Modern society is driven by emotion. Thus, it is easy and tempting to show favoritism. Some people want to be biased in favor of the poor simply because the poor need all the help they can get. Others want to defer to the rich to curry favor with them. The Israelite judges were explicitly told to avoid partiality and bribes. There are New Testament commands which essentially tell us the same thing.
When we stopped reading yesterday, Moses was reviewing the rules regarding the Passover. Passover was to be celebrated in the month of Abib because that is the month in which Yahweh brought Israel out of Egypt.
Deut. 16:5 You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your gates of the towns which Yahweh your God is giving you;
Deut. 16:6 but at the place where Yahweh your God chooses for His name to dwell, there you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the appointed time that you came out of Egypt.
Notice the words “at sunset”. Not only was the Passover to be celebrated in the same month in which they came out of Egypt, but it was also to be celebrated at a particular time of day.
Deut. 16:7 And you shall cook and eat it in the place which Yahweh your God chooses. In the morning you are to return to your tents.
Deut. 16:8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to Yahweh your God; you shall do no work on it.
Take note of the words “unleavened bread”. When Israel left Egypt, they did so quickly; thus, their bread did not have time to rise (see Exodus 12:39). Part of Passover was eating unleavened bread to commemorate the speed and suddenness of their exodus from Egypt.
Deut. 16:9 ¶ “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.
Look at the word “sickle”. A sickle is a tool used to cut down grain stalks. As soon as Israel began harvesting their grain, they were to start counting the seven weeks. In Israel, harvest begins in April.
Deut. 16:10 Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to Yahweh your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as Yahweh your God blesses you;
Deut. 16:11 and you shall be glad before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female slaves and the Levite who is within your gates and the sojourner and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where Yahweh your God chooses for His name to dwell.
Deut. 16:12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
Take note of the word “remember”. There was a strong emphasis that the Israelites were to remember that they were slaves in Egypt, and Yahweh delivered them out of slavery.
Deut. 16:13 ¶ “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat;
Look at the word “after”. The Feast of Booths came after their work at the threshing floor and wine vat.
After they were done cutting down the stalks of grain and bringing them in from the field, they had to thresh the grain. Threshing involves removing the seeds of grain from the stalk.
Also, after they were done picking their grapes, they had to run them through the wine vat in order to make something they could drink.
Deut. 16:14 and you shall be glad in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female slaves and the Levite and the sojourner and the orphan and the widow who are within your gates.
Deut. 16:15 Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to Yahweh your God in the place which Yahweh chooses, because Yahweh your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether glad.
Deut. 16:16 ¶ “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before Yahweh your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before Yahweh empty-handed.
Don’t miss the words “empty-handed”. Every male had to bring something for Yahweh.
Deut. 16:17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God which He has given you.
Look at the words “as he is able”. Every man had to bring something according to his means.
Deut. 16:18 ¶ “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your gates of the towns which Yahweh your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
Take note of the words “righteous judgment”. The Hebrew word translated as “righteous” means to do what is right, just, and fair.
Deut. 16:19 You shall not distort justice; you shall not be partial, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
Notice the prohibition against distorting justice, being partial, and taking bribes. Judges had to be fair and just. They had to do the right thing.
Deut. 16:20 Righteousness! Righteousness, you shall pursue, that you may live and possess the land which Yahweh your God is giving you.
The word “righteousness” appears twice. That is for emphasis. Yahweh wanted to make sure everyone knew that judges needed to judge righteously.
We see a similar emphasis in the New Testament. Paul wrote that God does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11). Paul commanded Timothy to follow his instructions without partiality (1 Timothy 5:21). James commanded us to avoid favoritism (James 2:1) because partiality is a sin (James 2:9).
James was specifically writing against showing partiality to rich people, and giving them the best seats in the assembly. Poor people should not be forced into lower positions simply because they are poorly dressed.
On the other hand, if a poor person brings a false claim against a rich person, the poor person should not receive favoritism simply because he is poor. The rich person deserves to be acquitted if he did nothing wrong.
Deut. 16:21 ¶ “You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Yahweh your God, which you shall make for yourself.
Deut. 16:22 And you shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which Yahweh your God hates.
One of the big problems in evangelicalism today is corrupt celebrity pastors. There are many pastors out there who are very charismatic; thus, they become celebrities. Unfortunately, many of them are also corrupt. Since they are famous celebrities, and since they can draw large crowds and raise a lot of money, they often get a pass when their sin and corruption are exposed. That is wrong.
There have been celebrity pastors who were exposed as adulterers, and then within a year or so they were serving as pastors again. Adulterers should never be pastors again. They should not receive favoritism simply because they can draw a crowd, generate emotion, and raise a lot of money.
Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. If you have already joined my email list, thank you and please tell others about Bible Mountain. If you have not joined my email list yet, please do so now. In order to join, go to BibleMountain.com, click on subscribe, and that will take you to a page where you can sign up. Your email address will not be sold or given away. Once again, thanks for visiting Bible Mountain.
“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”