You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep in which is a defect or anything evil; for that is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight in transgressing his covenant, and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded, and you are told, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is done in Israel, then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates, even that same man or woman; and you shall stone them to death with stones. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 6, 7 Thou shalt not serve God for fashion’s sake, as…
Thou shalt not serve God for fashion’s sake, as hypocrites do.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 Deu 17:1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD…
Deu 17:1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God [any] bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, [or] any evilfavouredness: for that [is] an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
Ver. 1. Thou shalt not sacrifice.] {See Trapp on "Lev 22:20"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 Any bullock or sheep, i.e. either greater or smaller…
Any bullock or sheep, i.e. either greater or smaller sacrifices, all being comprehended under the two most eminent kinds. See Lev 22:20,21.
An abomination, i.e. abominable, as Deu 18:12.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Here is, I. A law for preserving the honour…
Here is, I. A law for preserving the honour of God's worship, by providing that no creature that had any blemish should be offered in sacrifice to him, Deu 17:1. This caveat we have often met with: Thou shalt not sacrifice that which has any blemish, which renders it unsightly, or any evil matter or thing (as the following word night better be rendered), any sickness or weakness, though not discernible at first view; it is an abomination to God. God is the best of beings, and therefore whatsoever he is served with ought to be the best in its kind. And the Old Testament sacrifices in a special manner must be so, because they were types of Christ, who is a Lamb without blemish or spot (Pe1 1:19), perfectly pure from all sin and all appearance of it. In the latter times of the Jewish church, when by the captivity in Babylon they were cured of idolatry, yet they were charged with profaneness in the breach of this law, with offering the blind, and the lame, and the sick for sacrifice, Mal 1:8.
II. A law for the punishing of those that worshipped false gods. It was made a capital crime to seduce others to idolatry (ch. 13), here it is made no less to be seduced. If the blind thus mislead the blind, both must fall into the ditch. Thus God would possess them with a dread of that sin, which they must conclude exceedingly sinful when so many sanguinary laws were made against it, and would deter those from it that would not otherwise be persuaded against it; and yet the law, which works death, proved ineffectual. See here,
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1. What the crime was against which this law was levelled, serving or worshipping other gods, Deu 17:3. That which was the most ancient and plausible idolatry is specified, worshipping the sun, moon, and stars; and, if that was so detestable a thing, much more was it so to worship stocks and stones, or the representations of mean and contemptible animals. Of this it is said, (1.) That it is what God had not commanded. He had again and again forbidden it; but it is thus expressed to intimate that, if there had been no more against it, this had been enough (for in the worship of God his institution and appointment must be our rule and warrant), and that God never commanded his worshippers to debase themselves so far as to do homage to their fellow-creatures: had God commanded them to do it, they might justly have complained of it as a reproach and disparagement to them; yet, when he has forbidden it, they will, from a spirit of contradiction, put this indignity upon themselves. (2.) That it is wickedness in the sight of God, Deu 17:2. Be it ever so industriously concealed, he sees it, and, be it ever so ingeniously palliated, he hates it: it is a sin in itself exceedingly heinous, and the highest affront that can be offered to Almighty God. (3.) That it is a transgression of the covenant. It was on this condition that God took them to be his peculiar people, that they should serve and worship him only as their God, so that if they gave to any other the honour which was due to him alone that covenant was void, and all the benefit of it forfeited. Other sins were transgressions of the command, but this was a transgression of the covenant. It was spiritual adultery, which breaks them marriage bond. (4.) That it is abomination in Israel, Deu 17:4. Idolatry was bad enough in any, but it was particularly abominable in Israel, a people so blessed with peculiar discoveries of the will and favour of the only true and living God.
2. How it must be tried. Upon information given of it, or any ground of suspicion that any person whatsoever, man or woman, had served other gods, (1.) Enquiry must be made, Deu 17:4. Though it appears not certain at first, it may afterwards upon search appear so; and, if it can possibly be discovered, it must not be unpunished; if not, yet the very enquiry concerning it would possess the country with a dread of it. (2.) Evidence must be given in, Deu 17:6. How heinous and dangerous soever the crime is, yet they must not punish any for it, unless there were good proof against them, by two witnesses at least. They must not, under pretence of honouring God, wrong an innocent man. This law, which requires two witnesses in case of life, we had before, Num 35:30; it is quoted, Mat 18:16.
3. What sentence must be passed and executed. So great a punishment as death, so great a death as stoning, must be inflicted on the idolater, whether man or woman, for the infirmity of the weaker sex would be no excuse, Deu 17:5. The place of execution must be the gate of the city, that the shame might be the greater to the criminal and the warning the more public to all others. The hands of the witnesses, in this as in other cases, must be first upon him, that is, they must cast the first stone at him, thereby avowing their testimony, and solemnly imprecating the guilt of his blood upon themselves if their evidence were false. This custom might be of use to deter men from false-witness bearing. The witnesses are really, and therefore it was required that they should be actually, the death of the malefactor. But they must be followed, and the execution completed, by the hands of all the people, who were thus to testify their detestation of the crime and to put the evil away from among them, as before, Deu 13:9.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–7 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God…
Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock or sheep wherein is blemish,.... No sacrifice of any sort, whether burnt offering, sin offering, or peace offering, was to have any blemish in it; typical of the unblemished and immaculate Lamb of God, who, being without sin, offered himself without spot to God, and so could take away the sins of others by the sacrifice of himself; see Lev 22:18,
or any evilfavouredness; any sickness or disease upon it of any sort, which made it ill favoured to the sight, or disagreeable to the smell, or however unacceptable for sacrifice:
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for that is an abomination to the Lord thy God; every such blemished and ill favoured sacrifice; see Mal 1:8.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 6, 7 A charge, concerning sacrifices, ver. 1. Concerning putting idolaters…
A charge, concerning sacrifices, ver. 1. Concerning putting idolaters to death, ver. 2-7. Concerning the decision of cases by the sanhedrim, ver. 8-13. Concerning the choice and duty of a king, ver. 14-20.
Bullock or sheep - Either greater or smaller sacrifices, all being comprehended under the two most eminent kinds.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 6 All sacrifices to be without blemish, 1.
CHAPTER XVII
All sacrifices to be without blemish, 1.
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Of persons consisted of idolatry and their punishment, 2-7.
Difficult matters in judgment to be laid before the priests and
judges, and to be determined by them; and all to submit to their
decision, 8-13.
The king that may be chosen to be one of their brethren; no
stranger to be appointed to that office, 14, 15.
He shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to
return unto Egypt, 16.
Nor multiply wives, money, &c., 17.
He shall write a copy of the law for his own use, and read and
study it all his days, that his heart be not lifted up above
his brethren, 18-20.
NOTES ON CHAP. XVII
Verse 1. Wherein is blemish] God must not have that offered to him which thou wouldst not use thyself. This not only refers to the perfect sacrifice offered by Christ Jesus, but to that sincerity and uprightness of heart which God requires in all those who approach him in the way of worship.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 6, 7 Deu 17:1. Having spoken of the principal services and…
Deu 17:1. Having spoken of the principal services and offerings prescribed in the law for preventing the Israelites from idolatrous practices, Moses interposes a caution against neglect or profaneness in their own worship of the true God; which might be committed by offering any beast to him that had a disease, blemish, or defect in it. See in Lev 1:3. Bullock or sheep — Either greater or smaller sacrifices, all being comprehended under the two most eminent kinds. All that God receives he requires to be perfect.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–2 This verse belongs in subject to the last chapter.…
This verse belongs in subject to the last chapter. It prohibits once more (compare Deu 15:21) that form of insult to God which consists in offering to Him a blemished sacrifice.
Any evil-favoredness - Render any evil thing. The reference is to the faults or maims enumerated in Lev 22:22-24.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 Ox. By this name all bulls, cows, &c., are…
Ox. By this name all bulls, cows, &c., are designated. For it was not lawful to sacrifice any thing which had lost any member, Exodus xii. 5., and Leviticus i. 3.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v2 IDOLATERS MUST BE SLAIN. (Deu 17:2-7)
IDOLATERS MUST BE SLAIN. (Deu 17:2-7)
If there be found among you . . . man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness--The grand object contemplated in choosing Israel was to preserve the knowledge and worship of the one true God; and hence idolatry of any kind, whether of the heavenly bodies or in some grosser form, is called "a transgression of His covenant." No rank or sex could palliate this crime. Every reported case, even a flying rumor of the perpetration of so heinous an offense, was to be judicially examined; and if proved by the testimony of competent witnesses, the offender was to be taken without the gates and stoned to death, the witnesses casting the first stone at him. The object of this special arrangement was partly to deter the witnesses from making a rash accusation by the prominent part they had to act as executioners, and partly to give a public assurance that the crime had met its due punishment.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 5 1. Any evil favouredness — Literally, any evil thing.…
1. Any evil favouredness — Literally, any evil thing. In Lev_22:22-24, the faults and blemishes which render the offering unacceptable are enumerated. The investigation of charges of idolatry, and the punishment of the guilty, are enjoined upon the magistrates. If a man or woman was charged with idolatry, and the crime proved, the guilty one was to be led out to the gate and stoned.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–7 2. If there be found in the midst of…
2. If there be found in the midst of thee] Deu_13:1 (2): if there arise, etc.; q.v.
within any of thy gates] Deu_13:12 (13): one of thy cities; q.v.
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doeth that which is evil, etc.] See on Deu_4:25.
in transgressing his covenant] Jos_7:11; Jos_7:15; Jos_23:16 (all deuteron.). The same sin is in Deu_4:23 called forgetting the covenant. On covenant see Deu_4:13.
2–7. Against Worshippers of Other Gods
If such be found in any of thy gates, and their crime established, they shall be stoned (Deu_17:2-5); only at the mouth of two witnesses shall any one be put to death: so shalt thou burn out the evil from the midst of thee (Deu_17:6 f.).—The evil condemned is related to those which precede it by being like them one of all the abominations to Jehovah which He hateth, Deu_12:31, and the law dealing with it naturally leads up to the three in ch. 13, with which it shows some similarities of language, along with such variations as these three show among themselves. Like them it is in the Sg. throughout.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–2 (1) Thou shalt not sacrifice . . .—The law…
XVII.
(1) Thou shalt not sacrifice . . .—The law concerning the purity of victims is given in full in Lev_22:17-25. It takes its place there among the special laws of holiness. The same principle appears to unite the several topics treated here in Deuteronomy, as the holy days, the administration of justice, the absence of groves and images, with such a precept as this regarding the perfection of sacrifices. The holiness of the God of Israel necessitates them all. Truth, justice, and purity are demanded in all that come nigh Him. The dignity of His Kingdom is also concerned here. (See Introduction.)
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Sheep.—The Hebrew word is sêh (on which see Deu_14:4, note). It may be either a lamb or a kid.
The only time in history when the sacrifice of imperfect creatures is complained of to any great extent is the time of the prophet Malachi (see Mal_1:7-14). The laxity of the priests in his time called forth the prophecy that “in every place incense should be offered to God’s name and a pure offering.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain On v1 Deuteronomy 17
Deuteronomy 17
We must remember that the division of scripture into chapters and verses is entirely a human arrangement, often very convenient, no doubt, for reference; but not infrequently it is quite unwarrantable, and interferes with the connection. Thus we can see, at a glance, that the closing verses of chapter 16. are much more connected with what follows than with what goes before.
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"Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with just judgement. Thou shalt not wrest judgement; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."
These words teach us a twofold lesson; in the first place, they set forth the even-handed justice and perfect truth which ever characterise the government of God. Every case is dealt with according to its own merits and on the ground of its own facts. The judgement is so plain that there is not a shadow of ground for a question; all dissension is absolutely closed, and if any murmur is raised, the murmurer is at once silenced by, "Friend, I do thee no wrong." This holds good everywhere and at all times, in the holy government of God, and it makes us long for the time when that government shall be established from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.
But, on the other hand, we learn, from the lines just quoted, what man’s judgement is worth, if left to himself. It cannot be trusted, for a moment. Man is capable of "wresting judgement," of "respecting persons," of "taking a gift," of attaching importance to a person because of his position and wealth. That he is capable of all this is evident from the fact of his being told not to do it. We must ever remember this. If God commands man not to steal, it is plain that man has theft in his nature.
Hence, therefore, human judgement and human government are liable to the grossest corruption. Judges and governors if left to themselves, if not under the direct sway of divine principle, are capable of perverting justice for filthy lucre’s sake, of favouring a wicked man because he is rich, and of condemning a righteous man because he is poor; of giving a judgement in flagrant opposition to the plainest facts because of some advantage to be gained, whether in the shape of money, or influence, or popularity, or power.
To prove this it is not necessary to point to such men as Pilate and Herod, and Felix and Festus; we have no need to go beyond the passage just quoted, in order to see what man is, even when clothed in the robes of official dignity, seated on the throne of government, or on the bench of justice.
Some, as they read these lines, may feel disposed to say, in the language of Hazael, "Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing?" But let such reflect, for a moment, on the fact that the human heart is the seed plot of every sin, and of every vile and abominable and contemptible wickedness that ever was committed in this world; and the unanswerable proof of this is found in the enactments, commandments, and prohibitions which appear on the sacred page of inspiration.
And herein we have an uncommonly fine reply to the oft-repeated question, "What have we to do with many of the laws and institutions set forth in the Mosaic economy? Why are such things set down in the Bible? Can they possibly be inspired?" Yes; they are inspired, and they appear on the page of inspiration in order that we may see, as reflected in a divinely perfect mirror, the moral material of which we ourselves are made, the thoughts we are capable of thinking, the words we are capable of speaking, and the deeds we are capable of doing.
Is not this something? Is it not good and wholesome to find, for example, in some of the passages of this most profound and beautiful book of Deuteronomy, that human nature is capable, and hence we are capable of doing things that put us morally below the level of a beast? Assuredly it is, and well would it be for many a one who walks in Pharisaic pride and self-complacency, puffed up with false notions of his own dignity and high-toned morality, to learn this deeply humbling lesson.
But how morally lovely, how pure, how refined and elevated were the divine enactments for Israel! They were not to wrest judgement, but allow it to flow in its own straight and even channel, irrespective altogether of persons. The poor man in vile raiment was to have the same impartial justice, as the man with a gold ring and gay clothing. The decision of the judgement-seat was not to be warped by partiality or prejudice, or the robe of justice to be defiled by the stain of bribery.
Oh! what will it be for this oppressed and groaning earth to be governed by the admirable laws which are recorded in the inspired pages of the Pentateuch, when a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall decree justice! "Give the king thy judgements, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment" - no wresting, no bribery, no partial judgements then - "The mountains [or higher dignities] shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills [or lesser dignities], by righteousness. He shall judge [or defend] the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.... He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence; and precious shall their blood be in his sight." (Ps. 72.)
Well may the heart long for the time - the bright and blessed time when all this shall be made good, when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea; when the Lord Jesus shall take to Himself His great power and reign; when the church in the heavens shall reflect the beams of His glory upon the earth; when Israel’s twelve tribes shall repose beneath the vine and fig tree in their own promised land, and all the nations of the earth shall rejoice beneath the peaceful and beneficent rule of the Son of David. Thanks and praise be to our God, thus it shall be, ere long, as sure as His throne is in the heavens. A little while and all shall be made good, according to the eternal counsels and immutable promise of God. Till then, beloved Christian reader, be it ours to live in the constant, earnest, believing anticipation of this bright and blessed time, and to pass through this ungodly scene as thorough strangers and pilgrims, having no place or portion down here, but ever breathing forth the prayer, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
In the closing lines of chapter 16 Israel is warned against the most distant approach to the religious customs of the nations around. "Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image which the Lord thy God hateth." They were carefully to avoid everything which might lead them in the direction of the dark and abominable idolatries of the heathen nations around. The altar of God was to stand out in distinct and unmistakable separation from those groves and shady places where false gods were worshipped, and things were done which are not to be named.* In a word, everything was to be most carefully avoided which might, in any way, draw the heart away from the one living and true God.
{*It may interest the reader to know that the Holy Ghost, in speaking of the altar of God, in the New Testament, does not apply to it the word used to express a heathen altar, but has a comparatively new word - a word unknown in the world’s classics. The heathen altar is bomon. (Acts 17. 23.) The altar of God is thusiasterion. The former occurs but once; the latter twenty-three times. So jealously is the worship of the only true God guarded and preserved from the defiling touch of heathen idolatry. Men may feel disposed to inquire why this should be? or how could the altar of God be affected by a name? We reply, the Holy Ghost is wiser than we are; and although the heathen word was before Him - a short and convenient word, too - He refuses to apply it to the altar of the one true and living God. See Trench’s "Synonyms of the New Testament".}
Nor this only; it was not enough to maintain a correct outward form; images and groves might be abolished, and the nation might profess the dogma of the unity of the Godhead, and, all the while, there might be an utter want of heart and genuine devotedness in the worship rendered. Hence we read, "Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evil-favouredness; for that is an abomination unto the Lord."
That which was absolutely perfect could alone suit the altar and answer to the heart of God. To offer a blemished thing to Him was simply to prove the absence of all true sense of what became Him, and of all real heart for Him. To attempt to offer an imperfect sacrifice was tantamount to the horrible blasphemy of saying that anything was good enough for Him.
Let us hearken to the indignant pleadings of the Spirit of God, by the mouth of the prophet Malachi. "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts. And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us; this hath been by your means; will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat is contemptible. Ye said also Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts: and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame and the sick; thus ye brought an offering; should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing; for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen" (Mal. 1: 7-14.)
Has all this no voice for the professing church? Has it no voice for the writer and the reader of these lines? Assuredly it has. Is there not, in our private and public worship a deplorable lack of heart, of real devotedness, deep-toned earnestness, holy energy, and integrity of purpose? Is there not much that answers to the offering of the lame and the sick, the blemished and the evil-favoured? Is there not a deplorable amount of cold formality and dead routine in our seasons of worship both in the closet and in the assembly? Have we not to judge ourselves for barrenness, distraction and wandering even at the very table of our Lord? How often are our bodies at the table, while our vagrant hearts and volatile minds are at the ends of the earth! How often do our lips utter words which are not the true expression of our whole moral being! We express far more than we feel. We sing beyond our experience.
And then, when we are favoured with the blessed opportunity of dropping our offerings into our Lord’s treasury what heartless formality! What an absence loving, earnest, hearty devotedness! What little reference to the apostolic rule, "as God hath prospered us" What detestable niggardliness! How little of the whole-heartedness of the poor widow who, having but two mites in the world, and having the option of at least keeping one for her living, willingly cast in both - cast in her all! Pounds may be spent on ourselves, perhaps on superfluities during the week, but when the claims of the Lord’s work, His poor, and His cause in general, are brought before us, how meagre is the response!
Christian reader, let us consider these things. Let us look at the whole subject of worship and devotedness in the divine presence, and in the presence of the grace that has saved us from everlasting burnings. Let us calmly reflect upon the precious and powerful claims of Christ upon us. We are not our own; we are bought with a price. It is not merely our best, but our all we owe to that blessed One who gave Himself for us. Do we not fully own it? Do not our hearts own it? Then may our lives express it! May we more distinctly declare whose we are and whom we serve! May the heart, the head, the hands, the feet, the whole man be dedicated, in unreserved devotedness, to Him, in the power of the Holy Ghost, and according to the direct teaching of holy scripture. God grant it may be so, with us and with all His beloved people!
A very weighty and practical subject now claims our attention. We feel it right to adhere, as much as possible, to the custom of quoting, at full length, the passages for the reader; we believe it to be profitable to give the very word of God itself; and, moreover, it is convenient to the great majority of readers to be saved the trouble of laying aside the volume and turning to the Bible in Order to find the passages for themselves.
"If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant, and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; and it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, behold, it be true and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel - something the whole nation - "Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or woman, and shalt stone them with stones till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you)’ (Ver. 2-7.)
We have already had occasion to refer to the great principle laid down in the foregoing passage. It is one of immense importance, namely, the absolute necessity of having competent testimony ere forming a judgement in any case. It meets us constantly in scripture, indeed it is the invariable rule, in the divine government, and therefore it claims our attention. We may be sure it is a safe and wholesome rule, the neglect of which must always lead us astray. We should never allow ourselves to form, much less to express and act upon a judgement without the testimony of two or three witnesses. However trustworthy and morally reliable any one witness may be, it is not a sufficient basis for a conclusion. We may feel convinced in our minds that the thing is true because affirmed by one in whom we have confidence; but God is wiser than we. It may be that the one witness is thoroughly upright truthful, that he would not, for worlds, tell an untruth or bear false witness against any one; all this may be true, but we must adhere to the divine rule, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."
Would that this were more diligently attended to in the church of God! Its value in all cases of discipline, and in all cases affecting the character or reputation of any one is simply incalculable. Ere ever an assembly reaches a conclusion or acts on a judgement, in any given case, it should insist on adequate evidence. If this be not forthcoming, let all wait on God, wait patiently and confidingly, and He will surely supply what is needed.
For instance, if there be moral evil or doctrinal error in an assembly of Christians, but it is only known to one; that one is perfectly certain, and thoroughly convinced of the fact. What is be done? Wait on God for further witness. To act without this, is to infringe a divine principle laid down with all possible clearness, again and again, in the word of God. Is the one witness to feel aggrieved or insulted because his testimony is not acted upon? Assuredly not; indeed he ought not to expect such a thing, yea he ought not to come forward as a witness until he can corroborate his testimony by the evidence of one or two more. Is the assembly to be deemed indifferent or supine because it refuses to act on the testimony of a solitary witness? Nay, it would be flying in the face of a divine command were it to do so.
And be it remembered, that this great practical principle is not confined in its application to cases of discipline, or questions connected with an assembly of the Lord’s people; it is of universal application. We should never allow ourselves to form a judgement or come to a conclusion without the divinely appointed -measure of evidence; if that be not forthcoming, it is our plain duty to wait, and if it be needful for us judge in the case, God will, in due time, furnish needed evidence. We have known a case in which a man was falsely accused because the accuser based his charge upon the evidence of one of his senses; had he taken the trouble of getting the evidence of one or two more of his senses, he would have made the charge.
Thus the entire subject of evidence claims the attention of the reader, let his position be what it may. We are all prone to rush to hasty conclusions to take up impressions, to give place to baseless surmisings, and allow our minds to be warped and carried away by prejudice. All these have to be most carefully guarded against. We need more calmness, seriousness and cool deliberation in forming and expressing our judgement about men and things. But specially about men, inasmuch as we may inflict a grievous wrong upon a friend, a brother, or a neighbour, by giving utterance to a false impression or a baseless charge. We may allow ourselves to be the vehicle of an utterly groundless accusation, whereby the character of another may be seriously damaged. This is very sinful in the sight Of God, and should be most jealously watched against in ourselves, and sternly rebuked in others, whenever it comes before us. Whenever any one brings a charge against another behind his back, we should insist upon his proving or withdrawing his statement. Were this plan adopted, we should be delivered from a vast amount of evil speaking which is not only most unprofitable, but positively wicked, and not to be tolerated.
Before turning from the subject of evidence, we may just remark that inspired history supplies with more than one instance in which a man has been condemned with an appearance of attention to Deuteronomy 17: 6, 7. Witness the case of Naboth in 1 Kings 21; and the case of Stephen in Acts 6 and 7 and, above all, the case of the only perfect Man that ever trod this earth. Alas! men can, at times, put on the appearance wonderful attention to the letter of scripture when it suits their own ungodly ends; they can quote its sacred words in defence of the most flagrant unrighteousness and shocking immorality. Two witnesses accused Naboth of blaspheming God and the king, and that faithful Israelite was deprived of his inheritance and of his life on the testimony of two liars hired by the direction of a godless cruel woman. Stephen, a man full of the Holy Ghost, was stoned to death for blasphemy, on the testimony of false witnesses received and acted upon by the great religious leaders of the day who could, doubtless, quote Deuteronomy 17 as their authority.
But all this, while it so sadly and forcibly illustrates what man is, and what mere human religiousness without conscience is, leaves wholly untouched the moral rule laid down for our guidance, in the opening lines of our chapter. Religion, without conscience or the fear of God, is the most degrading, demoralising, hardening thing beneath the canopy of heaven; and one of its most terrible features is seen in this, that men under its influence are not ashamed or afraid to make use of the letter of holy scripture as a cloak wherewith to cover the most horrible wickedness.
But, thanks and praise to our God, His word stands forth before the vision of our souls, in all its heavenly purity, divine virtue, and holy morality, and flings back in the face of the enemy his every attempt to draw from its sacred pages a plea for ought that is not true, venerable, just, pure, lovely and of good report.
We shall now proceed to quote for the reader the second paragraph of our chapter in which we shall find instruction of great moral value, and much needed in this day of self-will and independence.
"If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgement, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates; then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose; and thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgement. And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee; according to the sentence of the law which they teach thee, and according to the judgement they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt decline from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die; and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear and fear, and do no more presumptuously." (Vers. 8-13)
Here we have divine provision made for the perfect settlement of all questions which might arise throughout the congregation of Israel. They were to be settled in the divine presence, at the divinely appointed centre, by the divinely appointed authority, Thus self-will and presumption were effectually guarded against. All matters of controversy were to be definitively settled by the judgement of God as expressed by the priest or the judge appointed God for the purpose.
In a word, it was absolutely and entirely a matter of divine authority. It was not for one man to set himself up in self-will and presumption against another. This would never do in the assembly of God. Each one had to submit his cause to a divine tribunal, and bow implicitly to its decision. There was to be no appeal, inasmuch as there was no higher court The divinely appointed priest or judge spoke as the oracle of God, and both plaintiff and defendant had to bow, without a demur, to the decision.
Now, it must be very evident to the reader that no member of the congregation of Israel would ever have thought of bringing his case before a Gentile tribunal for judgement. This, we may feel assured, would have been utterly foreign to the thoughts and feelings of every true Israelite. It would have involved a positive insult to Jehovah Himself who was in their midst to give judgement in every case which might arise. Surely He was sufficient. He knew the ins and outs, the pros and cons, the roots and issues of every controversy however involved or difficult. All were to look to Him, and to bring their causes to the place which He had chosen, and nowhere else. The idea of two members of the assembly of God appearing before a tribunal of the uncircumcised for judgement would not have been tolerated for a moment. It would be as much as to say that there was a defect in the divine arrangement for the congregation.
Has this any voice for us? How are Christians to have their questions and their controversies settled? Are they to betake themselves to the world for judgement? Is there no provision in the assembly of God for the proper settlement of cases which may arise? Hear what the inspired apostle says on the point, to the assembly at Corinth, and "to all that in every Place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours," and therefore to all true Christians, now.
"Dare any of you, having a matter against another; go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgements of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather be defrauded? Nay ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived." (1 Cor. 6: 1-9)
Here, then, we have the divine instruction for church of God, in all ages. We must never, for a moment, lose sight of the fact that the Bible a is Book for every stage of the church’s earthly career. True it is, alas! the church is not as it was when the above lines were penned by the inspired apostle; a vast change has taken place in the church’s practical condition There was no difficulty, in early days, in distinguishing between the church and the world, between "the saints" and "unbelievers;" between "those within" and "those without." The line of demarcation was broad, distinct, and unmistakable, in those days. Any one who looked at the face of society, in a religious point of view, would see three things, namely, Paganism, Judaism and Christianity the Gentile, the Jew and the church of God - the temple, the synagogue, and the assembly of God. There was no confounding these things. The Christian assembly stood out in vivid contrast with all beside. Christianity was strongly and clearly pronounced in those primitive times. It was neither a national, provincial nor parochial affair, but a personal, practical, living reality. It was not a mere nominal, national, professional creed, but a divinely wrought faith, a living power in the heart flowing out in the life.
But now things are totally changed. The church and the world are so mixed up, that the vast majority of professors could hardly understand the real force and proper application of the passage which we have just quoted. Were we to speak to them about "the saints" going to law "before the unbelievers," it would seem like a foreign tongue. Indeed the term "saint" is hardly heard in the professing church save when used with a sneer, or as applied to such as have been canonised by a superstitious reverence.
But has any change come over the word of God, or over the grand truths which that word unfolds to our souls? Has any change come over the thoughts of God in reference to what His church is, or what the world is, or as to the proper relation of the one to the other Does He not know who are "saints" and who are "unbelievers"? Has it ceased to be "a fault" for "brother to go to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers"? In a word, has holy scripture lost its power, its point, its divine application? Is it no longer our guide, our authority, our one perfect rule and unerring standard? Has the marked change that has come over the church’s moral condition deprived the word of God of all power of application to us - "to all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"? Has our Father’s most precious Revelation become, in any one particular, a dead letter - a piece of obsolete writing - a document pertaining to days long gone by? Has our altered condition robbed the word of God of a single one of its moral glories?
Reader, what answer does your heart return these questions? Let us, most earnestly, entreat you to weigh them honestly, humbly and prayerfully in the presence of your Lord. We believe your answer will be a wonderfully correct index of your real position and moral state. Do you not clearly see and fully admit that scripture can never lose its power? Can the principles of 1 Cor 6 ever cease to be binding on the church of God. It is fully admitted - for who can deny that things are sadly changed? - but "scripture cannot be broken and therefore what was "a fault" in the first century cannot be right in the nineteenth; there may be more difficulty in carrying out divine principles, but we must never consent to surrender them, or to act on any lower ground. If once we admit the idea that because the whole professing church has gone wrong, it is impossible for us to do right, the whole principle of Christian obedience is surrendered. It is as wrong for "brother to go to law with brother, before the unbelievers" today, as it was when the apostle wrote his epistle to the assembly at Corinth* True, the church’s visible unity is gone; she is shorn of many gifts, she has departed from her normal condition; but the principles of the word of God can no more lose their power than the blood of Christ can lose its virtue, or His Priesthood lose its efficacy.
{*It is well for us to bear in mind that wherever there are "two or three" gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus, in ever such weakness, there will be found, if only they are truly humble and dependent, spiritual ability to judge in any case that may arise between brethren. They can count on divine wisdom being supplied for the settlement of any question, plea or controversy, so that there need not be any reference to a worldly tribunal.
No doubt, worldly men would smile at such an idea; but we must adhere, with holy decision, to the guidance of scripture. Brother must not go to law with brother before the unbelievers. This is distinct and emphatic. There are resources available for the assembly in Christ the Head and Lord, for the settlement of every possible question.
Let the Lord’s people seriously apply their hearts to the consideration of this subject. Let them see that they are gathered on the true ground of the church of God; and then, though ever conscious that things are not as they once were, in the church, though sensible Of the greatest weakness, failure and shortcoming, they will, nevertheless, find the grace of Christ ever sufficient for them, and the word of God full of all needed instruction and authority, so that they need never betake themselves to the world for help, counsel or judgement. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
This surely is enough for every exigency. Is there any question that our Lord Christ cannot settle? Do we want natural cleverness, worldly wisdom, longheadedness, great learning, keen sagacity, if we have Him? Surely not; indeed all such things can only prove like Saul’s armour to David. All we want is simply to use the resources which we have in Christ. We shall assuredly find, "in the place where his name is recorded," priestly wisdom to judge in every case which may arise between brethren.
And, farther, let the Lord’s dear people remember, in all cases of local difficulty which might arise, that there is no need whatever for them to look for extraneous aid, to write to other places to get some wise men to come and help them. No doubt, if the Lord sends any of His beloved servants, at the moment, their sympathy, fellowship, counsel and help will be highly prized. We are not encouraging independence one another, but absolute and complete dependence upon Christ our Head and Lord.}
And, further, we must bear in mind that there are resources of wisdom, grace, power and spiritual gift treasured up for the church in Christ her Head, ever available for those who have faith to use them. We are not straitened in our blessed and adorable Head. We need never expect to see the body restored to its normal condition on the earth; but, for all that, it is our privilege to see what the true ground of the body is, and it is our duty to occupy that ground and no other.
Now, it is perfectly wonderful the change that takes place in our whole condition, in our view of things, in our thoughts of ourselves and our surroundings, the moment we plant our foot on the true ground of the church of God. Everything seems changed. The Bible seems a new book. We see everything in a new light. Portions of scripture which we have been reading for years without interest or profit now sparkle with divine light, and fill us with wonder, love and praise. We see every thing from a new stand-point; our whole range of vision is changed; we have made our escape from the murky atmosphere which enwraps the whole professing church, and can now look round and see things clearly in the heavenly light of scripture. In fact, it seems like a new conversion; and we find we can now read scripture intelligently, because we have the divine key. We see Christ to be the centre and object of all the thoughts, purposes and counsels of God from everlasting to everlasting, and hence we are conducted into that marvellous sphere of grace and glory which the Holy Ghost delights to unfold in the precious word of God.
May the reader be led into the thorough understanding of all this, by the direct and powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit! May he be enabled to give himself to the study of scripture, and to surrender himself, unreservedly to its teaching and authority! Let him not confer with flesh and blood, but cast himself, like a little child, on the Lord, and seek to be led on, in spiritual intelligence and practical conformity to the mind of Christ.
We must now look for a moment at the closing verses of our chapter in which we have a remarkable onlook into Israel’s future, anticipating the moment in which they should seek to set a king over them.
"When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee whom the Lord thy God shall choose; one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses; forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold"
How very remarkable that the three things which the king was not to do, were just the very things which were done - and extensively done by the greatest and wisest of Israel’s monarchs. "King Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents [over two millions], and brought it to king Solomon." "And Hiram sent to the king six-score talents of gold." "And the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred three-score and six talents of gold. [Nearly three-and a-half millions.] Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country." Again, we read, "And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones.... And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt.... But king Solomon loved many strange women.... And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart." (1 Kings 10, 11.)
What a tale this tells! What a commentary it furnishes upon man in his very best and highest estate! Here was a man endowed with wisdom beyond all others, surrounded by unexampled blessings, dignities, honours and privileges; his earthly cup was full to the brim; there was nothing lacking which this world could supply to minister to human happiness. And not only so, but his remarkable prayer at the dedication of the temple might well lead us to cherish the brightest hopes respecting him, both personally and officially.
But, sad to say, he broke down, most deplorably, in every one of the particulars as to which the law of his God had spoken so definitely and so clearly. He was told not to multiply silver and gold, and yet he multiplied them. He was told not to return to Egypt to multiply horses, and yet to Egypt he went for horses. He was told not to multiply wives, and yet he had a thousand of them, and they turned away his heart! Such is man! Oh! how little is he to be counted upon! "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth and the flower thereof falleth away." "Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of?"
But we may ask, how are we to account for Solomon’s signal, sorrowful and humiliating failure? What was the real secret of it? To answer this, we must quote for the reader the closing verses of our chapter.
"And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites; and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of His life; that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them; that his. heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel." (Vers. 18-20.)
Had Solomon attended to these most precious and weighty words, his historian would have had a very different task to perform. But he did not. We hear nothing of his having made a copy of the law; and, most assuredly, if he did make a copy of it, he did not attend to it; yea, he turned his back upon it, and did the very things which he was told not to do. In a word, the cause of all the wreck and ruin that so rapidly followed the splendour of Solomon’s reign, was neglect of the plain word of God.
It is this which makes it all so solemn for us, in this our own day, and which leads us to call the earnest attention of the reader to it. We deeply feel the need of seeking to rouse the attention of the whole church of God to this great subject. Neglect of the word of God is the source of all the failure, all the sin, all the error, all the mischief and confusion, the heresies, sects and schisms that have ever been or are now in this world. And we may add, with equal confidence, that the only real sovereign remedy for our present lamentable condition will be found in returning, every one for himself and herself, to the simple but sadly neglected authority of the word of God. Let each one see his own departure, and that of the whole professing body, from the plain and positive teaching of the New Testament - the commandments of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of our God, because of our common sin, and let us turn to Him in true self-judgment, and He will graciously restore, and heal, and bless us, and lead us in that most blessed path of obedience which lies open before every truly humble soul.
May God the Holy Ghost, in His own resistless power, bring home to the heart and conscience of every member of the body of Christ, on the face of the earth, the urgent need of an immediate and unreserved surrender to the authority of the word of God!
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–6 Not only was the setting up of idols an…
SACRIFICES TO BE OF ANIMALS UNBLEMISHED. IDOLATERS TO BE SOUGHT OUT, CONVICTED, AND PUT TO DEATH. THE HIGHER JUDICIAL COURT AT THE SANCTUARY. ELECTION DUTY OF A KING.
Not only was the setting up of idols an offence to be punished by the judge, but also all profanation of the service of Jehovah, such as the offering in sacrifice of any animal, bullock or sheep, that had any blemish or defect (cf. Lev_22:19-24) Evil-favoredness; literally, any evil thing, i.e. any vice or maim (cf. Lev_22:22, etc.)
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HOMILETICS.
See Homily, (Deu_15:21, on "Sacrifices to be without blemish.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR. Ver 1. The blemished.
I THE PRINCIPLE INVOLVED. God is to be served with our best. He rejects the blemished for his service.
1. He is entitled to our best.
2. He requires it of us.
3. Withholding it argues unworthy views of God and of what is due to him. It usually implies contempt of God and hypocrisy in his service. (Mal_1:12, Mal_1:13)
II APPLICATIONS OF THE PRINCIPLE. God is to receive from us:
1. The best of our time when the head is clearest, the energies most vigorous, the capacity for service greatest, and when there is least distraction. We offer the blemished when we engross these portions of our time for self, and give to God only our late hours, or hurried snatches of a day crowded with unspiritual and exhausting occupations.
2. The best of our age youth, the prime of manhood and womanhood, with all the service these can render. We offer the blemished when we conceive the purpose of dedicating to God, in old age, powers already worn out in the service of the world.
3. The heartiest of our service. Service performed half-heartedly and grudgingly falls under the category of blemished sacrifices. Work done in this spirit will never be well done. Services of devotion will be huddled through, sermons will be ill prepared, the class in the Sunday school wilt be badly taught, visitation duties will be inefficiently and unpunctually performed. It is the presentation to God of the torn, lame, and halt.
4. The first of our givings. Givings should be hearty, liberal, of our first and best, and in a spirit of consecration. To give what "will never be missed" is a poor form of service. It is little to give to God what costs us nothing. Still more conspicuously do we offer the blemished when we devote to God but the parings of a lavish worldly expenditure, or give for his service far below our ability. J.O.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Vers. 1-7. Idolatry a capital crime.
The closing verses of last chapter prohibiting groves near God"s altar may be taken in connection with the verses now before us as constituting the solemn prohibition of idolatry. God will not have any rival, either sun, moon, or any of the host of heaven, not to speak of the more miserable idolatries of things on earth; he makes idolatry a capital crime, and decrees death as its penalty. This brings out the enormity of the sin in the eyes of God; and it does not follow, because idolatry is not still visited with death, that it has become a lighter matter in the eyes of "the Judge of all the earth.
I THE TEMPTATION TO NATURE WORSHIP. When men are not watchful, they live by sight and forget the life of faith. Others make the senses the only organs of knowledge, and base their so-called philosophy upon sensation. It is not to be wondered at, in such circumstances, that nature-worship prevailed in olden times and prevails still. A great deal of the antitheistic science of the present time is, when analyzed, just nature-worship. When men in their headstrong self-confidence attribute independent powers to nature; when they maintain-on what grounds they do not tell us, for it is a matter of faith, not of sight that the "reign of law" is workable without God, then they are really idolizing nature. It seems a light thing to men to eliminate God from his works, but the sin will have to be answered for before the Judge.
Besides, it was more excusable in the old Israelite than in the modern philosopher. The heavenly bodies in these Eastern countries are so magnificent that the impression produced upon the gazer is akin to worship. It was little wonder if in an unwatchful moment he "beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; and the heart was secretly enticed, or his mouth kissed his hand". (Job_31:26, Job_31:27) The temptation to worship the heavenly bodies was strong and natural.
II IS GOD"S SIGHT THE WORSHIP OF NATURE IS A CAPITAL CRIME, It is worthy of a violent death. Directions are given for the solemn execution. The witnesses, of whom there must be a plurality at least, are first to lay their hands upon the head of the idolater, then the whole people, doubtless through their representative elders, showing their acquiescence in the severe sentence; and then he is to be stoned to death. The idea is manifestly that he is unworthy of living longer when he has so far forgotten and ignored the claims of God.
And assuredly our scientific nature-worshippers are equally guilty, nay, more guilty, in God"s sight. If they are not put to death by public law, it is not because their sin is changed in its heinousness, but because God has made their case a reserved one for himself. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
III IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES WE ARE LEFT ONE WAY OF GETTING RID OF THE EVIL, AND THAT IS BY GOOD. God having withdrawn the prerogative of vengeance from men for sins against himself, and reserved the case for his own dealing with it, he has given us our direction in the words, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with. (Rom_12:21) The Israelites in their rude time were directed to remove the idolater by force; we are to get rid of him by loving persuasion. The former was the easier remedy. To heap coals of fire on the head of our opponent and enemy is not so easy an operation. But it can be done. God shows us the example himself. While reserving the prerogative of vengeance, he meanwhile manifests himself in Jesus Christ as the God of love. Though provoked by man"s idolatries, he subjects him to the treatment of his love, and goes forth in converting power to meet his enemies. Of course the love is sometimes lost upon them, as we are accustomed to say. The appeal is rejected, but they have got the opportunity, and must account at last for despising it.
In his loving footsteps let us follow. The nature-worship and manifold idolatries are amenable to the treatment of enlightened love. Let us study candidly and carefully the case, and administer with all tenderness the remedy. It may be that in some cases the old picture may be reversed. Instead of the imposition of hands in order to destruction, it may be an imposition of hands in ordaining to Divine work those who formerly ignored God altogether. However this may be, our duty is clear to try to overcome this particular evil by good. R.M.E.
HOMILIES BY D. DAVIES Ver. 1. The prevention of religious fraud.
Men who pride themselves on honesty towards their fellows are often dishonest in dealing with God. They are punctual in observing appointments with men; they are unpunctual in reaching the house of God. When the principle of piety in a man is weakened, he will stoop to many artifices to deprive God of his due.
I AN IMPERFECT SACRIFICE SPRINGS FROM BLIND PARSIMONY. When piety declines, a man becomes the slave of his senses. He is moved or terrified only by what is visible. He is afraid of a human frown; he is impervious to the Divine displeasure. The lamb which is unfit for barter, and which is scarce fit for food, will be deemed good enough for sacrifice. Yet how mentally blind is the man! What thick scales he has manufactured for his eyes! Yet, "he that formed the eye, shall he not see?" And cannot God, with a breath, blast that man"s prosperity, and cage his soul in bondage? He had thought to snatch from God a dollar, and lo! he loses everything!
II AN IMPERFECT SACRIFICE VITIATES ITS SYMBOLIC EFFICACY. These animal sacrifices had many moral uses. They developed the sentiment of gratitude for gifts bestowed. They expressed the penitence of the offerer, who thereby confessed that for his sins he had deserved to die. And inasmuch as a lamb or a heifer was immeasurably inferior to man, the sacrifice betokened the offering of a better Sacrifice, which should be a real atonement. Now, if men were permitted to bring a blemished victim, it would no longer prefigure him who is the "Lamb without blemish and without spot." In such a case, the faith of the offerer was dead.
III Such RELIGIOUS FRAUD WAS INCIPIENT ATHEISM. Here was the budding of blackest sin the first step on a slippery decline, which would land one in death. If I can set aside God"s plain commands, as my selfishness desires; if I can treat God as my equal or my inferior, and devote to him only what is useless for myself; I am on the very borders of utter atheism, and to-minnow shall be ready to say, "There is no God." Rankest unbelief often springs from practical disobedience. There is no neglect of God without self-injury. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL REMARKS.—Israel not only had tendency to idolatry, but…
CRITICAL REMARKS.—Israel not only had tendency to idolatry, but inclination to offer animals with faults and to transgress the laws of worship. Blemishes named in Leviticus 22.
Deu_17:2-7. Idolaters slain. Done wickedness, lit. the wickedness, the special sin denounced. Facts were to be enquired into, the charge substantiated. Two witnessses were needful (Num_25:14) to condemn. Thy gates, where judicial proceedings took place (cf. Neh_8:1-3; Job_29:7). “The sentence executed outside the town, as it had been outside the camp in the wilderness (Lev_24:14; Num_15:36), to indicate the exclusion of the criminal from the congregation, and from fellowship with God”—put away, lit. consume, set fire to, destroy by burning; hence to root out, remove, annihilate.
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Deu_17:8-13. The Higher Judicial Court at the Sanctuary. Too hard. Deu_17:8. The transition is obvious for enactments of capital crimes to obscure and difficult cases; cases like that brought before Moses (Exo_18:23-27). “In future judges of the different towns were to bring all cases which they were unable to decide, before the priests, the Levites and the judge that shall be in those days.” Deu_17:9. “The judge would no doubt be a layman, and thus the court would contain both an ecclesiastical and civil element.” (Speak. Com.) Deu_17:10. This superior court was not a court of appeal to adjudicate on verdicts given by another court. Its decisions were final and authoritative; founded on law—the suitors must obey them as the voice of Jehovah. Deu_17:12. Do presumptuously. If a person was refractory and disobedient he would be put to death as a rebel against God.
Deu_17:14-20. The choice and duties of a king. The choice of a king is not like that of judges and officers (16), enjoined, but simply permitted. The reason is obvious. Provision for due administration of justice is essential; that justice should be dispensed through monarchial forms is not so; and is accordingly only recognised as an arrangement, which might probably result on the settlement and consolidation of the people in Canaan. (Speak. Com.)
Deu_17:16-20. Three rules given for the guidance of the king. He was not to keep many horses and thus lead back the people to Egypt, from which God had delivered them. He must trust in God, not in warlike preparations. Deu_17:17. Nor to have many wives, lest his heart should be turned from God. Lastly, he must not accumulate a vast treasure, by engaging in foreign commerce. Solomon transgressed this rule (2Ch_1:15), and was imitated by Uzziah (2Ch_26:2). Deu_17:18. Instead of minding earthly things he must meditate in the law; copy it himself or have a copy written for him; daily consult it, to keep him from pride and error; to prolong his own life and secure the crown to his posterity.
BLEMISHED SACRIFICES.—Deu_17:1
Sacrifices are of divine origin, and God alone can specify what kind will be acceptable to him. Animals perfect and uninjured were always to be offered (Exo_12:5; Lev_1:3).
I. God requires perfect sacrifices. “No blemish.” There must be no flaw in character, obedience, and life. No hypocrisy in worship and profession. Nothing ill-favoured and unsightly. Our sacrifices must befit the sacred purpose for which they are offered, and be the symbol of the moral integrity of those who offer them. “Whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.”
II. Men offer imperfect sacrifices. Many things are withheld which God demands, and things which are offered are lame and blind. They are blemished, defective in spirit and measure. We keep back part of our time and the best of our service. They are tainted with worldly influence, half-heartedness, selfishness, and reluctance. “Should I accept this at your hand?”
III. How then can our sacrifices be acceptable to God? Not through our merits, but “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” In ancient time animals were not accepted so much on account of their perfect, physical organisation, or intrinsic excellence, as their typical value. They were selected and offered on behalf of the guilty. When offered in penitence and faith they were received. If we come in rectitude of heart, God will pardon and bless. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?”
THE DETECTION AND PUNISHMENT OF GUILT.—Deu_17:2-7
The duties of magistrates are again enjoined, and special forms legalised to detect and punish idolators.
I. The detection of guilt. Actions speak louder than words. If a man or woman served other gods it would be known and talked about. But crime was discovered.
1. Not by mere report. “It be told thee.” Reports do mischief, and must be sifted before circulated. They were not to act on hearsay, or under prejudice and excitement.
2. Honest enquiry was made. “Inquired diligently.” Flying rumours were judicially examined. Diligent search might substantiate the report. If not, a salutary dread would impress the people.
3. The offence proved by competent witnesses. Not by the testimony of one, but of two or three witnesses was the guilty punished (Deu_17:6). This was a safeguard against a hasty and unjust verdict. “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2Co_13:1).
II. The punishment of the guilty. “He that is worthy of death be put to death” (Deu_17:6).
1. The witnesses must lead (Deu_17:7). This would check false witness, and ensure truthfulness and sincerity. It would be a public avowal of their testimony, and a proof that the sin had met its due punishment.
2. The punishment was inflicted openly. “At the gates.” Condemned criminals were executed outside the walls, and thus put to greater shame as a warning to others. This was a type of the rejection of Jesus, who suffered without the camp, and bore our reproach (Heb_13:12.)
3. All the people took part. The hands of the witness first, and then the people (Deu_17:7). All are interested in checking crime, and all must be purified when it is detected. God will have no rival. Idolatary of every degree and description is a capital crime, and death is decreed as its penalty. We must detest it, uproot it in our hearts and customs. “So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.”
IDOLATRY, A GRIEVOUS SIN
I. It is offensive to God. “The wickedness in the sight of the Lord.”
1. A violation of His covenant. “In transgressing His covenant” (Deu_17:2). Concealed or open, cultured or gross in form, it robbed God of His due. “It was spiritual adultery which breaks the marriage bond,” says Henry. It rendered void the covenant, and therefore forfeited all its blessings.
2. A defeating of His purpose. Israel was chosen to be a holy people and to preserve purity of worship, but idolatry defeated this object.
II. It is injurious to society. “Abomination wrought in Israel” (Deu_17:4). It extinguishes the light and impaires the moral sensibilities of the nation. It breaks the moral bonds and creates debasing habits in society. It is the spring of possest immorality. An act of treason and rebellion against the majesty of Heaven.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_17:4-5. Precautions in search of the truth. Told thee privately, and in confidence; thou hast heard of it, therefore notorious, a public scandal and likely to be true; enquired diligently, sought to find out the truth, by careful examination of persons and circumstances: behold it is true, not founded on vague rumour or malice; the thing certain, proved by the clearest evidence; then bring forth the man,” etc. (Deu_17:5). The charge of idolatry was the most solemn and awful that could be brought against an Israelite, because it affected his life; therefore, God required that the charge should be substantiated by most unequivocal facts, and most competent witnesses. Hence all the precautions mentioned must be carefully used, to arrive at so affecting, and so awful a truth.—(Ad. Clarke.)
The Sacredness of Human Life.
1. A man thought innocent until proved guilty.
2. A fair trial to establish the guilt.
3. The method of punishing guilt a wise procedure. (a) Interesting the people in its detection and punishment. (b) Securing moral certainty in truthful verdict. (c) Economy in judicial administration.
Witnesses inflicting punishment.
1. To deter from rash accusation.
2. To check the evil thus punished. “A rule which would naturally lead to the supposition that no man would come forward as a witness without the fullest certainty or the greatest depravity.” (Keil). He assigned this part to the witnesses, chiefly because there are so many whose tongue is so slippery, not to say good for nothing, that they would boldly strangle a man with their words, when they would not dare to touch him with one of their fingers. It was the best remedy, therefore, that could be tried for restraining such levity, to refuse to admit the testimony of any man who was not ready to execute judgment with his own hand.—(Calvin.)
DECISION OF CONTROVERSIES.—Deu_17:8-13
In all evil and criminal cases where doubts and difficulties were involved, local magistrates were to submit them to the supreme council for final decision. From this decision there must be no swerving right or left.
I. Human interests often perplex. “A matter too hard for thee in judgment.” Cases were often complicated and obscure, too hard for inferior judges to decide.
1. They spring up in small circles, “within thy gates” (Deu_17:8). In towns and villages difficult questions have to be considered—poor laws, sanitary measures, and bitter cries in many forms. Often the smaller the circle the more perplexing the problem.
2. They relate to civil matters. Cases of murder or death, accidentally or wilfully, “between blood and blood” contending parties in law suits, “between plea and plea.” Actions of assault or bodily injury, “between stroke and stroke.” Society is not perfect. Men are selfish, cruel and disobedient. The wisest rules are often unable to solve the controversy within the gates. “That which is crooked cannot be made straight.”
II. The court of appeal to settle these interests. Courts of judgment were in every city (Deu_16:18), empowered to determine cases of the crown and of the people.
1. Composed of appointed officers. “Thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge. Representatives of God in every department of life must be expounders of law and examples of justice.
2. Assembled in one place. “Get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose” (Deu_17:8). The sittings were held near the sanctuary, that in great emergencies the high priest might consult the Urim (Num_27:21). The house of God is the place of righteousness and the seat of learning. We must come not only to meditate and praise, but to “enquire” from His servants and word. “Ask now the priests concerning the law.”
III. The importance of the decision given by this court. This was the highest judicial authority and its decisions were most important.
1. They were legally right. “They shall show thee the sentence of judgment” (Deu_17:9). In harmony with the will of God and the interests of the suitors. Not the result of worldly wisdom but of divine teaching.
2. They were binding in authority. No appeal from this judgment. It was was the law of God, not the enactment of men. a. Obedience was enforced. “Thou shalt do.” We must receive the truth, not as the word of man, but the word of God. b. Disobedience was punished. The man that would not hearken but acted presumptuously must die. Resistance was rebellion, which was severely rebuked, condemned and punished. It was “striving with the priest” (Hos_4:4) and contending with God. “What shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?”
3. They were benevolent in their aim. “That the people might hear and fear and do no more presumptuously” (Deu_17:13). To check evil, keep humble, and promote order and righteousness. “For the punishment of evil doers and the praise of them that do well.”
SOCIETY’S WELFARE PROMOTED
Mankind are associated together for something more than to eat, sleep, and secure protection. They co-exist for mutual intercourse, mutual help and the advancement of present and eternal good. This is accomplished—
I. By legal tribunals. Since society is not human in its origin, conventional in its principals, and accidental in its destination, its institutions must harmonise with its character and aim. Government is needful to its existence and welfare. Courts of justice are tribunals to defend right, truth, and liberty. God who lays upon mankind the necessity of appointing rulers, has laid upon rulers the necessity of rewarding good and punishing evil. Resistance tends to weaken government and create disorder. “Let every good soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained (ordered) of God.”
II. By the co-operation of all its functions. We have different classes, different ranks and various interests among men. But in politital, ecclesiastical and civil matters, the good of the whole should be consulted. Priests and ministers of religion may enlighten the public conscience and expound the law. Judges and magistrates may administer that law “for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of them that do well.” There should be no invasion of rights and no alienation of ranks; no miscarriage of justice and no schism in the body.” There are many departments with one interest and end; “diversities of operation with the same spirit.”
Heaven forming each on other to depend
A master, or a servant, or a friend,
Bids each on other for assistance call,
Till one man’s weakness grows the strength of all.
III. By upholding the authority of God’s Word. “The law” must be honoured and upheld. This is the only guarantee of order, prosperity and morality. It should be the ruling principle of kings, parliaments, and people. It should regulate the counsels of statesmen and the maxims of lawyers; reign in the country and the colonies, in the cottage and the court. This is the sweet ground on which a nation’s prosperity can rest and rise to the highest pitch. Institutions and enterprises, thrones and empires that disregard the word of God will fall, and great will be their fall. When the law of God is exalted “there will be security of thy times, riches of salvation, of wisdom and knowledge. Fear of Jehovah is then the treasure of Judah” (Isa_33:6).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_17:8-13. There is a misconception of this passage. The argument built upon it by the most able Romish controversialists is, that here plainly the Bible is not enough; that you are to go to a judge, the priest to get his opinion and his decision, and if you will not accept it, that then you are to be anathematized and expelled. But just mark a few distinctions overlooked in such a statement. First, it is not to hear a controversy about doctrine, but a controversy about blood, and plea, and stroke,—civil matters. Secondly, when there is a controversy, it is not the high priest that is to decide it; but it is the priest or the Levite—a layman—or the judge—a layman also. Therefore if they will quote this passage as a precedent for Papal infallibility, deciding doctrinal discussions and expelling them that will not submit to it, they ought to quote fully; and if they quote fully, they will see it is not controversy about doctrine, but about civil matters; and next, that the controversy is to be appealed not to an ecclesiastic only, but to a layman as well.—(Dr. Cumming.)
Deu_17:9-10.—Duties of priests to expound the law, of judges to administer it, and of the people to ascertain it. “The law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet.”
Deu_17:12-13. Presumptuous sins.
1. Resistance to priests when dissatisfied with interpretation of law.
2. Resistance to judges when discontented with sentence or decisions given. Such refractory conduct worthy of death. “Presumptuous are they and self-willed.” “Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sin.”
THE CHOICE AND DUTY OF A KING.—Deu_17:14-20
If Israel should wish for a king when they possessed the land, God gave permission to choose one under His direction. “The appointment of a king is not commanded, like the institution of judges (Deu_16:18), because Israel could exist under the government of Jehovah without an earthly king; it is simply permitted, in case the need should arise for a regal government.” (Keil.)
I. The choice of a king. Moses foresaw the nation’s wish to have a king, and is taught to legislate for his choice and conduct (cf. 1Sa_8:10-12).
1. According to Divine arrangement. “Set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose.” The people might select, but subject somehow to Divine approval. Kings are God’s vice-regents, and He nominates when nations elect them. God’s will should direct and determine our choice. The people are reproved for acting in forgetfulness. “They have set up kings, but not by me” (Hos_8:4).
2. Not from a strange nation. “Not a stranger over thee which is not thy brother.” Kings must own their kinship to the people and act as brothers, not as Eastern despots nor royal castes. A gentile head for a Jewish nation would be strange, might defeat the end in view in separating that nation from others, and introduce strange customs and foreign alliances.
II. The duties of the king. These are specified.
1. Negatively. (a) He is not to depend upon horses. “Not multiply horses” (Deu_17:16). His trust must not be in “horses and chariots” and warlike preparations, but in the living God. Egypt furnished Canaan with horses (1Ki_10:28-29), and they might be endangered by alliance, and tainted by idolatry. “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay on horses “etc. (Isa_31:1). (b) Not to be seduced by many wives. “Neither shall he multiply wives to himself.” No harem must be kept to gratify the love of pleasure. His heart must not be turned away from business and works of piety. “When Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods” (1Ki_11:1-4). (c) Not to accumulate riches. “Neither shall he greatly mulitiply to himself silver and gold.” Desire for wealth might lead to oppression and injustice. Riches produce pride, and we are not “to trust in uncertain riches.”
2. Positively. (a) He must copy the law, or some qualified scribe must copy it for him. This would inure himself to labour and study, enlighten and impress his mind. The Word of God must not only be written on parchment, but imprinted on the mind and heart. (b) He must read it when copied. “He shall read therein.” It is not enough to have the Bible in the cabinet, or in the drawer; we must read it. Read it daily, read it all through life as our guide and companion. Alexander valued Homer most highly and Scipio Africanus would scarcely allow Xenophon’s Cyclopedia to be put out of sight. The king of Israel was to study God’s word, and meditate therein day and night.
EARTHLY KINGS UNDER THE POWER OF THE HEAVENLY KING
I. In the method of their election. None chosen without God’s permission, or if chosen, elected without His providence. “The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will” (Dan_4:32; Dan_5:21).
II. In the laws by which they govern. Good laws are made by good men, and good men are the gift of God. Bad laws are often overruled for the good of men. “Of law,” says Hooker, “these can be no less acknowledged than that her seat is the bosom of God—her voice the harmony of the world.”
III. In the duration of their reign—God can lengthen or shorten their days. He puts down one and sets up another. “He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings and setteth up kings” (Dan_2:21).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_17:14. Anticipated provisions. Regal government not enjoined, almost discountenanced and forbidden, but future provision made and rules of conduct given. So in Christian history and Christian life.
Deu_17:16. Horses. As horses appear to have been generally furnished by Egypt, God prohibits these.
1. Lest these should be such commerce with Egypt as might lead to idolatry.
2. Lest the people might depend upon a well appointed cavalry as a means of security and so cease trusting in the strength and protection of God. And
3. That they might not be tempted to extend their dominion by means of cavalry and so get scattered among the surrounding idolatrous nations, and thus cease in process of time to be that distinct and separate people which God intended they should be; and without which the prophecies relative to the Messiah, could not be known to have the due and full accomplishment.—A. Clarke.
Deu_17:18. Write a copy.
1. A standard of reference. Probably an autograph kept in the tabernacle by the priests.
2. A preventative from error. Possibly every copy was revised by priests and compared to the original.
3. A provision for the future. Former copies would bear out, but new ones were to be made. Thus the Word of God has been handed down from age to age.
Deu_17:18-19. Observe on this passage—
1. That it was the surest way to bring the Israelitish king to an acquaintance with the divine law, to oblige him to write out a fair copy of it with his own hand.
2. He has to read this law diligently and constantly; neither the greatness of his place nor the height and multitude of his business must excuse or hinder him.
3. It is not enough to have Bibles, but we must use them; yea, use them daily. Our souls must have constant meals of that manna, which, if well digested, will afford them true nourishment and strength.—J. Wilson. The king, even the king, was not to employ an amenuensis, but was himself to write out a copy of the law. Evidently the reason was, what you read rapidly you forget rapidly, but if you sit down and write, and that carefully and in the best handwriting that you can, texts from the Bible, you will recollect them much more easily. And no doubt the object of making the king write it out for himself was that it might be impressed upon his mind and heart the more.—Dr. Cumming.
Deu_17:19-20. Proper reading of Scripture will beget—
1. A right state of mind. “That his heart be not lifted up.” Deep humility becomes all students.
2. Reverence for Divine authority. The fear of God and regard for His statutes.
3. Conscientious obedience to Divine law—“To do them.” or daily reading of the law.
(1) To learn to fear God.
(2) To be kept from pride.
(3) To prevent apostacy, and
(4) to secure the possesion of the throne. Elevation begets pride and pride independence. Charles the Great set the crown upon the Bible. The Bible is the best support of the crown and kingdom.
With him. As his vade mecum, his manual, his running library, the man of his counsel. Luther said he would not live in Paradise without the Bible, as with it he could easily live in hell itself.—Trapp.
That his heart be not lifted up. Observe—
1. It is here intimated that the Scriptures diligently read are a powerful means to keep a person humble, because they show that, though a king, he is subject to a higher monarch, to whom he must give an account of all his administrations, and receive from him his sentence agreeably to their quality, which is sufficient to abate the haughtiest person in the world.
2. That the greatest monarch may receive more benefit by the Scriptures than by all the wealth and power of his monarchy. An attentive, prayerful, believing perusal of the Bible will be of advantage.
(1) To His person. “He shall prolong his days in his kingdom. We find in the history of the kings of Judah, that generally the best reigns were the longest, except when God shortened them for the punishment of the people, as Josiah’s.
(2) To his family; his children shall also prosper. Entail religion upon posterity and God will entail a blessing upon it.”—J. Wilson.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 17
Deu_17:1. Blemish. Remember that God will not be mocked; that it is the heart of the worshipper which he regards. We are never safe till we love Him with our whole heart whom we pretend to worship.—Bp. Henshawe.
Deu_17:2-7. There is but one true God, who made heaven and earth, and sea and winds; but the fully and madness of mankind brought in images as representatives of God (Rom_1:22-23). “All the princes of the earth hath not had so many subjects betrayed and made traitors by their enemies as God hath lost souls by the means of idolatry and images.—Bp. Hooker.
Enquire diligently, Deu_17:4.
“Believe not each accusing tongue,
As most weak persons do;
But still believe that story wrong
Which ought not to be true.”—
Sheridan.
Deu_17:8-13. Too hard. The greatest difficulties lie where we are not looking for them.—(Goethe.) Controversy, Deu_17:8. Many controversies grow up about religion, as suckers from the root and limbs of a fruit tree, which spend the vital sap that should make it fruitful.—(Flavel.) Sentence of judgment, Deu_17:9. The main strength and force of a law consists in the penalty annexed to it.—Blackstone.
“Sovereign law, that states collected will
O’er thrones and globes elate,
Sits empress, crowning good, repressing ill.
Sir W. Jones.
Deu_17:14-15. King over thee. Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. (Burke.) Horses. For stateliness and majesty what is comparable to a horse?—Sir T. More.
Deu_17:18-20. A book. Bishop Hooker, in a dedication to king Edward VI., remarked, “God in heaven, and the king on earth, hath not a greater friend than the Bible.” “The Bible is the foundation of all good government, as it instructs rulers and subjects in their respective duties. A French lady once said to Lord Chesterfield that she thought the Parliament of England consisted of five or six hundred of the best informed and most sensible men in the kingdom. ‘True, madam, they are generally supposed to be so. ‘What then, my lord, can be the reason that they tolerate so great an absurdity as the Christian religion?’ ‘I suppose, madam,’ replied his lordship, ‘it is because they have not been able to substitute anything better in its stead; when they can, I do not doubt but in their wisdom they will readily adopt it.’ ”—Whitecross.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 It is not now necessary to trace the historical…
Deu 17:16
It is not now necessary to trace the historical connection of this fragment of a verse. It forms an appropriate motto and admonition for the close of the year.
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I. The close of a year is a most significant time for the taking of spiritual stock. It is well to have a clearing out, even if one is afraid he may be suffocated with the lifted dust Many a Christian man is hindered in growth by reason of his proud trying to retain an old experience, of which he can make nothing valuable, but which he thinks he is bound to defend for consistency’s sake.
II. This, again, is a good time for us to give over lackadaisical complainings about short chances in the past. You will not have to take the same chances again. "Ye shall henceforth return no more by that way" of youth. But does anybody really want to do that? Victor Hugo confessed to a friend that the most disagreeable advance in age to him had been from thirty-nine to forty. "But," said his companion, "I should think it a great deal brighter to be forty than fifty." "Not at all," replied Hugo; "forty years is the old age of youth, while fifty is the youth of old age."
III. It is well to keep a clear look-out for what is still ahead. The glory of every true life is in the time to come. God has not yet exhausted Himself in apocalypses of splendid radiance to His waiting people. There is that in the distance "which eye hath not seen nor ear heard." And wise men may well think of readiness to make the great journey and meet the revelations.
IV. We ought to learn to estimate results and forget processes. It is not necessary to talk continually about faded flowers, and departed joys, and thwarted hopes. It is wiser to let the dead past bury its dead.
V. The close of the year is the time in which to inquire after unfinished work. We should bring our unfulfilled resolutions to God, and ask Him to grant us time to complete them.
C. S. Robinson, Sermons on Neglected Texts, p. 215.
References: Deu 17:16.—H. Batchelor, The Incarnation of God, p. 173; W. M. Taylor, Contrary Winds, p. 93; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 374. Deut 17—Parker, vol. iv., p. 264. Deu 18:9-19.—E. White, Congregationalist, vol. i., p. 161. Deu 18:13.—J. Van Oosterzee, Year of Salvation, vol. ii., p. 403.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Punishment of Idolatry. Controversies to be Settled by…
The Punishment of Idolatry. Controversies to be Settled by Priests and Judges. Election and Duties of a King
1. Cp. Lev_22:17-25.
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2. Wickedness] idolatry, as in Deu_4:25.
5. Unto thy gates] see on Gen_19:1.
7. The hands of the witnesses] This regulation, by throwing the responsibility of the execution upon the witnesses, would act as a safeguard against false evidence: see on Lev_24:14.
8-13. Difficult cases are to be referred to a supreme court of judicature, consisting of the priests and the chief magistrate, whose decision is final. This court is to sit at the central sanctuary: see 2Ch_19:8-11.
10. Inform thee] rather, 'direct thee.' The common Heb. word for 'law' is derived from this verb and means really 'direction.'
14-20. The Law of the Kingdom. It is to be observed that the people are not commanded to appoint a king, as in the case of the judges (Deu_16:18). But the desire for a king is anticipated and is not disapproved. The kingdom is theocratic, i.e. the king is the vice-gerent or representative of God and is chosen by Him. The law of the kingdom is the law of God (Deu_17:18-20). The Church and the State are identical.
14. Like as all the nations] cp. the actual words of the people in 1Sa_8:20.
15. Not a stranger] i.e. a foreigner, a non-Israelite: because Israel is the peculiar people of Jehovah. The Jews were always intolerant of foreign authority: cp. Mat_22:17. Messiah when He came was to rid them of the foreign yoke: see Act_1:6.
16. Not multiply horses] The horse is here forbidden, not as an article of luxury but as an instrument of warfare, in which the kings of Israel are not to trust: cp. Psa_20:7; Psa_33:16-17; Psa_147:10. Canaan was not suitable for cavalry, and the conquest of the country was effected by infantry, whose superiority was due to the hilly nature of the country. Solomon imported horses from Egypt (1Ki_10:26, 1Ki_10:28), and similar reliance upon Egypt was a frequent snare to the Israelites against which the prophets raised a warning voice: see Isa_31:1; Eze_17:15. Horses were also dedicated to the sun-god by the idolatrous kings of Israel: see 2Ki_23:11, and on Exo_9:8.
17. Solomon transgressed this commandment with precisely the result here fore-told: 1Ki_11:1-4, and cp. Neh_13:26.
18. A copy of this law] i.e. not merely the law of the kingdom contained in Deu_17:14-20, but the entire Deuteronomio law which is in the custody of the priests: see on Deu_31:9, Deu_31:24-26. At the coronation of Josiah the 'testimony' was put into his hands (2Ch_23:11); and to this day, when a Christian monarch is crowned, the Bible is delivered to him with the words: 'We present you with this book, the most valuable thing that the world affords. Here is wisdom; this is the royal law: these are the lively (i.e. living) oracles of God,' signifying that the law of God is to be the rule of his kingdom. In LXX the words a copy of this law are represented by the single word 'deuteronomion,' from which the title of the whole book is derived: see Intro. § 1.
20. And his children] an indication that a hereditary dynasty is not inconsistent with divine choice.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Punishment of Idolatry
Punishment of Idolatry
v. 1. Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord, thy God, any bullock or sheep wherein is blemish, or any evil-favoredness; for that is an abomination unto the Lord, thy God. The offering of an imperfect animal as sacrifice, one infected with any of the evils mentioned Lev 22:20-24, is just as much an insult to Jehovah as the erecting of pillars to Asherah and Baal; hence the authorities were to watch carefully over these matters.
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v. 2. If there be found among you, within any of thy gates, in any city, that is, anywhere in the entire country, which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord, thy God, in transgressing His covenant, in setting aside any of the fundamental terms of the alliance which was in force between Jehovah and His people,
v. 3. and hath gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, thus overthrowing the basic precept of the covenant Law, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, the worship which was the curse of the heathen nations, Deu 4:19, which I have not commanded;
v. 4. and it be told thee, announcement being made to the proper authorities, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, made a most careful investigation, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel, Deu 13:12-14,
v. 5. then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman which have committed that wicked thing unto thy gates, to the open space within the city gates where court was held, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones till they die. The execution was made outside the gates of the city, Lev 24:14; Num 15:36; Act 7:58; Heb 13:12.
v. 6. At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses, that is, on the basis of their testimony, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death, Num 35:30. Cf Mat 18:16; 2Co 13:1; 1Ti 5:19.
v. 7. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, Deu 13:9, in order thus openly to manifest their firm conviction of the guilt of the accused, and afterward the hands of all the people, for the transgression was one affecting the entire nation. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you, Deu 13:5. The same holy zeal should be found in every Christian congregation in putting flagrant sinners out of their midst.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 5 General Information:
General Information:
Moses is still speaking to the people of Israel.
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in which is any blemish
"that has a blemish" or "that has something wrong with it." The animal is to appear healthy without any deformity.
that would be an abomination to Yahweh
"that would be disgusting to Yahweh"
translationWords
sacrifice
Yahweh
God
cow
ewe
blemish
abomination
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 7 17:1 A sick or defective animal had little monetary…
17:1 A sick or defective animal had little monetary value, so it was no sacrifice to surrender it to the Lord (cp. 15:21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.