Deuteronomy 23:1-25
1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
3 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:
4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee
5 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.
6 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperitya all thy days for ever.
7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.
8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
9 When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
11 But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:
14 For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no uncleanb thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:
16 He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
17 There shall be no whorec of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury
20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee
22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.
23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
24 When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.
Deuteronomy: God’s Law of Love
Love and Obey the *LORD your God
Deuteronomy
Philip Smith
Chapter 23
v1 ‘A person may squeeze hard or cut off the sex parts of a man. The man with the physical damage cannot go to the *LORD’s house.
v2 A person cannot go to the *LORD’s house if his father and mother are not both *Israelites. Also, his *descendants can never go there, not even after 10 *generations.
v3 No *Ammonite or *Moabite or any of their children can go to the *LORD’s house, not even after 10 *generations. v4 They refused to give bread and water to you on your way out of Egypt. They hired Beor’s son, Balaam from Pethor in Aram Naharaim, to *curse you. v5 But the *LORD your God would not listen to Balaam. Instead, the *LORD your God turned the *curse into a *blessing for you. The *LORD your God did that because he loves you. v6 Do not ask for their peace or their friendship for as long as you live.
v7 Do not hate a person from the country called Edom. That is because he is your relative. Do not hate an *Egyptian, because you lived as strangers in his country. v8 The third *generation of their children can go to the *LORD’s house.’
These people could not belong to the *Lord’s people. They must not join in *worship. People that were not perfect in their bodies could not give *offerings to the *Lord. However, they could eat a share of the *offerings. Sometimes the *Canaanites cut off a man’s sex parts on purpose. Sometimes an *Israelite man or woman married someone with a different religion. Their children could not belong to the *Lord’s people. The *Israelites did not include *Ammonites and *Moabites as part of their nation. They did not help the *Israelites when they left Egypt. Balaam had tried to *curse the *Israelites. (See Numbers Chapter s 22-24.) But because God loved the *Israelites, the *curse became a *blessing. *Israelites should be friends with the people from Edom. They were the *descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. And the *Israelites were *descendants of Jacob. Also *Israelites should be friends with the *Egyptians, because the *Israelites had lived in Egypt in the past.
Later, things changed. They would accept into God’s family a person without sex parts. But that person had to *keep the *covenant. (See Isaiah 56:3.) Although Ruth was a *Moabite, she became part of God’s people. The people in Egypt will say, ‘There is no other God.’ (See Isaiah 45:14.) However, God did not accept the people from Edom. (See Obadiah 1:18.)
There are verses which show that many kinds of people can enter the *kingdom of God. They do not have to belong to a particular nation. Here are two of those verses: ‘I will mention Egypt and Babylonia among those who know me.’ (See Psalms 87:4.) ‘There is neither *Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. You are all united when you belong to Jesus Christ.’ (See Galatians 3:28.) Paul uses the word ‘Greek’ to mean anyone who is not a *Jew.
v9 ‘When you are in a camp at the time of war, avoid every evil thing. v10 Someone may become not *clean. During the night, a man may produce liquid from his sex part. If so, he must go outside the camp and he must stay there. v11 When the evening comes, he can wash himself. When the sun goes down, he can return to the camp.
v12 Have a place outside the camp where you can go to the toilet. v13 Have a tool with which to dig. When you go to the toilet, use the tool to cover up the waste from your body. v14 The *LORD your God is with you in your camp. He will protect you. He will cause you to defeat your enemies. Therefore, you must keep your camp *holy. God may see something that is not clean. If he does, he may not continue to go with you.’
Laws about health were important. The principle in the law was this. Anything that comes from a person’s body is ‘unclean’. The *Israelites must have clean bodies and clean clothes. They must bury carefully the waste from their bodies. If camps were not clean, then disease would spread very quickly. God was present in the camp. If they did not keep the camp *holy and clean, God would not stay with them.
Jesus makes a connection between what makes a person unclean in the body and not *clean in the *spirit. (See Mark 7:20-23.) In Hebrews 10:22, the writer tells Christians to come near to God. The writer says that they must have a *clean conscience. They must wash their bodies with pure water. That does not refer to a physical wash. Instead, it means that people must live in a moral way.
v15 ‘A slave may escape from his master and he may come to you. Do not hand him over to his master. v16 The slave shall live wherever he likes among you. He can choose any town in which he wants to live. You must be kind to him.
v17 No *Israelite man or woman can sell his or her body for sex in a *temple. v18 Somebody might have money that they had earned in that way. They must not bring it into the house of the *LORD your God. You must not pay that kind of money because of a promise to God. The *LORD your God hates those acts.
v19 Do not charge extra money when you lend food, money or anything else to another *Israelite. v20 You can charge a foreigner extra money. But you must not charge another *Israelite extra money. Then the *LORD your God will *bless everything that you do. He will *bless you in the country that you will live in.
v21 If you promise something to the *LORD your God, do not be slow to *keep your promise. Otherwise the *LORD your God will demand that you *keep it. Then you will be guilty of *sin. v22 If you do not promise something, you will not be guilty. v23 You must do everything that you promise to do. You chose to promise it to the *LORD your God.
v24 You can go into your neighbour’s field of *grapes. You can eat all the *grapes that you want. But you must not put any *grapes in a basket. v25 You can go into your neighbour’s field of corn. You can pick with your hands the part of the corn that contains seeds. But you must not cut any corn with a tool.’
Sometimes, when a slave was in a foreign country, he ran away from his master. The law allowed him to live in safety wherever he wanted to live. The *Israelites must not make these people to be slaves again.
*Israelites must not sell their bodies for sex. They certainly must not do that in ceremonies of religion. The *Canaanites did that. They *worshipped the false female god called Astarte. If anybody earned money in that way, he or she must not give the money to God. God hated it when people used their bodies in that way.
*Israelites sometimes lent money to other *Israelites. But they must not charge people for money that they lent. Usually they lent money because people were poor. The *Israelites could charge money for what they lent to foreigners. That was because foreigners were usually merchants or traders. They were not poor. They used the money for their business. Jesus told his followers to lend and to expect nothing back. (See Luke 6:35.)
Anybody was free to promise something to God. But he was also free not to promise something. However, if he did promise something, he must *keep his promise. And he must not postpone the day when he did that.
The law allowed people to pick *grapes. And they could pick from the fields the part of corn that contained seeds. People could pick them when they were hungry. But they must not take more than they could eat. That would rob their neighbour. The *Pharisees spoke badly about Jesus’ followers. But Jesus said that they could eat the corn. (See Luke 6:1-5.) Those laws taught about how to look after other people.
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
generation ~ a period of about 20 to 30 years. During that time, children grow up and they have their own children.
Ammonite ~ someone from the nation called Ammon; anything with a relationship to Ammon. The Ammonites were relatives of the Israelites.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Moabite ~ someone from the nation called Moab; anything with a relationship to Moab. The Moabites were relatives of the Israelites.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
curse ~ the opposite of a blessing; bad things that God will do to people because they have been wicked; to say that God will curse someone.
blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us; when someone asks God to do good things for a person or for people; when a person speaks good words about someone.
blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us; when someone asks God to do good things for a person or for people; when a person speaks good words about someone.
Egyptian ~ someone from the country called Egypt; anything with a relationship with Egypt. The Israelites were *slaves in Egypt before God freed them.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
offerings ~ gifts (also called sacrifices) that a person gives to God, or to a false god.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
Canaanites ~ the people who originally lived in the country called Canaan.
keep ~ to do whatever you should do because of a promise or a law; to respect and to give honour to the law.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
kingdom ~ a country or a nation that a king or a queen rules; the kingdom of God (or heaven) means the people whom God rules.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
clean ~ good in thought and in action. But, in the Old Testament, many things could make a person not clean towards God. For example, if they touched a dead body, that would make them not clean. And the Israelites must not eat animals that God called not clean.
Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, it tells about the history and the beliefs of the Israelites.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
holy ~ morally good; something completely good and perfect; something that people consider to be very important in their religion.
temple ~ the chief place of worship for the Jews. King Solomon built the first temple for God in Jerusalem. But the word can refer to a similar building for a false god.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
grape ~ small green or purple soft fruit that people can use to make wine.
Pharisees ~ a group of Jews who thought that they obeyed all the laws of their religion. Those laws were all the commandments that God gave to Moses plus extra laws.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
commandment ~ a rule or a command that God gave to the Jews; the 10 rules that God gave to Moses. That was on the mountain called Mount Sinai (or Horeb); a command from someone who has authority.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Mount ~ mountain. For example, ‘Mount Sinai’ means the mountain called Sinai.