Deuteronomy 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Commentary by Mark Dunagan

DEUTERONOMY Chapters 6-16 Chapter 6 6:1-3 The essential idea of “fearing God”, is to stand in awe of Him and then of holding Him and His revelation in the utmost reverence and respect (Isaiah 66:2). In verse 3, obedience to these Divine regulations was always in the best interest of the Israelites. “That it may be well with you”, compare with 1 Peter 3:10-12. The description of Canaan as a “land flowing with milk and honey” is found 18 times in the OT. In the Egyptian tale of Sinuhe (1920 B.C.), the writer depicted the fertility of Canaan, mentioning both milk and honey.

6:4 This verse has been called the Shema, from the Hebrew word translated “hear”. “The statement in this verse is the basic confession of faith in Judaism.

The verse means that the Lord is totally unique. He alone is God. The Israelites could therefore have a sense of security that was totally impossible for their polytheistic neighbors. The “gods” of the ancient Near East rarely were thought of as acting in harmony. Each god was unpredictable and morally capricious (fickle). So a pagan worshipper could never be sure that his loyalty to one god would serve to protect him from the capricious wrath of another” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 274).

Points To Note: 1.

The verse doesn’t mean that there is only one person in the Godhead. The word “one”, is also used when God speaks of Adam and Eve becoming “one” flesh (Genesis 2:24). Jesus made it clear that Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, are in complete agreement on all things (John 10:30; 16:13-14). 2.

Because of this oneness, the child of God can render undivided loyalty and love to God. 3. What a blessing that we only have to please “one” God, Who in turn deals with us on the basis of a revealed, consistent, and understandable righteous standard. 4. “As one God, when he spoke there was no other to contradict when he promised, there was no other to revoke that promise; when he warned, there was no other to provide refuge from that warning” (Craigie p. 169).

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6:5-6 Loving God must pervade every aspect of our lives. We must love Him at work, at home, with our mate, children, friends, on vacation and so on. We must love Him with our talents, time and prosperity. Every aspect of ourselves, our intellect, emotions, will and vitality is to be dedicated to the service of God. Which means that we can’t love God in our heart and yet at the same time deny His power with our intellect. Neither can we embrace Him with our intellect, and have a distant emotional relationship with Him. It is all or nothing. In Matthew 22:37 (Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27), Jesus quoted this verse.

6:7-9 This love for God must be shared with the next generation. This book stresses the importance of teaching the family (4:9; 6:20-25; 11:19). Which means if we really love God, then we must share Him with others. Note, that the teaching stressed here isn’t primarily formal (which would be included), but that God and His Word should simply be a natural topic of conversation which might occur anywhere and anytime during the day. The verse infers that God’s Word contains information which is useful in every area of our lives. Sometimes we might be tempted to think that there is a situation in which no biblical principle would apply, but such isn’t the case. “The people were not to concern themselves only with their own attitude toward the Lord. They were to concern themselves with impressing these attitudes on their children as well” (Gaebelein p. 66).

Later Judaism believed that verses 8 and 9 should be taken literally, and so they attached small parchment scrolls to straps around the arm and forehead (phylacteries), and to the frames of houses and room doors (mezuzah). The mezuzah was a small box containing a parchment.

6:10-19 In Canaan, the Israelites would enjoy “instant prosperity” as they conquered and plundered the native inhabitants. But there is an inherent danger in prosperity, i.e., the temptation to forget God (Proverbs 30:7-9), and believe that one’s own strength or the false gods in the land were responsible for these blessings.

6:13 “Swear by His name”-“for one swears by the God he fears, that is, by the God under whom he is responsible to fulfill his oaths” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 275).

6:14 Note that if they forgot God, they wouldn’t become atheists, rather they would go into idolatry. Man does have a built in need to worship and serve someone or something (Matthew 6:24).

6:15 “jealous God”-“This means He is zealous to protect what belongs to Him alone” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 275). In this verse, we also see that keeping the land was conditional.

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6:16 Canaan wasn’t heaven—for all the sins committed in the wilderness could also be committed in the promised land. Getting the land was just the beginning!

This verse confirms that Exodus 17:1-7 was a real historical event.

6:17 When someone tries to sell you on a relationship with God which requires very little effort on your part---you are being sold something that is false.

Faithfulness does require effort (2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Cor. 15:58).

6:20-25 Theology is rooted in actual events! One aspect of loving and obeying God is to pass the same love for Him on to one’s children. These verses offer strong motivation for keeping God’s instructions from the motive of gratitude.

The Law is the continuation of their deliverance from Egypt!

6:24 “for our survival”-We need to view God’s Word as our lifeline. Without the Word, we would end up lost, our marriages would begin to weaken, our family life would crumble, and so on. “The commandments were designed, not as a burden to be borne, but as the gracious provision by a beneficent Sovereign of a guide for good living” (Thompson p. 126).

6:25 “it will be righteousness for us”-obedience to these Laws would make them acceptable in the sight of God. Compare with statement with Romans 4:3. The faith that results in righteousness, is according to this verse, an obedient faith, trust which obeys the will of God. Hence, Abraham wasn’t saved by mental assent. “if”, salvation is conditional. Note, if predestination is true, then the verse should read, “it will be righteousness for us if we are one of the predestined”.

Chapter 7 7:1-2 Compare this list to Genesis 15:19-21 and Exodus 3:17. These two verses emphasize the point that without God’s help, Israel could have never succeeded in occupying the land.

Point To Note: “The command to destroy them totally, that is, men, women and children, has often been thought of as unethical for a loving God. However, several points must be kept in mind concerning these people” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p.

275).

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They deserved to die because of their sin (9:4-5). 2. The reason for their destruction wasn’t the color of their skin or some other genetic trait, rather,

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they persisted in their hatred of God (7:10). 3. They had refused to repent (Romans 2:4-5), God had given them 400 plus years of mercy (Genesis 15:13-16). 4. Because of their devotion to false religion and immorality, they were a spiritual cancer (20:17-18; Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:12-13). 5. The Canaanite child who died prior to an age of accountability would have ended up saved. Hence, one could say that many souls would be saved from eternal misery, if Israel faithfully obeyed this command. Sadly, we are often tempted to feel sorry for the wrong people.

7:3-4 Marriage is such a close relationship (“one flesh”), that it is very hard to avoid becoming like your mate. Compare with what happened to Solomon (1 Kings 11:1ff; Nehemiah 13:26).

7:5 “Asherim” (ash EH rim)-were Canaanite objects of worship, thought to have been wooden poles representing the goddess Asherah. “The Canaanites were being judged for their wickedness; if the Israelites joined them in wickedness they would also join them in judgment. Therefore everything---even the Canaanites’ religious objects---which might arouse the slightest curiosity about false worship, were to be totally eradicated” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 276).

Points To Note: 1.

The Israelites were being used by God to execute His righteous judgment against these unrepentant sinners. Lest they feel sorry for the Canaanites, the Israelites needed to ask themselves, “How many souls have been destroyed by their immoral ways?” 2. In like manner, when we withdraw our fellowship from an unrepentant member, we are the tools by which God is demonstrating His displeasure. 3. These verses contradict the modern idea that we should just allow everything and anything, seeing that the “truth” will always been easily seen and followed by the vast majority. People argue that what Christians believe in must be really weak and flimsy seeing that they are concerned about all the immorality in the world. But the Bible makes it clear that given the choice, the vast majority doesn’t choose what is right (Matthew 7:13-14). Yes, the truth is clear, but sin is deceitful. And the truth requires at the outset a much higher price tag—i.e. honesty and unselfishness. 4. So when God commands that evil be exposed, rebuked and removed (Eph. 5:11; 2 Tim. 4:2-4; 1 Corinthians 5:9-11), He isn’t saying that His set of beliefs can’t stand scrutiny or competition, rather He is being realistic---evil is dangerous and anyone can fall for it! The weakness isn’t in the truth—rather the weakness is in far too many people.

7:6-7 Note the wonderful balance. They were a holy people—but don’t get a big head! “Thus Israel’s character as a holy people gave them no ground for pride, but imposed on them the responsibility of their calling” (Craigie p. 179).

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7:8-9 God’s grace is conditional, “with those who love Him and keep His commandments”. Note, that God doesn’t allow us to define love in vague terms.

And neither does God allow us to speculate about whether we have to keep every one of His commandments. Sermons which try to undermine our confidence in keeping His commandments, sermons which try to argue that everyone is presently and persistently believing or doing something which is wrong, even the most devout Christian, are not an expression of love for God or faith in His power. From verse 9 it cannot be argued that God’s steadfast love continues towards the person in sin. See also 7:12.

7:10 “those who hate Him”-includes Israelites who would depart from the will of God. “to their faces”-i.e. individually, to each one personally. Or, not as in an ambush, but directly and openly, so that the haters clearly know what is happening to them. In light of such blessings and threats—obedience must be chosen (7:11).

7:13-16 The immediate blessings of faithfulness. For the diseases in Egypt see Exodus 15:26; 23:25. Even today, faithfulness to God enables the Christian to avoid some of the diseases which inflict the worldly person.

7:17-26 The antidote for fear—the power of God. The Israelites were never to allow themselves to be intimidated by the enemy. Instead of concentrating on the strength of the enemy, they were to remember the greatness of the Lord.

God would cause Israel’s enemies to run from her in battle as if they were attacked by swarms of hornets. “The Israelites could be assured of this glorious victory if only they had the faith to begin the battle and afterward the discipline to destroy the idols left behind” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 277). Note, God makes it clear that this won’t happen overnight (7:22).

Concerning 7:26, remember that Achan was alive at this time and obviously heard this clear command, but did otherwise (Joshua 7:19ff).

Chapter 8 8:1 “careful”-God often emphasizes that “care” is needed when it comes to following His will. No, people don’t just naturally know what is right or wrong.

The word “careful” also infers that often our emotions, feelings and preconceived ideas might be dead wrong.

8:2 The wilderness wandering had been a test. “On the one hand, the desolation of the wilderness removed the natural props and supports which man….depends on; it cast the people back on God, who alone could provide….On the other hand, the severity of the wilderness period undermined the shallow bases of confidence of those who were not truly rooted and

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grounded in God. The wilderness makes or breaks a man” (Craigie p. 185).

The wilderness brought out in the open what was hidden in the heart—either faith or unbelief. “God led them into the desert where they had no alternative but to trust Him or to murmur against Him” (Bible Knowledge Comm. pp. 277-278).

In the wilderness, a man or woman couldn’t pretend to be faithful—for long.

8:3 God was attempting to teach Israel a great lesson—He could be depended upon, God will always come through, and there is something far more important in life than even the most basic physical necessities, i.e. faithfulness to God. Jesus will quote this verse in Matthew 4:4 8:4 In spite of time, heat, wear and tear and rough terrain, their clothes hadn’t worn out, neither had their feet swelled. God had indeed taken good care of them—perspective is so important. The perspective of the unfaithful is that they had been abandoned and deprived, the perspective of the faithful was that they had been graciously and lovingly cared for. What is your perspective when you are in the wilderness?

8:5 See Proverbs 3:12 and Hebrews 12:5-11.

8:6-20 Hardship had tempted some to complain and grumble in the wilderness, the danger or temptation in Canaan would be the exact opposite, i.e., a land of plenty. Compare 8:17 with the modern idea, “I did it my way”. To this day some people reject the gospel, because they look at their material prosperity and say, “Why do I need God, I have done just fine without Him”? And they fail to realize that without God, they couldn’t even draw their next breath (Acts 17:25).

Chapter 9 9:1-3 Once again, they weren’t to be intimidated by the enemy, even though in human terms, the enemy was very impressive. “Though the Canaanites had all these things in their favor, they were doomed before the battles began….But God’s people could not remain passive. In faith they had to begin the battle and to annihilate the enemy” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 279). Note how Divine protection and human cooperation must work side by side.

9:4-7 Another temptation is anticipated, i.e., self-righteousness. Israel wasn’t being given the land because she was so good—rather it was because these people were so evil. Far from being “so good”, Israel in the last 40 years had proven herself to be very stubborn.

9:8-29 The fact of Israel’s stubbornness is now illustrated by glimpses into her past experiences. Once again, any section like this just reinforces the truth that the chapter or verses in which the account is initially recorded is accurate. God

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views such events as facts of history—because they are just as real as anything else which has happened in time.

Chapter 10 10:1-11 Proof that God heard Moses’ intercession (9:25-29). First, a second set of tablets of stone was taken to the mount and engraved. The Levites were given their assignments, and the nation was to leave Sinai.

10:12-13 God spells it out. Man is without excuse for hiding between the agnostic statement, “I’m not going to do anything, because I just don’t know what God wants me to do”. Note that fearing the Lord, walking in His ways, loving and serving Him, and keeping His commandments are all the same thing.

Compare with Micah 6:8 and John 14:15. “They represent interrelated attitudes.

Basic to all obedience are reverence for and love of God (6:4-19). Men in whom these attitudes are found will walk in God’s ways, serve Him and keep His laws.

The man who loves God will serve Him and observe His laws, for no man can claim to love God while neglecting to keep His law…The further point is made that God’s law is not a burden to be borne, but God’s gracious provision for Israel’s good. To live well means to obey God’s law” (Thompson p. 147).

10:14-15 God is Creator of all, and yet God set His affection on the fathers, i.e., Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. God didn’t love these men arbitrarily, rather they were men of faith, they manifested qualities which God loves (James 2:23).

10:16 “Circumcise then your heart”-chose an attitude toward God which was the opposite of stubbornness and unbelief. This statement is the language of freewill and certainly contradicts the idea that the heart can only be changed by a miraculous intervention by the Holy Spirit. The individual had an obligation to see to it that they have a good attitude and are honest, that they are receptive to truth! A love for God and a love for what is right is a choice.

Point To Note: The verse doesn’t infer that the human heart is naturally rebellious. Remember, Moses is speaking to people of an accountable age. The stubborn in Israel had allowed themselves to become unbelieving (Hebrews 3:8,12-13).

10:17-22 God was worthy of their devotion and loyalty. Look at His character and look at what He had done for Israel! “Moses called the people’s attention to the fact that He had already fulfilled part of the promise to Abraham by multiplying their number like the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:5; 22:17; 26:4)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 281). “showing no partiality, accepting no bribes.

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He defends the fatherless and the widows and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. The people were to be like the Lord; they too were to love aliens, for they had been aliens in Egypt” (Gaebelein p. 86).

Point To Note: “and does not take a bribe”-“God required of man a wholehearted commitment in love, from which all other proper behavior stemmed; God saw what was in the heart and could not be persuaded or bribed into reducing his requirements of man” (Craigie p. 206). God cannot be brought off with human rationalizations or justifications. God isn’t so eager for adherents, that He is willing to compromise the truth for the sake of more followers.

Chapter 11 11:1-2 When this speech was given, the dominant personnel in the nation were those who had been children during the wilderness wandering. They were not the generation doomed to die in the desert, but those who ranged from infancy to the age of twenty (Numbers 14:29-30). Though they had been young at the time, they too had seen great things which God had done for His people. “Love the Lord your God, and always keep His charge”-Love for God and obedience to His laws go hand in hand (1 John 2:3-5).

For other passages on the inseparability of love and obedience (6:5-6; 7:9; 10:12-13; 11:13,22; 19:9; 30:6,8,16,20).

11:3-7 All these experiences should have taught them: 1. God can be completely trusted, God will always come through. 2. God means what He says, disobedience and rebellion will not be tolerated.

11:8 “every commandment”-because God doesn’t give any useless, second-rate or optional commands. Trying to decide which commands in the Bible are more important, is just as silly as when people try to argue that some parts of the Bible are true and others are false, and they can tell the difference!

11:9 Conquering, taking and holding on to the land, wasn’t so much a matter of military skill, as it was a matter of morality and personal ethics.

11:10 Life in Canaan would be different from life in Egypt. While the people in Egypt had to depend on irrigation, in Canaan they would have rain from heaven. “water it with your foot like a vegetable garden”-In Egypt one would use his foot to clear a channel for the flow of water to where he wanted it in his garden, Irrigation by foot may also simply mean carrying buckets of water from the source of the water to the field. “The water was lifted from the river by a simple arrangement of a container at the end of a balanced pole….and poured into larger channels from whence it ran into a complex of smaller and smaller

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channels. As various areas received sufficient water the small channel was closed off by pushing earth across it with the feet. Subsequently, water could be admitted to the same channel by kicking away the small blockage of earth.

Egypt was like a garden of vegetables, which required constant care” (Thompson p. 153).

11:11-14 “early and late rain”-the early rain which came as heavy downpours in October-November, which ended the summer drought and made ploughing possible. The late rain came in March-April and were the last before summer and brought a green coat to the whole land. Of course, it also rained between October and April.

11:15-17 Once again the people are warned about becoming self-sufficient or in believing that such prosperity is due to the favor of other gods.

Point To Note: From the fact that God ties together physical blessings with faithfulness the Israelites should have learned that God is sovereign over all realms. He is the Lord of history and the Lord of nature. He has the power to make the weather and other natural phenomena serve His purposes (Genesis 6-9). Nature isn’t independent of God, and neither can the unfaithful say, “Well, in this area God can’t touch me”. “It enables God’s people to hold firmly to such views as that nature is not independent of God, that a rich productivity of flock and field is a cause for gratitude and praise to God, and that seasons of drought and low agricultural yield are powerful stimuli to forsake all known evil” (Thompson p.

155).

11:24 The borders of the land (if the people are faithful) are given. Compare with Genesis 15:18. Premillennialists claim that since the people were unfaithful, this promise still remains unfulfilled. But Israel did possess all the land mentioned in this verse (1 Kings 4:21).

11:26-32 The actual blessing and curse given on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal is recorded in Joshua 8:30-35. Mount Gerizim lies to the south and Mount Ebal to the north of a valley through which the road passes on the way from Shechem to Samaria. Shechem lay on the shoulder between the two.

Chapter 12 This chapter begins a section that runs to 26:15. It is a section that deals with specific legislation, which was designed to govern the life of Israel in the Promised Land.

Laws Governing Worship

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12:1-3 All pagan worship centers in the land were to be destroyed. Mountains and hills were particularly significant in some religions of the ancient Near East for many deities were thought to have originated there and to live there. “The Lord would not tolerate a partial commitment. By destroying these cultic objects and centers the Israelites could express their total allegiance to Him. Also the Israelites could show that they did not believe in the existence of the Canaanite deities and therefore had no fear of ‘retribution’ from them” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 284).

12:4-14 Once in the land, God would establish a definite resting place for the tabernacle. The ultimate fulfillment of this command came when God let David move the tabernacle to Jerusalem, where his son Solomon built the temple (1 Kings 8:29).

12:7 Note how many times that worship is linked with rejoicing (12:12,18; 14:26; 16:11) 12:8 “every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes”-“Whereas the Canaanites might seek and worship their nature gods in places where they thought they could discern the divine presence, Israel must go only to the place designated by the Lord” (Thompson p. 166). The place of worship wasn’t to be governed by a human mood, feelings, etc… This verse may infer that some of the people while in the wilderness had been lax in observing the rules which governed sacrifices (see Lev. 17:3-4).

12:13 Pagan worship centers were definitely off limits! No, they were just worshipping the same God in different ways.

12:15-16 Slaughtering and eating meat for ordinary meals could take place anywhere. The only limitation was that the blood had to be drained from the dead animal. Religious meals (12:17-18) were restricted to a central sanctuary.

12:28-32 The Canaanites were not to be dealt with harshly simply at the Lord’s whim, nor out of sheer political necessity, but because they were involved in things which the Lord hates. Note that Israel wasn’t immune from God’s wrath--if they behaved in the same manner as the Canaanites, they would also be driven out of the land. In verse 31, the Canaanites had hit the bottom of the barrel by engaging in child sacrifice. Child sacrifice was murder, in spite of the supposedly religious reason for it. Today people might not sacrifice their children to Baal, but millions of children in our society have been aborted in order to worship the god of personal convenience, or the god or personal freedom and “rights”.

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Chapter 13 13:1-5 False prophets, who might perform a wonder (possibly a true prophet gone bad), were to be rejected if their message contradicted the revealed Word of God. Scripture is the standard by which all claims must be tested (12:32).

God allows false prophets to come among His people (13:3). No true prophet will advocate teaching contrary to what has been revealed. Note that the accurate prediction of a sign—means nothing if it is divorced from truth.

Scripture always carries more weight than any miraculous display. Remember Matthew 7:21-23?

13:6-11 No pity was to be shown to family members who advocated the worship of other gods. Jesus stressed the same basic principle in Luke 14:26. “No pity was to be shown to such a one who secretly advocated conspiracy against the Lord in the home. He (she) must be executed, and the person he tried to entice must cast the first stone. The death penalty would be a deterrent to others who might advocate similar evil” (Smith p. 507).

Points To Note: 1.

Many in our modern society argue that the death penalty isn’t a deterrent.

Who are we going to believe, God or man? God’s entire view of history and omniscience, or man’s limited and flawed studies and research? 2.

This would be a hard to command to execute—until you realized that the family member who was tempting you was trying to destroy your soul and the souls of your children and other loved ones.

13:12-18 Entire cities which embraced idolatry were to be completely destroyed —just like the city of Jericho. The entire city, inhabitants and contents were under a ban. The toleration of such a city would mean that God’s anger would remain against the entire nation (13:17). “Temptation is most difficult to resist when ‘everyone is doing it’. Mass sinning, however, must be dealt with as surely as an individual sinner” (Smith p. 507). See 1 Corinthians 5. “The fact that all its plunder was to be destroyed, and that it was never to be rebuilt, precluded any greedy or illegitimate motivations by those who were to carry out its destruction” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 287).

Chapter 14 14:1-2 Pagan mourning rites are forbidden. Cutting the body and shaving the head were common mourning rites. The mutilation of the body persists still in some countries, i.e., in New Guinea, where a mourner, especially a woman, removes a joint of a finger, and in extreme cases more than one finger joint.

Point To Note:

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When people complain that God requires too much, I must disagree. Just look at all the discomfort and pain that people put themselves through for supposed pleasure or to please self. If people in the world can endure all sorts of bodily mutilation—then man is without excuse for not serving God. Such rites also could have been forbidden, because the child of God shouldn’t mourn as the world mourns (1 Thess. 4:13ff). In light of our hope, why should we ever fall into despair? (Romans 8:18). In the end, sin requires more sacrifice and pain—then serving God. 14:3-20 Clean and Unclean animals.

14:21 The alien was a non-Jewish person who was more or less a permanent resident in Israel. Note the compassion that God wants His people to extend to this individual. “You shall not boil a kid in its mothers milk”-this was a practice common in the Canaanite religion. I believe that one lesson from this is that false religion will take a toll on your compassion. In order to forsake God, one must become less sensitive and less caring (see Romans 1:29-31; 2 Timothy 3:2ff).

14:22-29 God is very reasonable. Some Israelites might live so far from the central place of worship, that it would be impractical or impossible for them to bring a tenth of all their produce, flocks and herds. Hence they could exchange such goods for money.

14:26 “The Hebrew word for ‘wine’ is yayin, which sometimes means an intoxicating beverage and other times means a nonintoxicating drink. The Hebrew word for ‘fermented drink’ (sekar) is often rendered ‘strong drink’ in some translations (KJV, NASB, RSV). This is misleading because is suggests that sekar refers to distilled liquor. But the progress for distillation was not used in the Near East until the seventh century A.D.” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p.

289). Nothing in this passage is encouraging drunkenness, for that is a sin (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). In addition, even the beverages with alcoholic content in Israel were cut with water. In addition, all such things were part of a meal which was eaten as an act of worship, and in which everyone in the family, including children participated (“you and your household”).

Point To Note: Those who try to use the above verse to justify the consumption of alcoholic beverages today need to note: 1. When “straight” or undiluted such a beverage was much lower in alcoholic content then our modern day wines and hard liquor.

2. In addition, they cut such a beverage with typically 3 parts water. 3. It is a drink that one could consume while worshipping God-i.e., it didn’t affect your judgment. 4. It is a drink that could be given to minors. It is something which God had no qualms about having the family around.

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14:28-29 Every third year the tithe was not to be taken to the sanctuary but was to be used to feed the Levites and less fortunate. Which means that year number three and six the tithe went for such purposes. Year seven was the year of release, and then the cycle started all over again.

Chapter 15 15:1-11 The sabbatical year or year of release was also commanded in Exodus 23:10-11 and Leviticus 25:1-7. In Exodus we are told that the land was to lie fallow during the seventh year for the benefit of the poor. Here in Deuteronomy , however, a new emphasis is seen. Debts of Israelite brothers were to be canceled at the end of the sabbatical cycle. Some scholars think this means totally canceled; others think that a one year reprieve was granted” (Smith p.

509).

15:10 God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

15:11-18 Laws concerning Hebrew servants.

Points To Note: 1.

These laws were designed to help people recover if they found themselves in poverty. 2. Note that the remedy for poverty wasn’t increased taxation or governmental programs, but rather some compassion, a financial break, a chance to start over. 3. In addition, helping your fellow Israelite would only tend to increase the prosperity of the entire nation, for too many poor people can drain the resources of any society. 4. There was no room for greed (15:18). The Hebrew slave had given them double the service of a hired man.

Chapter 16

Contains regulations concerning the various yearly festivals: Passover (16:1-8); Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) (16:9-12); Feast of Booths (16:13-15). All males had to appear at all these feasts (16:16), with the appropriate sacrifices. But this doesn’t mean that a man’s family members were not to take part (11,14). Note the principle, giving as you are able (16:17) (compare with 1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

16:18-20 Qualifications for local judges, which stresses the fact that the judge wasn’t above the law. Oh that such qualifications were observed in our land today! The only social change that a judge should concern himself with is that which is in the direction of righteousness.

16:21-22 Beside Canaanite altars usually stood a wooden pillar or pole. The pole was dedicated to Astarte (Asherah). There was to be no intermingling of truth with error. God is not impressed with the argument that in effect says, “a

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little compromise won’t hurt�. Yes, one little innovation in the worship of God can lead to all out apostasy!

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