The Lord thy God shall choose

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Deuteronomy 17:8–13, “If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment: And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.”

The Lord established a system of local people to judge between one person and another when there were neighbourhood disputes and other issues between people on the local level. They also arbitrated in issues of business. However, from time to time, an issue would come up that was harder than the people on the local level could deal with so they were to go to the place that the Lord chose. During the kingdom period, this place was Jerusalem but before that other places were chosen. The Priests were trained and familiar with the Law and the regulations so they were qualified to make these more difficult decisions.  Once the decision was made then all the parties involved were bound to accept and abide by the decision. This method would also lead to consistency between on region and another for the final place of appeal was always the same.

Any evilfavouredness

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Deuteronomy 17:1–7, “Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.”

The Lord chose Israel to be His own beloved people (see Deut 32:10, “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.”) when they were facing genocide (Ex 1:15–17 , “And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.”). The Lord saved them from this terrible situation and gave them the very best Land available at that time. In response to this, Israel were called upon to give the Lord the best back. They were allowed to keep many good things but they were not allowed to give the Lord something that was useless. They were to understand that the Lord is God over all the earth and there was no room for worshipping other gods. The penalty for refusing to acknowledge that the Lord is the only true god was death. This penalty was to be exacted. However, two or three witnesses were requited. If only one witness was required then someone could make up a lie to attack someone who was righteous but he disliked personally.

Judges and officers

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Deuteronomy 16:18–22, “Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.”

When Moses was travelling in the desert, the Lord told him to select seventy men to help him with the administration of Israel. This section is just an extension of that principle for the nation once it was established. It would be impossible for the senior leaders of the nation to be involved in the day to day running of the country at the local level. Local administrators were appointed in every town and region to deal with the day to day issues at the local level. However, it was vitally important that these people be unimpeachable. If a person was willing to take a bribe then no one could rely on their judgements. This principle is called the rule of law and means that every citizen can expect the same outcome from the courts if they have the same circumstances in their case. The same issues are as important today as they were at the very beginning of Israel’s occupancy in the Promised Land.

The month of Abib

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Deuteronomy 16:1–17, “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee: But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.  Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.”

The month of Abib is the beginning of the Israeli religious year. (compare Ex13:1–6, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month Abib. And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD.” and Ex 12:2, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.”) It occurs in the spring time in the northern hemisphere. Israel were called upon to remember their deliverance from slavery in Egypt every year for this was the basis of their existence as a nation. If they could remember this then they would be more inclined to be grateful to the Lord God and live according to His holy Law. The pream to the Law also reminds them of the fact that the Lord had brought them out of the land of slavery. (Ex 20:1–3, “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”)

The firstling males

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Deuteronomy 15:19–23, “All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep. Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.”

The Lord told Moses that Israel was His firstborn (Ex 4:22–23, “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.”) When Pharaoh refused to let Israel free from their slavery the Lord took all the firstborn of Egypt in exchange. However, Israel had to sacrifice a lamb in order to place blood over the doorposts and lintels for protection. The Lord claimed all the firstborn of Israel as compensation for the fact that Israel’s firstborn were saved. Later, the Lord told Israel that He would take the tribe of Levi in exchange for their firstborn children. However, the Lord still required that Israel give Him the firstborn among their herds and flocks. They were take these firstborn and sacrifice them to the Lord then eat the meat so that they could identify with the Lord and the fact that He had saved them from slavery. However, the Lord required that Israel give Him their very best rather than anything of lesser quality for He had given them the best. On the other hand, when Noah came out of the ark the Lord told him that he was not to eat anything with blood in it for the life is in the blood (Gen 9:3–6, “Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”) In order to show respect for the Lord Who gave them life, Israel was required not to eat any blood. When they sacrificed an animal or when the killed an animal for food they were required to leave the animal to bleed out so that they didn’t eat any of its blood.

Serve thee six years

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Deuteronomy 15:12–18, “And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day. And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.”

There were no bankruptcy laws when Israel lived in the Promised Land. If someone reached the position where they couldn’t pay their debts that person would sell themselves as slaves to repay the debt. Sadly those conditions still apply to some people in some parts of the world today. If a person found themselves in severe financial conditions their first line of security would be to look to a relative to act as their redeemer (Leviticus 25:23–28, “The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.”) Even with these generous conditions a person may have to sell themselves as a slave but only for seven years at the most. When the person who was sold as a slave was ready to return to their own land the master was expected to give that person many things to make sure that they weren’t going back into poverty. However, if a man became a slave then was married during his period of slavery he couldn’t expect to take his wife and children with him. In these circumstance a man could say that he wanted to stay with his wife and children and the master would be allowed to keep him. If a person wanted to remain a slave forever, his master would pierce his earn with a sharp tool and he could stay with his wife and children as long as he lived.

Every seven years

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Deuteronomy 15:1–11, “At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’S release. Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.”

The Lord established the system whereby people would be able to get back to their land in the last year of every seven year period. The Lord had taken care to make sure that a census of the nation was taken before they went into the Promised Land. Every family in Israel was given their own portion of the Land and that was meant to belong to that family as long as they kept the commandments and remained in the Land. This procedure meant that every family would retain access to their own Land as long as the nation remained in the Land. This was guaranteed as long as they kept their part of the contract that they had made the Lord. The Lord also insisted that the people act with integrity as far as the Land was concerned. In many ways, this method of land management was like a superannuation system. The person who was working the land at any time would pass that land on to their children and then the children would take care of their parents when the parents were too old to work the land. There may have been some people who wanted to exploit the poor in using this system but the Lord established regulations that prevented this from happening as well. The Lord had already though about every problem that might occur and made provisions to prevent these problems from occurring. The fact that the people didn’t follow this system and allow their land to rest at the end of the seven period was one of the reasons that they were forced into exile. (compare Lev 26:34, “Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.” with 2 Chronicles 36:21, “To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.”)