Leviticus 19: 11-18, “Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”
It was important that the Israelis were reminded, from time to time, of their rules and regulations. They were called on to celebrate their regular festivals so that they would be reminded of their past and the miraculous way in which God had intervened. They were also to do this so that their children would ask why and they would be able to explain the reasons. Not only this they were to make sure that they didn’t treat other people with disrespect. This was the major reason behind not cursing the deaf. If a person was to curse a deaf man then that person would soon think that the deaf person was in some way inferior and that attitude would invade all his dealings with that man and others who were deaf as well. If we treat those who are worse off than we are without respect then we will soon debase ourselves. If Israel became debased they would soon find that they were unworthy to live in the Land that the Lord God had given them.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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