12-Deuteronomy 21- Joshua 6

Deuteronomy 21- Joshua 6

Mark. 14, 2009

This week we will pick up our study in the Book of Deuteronomy in Chapter 21. As we learned last week, the Book of Deuteronomy reads like a treaty. This was Moses’ last words to the people he had led through the wilderness during the last forty years of his life. It had been a difficult time for Moses. God had selected Moses to lead His rebellious people, the children of Israel, to the land that He had promised to Abraham many years before. Even with all the signs and wonders, performed by God, the people had witnessed throughout their journey they still fought Moses’ leadership, and continually complained. Before Moses was to die, God wanted him to re-tell Israel His law and give the people born in the wilderness instructions on how they were to live in the Promised Land. The men of Israel, who had heard God’s law when it was first given to Moses, were all now dead. Over and over again throughout the Book of Deuteronomy Moses repeated to the people that they were to love the Lord your God, and keep His commandments. In Chapter 21 Moses gave the people instruction on what to do if a person was found murdered in the open countryside. If the one who had committed the murder was found he would be put to death. If the murder became unsolved, the city closest to the murdered person had to make atonement for the act. This was required by God so that all the sins of Israel would be dealt with. This chapter also contained the rules concerning the marriage of a man of Israel to a woman of a conquered enemy’s people. The woman was required to mourn for her family for thirty days, and renounce her old culture. Only then could she enter the congregation of the people and be accepted. The man was required to treat her fairly, even if the union ended in divorce. The woman could not be sold, and if she had born the man a firstborn son, that son would receive the double portion from his father. God required the people to return lost property, and that men should dress as men, and women to dress as women. It was not allowed for one sex to impersonate the other. It was an abomination against the Lord, and went against the order He had assigned to mankind. God also gave restrictions against the mixing of different things. He had reasons for His laws. Some of those meanings are not recognized by people today, but their intent can still be applied. The last part of Chapter 22 deals with men and women. A woman was required to be a virgin before marriage. If a woman was found to have been no longer a virgin, and had been betrothed to a man, she would be stoned to death. If a man raped a woman who had been betrothed to a man, the rapist would also be stoned. If a man raped an un-betrothed woman, he would be required to marry the woman. This seems very unfair to the woman in today’s thinking. It was needed at that time to ensure that the woman would be cared for. Even though the rape was wrong, the woman would become ineligible for marriage according to the law that says that only a virgin woman was eligible for marriage. These laws were required by God to purge the evil from His people. Chapter 23 covers some rules on who could be accepted into the congregation of Israel. Eunuchs were not allowed into the congregation because of their association with idol worship. Anyone who was born illegitimate was not allowed. Also men of the Ammonites, and Moabites were not allowed because of what they had done to Israel in not allowing them to pass through their land. The prohibition was also because of their association with the Prophet Balaam the son of Beor, and their wish for him to curse Israel. The people of Israel were not to charge interest to a brother, but could charge interest to a foreigner. They were told to protect the weak and poor among them. People were to be allowed to eat what they wanted from a field or a vineyard. They could eat, but not use tools to harvest and steal the farmers’ crop. At harvest a farmer was to leave a remnant of his produce in the field for the widows, orphans, and aliens to glean. The people were told to do this so that they would remember that they were once slaves in Egypt. The people were required to obey the judges of the land in a dispute. They were to accept the punishment given, and could be beaten no more than forty times. An example of the lengths the Jews went to keep the law is illustrated in 2 Corinthians 11:24 “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.” These words were spoken by Paul when he spoke of his times in prison. The Jews would beat him only thirty nine times so they would not break the law of only forty lashes by accident. They were zealous of the law, but entirely missed the point about Gods reason for the law. The text also says in Chapter 25:4 “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” This verse was used by Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:9-10, and 1 Timothy 5:18 to show that human workers are to be rewarded for their labors. This labor could be spiritual, as well as physical labor. Next in the chapter the principle of the Kinsman Redeemer is covered. If a man dies and his widow had not born him any children to carry his name, the brother of the dead man was to take his widow as a wife to produce a firstborn child to continue the man’s name in the people. If the man’s brother did not accept this obligation, the woman, before the elders would take off the brothers sandal and spit in his face. The dead man’s name would be known from then on as “the house of him whose sandal was removed.” The practice of the Kinsman Redeemer will be illustrated later in the Book of Ruth. Moses also told Israel of God’s requirement for them to use correct weights and measures in commerce. The people were to be careful to not cheat anyone. In Chapter 26 Israel was told to bring the firstfruits of their fields to the Lord after they had been in the land. The text shows the words they were to recite to the Lord. After the tithe was given to the Lord and the giver realized what the Lord had done for him, he was to rejoice with the Levites with what he had given. Every third year, a tithe was also to be brought for the Levites, widows, strangers, and orphans in the congregation. The people were to have compassion for the poor among them. After this Moses told the people another promise of God. This is recorded in Chapter 26:16-19 “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.“You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.“The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments;and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken.”

    The people were told to set up rough stones on Mt. Ebal, after they crossed the Jordan River, cover them with white lime, and write the law on them so that all could see. They were also to set up an altar there. The stones were not to have been worked with metal tools. Moses then recited to Israel a series of twelve curses they were to hear in the land. The tribes were to be split into two groups with one group on Mt .Gerizim, and the other on Mt. Ebal. The Levites will then tell the twelve curses to the people. After the people hear each curse they were to acknowledge the Levites with Amen. This was to ensure they heard and understood the curses from God. The curses were spoken to those on Mt. Ebal. These curses of Chapter 27 were followed, in Chapter 28 with a series of four blessings directed to Mt. Gerizim. The result of these blessings was then revealed. After this the blessings were contrasted with the curses that would come to pass if Israel disobeyed the law, and Gods covenant with His people.

In Chapter 29 Moses told the people the words of God covenant with them. This covenant is the latest in the covenants that God has made with mankind. The first covenant was made with Adam. It is known as the Edenic Covenant. This was the covenant of innocence, God told man to be fruitful and multiply, have dominion over the animal kingdom; care for the garden, and to not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After Adam broke this covenant, God gave another one to Adam. It is known as the Adamic Covenant. This covenant consisted of God’s promise of a savior in response to the fall of man. God then made a covenant with Noah after the great flood. This is known as the Noahic Covenant. In this covenant God promises to never destroy all life again. He used the rainbow as a sign to man of His covenant with Noah. This covenant was followed by Gods covenant with Abraham. This is known as the Abrahamic Covenant. God promised to bless Abraham and make of him a great nation. This covenant was then passed on to Abraham’s son Isaac, then to Isaacs’s son Jacob. The sign of this covenant was circumcision. The next covenant was a covenant that God made with Moses on Mt. Sinai. This is known as the Mosaic Covenant. The covenant was Gods law to His people and its condemnation of man. The covenant that we are speaking about in Deuteronomy is the covenant between God and Israel. It is known as the Palestinian Covenant. The covenant is about the blessings of the Promised Land for Gods people. This covenant is conditional. If Israel disobeys God the covenant would be broken. The covenant speaks of the scattering of disbelieving Israel, and their eventual re-gathering in the future. The covenants of God serve to separate time into distinct periods of events. The covenants describe how God deals with His people during a particular point in history. At the end of the chapter God promises restoration to Israel even if they break His covenant. Moses then told the people to make the right choice. This is written in Chapter 30:15-20 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.“But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” These words are the main points of the Palestinian Covenant. In Chapter 31 Moses told the people all the words that we have been looking at these past two weeks. He let the people know that he was 120 years old and could no longer lead the people. He told the people not to fear the people of the land they were about to possess, and that the Lord would be with them. H wrote down all the words of the law in a book, and instructed the Levites to read it to the people during the Feast of Tabernacles, on the sabbatical year. This would be every seventh year. The Lord then told Moses that Israel would fall away from God after his death. Moses was told to write a song and teach it to the children of Israel to help them remember. Moses wrote the song that same day and taught it to the people. Moses then commissioned Joshua and placed the Book of the Law beside the Ark of the Covenant. The words of the song of Moses are recorded in Chapter 32. Moses then blesses the tribes of Israel in a similar way as Jacob blessed his sons at the end of the Book of Genesis. The blessings of Moses were also prophetic and described what would happen to each tribe in the future. The Book of Deuteronomy ends in Chapter 34 with the death of Moses. God told Moses to climb Mt. Nebo and see the Promised Land. After Moses saw the land he died. God then buried the body of Moses in the valley in the land of Moab in secret. No one knows where the body of Moses was buried. God knew that if the people had the body of Moses they would worship it as an idol. Satan knew this and it is recorded by Jude in the New Testament Book of Jude 1:9 that Michael the archangel disputed with Satan over the body of Moses. “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” The people then mourned the passing of Moses for thirty days. It is recorded that will never again be a prophet like Moses in all of Israel. This ends the Book of Deuteronomy. We will now begin the Book of Joshua. The Book of Joshua is named for its author, and covers Israel’s conquest and settlement of the Promised Land. Chapter 1 begins with God speaking to Joshua to encourage him and direct him to lead the people to possess the land. God tells Joshua to read His law, and meditate on it. The words God spoke to Joshua are recorded in Chapter 1:2-9 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.“From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.“No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.“Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.“Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua tells the people to prepare to cross the Jordan River in three days’ time. Joshua learned from the earlier trouble with spies to only send out a few trusted men in secret to view the land. Joshua sent two men across the Jordan to spy, and check out their first opponent, the City of Jericho. When the two spies entered Jericho, they entered the home of a prostitute named Rahab. The King of Jericho received word that there were spies from Israel in his city. He sent word to Rahab to release the men to him. Rahab lied to the King and protected the spies. She had heard of the Israelites, and what their God had done in Egypt, and also to the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan. She knew to fear God and ask the spies to spare her and her family from the coming battle. The spies agreed as long as Rahab was being truthful. She helped them escape from the city. The spies returned to Joshua with a good report. Joshua then, after three days had passed, told the people to follow the Levitical priests that would carry the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan River. The priests carried the Ark for this occasion instead of the sons of Kohath. The people were told to keep back 2,000 cubits, or 3,000 feet, from the Ark so that all could see. When the Ark of the Covenant reached the bank of the Jordan River the flow of water from the north was stopped and became a heap. The bed of the river became dry land the same as the Red Sea when Israel left Egypt. After the crossing twelve men, one from each tribe made a memorial of twelve stones in Gilgal, in Canaan. They then went back to the center of the river and made another twelve stone monument to mark their passing. The text says the stones are still there today. When the Ark left the river it returned to normal. Half of the men of war belonging to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh came across the Jordan with the people ready for war. This was 40,000 men. The other half stayed behind to protect their women and children. God then exalted Joshua in front of the people, and he became as revered as Moses in their eyes. Joshua then told the people to look at the stone monument at Gilgal and remember where the Lord had brought them from. In Chapter 5 the men of Israel that had not yet been circumcised, were circumcised. The sign of circumcision was not done in the wilderness. The people then celebrated the Passover. The next day the children of Israel ate from the produce of the Promised Land, and the fall of manna ceased. The people then sustained themselves on the produce of the land. After some time when Joshua was near Jericho a man approached him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua asked the man who he was for. The man answered and told Joshua that he was the Captain of the Lords Host. Joshua fell to his face, and the man told him to remove the sandals from his feet, the ground he was standing on was holy. Joshua realized the man was the Lord. The Lord then told Joshua how to defeat Jericho. We will end this week in Chapter 6, and the battle of Jericho. The City of Jericho was surrounded by walls and could not be defeated easily by normal methods. Joshua told the people to do what the Lord had told him. The armed men of Israel preceded the priests with the Ark and circled the city. The priests blew their rams horns continually. They circled the city one time for six consecutive days. On the seventh day the parade circled the City of Jericho seven times with the horns blowing. At the seventh time the people shouted, and the walls of the city fell flat. Only the part of the wall that held the home of Rahab was left standing. The fighting men then entered the city and killed all that were there. Only the metals of the city were taken for the Lords treasury, along with the family of Rahab were spared. Rahab is notable because she is a part of the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is recorded in Christ’s genealogy in the Book of Matthew that Rahab was the mother of Boaz. We will meet Boaz later in the Book of Ruth. Joshua then places a curse on the site of the City of Jericho. This ends our study for this week. Next week we will continue in the Book of Joshua, with Israel’s conquest of Canaan.