Today’s Scripture reading covers multiple topics such as atoning for slain men, taking a foreign woman as a wife, distributing an inheritance, and removing rebellious sons. The concern about rebellious sons is also something we see in the New Testament.
When we stopped reading yesterday, Moses was giving Israel instructions on what they were to do in case they found a slain man in the open country and it was unknown who killed the man. The elders of the nearest town were to take a young heifer to a valley with running water and break the heifer’s neck.
Deut. 21:6 And all the elders of that city who are nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;
Deut. 21:7 and they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.
Deut. 21:8 Atone for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O Yahweh, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the bloodguiltiness shall be atoned for them.
Look at the words “atone” and “bloodguiltiness”. Murder is a serious issue. Even when it was not known who murdered a man, it was still necessary to atone for the murder.
Deut. 21:9 So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh.
Notice the words “purge” and “guilt”. This emphasizes the seriousness of murder.
As you read the following verses, remember that in Deuteronomy 20:14-16 Moses had instructed Israel that only in cities far away from the Promised Land were they allowed to let the women and children live. Regarding the Canaanite cities, anything that breathed was to be put to death. This means the following verses only apply to cities far away from the Promised Land.
Deut. 21:10 ¶ “If you go out to battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God gives them over into your hands and you take them away captive,
Deut. 21:11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman and set your affection on her and would take her as a wife for yourself,
Deut. 21:12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails.
Deut. 21:13 She shall also remove the clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house and weep for her father and mother a full month; and after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
Ponder the compassion inherent in this verse. A captured woman was to be allowed time to mourn her parents. There were limits on the extent to which the conquering Israelites could act as conquerors.
Deut. 21:14 And it will be that, if you do not desire her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; but you shall certainly not sell her for money; you shall not mistreat her because you have humbled her.
Deut. 21:15 ¶ “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,
Take note of the phrase “If a man has two wives”. The ideal we see in Genesis 2:24 is monogamy, one man and one woman joining together. Adam, Noah, Shem, Ham, Japheth, Isaac, Joseph, and Job appear to have been monogamous.
Having said that, as we see in this verse, the Mosaic Law made provisions for the reality that some men had two wives. When a man died childless, his brother was to marry his widow and father children for his dead brother. That practice often required polygamy to take place.
The New Testament does not make such an allowance for Christians. When Jesus was asked about divorce, He quoted Genesis 2:24 and declared that divorce and remarriage constitute adultery. If it is adultery to get divorced and remarried, then it is certainly adultery to marry a second wife while married to the first wife.
Furthermore, the qualifications for elder and deacon clearly state that a man must be monogamous in order to be an elder or deacon (see 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1).
Deut. 21:16 then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the firstborn before the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn.
Deut. 21:17 But he shall recognize the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the first of his vigor; the legal judgment for the firstborn belongs to him.
Notice the word “legal”. In ancient Israel, the first-born had a legal right to inherit more than his siblings. That is not something we find in the New Testament. Thus, today it is common for a parent to bequeath their possessions to their children equally.
Deut. 21:18 ¶ “If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they discipline him, he will not even listen to them,
Deut. 21:19 then his father and mother shall seize him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown.
Deut. 21:20 Then they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not listen to our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’
Ponder the words used to describe problem sons: stubborn, rebellious, will not listen, glutton, and drunkard. Those are common problems in our society today.
Deut. 21:21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him, and he will die; so you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.
Pay attention to the words “stone” and “purge the evil”. Rebelliousness was worthy of death. It was called evil that needed to be purged.
Take note also of the words “hear” and “fear”. Part of the purpose of stoning rebellious sons was to create fear and prevent others from becoming rebellious.
The New Testament does not require us to stone rebellious sons, but it does teach the importance of obeying parents. In the first chapter of Romans, Paul described what happens in a society which suppresses the truth about God. Paul included “disobedient to parents” in a long list of sins which come about when people do not acknowledge God. Unfortunately, it is common today for children to disobey and disrespect their parents. That is a reflection of the extent to which our society has abandoned God.
Deut. 21:22 ¶ “And if a man has committed a sin, the judgment of which is death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
Deut. 21:23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (because cursed of God is he who is hanged), so that you do not make unclean your land which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance.
This verse influenced the crucifixion of Jesus. After Jesus and the two thieves were crucified, the Jews asked Pilate to break the legs of the crucified men so that they would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (see John 19:31).
Also, Paul quoted this verse to tell us that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse Himself. He was cursed because anyone who is hanged is cursed of God (see Galatians 3:13).
Our society does not value well-behaved children. In fact, in many ways our society encourages children to rebel against their parents. That is a sin, just as it was in the Old Testament. The New Testament commands children to obey their parents (see Ephesians 6:1-3). Furthermore, disobedient children are a sign that a society has turned away from God (see Romans 1:30). Churches and Christians must teach and encourage children to obey their parents.
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“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.”