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<h2><a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,'1-');">Deu 23</a> - Instructions to the Assembly, Various Laws</h2>
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<p>A. Those excluded from the congregation of Israel.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,1);">1</a>) Eunuchs are excluded from the congregation of Israel.</p>
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<p class="c2">He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4"><span>a</span>. <b><span class="c3">By crushing or mutilation</span></b>: This refers to those <b><span class="c3">emasculated</span></b> by either birth defect, accident, or by deliberate emasculation.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">Shall not enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: When we read this term, it usually refers to the nation gathered before the <span class="c6">Lord</span> in worship, such as when they were gathered at Mount Sinai (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',5,22);">Deu 5:22</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Deu',9,10);">9:10</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Deu',10,4);">10:4</a>, and <a onclick="return mV('Deu',18,16);">18:16</a>). But it doesn't always have this sense.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. <a onclick="return mV('Deu',31,30);">Deu 31:30</a> refers to <i>all the congregation of Israel</i>, while <a onclick="return mV('Deu',31,28);">Deu 31:28</a> makes it clear that "all the congregation" was gathered through <i>all the elders of your tribes, and your officers</i>. So, in some contexts, <i>the congregation</i> can refer to <i>elders</i> and <i>officers</i>. It may very well be that these exclusions from the <b><span class="c3">assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b> are exclusions not from the religious life of Israel, but from the political life of the nation.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Poole suggests that the idea of <b><span class="c3">the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b> is the leadership, or the rulers of Israel. These people were barred not from the religious life of Israel, but from the political life of the nation. Trapp agrees, saying on <b><span class="c3">shall not enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: "Shall not go in and out before the people as a public officer." Clarke adds, "If by entering into the congregation be meant the bearing a <i>civil</i> office among the people, such as magistrate, judge, &c., then the reason of the law is very plain."</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. <a onclick="return mV('Isa',56,'3-5');">Isa 56:3-5</a> shows that even eunuchs and foreigners could be accepted before the <span class="c6">Lord</span> if they would obey Him, and they would be accepted before the "normal" people who disobeyed God.</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">Shall not enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: Eunuchs were excluded because God's covenant with Israel was vitally connected with the idea of the <i>seed</i>, and emasculation is a "crime" against the seed of man. Additionally, most eunuchs were made to be so in pagan ceremonies where they were dedicated to pagan gods.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,2);">2</a>) <span>Those</span> of unknown parentage are excluded from the assembly of Israel (civil leadership in Israel).</p>
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<p class="c2">One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>; even to the tenth generation none of his <i>descendants</i> shall enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">One of illegitimate birth</span></b>: It is difficult to define exactly what is meant by the term <b><span class="c3">of illegitimate birth</span></b>. Some later Jewish writers defined this as someone who was born of an incestuous relationship between Jews; others said it refers to those born of mixed marriages between the people of Israel and their pagan neighbors (as in <a onclick="return mV('Neh',13,23);">Neh 13:23</a>).</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,'3-6');">3-6</a>) Ammonites and Moabites are excluded from the congregation of Israel (civil leadership in Israel).</p>
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<p class="c2">An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>; even to the tenth generation none of his <i>descendants</i> shall enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> forever, because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. Nevertheless the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God would not listen to Balaam, but the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God loves you. You shall not seek their peace <span>nor</span> their prosperity all your days forever.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span></span></b>: The Moabites and the Ammonites not only treated Israel cruelly on their way to the Promised Land, but they also were a people with a disgraceful beginning. Moab and Ammon were the two sons born to the daughters of Lot through their incest with their father (<a onclick="return mV('Gen',19,'30-38');">Gen 19:30-38</a>).</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,'7-8');">7-8</a>) Edomites and Egyptians (<b><span class="c3">of the third generation</span></b>) are permitted to be among the congregation of Israel (civil leadership in Israel).</p>
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<p class="c2">You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he <i>is</i> your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land. The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">You shall not abhor an Edomite</span></b>: The Edomites were ethnically related to Israel, because Israel's brother Esau was the father of the Edomite peoples. Therefore, Israel was commanded to <b><span class="c3">not abhor an Edomite</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Interestingly, one of the most famous Edomites in history was abhorred by Israel - Herod the Great. Many of his spectacular building projects in Judea were intended to not only glorify his own name, but to win the favor of the Jews who despised him as an Edomite.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">You shall not abhor an Egyptian</span></b>: The Egyptians were also to receive more favor than the Moabites or Ammonites, because Israel was a guest in Egypt for almost 400 years. Though the years Israel spent in Egypt were hard, God had a great purpose for them. Egypt was like a mother's womb for Israel; they went in as a large family, and came out as a distinct nation.</p>
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<p>B. Miscellaneous laws.</p>
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<p class="c1">1. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,'9-14');">9-14</a>) Cleanliness in the camp.</p>
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<p class="c2">When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing. If there is any man among you who becomes unclean by some occurrence in the night, then he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come inside the camp. But it shall be, when evening comes, that he shall wash with water; and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp. Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. For the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing</span></b>: God commanded <i>ceremonial</i> cleanliness among the army of Israel. <b><span class="c3">Some occurrence in the night</span></b> probably refers to nocturnal emissions, and the cleansing ceremony for this is described in <a onclick="return mV('Lev',15,'16-18');">Lev 15:16-18</a>. After observing the ceremonial washing, <b><span class="c3">he may come into the camp again</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">And you shall have an implement among your equipment</span></b>: God commanded <i>sanitary</i> cleanliness among the army of Israel; each soldier was to carry some type of shovel, with which he could <b><span class="c3">cover </span></b>[his] <b><span class="c3">refuse</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. This command was given, "Partly, to prevent the annoyance of ourselves or others; partly, to preserve and exercise modesty and natural honesty; and principally, that by such outward rites they might be inured to the greater reverence of the Divine Majesty, and the greater caution to avoid all real and moral uncleanness." (Poole)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Some ancient rabbis taught that the holy city of Jerusalem should be considered "the camp of the <span class="c6">Lord</span>." Under this reasoning, one had to go outside the camp to relieve one's self. However, for many people, the trip outside the large "camp" of Israel (the city of Jerusalem) was longer than what would be permitted on the Sabbath. Therefore, as a practical matter, the rabbis prohibited a Jew from relieving themselves on the Sabbath day.</p>
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<p class="c1">2. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,'15-16');">15-16</a>) Israel to provide asylum for the foreign escaped slave.</p>
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<p class="c2">You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you</span></b>: "The refugee slave referred to had evidently come from a foreign land. Otherwise there would have been legal complications, since slaves were a valued possession." (Thompson)</p>
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<p class="c1">3. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,'17-18');">17-18</a>) <span>Sacred</span> prostitution banned.</p>
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<p class="c2">There shall be no <i>ritual</i> harlot of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one of the sons of Israel. You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God for any vowed offering, for both of these <i>are</i> an abomination to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">Ritual harlot</span></b>: This refers to a female prostitute. The term <b><span class="c3">perverted one</span></b> refers to a male prostitute, both of which were common among the pagan religions of the Canaanites and others in the ancient world.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Later, in the reigns of Asa (<a onclick="return mV('1Ki',15,12);">1Ki 15:12</a>) and Josiah (<a onclick="return mV('2Ki',23,7);">2Ki 23:7</a>) we are told that the <i>perverted persons</i> (male prostitutes) were expelled from Israel. This means that for some period of time before they were expelled, they were allowed to practice their "holy prostitution," which was an <b><span class="c3">abomination to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God</span></b>: The pay of a female prostitute (<b><span class="c3">the hire of a harlot</span></b>) and the pay of a male prostitute (<b><span class="c3">the price of a dog</span></b>) were never to be offered to the <span class="c6">Lord</span>. This was a common practice among the sacred prostitution cults that abounded in the ancient world.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. A reminder of the principle that the work of the <span class="c6">Lord</span> does not need money from immoral or ill-gotten gains.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Even in its most gross forms, this kind of practice has been allowed in the institutional church. "And what a stinking shame is that, that stews and brothel-houses are licensed by the Pope, who reaps no small profit by them?" (Trapp, writing in 1659)</p>
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<p class="c1">4. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,'19-20');">19-20</a>) No interest to be charged to the family of Israel.</p>
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<p class="c2">You shall not charge interest to your brother; interest on money <i>or</i> food <i>or</i> anything that is lent out at interest. To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">You shall not charge interest to your brother; interest on money or food</span></b>: The mention of <b><span class="c3">food</span></b>, and the similar command in <a onclick="return mV('Exd',22,25);">Exd 22:25</a>, leads most to understand that interest was prohibited on loans made to the poor for their basic needs, and did not prohibit the taking of interest on loans that were not for relief of the poor.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">To a foreigner you may charge interest</span></b>: "But since merchants from other nations might come for business reasons to Israel, or make loans on interest to Israelites, foreigners could be charged interest." (Kalland)</p>
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<p class="c1">5. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,'21-23');">21-23</a>) <span>The</span> importance of keeping our vows.</p>
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<p class="c2">When you make a vow to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God what you have promised with your mouth.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">You shall not delay to pay it</span></b>: A vow before God is no small thing. God expressly commanded that Israel should be careful to keep its vows and to fulfill every oath made, <b><span class="c3">for the <span class="c6">Lord</span> your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to</span></b>.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. In many circles today, the breaking of an oath is just standard business practice - but before God, it is simply sin.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">If you abstain from vowing</span></b>: Many wonder if vows or oaths are permitted for a Christian today.</p>
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<p class="c5">i. Some think not, because of what Jesus said in <a onclick="return mV('Mat',5,'34-37');">Mat 5:34-37</a>: <i>But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.</i> (See also <a onclick="return mV('Jam',5,12);">Jam 5:12</a>)</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. But, in context of the rest of Scripture, we see that Jesus was not forbidding oaths, as much as telling us that we should be so filled with integrity in our words that an oath is unnecessary.</p>
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<p class="c5">iii. Jesus answered under oath in a court (<a onclick="return mV('Mat',26,'63-64');">Mat 26:63-64</a>), and God Himself swears oaths (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',1,73);">Luk 1:73</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Act',2,30);">Act 2:30</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Hbr',3,18);">Hbr 3:18</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Hbr',6,13);">6:13</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Hbr',3,17);">3:17</a>).</p>
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<p class="c4">c. <b><span class="c3">But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you</span></b>: Vows are never required by God; many times it is better not to make a vow.</p>
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<p class="c4">d. <b><span class="c3">That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform</span></b>: This shows how important it is to keep a vow once made. As it says in <a onclick="return mV('Ecc',5,'4-5');">Ecc 5:4-5</a>, <span><i>When</i></span><i> you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed. It is better not to vow than to vow and not pay.</i></p>
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<p class="c5">i. Many vows are just plain foolish - "I'll never do that again" is a foolish vow, and it is foolish and unwise to demand such a vow from someone else.</p>
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<p class="c5">ii. Of course, there is a vow we all can and should make - a vow to praise God: <i>Vows made to <span>You</span> are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises unto You</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',56,12);">Psa 56:12</a>). <i>So I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Psa',61,8);">Psa 61:8</a>).</p>
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<p class="c1">6. (<a onclick="return mV('Deu',23,'24-25');">24-25</a>) <span>The</span> right to glean is given to travelers.</p>
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<p class="c2">When you come into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put <i>any</i> in your container. When you come into your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor's standing grain.</p>
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<p class="c4">a. <b><span class="c3">When you come into your neighbor's vineyard</span></b>: The idea is that, as one traveled <span>they</span> had the right to pick off a few grapes or heads of grain to eat along the way. It wasn't the right to harvest from your neighbor's fields, but to provide for your own immediate needs.</p>
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<p class="c4">b. <b><span class="c3">You may pluck the heads with your hand</span></b>: This is the law Jesus and His disciples were operating under when they <i>plucked heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Luk',6,'1-5');">Luk 6:1-5</a>). They were accused by the Pharisees of breaking the Sabbath, but not of stealing grain, because the Pharisees knew this law in the book of Deuteronomy.</p>
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