:

Curse 1: Any form of idolatry (the one who makes any carved or molded image) -- overt or hidden.

Curse 2: Dishonoring one's parents (the one who treats a parent with contempt).

Curse 3: Cheating your neighbor or stealing in general (e.g. extending your fence onto his property even by an inch; or charging him more for his share of a joint purchase, etc.).

Curse 4: Taking advantage of the disabled or simply being cruel or misleading others.

Curse 5: Perverting a justice system via bribes or not extending to others especially strangers, orphans, and widows, their full rights under the law.

Curse 6: Incest with a parent or step-parent or any disobedience against God's sexual standards.

Curse 7: Bestiality (one who has sexual relations with an animal).

Curse 8: Incest wth a sibling or step-sibling.

Curse 9: Incest with an in-law.

Curse 10: Violence (e.g. striking your remember especially in secret).

Curse 11: Being hired to hurt others (e.g. accepting payment or a bribe to strike down an innocent person).

Curse 12: Disobedience to any of the words of the law.

I think that in reading these curses we need to take them primarily as examples of the general area being covered. Thus, for example, while the text says cursed is he who sleeps with his mother-in-law (verse 23 or curse 9 above), we can assume that it also means "cursed is she who sleeps with her father-in-law". And so on for each of the curses.

And notice that for each and every curse uttered by the Levites, all the people were to answer "Amen" implying "so be it".

Matthew Henry is brilliant on this:

"The Levites or priests, such of them as were appointed for that purpose, were to pronounce the curses as well as the blessings. They were ordained to bless (ch. 10:8), the priests did it daily, Num. 6:23. But they must separate between the precious and the vile; they must not give that blessing promiscuously, but must declare it to whom it did not belong, lest those who had no right to it themselves should think to share in it by being in the crowd. Note, Ministers must preach the terrors of the law as well as the comforts of the gospel; must not only allure people to their duty with the promises of a blessing, but awe them to it with the threatenings of a curse.

To each of the curses the people were to say Amen. It is easy to understand the meaning of Amen to the blessings. The Jews have a saying to encourage people to say Amen to the public prayers, Whosoever answereth Amen, after him that blesseth, he is as he that blesseth."

Henry then goes on to answer this question "But how could they say Amen to the curses?" in a way which indicates the importance of this exercise for the Israelites and I would add for us today:

• (1.) It was a profession of their faith in the truth of them, that these and the like curses were not bug-bears to frighten children and fools, but the real declarations of the wrath of God against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, not one iota of which shall fall to the ground.
• (2.) It was an acknowledgment of the equity of these curses; when they said Amen, they did in effect say, not only, It is certain it shall be so, but, It is just it should be so. Those who do such things deserve to fall and lie under the curse.
• (3.) It was such an imprecation upon themselves as strongly obliged them to have nothing to do with those evil practices upon which the curse is here entailed. "Let God's wrath fall upon us if ever we do such things.' We read of those that entered into a curse (and with us that is the usual form of a solemn oath) to walk in God's law Neh. 10:29. Nay, the Jews say (as the learned bishop Patrick quotes them), "All the people, by saying this Amen, became bound for one another, that they would observe God's laws, by which every man was obliged, as far as he could, to prevent his neighbour from breaking these laws, and to reprove those that had offended, lest they should bear sin and the curse for them.'

A few implications for us today:

First, we have to understand that being a child of God is not easy. Don't let any person, minister or otherwise, trying to get more converts tell you otherwise. It is a very serious matter with very high stakes. Yes, the blessings can be incredibly wonderful.  But the curses can be incredibly dreadful.

Second, each of the above curses still stand for us today. In fact, a good number of them are also illegal under secular laws in most countries today.

Third, we must recognize both the blessings and the curses before us as we enter into and maintain our relationship with God. We need to do that individually and be aware of it continually. We need to understand the consequences of disobedience.

Fourth, we are to realize that as a body of local believers, we share a common responsibility with each other to help each other avoid the curses.

Finally, we need to review those curses regularly. Agreed, most of us would not fall prey to the majority but as we live a hurried life, chasing worldly goals, or gold pots at the end of a rainbow, perhaps we are indeed eligible for being cursed. We need to fix that right now.

How are you and I doing on these five aspects of being blessed and avoiding being cursed?  Love to hear your comments.

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

The Need for a Monument, an Altar, Silence, and Obedience -- Deuteronomy 27:1-10

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Having Heard God's Laws Isn't Enough -- Deuteronomy 27:1-10

In this 27th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy Moses is joined by the "elders of Israel" in what they charge the Israelites with. Moses had done his job. The elders were convinced and now it was a team project from here on in.

To begin with (verse 1), the people are told to "Keep all the commandments." Now, that's quite an assignment.  According to tradition, there are only 613 O.T. laws and commandments that needed to be kept. Boy, did Israel ever need someone to save them from this drudgery as well.  (And they got someone who could and did complete that task about 2,000 years or so later in the person of Jesus Christ.) But for now, they thought Egypt was bad, but having to observe 613 commandments -- that's hard. Nevertheless that is the assignment that God through Moses and the elders had placed on the Israelites and by extension for anyone who would call Him Lord at that time.

Secondly in verses 2-3, we see that the people had to set up for themselves large stones, coat them with lime, and write on them "all the words of this law".  That's a lot of words.  And actually verse 8 says this writing needs to be clear, i.e. "very distinctly" written. Secondly, they had to do this "in order that you may enter the land your God gives you . . .  as promised."

Why the lime? David Guzik suggests the following:

"So the words could be easily seen, they were to whitewash them with lime. Anything we can do to make God's word more accessible to others is a good thing, as long as the integrity of God's word is preserved.Any time God's word is presented, it must be presented very plainly. Every preacher and teacher must endeavor to make the Word of God plain."

Verse 4 tells us that these stones would be set up on Mount Ebal. In addition to that, verses 5-6 indicate they had to build there "an altar of stones not using any iron tool on it, using uncut stones, and there make your offerings to the Lord." Can you believe all the details that God was still providing? There is no way that anyone today can argue successfuly that God does not care about the details in our lives. Period. Full stop. We have so much evidence in the Torah to the contrary.

Chuck Smith on God's instructions at this point:

[God desired] "that the place that they make for the worship of God be simple and natural. God did not want them building ornate places of worship. Why? Because when you come into an ornate place of worship your mind is drawn to the ornateness of the place. And you begin to glory in its architecture or in the fine carvings or in the beauty of the place itself. But God wants you when you come to worship Him not to be distracted. To stand in awe of gorgeous architecture or whatever but that your place of worship be just a simple place, that does not attract attention to itself but allows you to give your full attention unto the Lord to worship Him."

Robert Jamieson adds, "The stones were to be in their natural state, as if a chisel would communicate pollution to them. The stony pile was to be so large as to contain all the conditions of the covenant, so elevated as to be visible to the whole congregation of Israel."

Verse 7 says that site is also where they were to make their peace offerings, where they would eat and rejoice before God. That's part of both remembering and worshipping. We tend to forget that in many of our churches. Instead, when restaurants were open (pre-Covid) we remembered the eating part and then headed out to our different restaurants, usually by ourselves as couples or small families, as soon as the benediction is given. 

Now what was the difference between the erection of the stones and the separate altar? Why both? Only Matthew Henry addresses this directly. The first very large (nay, humongous) structure was to be a monument by which they would remember what God did for them and the Laws He gave them. The second structure, the altar, was a means by which they and God would communicate and relate with each other.  They would sacrifice to Him and give Him glory, and He would accept their sacrifices.

Finally in verses 9-10, the Israelites were told to "Be silent and listen!" That's the day they would become a people for the Lord their God. And that was to be followed by obedience to God's commands.

As I read this verse today I thought of what is going on in our world. Many politicians today tell us the same thing "be silent, listen, and obey". They do it with respect to the Great Reset the Global Economic Forum elites want for the world, the lockdowns and restrictions that our leaders want because of the virus, the culture cancels that are taking place because minorities don't like us, the silencing of free speech where it does not meet the agenda of the progressives, and so much more.

Should we just be silent, listen, and obey? I'm sure our answers will differ. Some of my friends say we should.  Others say only if it does not contradict the Word of God. Of course the problem arises in coming to a joint or common understanding of what kind of orders from governments and others contradict the Word of God today.  That can be tricky.  Let me give you an example.

The government says churches cannot hold services because of the virus. Yes, obey your government. What they are saying does not directly contradict the Word of God as I read it. The reason being you can still worship God on-line or alone in your home. Agreed. Now, your pastor, after much prayer with his elder group decides that God wants the church to be open; He wants His people to stand up to this introduction of tyranny as mild as it may seem at this point. There are lots of verses and passages in Scripture that say we are to heed the words of our "shepherds and pastors" as they have been appointed by God and have a grave responsibility in their leadership of us. In fact, the very passage we are studying today supports that to a certain extent. So now what do you do?  Do you show up Sunday morning?

It isn't a problem with a slam-dunk solution. Many would struggle if put in that spot. I have decided I would show up. The pastor and the elders are not telling us to do anything contrary to God's will for us as His people. And I do believe in the safety of numbers.  I've traditionally gone to a big church -- so I believe the chances of throwing two thousand of us in jail all at once are slim.  Even if they issue us tickets and we all refuse to pay them -- prosecuting all 2,000 of us would be difficult.

The only thing going against the pastor and leadership team in this case (from a Scriptural perspective) is that they may be advising us to go against the local government -- and Jesus did say "render unto Caesar the things that are his and unto God the things that are His".  So, where are we?

You can see the problem.  There's no easy solution. But there is a course of action that needs to be taken and that is this: Each and every one of us must do what is right for him or herself as he or she believes God would want them to react or act. That's all I can offer in this case. We need to be right with God individually.  And the Holy Spirit has a way of being able to relate whether we are or not -- if we listen and seek Him.  Perhaps some of our readers have another or a better solution.

Bottom Line For Us -- God wants us to remember. God wants us to worship. God wants us to be silent, listen, and obey. What the outcomes of that remembering, worshipping, being silent, listening, and obeying look like for you dear sister or brother may be different from what it looks like for someone else. But I can unequivocally say two things:  First, if we are really listening and obeying what each of us is called to do will be in God's will for us.  Secondly, as long as we are consistent with Scriptures, we need answer to no other authority. Getting to that point with humility and in total dependence on God is the hard part. 

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Exchanging Vows With God -- Deuteronomy 26:16-19

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God's Exchange of Vows with Israel Speak to Us Today -- Deuteronomy 26:16-19

Moses seems to have ended recapping all the laws that God had wanted him to teach the Israelites to follow and in the last four verses of this chapter, he reminds them of what it all means and how God sees what has happened. He talks about the Israelites' vow to God and His vow in return.

Before we delve into this passage, I must admit that after reading it, I was reminded of the various times in my life, perhaps not unlike yours, that a Christian may make a vow to God. I was reminded of the vow I made to trust Him to lead my life when I was still a pre-teen, accepting Christ as Savior. I was reminded of the vow I made when a number of years later I was baptized -- a vow that indicated I was prepared to fully die to self and live in and through Him. And then I was reminded of the vow many of us make when we get married.

As we look back over those vows, I believe most of us could easily see how God has indeed kept His vows to us. I am not so sure we have been as diligent in our keeping of our vows to Him, or to others perhaps. This passage in the Old Testament gives those studying it an opportunity to relook at the whole idea of exchanging vows with God. Let's dig in.

A Specific Date is Involved: In verse 16 Moses indicates that there is indeed a specific point in time when an exchange of vows with God takes place. In the passage, we read the phrase "this day". This day God commanded you to follow His laws. And in verse 17, he says, "today" you, the people, have agreed by declaration that the Lord is to be your God, and that you would keep His statutes, etc. and listen to His voice.

Just as there was a specific date when the Israelites exchanged these vows, so there is a specific date when I (or anyone) accepted Christ as Lord, was baptized in obedience, and even got married. Having those dates somehow helps all of us remember the very vows that were made.

Verse 16 also points out the Israelites had to work at, or be "careful to" make sure they keep their vows. Keeping vows is a very conscious thing -- it has to be in your face all the time. There needs to be reminders of the event so that we do not forget our vows. And sadly, even those reminders are not always one hundred percent proof. That's why verse 16 goes on to say you need to heed your vows by keeping the statutes "with all your heart and with all your soul". If our heart and/or our soul are no longer engaged in the vow we made, I can assure you, we will fail to keep it.

Each Party to a Vow Has Responsibilities: When it comes to vows with God, verse 17 tells us that we are going to let the Lord be our God; that we would walk in His ways; we would keep His statutes, commandments, and ordinances; and, last but not least, we would listen to His voice.

Even though God is not keeping score or grading us (He loves us too much for that), we owe it to ourselves, and perhaps to Him, to stop and think for a moment as to how well we have done in each of those responsibilities. The first one (let the Lord be our God) seems easy enough at face value. But there's a lot more to it when we seriously pursue the full understanding of Who God is and what having Him be our Lord and God really means, especially from His perspective.

From there we can go on to ask ourselves about our progress in walking in His ways (do we even know what His ways are? may I suggest we may fall shy of the mark there if we don't study our Bible regularly), or keeping His laws (same thing applies), or worse still listening to Him. I think that's an area where many of us would not fare too well at all. How many times have I counselled individuals who come to me for advice prior to taking a certain action or step and I can tell within five minutes of our discussion whether or not they are really receptive to any idea other than what they've already planned to do in their hearts. Unfortunately, even Christians carry that attitude over to their listening to what God has to say to them.

Now God also has a responsibility (which He gladly accepts, nay, rather offers to us). Verse 18 says "this day" -- the day we exchange vows, God declares we will be His people (or His person). In fact, we would be his "treasured possession". And, as His People (and I believe the rest of Scripture bears this out -- that this applies to us collectively and individually), we shall be "set high above all others" who aren't His people (verse 19), we'll be praised, be given a name (fame) and be honored, and be a consecrated people to Him. And He has thus spoken, says the verse, and so it will be.

Matthew Henry does a great job on expounding on these ideas -- being praised, given fame, being honored, and being a consecrated people. Here's how he puts it:

"Two things God is here said to design in avouching them to be his peculiar people (v. 19), to make them high, and, in order to [do] that, to make them holy; for holiness is true honour, and the only way to everlasting honour. 

• [1.] To make them high above all nations. The greatest honour we are capable of in this world is to be taken into covenant with God, and to live in his service. They should be, 
  • First, High in praise; for God would accept them, which is true praise, Rom. 2:29. Their friends would admire them, Ps. 48:2. Their enemies would envy them, Zep. 3:19, 20.
  • Secondly, High in name, which, some think, denotes the continuance and perpetuity of that praise, a name that shall not be cut off.
  • Thirdly, High in honour, that is, in all the advantages of wealth and power, which would make them great above their neighbours. See Jer. 13:11.
• [2.] That they might be a holy people, separated for God, devoted to him, and employed continually in his service. This God aimed at in taking them to be his people; so that, if they did not keep his commandments, they received all this grace in vain."

Now that's a great deal, wouldn't you agree?

In Summary: What can we ask of ourselves based on this passage? Well, here's what I'm asking myself and maybe you'd like to borrow some of these questions for yourself:

1. Do I realize who God really is as I enter into an exchange of vows with Him?

2. Am I keeping my part of the responsibilities that I have, that I promised to undertake, when I entered this vow exchange with Him?

3. Am I prepared to, regardless of how I have screwed up in the past, re-commit myself to do my part with respect to my vows to God, counting on His Holy Spirit to help me do so daily, as I commune with God in prayer and in the study of His laws and Word?

4. Do I realize who my spouse really is and that she is a gift to me from God with whom I have exchanged holy vows, and that as such, I must commit to keeping my vows with my wife, because of my vows to God, and that going forward, again no matter how badly I may have screwed up in the past, I will do all to keep those vows?

5. Will I do all I can to help those with whom I have influence, in my family, at my work, and in my local church, to ask themselves these questions and to encourage them to meet their responsibilities in this matter of vows?

I believe God has blessed us greatly, and it's only just begun. Surely, surely, we must not receive "all this grace in vain."

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Deuteronomy 26:1-15 -- Figuring Out What God Still Expects w.r.t. Tithing

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How Then Shall We Give? -- Deuteronomy 26:1-15 -- A Guide To Our Charitable Giving Today

We now come to what may be said to be the last of the Laws from God that Moses wanted to share with his people (at least for now). It's the Law of the Tithe. May I suggest that you read the passage before continuing on with this blog. What I intend to do is cover some of the highlights and phrases which I find have something to tell us today on how we go about making our charitable donations. I do not intend to cover the issue of the "size" of the tithe. We know the word means 1/10th and we'll leave it at that. There are many others things that we should note from this passage.

Verse 1: Please note this is a Law for when God has already blessed the Israelites. God has proven Himself. He has done His part. Now His People must show their appreciation. It is the same with us today. God has indeed done His part for us in having His Only Begotten Son die in our place so that we may live.  Following God's laws are the ways we can show our appreciation and our love for God. And whether we like it or not, this law on tithing is in there.

Verse 2: Here's how the Israelites were to go about their tithing. They would take "some of the first of all the produce" that they had, keeping in mind it was given to them by God in the first place, and take it into the place where God chose to "establish His name". Robert Jamieson says, "No Israelite was at liberty to use any productions of his field until he had presented the required offerings."

Simply put for us we are to take first and foremost a portion of our 'income' to give back to God where He is at work -- the church, the mission field, the lives of individuals that are otherwise neglected. Think of the "alien, orphan, or widow" repeated so often in regard to the other laws we have been studying.

We're not talking here about what is leftover for God. We get His portion out first and then use what is leftover for us. So many today just won't trust God with that approach. They want to cover their bases just in case, then if there's something left over, well, God gets it. Sorry, that's not trusting God at all. Keep doing it your way. But don't expect the same blessings. I'm not talking about becoming rich or prosperous -- I'm talking about seeing God work so that you are never left in a condition that you can't live or survive.

Secondly, many of us have to be reminded regularly that the very pay-check we receive regularly or pension or allowance is possible because God worked things out in your life in such a way that you would have that blessing. (Trust me, I know that to be true for me personally.) In today's economically volatile environment, God could allow you and I to lose what we thought was our guaranteed income. Think again folks. We shouldn't have to be reminded that any money or tangible asset we have is from God.

Thirdly, the Israelites were to take the first-fruits (their tithe) to where the Lord God established His name. That to me at least says, make sure you are giving your tithes to those that use it for the Kingdom of God and all that it stands for -- and nothing more. Giving to a political party because it goes along with your beliefs as a Christian, or because it does not support abortion is not, in my opinion, what the text means here as places where "God has established His name".  On the other hand, as an example, supporting the work of a Christian Pregnancy Care Center where young women and couples are encouraged to keep their babies and not abort them, would be a place where God has established His name.

Verses 5-9: Anytime we give our offering we are to recognize and remind ourselves again of what God has done for us. That's an important step in the process. We cannot ever forget why we are returning a portion of what is God's, back to Him.

I pay a lot of things by automatic withdrawal these days, but I personally refuse to do so with my donations to our church. That's just me. I took that position because I always felt there was something to be said about weekly putting my donation into the plate or the box at the back of the church. It reminded me of the story in the New Testament about the widow and her donation (Mark 12:41-44 & Luke 21:1-4). I wanted to be like that widow. But now reading this passage here in Deuteronomy I am more than convinced it's the right way to go for me as it gives me an opportunity to recognize His blessings before each of my offerings.

Verses 10-11: And once we have recognized His blessings, given our offering to Him, we are then to worship our God, and to celebrate. Chuck Smith points out the a most interesting aspect of this 11th verse when he says, "Again here is a commandment where God is commanding them to rejoice. God wants a happy people. And God's people should be a happy people. We should be the happiest people on the face of the earth. And what kind of a witness is it to God if His people are always depressed and down and sour and dour. God wants you to be a rejoicing people."

It has always bothered me how pastors of churches can make time for long announcements about volleyball games but when it comes to the act of tithing, it is rushed. Let's sneak it in while we're singing or having other announcements. As I read these Scriptures, I see that God intended our tithing to be an act of worship to Him. He wants that. I regret that many of us have failed in this regard big-time.

The passage then says that we are to celebrate, not our giving, but our blessings -- what God has given us. And we are to do this with guess who -- the congregation, the pastor, and even the aliens among us. Boy, do we ever shortchange God on the act of giving, if not on the actual giving itself.

Verses 12-14: These verses take an interesting twist at least from what I have been sharing above. Moses seems to be saying that at end the of the third year, the tithe then goes to take care of your pastors, aliens, orphans, and widows. You were blessed to be a blessing to them. And there are rules about how that is to be done. And there's to be no cheating or holding anything back.

Now somebody may say, "Wait a minute, I thought you said we are to give our tithes to 'where God's name has been established' by which you meant where He is at work. And that included helping other Godly organizations working with God, not just our local church. But here it seems to imply that that kind of giving was to be separate after we already gave to the church. What goes here?" Good question.

David Guzik offers the following here to help us: "The tithe was required of Israel every year, but every third year, the tithe was given not only to the Levites for their support (as was instructed in Numbers 18:21-24), but was to by shared by the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so they may eat within your gates and be filled."

Matthew Henry's commentary may also be helpful: "Concerning the disposal of their tithe the third year we had the law before, ch. 14:28, 29. The second tithe, which in the other two years was to be spent in extraordinaries at the feasts, was to be spent the third year at home, in entertaining the poor. Now because this was done from under the eye of the priests, and a great confidence was put in the people's honesty, that they would dispose of it according to the law, to the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless (v. 12), it is therefore required that when at the next feast after they appeared before the Lord they should there testify (as it were) upon oath, in a religious manner, that they had fully administered, and been true to their trust."

It appears then that God wanted us to be directly involved not only with the needs of our "Levites" or pastors and the church, but to also be involved directly in taking care of the aliens, the orphans, and the widows.

How do we do both?  May I suggest that God and Moses did not mess up. What they are requiring in Deuteronomy is exactly what is expected. If anyone has screwed up, it is us. Possibly because our "Levites" don't always make the best use of our tithes and offerings, spending too much on themselves or on the building, etc. I don't know. I do know that God wants us somehow to take care of our pastors and the work of the church, but also to take care of aliens, orphans and widows. Given that we live in a fallen world, how we do that in detail needs to be settled between each of us and God. If we're satisfied that our church is using their funds in accordance with God's plan for them and His will for us to take care of others, then we can give it all to them. But if we don't have that assurance, then God has told us (it seems to me -- see verse 12 here) to do it ourselves. The responsibility is yours and mine alone.

Verses 15: Moses tells us that once we have done "according to all that God has commanded" us (verses 14), we can then ask God to "look down . . . and bless His people . . . and our land".  This of course, God had sworn to His People Israel. But I believe God has assured us of the same blessings on an individual basis if we have done all that He has commanded us.

Summary: Tithing then is not simply writing a check or transferring money by mobile means. It is a whole attitude and ceremony of worship and thanksgiving to our God. Many of our churches have a long way to go. But there's nothing stopping each one of us to make our tithing and charitable donating a more 'holy' experience.

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

A Chapter Without a Title, For Good Reason (Deuteronomy 25)

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Could These Sundry Laws Get Any More Offbeat -- Deuteronomy 25

As I was finishing my study of the previous chapter in Deuteronomy (chapter 24), my eyes kept going to the next one (this 25th chapter). I noticed that my bible (NASB) which usually gives chapters and even sub-chapters headings had nothing of the sort for this one. There was a reason for that as we will discover.

This chapter has six very distinct pieces of instruction that are very curious and strange in nature for some very common circumstances in life. I wondered whether to try and unravel them over several studies or to deal with them all at once and get it over with. I went with the latter approach in mind. Here goes. Bear with me.

1. Lawsuits Between People (Verses 1-3) When two men go to court against each other and one is found guilty, the judge decides the merits of the case, and the 'wicked' man is made to lie down in his presence and be beaten as many times as is appropriate in accordance with his crime. But only to a maximum of forty stripes. The rationale being that you don't want even this 'brother' to be "degraded in your eyes".

I find that a little hard to understand, given that any public beating (say 39 stripes or even 3) would be degrading, would it not?

What is interesting though is if we move forward about 1400 years, we come to the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians and saying, in 2 Corinthians 11:24, "Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes." I guess they didn't want to degrade him in their own eyes.

Robert Jamieson says the Mosaic Law introduced two requirements: punishment was not to be carried out in private (so it would not be beyond what was established as the amount needed in a specific case) and it was not to cause death, thus the limitation of 40 lashes.

David Guzik points out that apparently God felt there are some crimes carried out by wicked people that deserve to be beaten. He goes on, "We seem to have a justice system today that considers itself more compassionate and kind than God Himself, yet we can't say that we live in a more just or safe society."

He then quotes Trapp who said, "Among the Mohammedans there are very few law-suits, and the reason is given … because they that sue others without just cause are to be whipped publicly." Now wouldn't that be something in this day and age. Frivolous lawsuits get severely punished. I have lived through such a lawsuit and our side spent close to a hundred thousand dollars defending ourselves. We won, but the other party only had to pay one quarter of our costs.

What can we take from this. Perhaps a few things. First, we don't take the law into our own hands. The Israelites had judges amongst them, usually priests, who had that responsibility of deciding guilt and its appropriate penalty. Second, crime is to punished in accordance to a set of guidelines established perhaps in relation to what harm the crime caused to others or to the community. Thirdly, there is a limit to the punishment for crimes that are not punishable by death. That is, you cannot punish someone to the point of death where death is not warranted. Wow.

2. Muzzling a Threshing Ox (Verse 4) Here stands this solitary verse all by itself telling the Israelites not to "muzzle the ox while he is threshing". I know they were into a lot of farming, but, seriously, what on earth is this all about?

Jamieson says that while they were threshing, the oxen would move their heads to the left or the right (or down to their feet) and take a bite of wheat or grass or broken off grains) that lay on the side or before. This was not to be stopped by the farmer or ploughman. It would have been cruelty to do so.

Proverbs 12:10 may be of some help as we read, "A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast." Okay, but we knew that. It makes sense. In 1 Corinthians 9:9, Paul basically repeats this verse from Deuteronomy and goes on to say that doing so is also not for the sake of the animal, but rather for our own sake. That is we are to plow (physically and spiritually) in hope, especially in hope of sharing the crop that was sown. Thus we treat those who help us kindly.

It is not until we get to yet another quote of this verse that we more fully understand its meaning. In 1 Timothy 5:18, Paul quotes it and then adds, "The laborer is worthy of his wages." So that is what Moses was trying to say. Treat all persons and animals that help you in your work with great kindness, and fairness, and honesty.

3. What You Owe Your Deceased Brother (Verses 5-10) So what happens when your married brother dies? Well, it depends. If he has no son, you can't let her marry outside the family. Dying without a male heir was considered a great tragedy in those days. You, the brother, then would have to get her pregnant yourself by taking her as a wife and performing the duty of a husband. And her first-born (we assume the text really means first-born son as women didn't count as much in those days, although there is debate among Jewish scholars as to whether it does mean son or child) would be given the dead brother's name so that name and its lineage continues among the Israelites. So far so good, I think.

Apparently this practice existed before Moses, but here the Mosaic Law made it mandatory. Guzik quotes Thompson as saying, "The practice of levirate marriage … was not peculiar to Israel, for it was practiced among the Hittites and Assyrians as well as in countries such as India, Africa and South America."

But what happens when you don't want to be a husband to your dead brother's wife? Well, she can then go to the elders at the gate of the city and let the world know that you refuse to establish a name for your dead brother and won't perform the duty of a husband with her. You'll then get a talking to from the elders, hoping to change your mind.

And here's what would happen if you didn't change your mind. She would come to you in public, pull off one of your sandals (a sign of degradation), spit in your face (the strongest expression of ignominy and contempt among Eastern people, although some say this description referred to spitting on the ground before you), and declare, "This is what we do to men who don't build up their brother's house." And from then on, you will be known as "The house of him whose sandal is removed." Can I say 'wow' again?

Robertson says that "The shoe was kept by the magistrate as an evidence of the transaction, and the parties separated." However, I would point out as reminded by Matthew Henry, that it was not 'mandatory' that a man sleep with his dead brother's wife to give her a son, as long as he would or could withstand the 'shame' of not doing so. That's a relief.

We don't do things just like that any more. I do, however, believe those of us (regardless of our gender) who have brothers or sisters for that matter, whether they already have sons or daughters or not, and whose spouse dies have a responsibilities at that time. I believe we have a responsibility to step up to the plate and help in whatever way possible -- to help the spouse get through the difficult days ahead; to help any young children cope with the loss of their parent; and so on. We don't just stay distant, embroiled in only our own challenges. 

4. Keep Your Wife Out of Your Battles at least with other men. (Verses 11-12) The text clearly tells us that if two Israelites are struggling together (hand to hand battle), and one wife comes to help her husband by grabbing the genitals of the other man, her hand should be cut off without any mercy to be shown. Wow. You must my dear let me fight my own battles.

Seemed, at face value, that the Israelites didn't think it appropriate to have a woman fighting a man's battle. But was there more to that? The text also leaves as asking what if it wasn't another Israelite you were fighting with? Would it be okay then for her to help her husband out?  And what if she only kicked your enemy or pulled his hair, and didn't grab his genitals -- would that be alright? We don't know. Matthew Henry comes out and says that what is described in this section is rather action of not just someone coming to the physical defence of her husband, but rather coming to his defence in a very 'immodest' way. And perhaps this restriction was all about that.

Guzik again quoting Thompson admits this is a difficult passage. He quotes, "Possibly it was representative of similar offences and provided a standard for judgment in all such cases. Perhaps also, the law arose from the desire to protect the reproductive organs and thus obviate anything that might prevent a man leaving descendants." And why show her no pity? "Partly because of the great mischief she did to him, both to his person and posterity, and partly to deter all women from immodest and impudent carriages, and to secure that modesty which is indeed the guardian of all the virtues, as immodesty is an inlet to all vices, as the sad experience of this degenerate age shows; and therefore it is not strange that it is so severely restrained and punished." (Matthew Poole, 1683) I'll let you think about it and decide for yourself. Difficult indeed. 

Let's just say that women who love their husbands can do a lot of things for them, the foremost of which is pray for them, but there are some things that even today they should stay out of.

5. No Double Standards in Business (Verses 13-16) These verses simply say do not cheat anyone you do business with, anywhere. A pound is a pound and must weigh the same each time.  You don't have two different pound weights to put on a scale when measuring things you are selling, so that you may be honest with one person as you sell them something by weight and cheat the other person.

There is a difference between not giving someone a discount for a particular reason and lying to them about what they're getting. Today, more than ever, as Christian retailers, we must be careful that we are business men and women of integrity. Not doing these things God expects, is acting unjustly, and anyone who acts unjustly, the text says is "an abomination to the Lord your God." It is your choice and mine. Do we want to be a horror in the eyes of God?  I for one, do not.

6. Remember the Enemies God Saved You From (Verses 17-19) The chapter finally ends with instructions that the Israelites were not to forget what Amalek and his army (men who did not fear God) did to the Israelites that were lagging behind, when all of Israel was faint and weary. The Israelites were to remember that and know that once God had dealt with all their enemies and had given them rest in their new land, then they will be able to go back and take care of the Amalekites, and thus blot out the memory of Amalek.

The chapter ends with the phrase, "you must not forget". It is not clear to me whether they were not to forget Amalek's actions and that he still needed to be punished or that God has given then a land to possess, and rest from all their enemies. Guzik helps us out here, suggesting the former:

"Israel was to make this war against the Amalekites later, when they were at rest in the land. Some 400 years later, God directed Saul to make war against the Amalekites, and his failure to completely destroy them was the primary act of disobedience which cost Saul the throne (1 Samuel 15:2-9; 28:18)."

As I reflect on this portion of Scripture written to and primarily for the Israelites, I think of modern-day Israel today, and I also think of the whole spectrum of God's Children now that the Gospel has come to both the Jew and the Gentile. We are not to forget the time when God saved us from our Enemy or Enemies. We are to enjoy the rest He gives us in our new promised land that we currently live in as we enjoy and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. We are not to forget the battles He can still help us win here on earth. And we must never forget what God has promised He will still do for us when He takes us home.

Finally, here for me is the bottom line based on all these various laws and regulations we have been studying over the last few chapters:

1. God through Moses is very much interested in all aspects of our lives. He was for the Israelites and He is so for us now.

2. God has His reasons for why certain laws are in place. Usually they are for purposes of righteousness and the avoidance of idolatry. Those things are an abomination to Him.

3. God wants us to remain as individuals and as His People, pure and clean in every respect. He also wants our land to the same way.

4. In the bigger scheme of things even though we may not like some of the things God expects of us, or has us do, we realize that His plan and reasoning is way above ours. 

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Crime, Justice, Aliens, Orphans & Widows -- Our Responsibilities

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Revelations (& Rules) About Our Own Responsibilities -- Deuteronomy 24:16-22

Hang in there as we look at three more and very important areas in what appeared to be a never-ending chapter (number 24) in the book of Deuteronomy. It is after all, a book of laws.

You Pay for Your Own Sin Verse 16 tells us very clearly that 'sin' is individual. If someone committed a crime in Israel, a relative could not be punished in his/her place and the criminal be left to live and go about their business freely. The example used is a father agreeing to be killed instead of his son for a crime the latter committed, and vice-versa. The Hebrew practice of that law is borne out in 2 Kings 14:6 and 2 Chronicles 25:4. There were no substitutes -- regardless of status. There were no scapegoats as is often the case when the mighty and the rich get tangled up in crime today.

David Guzik provides a little relief here for us who are parents when he says, "It is wrong for a parent to automatically blame themselves for their wayward children; though they may have a part in the problem, it isn't always the case."

Today, there are many opportunities for those with money to pay the fines charged to criminals for various crimes. However, I am not sure that there is any way that a person who has been found guilty of a crime punishable by death and is so sentenced, can pay enough to erase that sentence. And that is the way it should be, even though there is a chance of the justice system making a mistake. When you are on death row, you know that your days are numbered. In the United States at least, only the President can pardon you.

Bottom practical line here is this: If you care enough about your relative or friend, the time to help him/her is before they commit the crime when you get whiff of their plans, not afterwards.  Afterwards, they are responsible for their own sins. And maybe that's why sometimes you have to turn a person in when they're planning to do harm, rather than let them do the harm. They may not appreciate it, but in the end, it is better for them.

From a Biblical perspective, and I stand to be corrected, there was only one exception to this law. And that is when the Son of God died in our place to atone for and erase our sin, the sins of the whole world, in the eyes of God the Father. The First Adam made us all prey to sin. We had to pay our own price for our sin and the wages of sin was and is death. The Second Adam, through His own sacrifice on the cross, made it possible for us to escape that burden of dying for our sins.

Don't Pervert the Justice System Verses 17-18 required the Israelites not to fix or rig their justice system to take advantage of those who could not defend themselves including aliens, orphans and widows. The focus seems to be on their inability to pay large, or any amounts for their bail (what the text refers to as a pledge). The reason being that all Israelites are to remember that they or their forefathers were once slaves in Egypt, and that God redeemed them when they had nothing to offer.

Today, we may not pervert the justice system intentionally. It happens because of the way our legal system is set up. It has rules and requires certain mechanisms to be triggered to ensure fairness and equity in treatment. The problem is that those requirements are not either easily known or accessible to someone who cannot afford top-notch legal defence advocates to fight for them. As a result, the so-called law is applied and the poor man loses. That's why we have the expression, "a man who is his own lawyer, has a fool for a client".  A poor alien (immigrant, refugee), orphan, or widow who cannot afford a good lawyer, doesn't have a chance in our court systems.

Our responsibility as Christians is to be on the lookout for situations involving people we know, or know of, who may indeed be disadvantaged in this way, and to do all we can to get them the help they need if at all possible so that they will have a fair chance of defending themselves with the authorities.

While You're Raking It In, Remember the Less Fortunate In verses 19-22, Moses tells the Israelites that while they are reaping their harvests, or beating the olives out of their olive trees, or gathering their grapes off their vineyards, they are not do go back and get every last piece sheaf in the field, every last olive, or every last grape. Only one pass-through was allowed. In fact, they are intentionally to leave the remains so that the poor folks -- again the aliens, the orphans, and the widows -- may have a chance to gather those, eat, and survive. And the Israelites were to do all this because again they needed to remember their days of slavery in Egypt. So God was commanding them, through Moses, to behave in this manner.

Chuck Smith calls this practice "God's welfare system" for those with real needs. 

That may not be as practical for us today. We can't let people wander into our factories after hours and just help themselves to the leftovers, so they can make something out of them and resell them, etc. There are two many risks involved including ones for their own safety. But that does not excuse us from our responsibility to act in other ways to take care of needy strangers, orphans, and widows. I believe Christians have a choice. One option is that they have a responsibility to ensure that their church that gets all their charitable funds have a very vibrant program of assisting aliens, orphans, and widows. Alternatively, Christians must research and find meaningful avenues of wisely supporting such groups. I don't see how we can escape that. I believe the instructions given  here on this matter in Deuteronomy are echoed by what Jesus taught throughout the four gospels of the New Testament. To ignore this requirement of "how then shall we live" as believers today, is to be missing a major chunk of what it means to be a follower of Christ in the 21st century.

David Guzik reminds us that satisfying this requirement was a demonstration of a grateful heart to all that God had blessed the Israelites with. How much more reason for us today to do likewise?

Let's end this review of these four verses on being charitable wth the wise words of Matthew Henry, who alone can state things this way:

• 1. "Say not, 'It is all my own, and why should not I have it?' But learn a generous contempt of property in small matters. One sheaf or two forgotten will make thee never the poorer at the year's end, and it will do somebody good, if thou have it not.'
• 2. "Say not, 'What I give I will give, and know whom I give it to, why should I leave it to be gathered by I know not whom, that will never thank me.' But trust God's providence with the disposal of thy charity, perhaps that will direct it to the most necessitous.' Or, "Thou mayest reasonably think it will come to the hands of the most industrious, that are forward to seek and gather that which this law provides for them.'
• 3. "Say not, 'What should the poor do with grapes and olives? It is enough for them to have bread and water;' for, since they have the same senses that the rich have, why should not they have some little share of the delights of sense?' Boaz ordered handfuls of corn to be left on purpose for Ruth, and God blessed him. All that is left is not lost.

Summary Comment I cannot, however, leave this section without commenting on an observation that I have made as I study my Bible. There is no escaping it, God in the Old Testament and Christ in the New Testament, have a lot to say to us about "aliens in our land, orphans, and widows".  I know this realization has caused me to rethink my actions or lack thereof in this regard.  I can only point this out to readers, and pray that they too will reconsider their actions in the 'necessary' and required support and blessing of aliens, orphans, and widows.

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Treatment of Employees -- Do You or You Boss Meet God's Standards? -- Deuteronomy 24:14-15

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Godly and Ungodly Employers -- Deuteronomy 24:14-15

In this small passage (2 verses), Moses gives the people rules that involve a master and his servant. Servants are not to be oppressed. And we notice here that Moses, speaking for God, does not distinguish between a Hebrew servant or an alien servant. The servant it to be paid regularly and on time. And you as a master must consider that most of your servants (read employees) are usually much poorer than you are and thus you must treat them well, because they depend on you. If a servant feels he/she is being treated unfairly by you, he/she will cry out to the Lord and then watch out, because if he/she does and God agrees, that my friend becomes a "sin in you". Wow.

First of all, Robert Jamieson gives us a historical perspective on this subject when he writes:

"Hired servants in the East are paid at the close of the day; and for a master to defraud the laborer of his hire, or to withhold it wrongfully for a night, might have subjected a poor man with his family to suffering and was therefore an injustice to be avoided ( Lev 19:13 )."

As a management consultant, I can't tell you how many times I have come across employers (masters) who actually oppress their workers. And yes some of them call themselves Christians. I've seen people play favourites between employees who have similar backgrounds as the boss, and treat others, perhaps of a different color, or faith, very differently.

Many a union is established in smaller organizations because management fails to pay employees on time.  Even after unions are put in place, the number of grievances that are filed due to late payments or wrong calculation of wages (always in favor of the employer somehow) is high. There seems to be little consideration given in treating lower level employees with the same respect and dignity owners often treat their professional or management staff.  Little do they realize how the ones on top can achieve nothing without the ones at the bottom.

David Guzik reminds us that an employee can be 'oppressed' in many ways. One way we often overlook is the fact that we often require our employees to work under brutal (in some countries) or unsafe (in our country) working conditions. All because we want to cut corners, cut costs, etc., in order to increase our profit margins. Thank God there are now laws, but sometimes really oppressed employees don't have access to ways they can safely pursue their rights. For others, who may be permanently injured or even die on the job, relying on those laws is too late. God expects us to look out for our employees.

Matthew Henry adds to the list of oppressions by employers. He includes overloading them with work (the Israelites would be familiar with that if they just stopped long enough to think of how their forefathers were treated by the Egyptians when they were making bricks for them while they were slaves there).

But Henry goes beyond that. To the list of oppressions he adds giving them undue and unreasonable rebukes, or withholding them from their proper 'maintenance'. By that one can assume he meant their payment or their food or shelter or whatever had been agreed to and was in order. Let me take maintenance one step further and include today the maintenance of the equipment and tools they work with -- they need to be in good working order and above all, totally safe.

I don't know how some employers who are Christians can go before God in their worship, in their prayers, or in their taking of communion, or serving on church leadership teams, if they are guilty of treating any of their employees as described above.

What a shame it must be for employees to leave the employee of a company owned and operated by a Christian because of the poor way their employees have been treated. And oh by the way, that goes for church employers as well.

Guzik has more to say on this. I would suggest a Christian employer should read James chapter 5 on this whole topic. But let's hear Guzik:

"The LORD hears the cry of the oppressed. James 5:4 warns the rich man who oppresses his workers: Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth [sic]."

Henry reminds us that the Israelite employers must remember that they too were slaves once in the land where they were strangers. Remember your roots. We are to remember our roots. People born in rich families have a hard time remembering their roots today and often they become the prime candidates for the role of an unfair or ungodly employer. Henry goes on:

". . . what a grievous thing it is to be oppressed by a task-master, and therefore, in tenderness to those that are servants and strangers, and in gratitude to that God who set thee at liberty and settled thee in a country of thy own, thou shalt not oppress a servant.' Let not masters be tyrants to their servants, for their Master is in heaven. See Job 31:13."

If we fail in this, we will suffer the guilt and the consequence. Henry, like Guzik, also reminds us, 

"The injured servant will cry against thee to the Lord; since he has no one else to appeal to, he will lodge his appeal in the court of heaven, and it will be sin to thee.' Or, if he do not complain, the cause will speak for itself, the "hire of the labourers which is kept back by fraud will itself cry,' Jam. 5:4. It is a greater sin than most people think it is, and will be found so in the great day, to put hardships upon poor servants, labourers, and workmen, that we employ. God will do them right if men do not.

Reader, if you are reading this and you are an employer, I pray that you will review your company's practices and make any corrections you need to make. Do this not only for the sake of your employees, but also for your own sake and for the long-term benefit of your company. God is no fool. He blesses when you follow His instructions. He remembers when you don't.

And you don't have to be the CEO of an organization to check out how people are being treated. You may be a Vice-President of a big Unit, or a Director of a Division, a Manager of a Department, or a Supervisor of a sub-unit. No matter your level, you have an opportunity to be a fair and godly 'boss'. I pray you'll do this.

If you are an employee who is being mistreated, please find the assistance you need. If you have the courage, talk to your boss, explain how you feel, and suggest how the matter may be corrected. Failing that, today there are many helplines from local and provincial or state governments, as well as federal agencies, that will help you confidentially if you reach out to them. Last but not least, and in fact something you should be doing all along is -- cry out to God with your need. Seek His help and trust Him for an answer. He will show you the way.

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.