Thursday Night Bible Study

Deuteronomy19-Deuteronomy 20

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“And Justice For All” • 1.24.13 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- As we continue our survey through Moses' second sermon, we remember that this is the same sermon that called for God's people to love Him.

- Loving God begins with obeying His commandments, which he reviews for us here. At some point in time, obeying God means adopting His view of ethics and justice.

- That's what this next section is about: What does God's sense of justice mean and how far from it are we? Let's see as we move through this passage.

Text

• Deuteronomy 19:1-7 : "When the Lord your God has cut off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, you shall separate three cities for yourself in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess. You shall prepare roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, that any manslayer may flee there. And this is the case of the manslayer who flees there, that he may live: Whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally, not having hated him in time past—as when a man goes to the woods with his neighbor to cut timber, and his hand swings a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he shall flee to one of these cities and live; lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past. Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall separate three cities for yourself.’" : Conflict is a given circumstance for the people of Israel. God was giving them the land, but they had to cooperate by taking it! That has impressed me all week.

- God has given us all that we need for a godly life. All we have to do is take it! When Israel dispossessed these nations, they would have to assign cities of refuge within the land.

- These cities of refuge were erected for the purpose of justice, existing to keep men from taking revenge against other people who were guilty of manslaughter.

- The cities were about a day's run away from key points in Israel and those who had no premeditative intent could flee there and have their case reviewed.

- When it was determined that the person was innocent of premeditation, he could dwell there in safety, while the priest lived.

- Anyone could run there, either Hebrew or foreigner and whoever stayed there was safe.

- Jesus is our refuge. The righteous run into Him and they are saved while He lives!

• Deuteronomy 19:8-13 : "Now if the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers,  and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three, lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you. But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you." : The Lord had promised the people of Israel a generous amount of land that they were to occupy.

- His promise was sure and their victory secure, if they went along obediently. If that were to be the case, there would be a necessity for more cities of refuge.

- This would limit the shedding of innocent blood, but not eliminate the need for capital punishment. If a murder was found to have motive, he was to be put to death.

- They were not to take this lightly. They were not to pity him. They were not to feel sorry for him or the fate that his crime justly deserved.

- Today in our society, there are more advocates for the guilty, than there are for the slain! God's justice is fair and those that have taken a life should not have theirs extended.

- Their motive in carrying out God's judgement was to remove the guilt from the nation, so that the whole of the nation would prosper.

• Deuteronomy 19:14 : "You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess." : Moses has dealt with murder. Now, he combats the heart to steal from one another.

- The landmark was simply the boundary line of a person's property that would have been put in place by those ancestors that oversaw the tribal property allotment.

- A person was not to attempt to gain more at the hand of their brother, but was to be content with what the Lord had given them to possess.

- It is vital that we learn the lesson in life, that godliness with contentment is greater gain than a few more feet of property or a few more tires in the driveway!

- These Hebrews had to learn that lesson as well by honoring the landmarks of their brothers.

- God is giving you a land to possess. Enjoy what He has given you and if He gives you more, rejoice! Until He does, be content. Live within your means and be thankful for what you have!

• Deuteronomy 19:15-21 : "One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you. And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." : Moses augments what he has already spoken regarding the necessity of two or three corroborative witnesses.

- False witnesses would likely be those who brought a contrary report, supposedly with the motive of destroying their brother.

- The council of priests and judges were to bring this before the Lord. The truthfulness of a witness was of paramount importance, given that they were involved in life and death matters.

- If a witness was found to be false, the law then prescribed that that "witness" receive the punishment that they had pushed for.

- When one thinks about this, there is fresh outrage at the ones who falsely condemned Jesus to His death! The system of justice failed Him, but God's system of justice was satisfied!

- It's definitely mysterious, but such a miscarriage of justice was not to be a possibility, given these precautions.

- Again, false witnesses were not to be tolerated or pitied. They were to be executed in whatever crime that they had prescribed.

- If they had pushed for life, then their life was required. If an eye, then their eye was required. As we look at this with 21st century eyes, we consider this barbaric.

- But this is God limiting man's wreckless and cruel nature when their vengeance often desired much more than what had been taken from them.

• Deuteronomy 20:1-4 : "When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’" : For the people of God this was an actual historical eventuality. They fought against human Kingdoms. For you and I, this is a principle. We will face conflict.

- The word "when" is a little disconcerting, but the truth about conflict is that it is an inevitability.

- In the Christian life, there are enemies that you will have to vanquish, but if it's the Lord's fight, you have no need to fear,  yet the temptation will be there and be very real.

- Their enemies would be well armored and well equipped for battle against the people of God. They would have the better tech and the more numerous forces.

- Every battle on the human playing level would seem to be stacked in the enemy's favor and yet, there is the command from the Lord to "fear not!" Why?

- He is still the same God that delivered them from Egypt and He was still with them. The priests would reming them of this before the battle engaged: "The Lord goes with you!"

- This is a fantastic reminder for us. The Lord that was with the Hebrews in battle against insurmountable odds and incredible enemies, is with us as well!

- Our history with Him is worthy of remembering for that is our best mental defense in every conflict that we face.

- Our enemies might be less in number and have less homicidal intention toward us, but our feelings of fear are there nonetheless.

- Who is fighting on your side? Does not the Lord deserve the faith that would see the victory to your battles as well? He fights for us as well!

• Deuteronomy 20:5-9 : "Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it. And what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.’ The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’ And so it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people." :  There were people that God exempted from military service. The Levites were left out, as well as those that met these extenuating circumstances.

- Those who had recently built a house or planted a vineyard, as well as one who was about to be married or one who could not conquer their own fear. These were excused from battle.

- The premise is that those who engage in a battle have enough fear and concern to combat in and of themselves. They don't need their fellow combatants to be distracted in battle.

• Deuteronomy 20:10-15 "When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it. And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you. Now if the city will not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. And when the Lord your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword.  But the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and you shall eat the enemies’ plunder which the Lord your God gives you. Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations." : This was Israeli occupation philosophy for cities that were distant, beyond their borders.

- They were to come first seeking a peaceful resolution for surrender, at which point, the inhabitants would serve Israeli interests through tribute and servitude.

- If surrender was not an option, then Israel was lay siege against the city.

- The were to decimate their war numbers by killing the males, but able to take the rest of the plunder for themselves.

- Usually an army would recklessly and violently destroy all of the city as an act of spiteful vengeance. Israel was not to act that way against those nations that were distant.

- There was however, a different philosophy when it came to the immediate cities of Canaan.

• Deuteronomy 20:16-18 : "But of the cities of these peoples which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God." : The policy regarding the cities of Canaan was one of complete eradication. Everything was to be cut down to the ground.

- God was waging war through the people of Israel and the limit had been reached by these people who refused to surrender themselves to God. They were now ripe for judgment.

- Why could they not be given the same terms that the distant nations were afforded? The text indicates that they would never give up attempting to teach the Israeli's their religious ways!

- God is severe because He sees straight to the Canaanite heart. They will never concede until they have infected all with their false beliefs.

- Until Israel was like them, sinning as they were in their wretched state, then they would not rest! The end would be the eradication of Israel and God would not chance that.

- Perhaps you feel He is being too severe about prohibitions in your life. You sense HIm bearing down on a practice or an attitude and you resent it.

- But He sees the end! He sees where it is taking you and when He calls you to be severe with your own self, trust that He does so from supreme wisdom and follow with no delay!

• Deuteronomy 20:19,20 : "When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food. Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, to build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it is subdued." : When war was waged in those days, it was necessary to use all the resources outside the land, usually walled cities, to siege the Kingdom.

- The people of Israel were not to be marauders who had no mind in them. Some of the trees outside would be valuable for food. Those trees should survive the cut!

- Everything else could be used for siegeworks against the city until it gave in.

Conclusion
- Let us be as quick to obey that which God calls us to, no matter the severity!