examples of legal cases continued apeal to a …biblestudyworkshop.com/download/old/deuteronomy...a....

www.biblestudyworkshop.org 1

Commentary and Questions by Wayne Harlan

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.

EXAMPLES OF LEGAL CASES CONTINUED

APEAL TO A HIGHER COURT

PROVISIONS FOR KINGSHIP

DEUTERONOMY 17:1-20




EXAMPLES OF LEGAL CASES CONTINUED

APEAL TO A HIGHER COURT


Text: Deuteronomy 17:1-20, 1. You must not sacrifice to him a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive to the Lord your God. 2. Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you—in one of your villages that the Lord your God is giving you—who sins before the Lord your God and breaks his covenant 3. by serving other gods and worshiping them—the sun, moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship. 4. When it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done in Israel, 5. you must bring to your city gates that man or woman who has done this wicked thing—that very man or woman—and you must stone that person to death. 6. At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.




7. The witnesses must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you. 8. If a matter is too difficult for you to judge—bloodshed, legal claim, or assault—matters of controversy in your villages—you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. 9. You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict. 10. You must then do as they have determined at that place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught. 11. You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you. 12. The person who pays no attention to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the verdict—that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel. 13. Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and not be so presumptuous again. 14. When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” 15. you must select without fail a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens you must appoint a king—you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. 16. Moreover, he must not accumulate horses for himself or allow the people to return to Egypt to do so, for the Lord has said you must never again return that way.




17. Furthermore, he must not marry many wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold. 18. When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law on a scroll given to him by the Levitical priests. 19. It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he lives, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and carry them out. 20. Then he will not exalt himself above his fellow citizens or turn from the commandments to the right or left, and he and his descendants will enjoy many years ruling over his kingdom in Israel. (NET) Introduction: I. Main points: . . .

A. Examples of legal cases. (verses 1-7)

1. Sacrifices to God.

2. Sin of apostasy.

3. Punishment for apostasy.

B. Appeal to a higher court. (verses 8-13)

1. Levitical priests and judges to rule on difficult cases.

C. Provision for kingship. (verses 14-20)




II. Key quote: . . .

A. Deuteronomy 17:18-19a, When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law on a scroll given to him by the Levitical priests. It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he lives, (NET)

Commentary:

EXAMPLES OF LEGAL CASES, CONTINUED Deuteronomy 17:1-7, You must not sacrifice to him a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive to the Lord your God. Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you—in one of your villages that the Lord your God is giving you—who sins before the Lord your God and breaks his covenant by serving other gods and worshiping them—the sun, moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship. When it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done in Israel, you must bring to your city gates that man or woman who has done this wicked thing—that very man or woman—and you must stone that person to death. At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. The witnesses must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you. (NET)




I. Sacrifices to God.

A. All sacrifices offered to the Lord must be pure and unblemished, without defect.

1. Leviticus 1:10, “‘If his offering is from the flock for a burnt offering—from the sheep or the goats—he must present a flawless male, (NET)

2. Leviticus 3:6, “‘If his offering for a peace offering sacrifice to the Lord is from the flock, he must present a flawless male or female. (NET)

3. Leviticus 23:12, On the day you wave the sheaf you must also offer a flawless yearling lamb for a burnt offering to the Lord, (NET)

B. The Lord is without sin or impurity; therefore, what is offered to Him must be pure and unblemished.

C. The Israelites were not to keep their best for themselves but were commanded to present their best to God.

1. Exodus 22:29-30a, “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons. You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; (NET)

D. The offering is an outward expression of a person’s inner devotion to God.




1. This goes deeper than offering a blemished animal as a sacrifice.

2. A less than perfect offering is an admission that the person lacked true devotion to God.

3. It was a corruption of the worship of God to disregard the sacrificial requirements established by God, and the sacrifice would be offered in vain.

E. The prophet Malachi recorded that the Hebrews offered unacceptable sacrifices to the Lord.

1. Malachi 1:7-8, You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, ‘How have we offended you?’ By treating the table of the Lord as if it is of no importance! For when you offer blind animals as a sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer the lame and sick, is that not wrong as well? Indeed, try offering them to your governor! Will he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the Lord who rules over all. (NET)

F. The requirement of perfection in worship was taken very seriously by the Essenes, a congregation that lived south of Jerusalem on the shores of the Dead Sea, to the extent that a person with a physical defect was excluded from their worship service.




II. The sin of apostasy.

A. God does not tolerate the sin of apostasy.

1. He knows we must guard against the temptation to worship false gods and idols.

a. Exodus 20:4-5, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children to the third and fourth generations of those who reject me, (NET)

b. Exodus 34:13-14, Rather you must destroy their altars, smash their images, and cut down their Asherah poles. For you must not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. (NET)

c. Deuteronomy 7:3-4a, You must not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. (NET)




d. Deuteronomy 7:25, You must burn the images of their gods, but do not covet the silver and gold that covers them so much that you take it for yourself and thus become ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God. (NET)

B. He also gave a strong warning against worshiping the sun, moon and stars.

1. Deuteronomy 4:19, When you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—the whole heavenly creation—you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for the Lord your God has assigned them to all the people of the world. (NET)

2. 2 Kings 23:5, He eliminated the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.) (NET)

C. We are to worship God the creator, not what He has created.

1. Deuteronomy 4:16-19, I say this so you will not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the form of any kind of figure. This includes the likeness of a human male or female, any kind of




land animal, any bird that flies in the sky, anything that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the deep waters of the earth. When you look up to the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—the whole heavenly creation—you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, for the Lord your God has assigned them to all the people of the world. (NET)

D. During their four (4) centuries of enslavement in Egypt the Israelites were exposed to the worship of heavenly bodies.

1. “Egyptologist James P. Allen estimates that more than 1,400 deities are named in Egyptian texts.” Wikipedia: Egyptian gods.

E. The penalty for practicing idol worship was death by stoning.

1. Multiple witnesses were required to prove the guilt of the accused person.

2. If guilt was established, the accusers were required to throw the first stone, then the rest of the village was required to take part in the execution.

a. Acts 7:58, When they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. (NET)




b. Acts 14:19, But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and after winning the crowds over, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead. (NET)

3. Jesus cautioned against accusing someone of a sin unless the accuser were without sin.

a. John 8:7, When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight and replied, “Whoever among you is guiltless may be the first to throw a stone at her.” (NET)

F. Stoning was the standard form of capital punishment for breaking Hebraic law.

1. Blasphemy.

a. Leviticus 24:16, and one who misuses the name of the Lord must surely be put to death. The whole congregation must surely stone him, whether he is a foreigner or a native citizen; when he misuses the Name he must be put to death. (NET)

2. Idolatry.

a. Deuteronomy 13:10, You must stone him to death because he tried to entice you away from the Lord your God, who delivered you from the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. (NET)




b. Exodus 22:20, “Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord alone must be utterly destroyed. (NET)

3. Breaking the Sabbath law.

a. Numbers 15:32, 35, When the Israelites were in the wilderness they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; the whole community must stone him with stones outside the camp.” (NET)

4. Mediums and occultism.

a. Leviticus 20:27, “‘A man or woman who has in them a spirit of the dead or a familiar spirit must be put to death. They must pelt them with stones; their blood guilt is on themselves.’” (NET)

b. Deuteronomy 13:5, As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge out evil from within. (NET)




G. The fact that the entire village participated in the stoning made the punishment an effective deterrent for those who might be persuaded to break the law.

APPEAL TO A HIGHER COURT Deuteronomy 17:8-13, If a matter is too difficult for you to judge—bloodshed, legal claim, or assault—matters of controversy in your villages—you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict. You must then do as they have determined at that place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught. You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you. The person who pays no attention to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the verdict—that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel. Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and not be so presumptuous again. (NET) I. Appeal to a higher court.

A. All cases that were too complex or difficult for local judges were referred to the court of Levitical priests and judges.

B. The Levitical priests and judges were located in a town that had a house of worship.




C. Forty-eight (48) Levitical cities were to be established, with six (6) of these designated as cities of refuge.

1. Numbers 35:6-7a, Now from these towns that you will give to the Levites you must select six towns of refuge to which a person who has killed someone may flee. And you must give them forty-two other towns. “So the total of the towns you will give the Levites is forty-eight. (NET)

D. The judgment rendered by the court was to be carried out quickly and without argument.

1. The Levitical priests were acting as God’s representatives. To disregard their judgment on the law was an affront to God who was the author of the laws.

2. The penalty for refusing to comply with the ruling was death by stoning.


Deuteronomy 17:14-20, When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” you must select without fail a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens you must appoint a king—you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. Moreover, he must not accumulate horses for




himself or allow the people to return to Egypt to do so, for the Lord has said you must never again return that way. Furthermore, he must not marry many wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold. When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law on a scroll given to him by the Levitical priests. It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he lives, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and carry them out. Then he will not exalt himself above his fellow citizens or turn from the commandments to the right or left, and he and his descendants will enjoy many years ruling over his kingdom in Israel. (NET) I. Provisions for kingship.

A. God knew the hearts and minds of the Israelites.

1. He understood that once they were established in their homeland they would want to be governed by a king.

2. Why?

3. Because all the neighboring nations had kings!

a. The Israelites were a nation unique among all nations because they were ruled by God, not an earthly king.




i. Numbers 23:21b, The Lord their God is with them; his acclamation as king is among them. (NET)

ii. Judges 17:6, In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. (NET)

B. God understood that a king would divide their loyalties and place them in conflict between their one true king, the Lord of heaven, and the demands of an earthly ruler.

1. 1 Samuel 8:6-7, But this request displeased Samuel, for they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, “Do everything the people request of you. For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is me that they have rejected as their king. (NET)

C. Later, God warned His people through the prophet Samuel what to expect when a king ruled them.

1. 1 Samuel 8:11-19, He said, “Here are the policies of the king who will rule over you: He will conscript your sons and put them in his chariot forces and in his cavalry; they will run in front of his chariot. He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties, as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment. He will take your daughters




to be ointment makers, cooks, and bakers. He will take your best fields and vineyards and give them to his own servants. He will demand a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards and give it to his administrators and his servants. He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best cattle and your donkeys, and assign them for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants. In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you in that day.” But the people refused to heed Samuel’s warning. Instead they said, “No! There will be a king over us! (NET)

D. Because of God’s omniscience and understanding of the Israelites, He gave them guidelines to follow when the time came to select a king.

1. The king would first be approved by God.

2. He must be a citizen.

3. He must be one who would not accumulate horses or travel to Egypt to acquire them.

4. He must not marry many wives.

5. He must not lust after gold or silver.




E. The man who possessed these characteristics would not rely on military power or riches to rule, but would rely on God.

F. The Levitical priests were to give the king a scroll with the words of Deuteronomy written on it.

1. The king was to always keep the scroll with him and study it as a constant reminder to observe the law of God.

2. By following the Laws of God the king would rule according to the will of God.

G. The ruler of a nation sets the example for the rest of the country to emulate.

1. If the king is God fearing, the people will also be faithful to God.

Conclusion: I. Each section of this chapter follows a pattern.

A. God states in laws or rules that His people were to follow in order to secure a future that is rich with His blessings.

B. A brief illustration follows that clarifies the law by giving examples of the transgression.




C. The punishment is stated along with the reason for the punishment which usually was to eradicate evil influences from the midst of the Israelites.

D. The Israelites were promised a future blessed by God if they would follow His will.

1. Deuteronomy 16:20, You must pursue justice alone so that you may live and inherit the land the Lord your God is giving you. (NET)

2. Deuteronomy 17:7b, and then all the people are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you. (NET)

3. Deuteronomy 15:5-6a, if you carefully obey him by keeping all these commandments that I am giving you today. For the Lord your God will bless you just as he has promised; (NET)

4. Deuteronomy 13:4, You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him. (NET)

5. Deuteronomy 11:13-14, Now, if you pay close attention to my commandments that I am giving you today and love the Lord your God and serve him with all your mind and being, then he promises, “I will send rain for your land in its season, the autumn and the spring rains, so that




you may gather in your grain, new wine, and olive oil. (NET)

E. This same promise is available to all who believe in Christ Jesus and walk in the way of Jesus by obeying the will of God the Father.

1. Deuteronomy 28:2, All these blessings will come to you in abundance if you obey the Lord your God: (NET)

2. Psalm 33:12, How blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.

3. Jeremiah 17:7, My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me. (NET)

4. John 3:16-18, For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him. The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. (NET)

5. Romans 10:9, because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your




heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NET)




Questions

on

Deuteronomy 17:1-20

1. Explain why sacrifices to God were required to be perfect and without blemish. _______________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. The penalty for practicing idol worship was ________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. How many witnesses were required in order to convict a person of a crime? _____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Who carried out the execution when a person was convicted of a crime? ______________________________________________




_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Who was the first to begin the stoning? __________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Who adjudicated cases that were too difficult for the village to judge? _______________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Describe the penalty for delaying or refusing to comply with the judges’ ruling. ______________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Why did these offenses carry a death penalty? _____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________




_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Why would the Israelites want to have a king? _____________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. The king was to be selected by ________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. Name the four (4) requirements for a king. 1. ___________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 4. ___________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________




12. The Levitical priests were to give the king a ______________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. The king was to keep this with him _____________________ _____________________________________________________ to learn to ____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________.

examples of legal cases continued apeal to a …biblestudyworkshop.com/download/old/deuteronomy...a....

Documents