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Deuteronomy Chapter Twenty-three                           

 

Deuteronomy 23

Chapter Contents

Who are shut out from the congregation. (1-8) Cleanliness enjoined. (15-25) Of fugitive servants Usury and other precepts. (9-14)

Commentary on Deuteronomy 23:1-8

(Read Deuteronomy 23:1-8)

We ought to value the privileges of God's people both for ourselves and for our children above all other advantages. No personal blemishes no crimes of our forefathers no difference of nation shuts us out under the Christian dispensation. But an unsound heart will deprive us of blessings; and a bad example or an unsuitable marriage may shut our children from them.

Commentary on Deuteronomy 23:9-14

(Read Deuteronomy 23:9-14)

The camp of the Lord must have nothing offensive in it. If there must be this care taken to preserve the body clean much more should we be careful to keep the mind pure.

Commentary on Deuteronomy 23:15-25

(Read Deuteronomy 23:15-25)

It is honourable to shelter and protect the weak provided they are not wicked. Proselytes and converts to the truth should be treated with particular tenderness that they may have no temptation to return to the world. We cannot honour God with our substance unless it be honestly and honourably come by. It must not only be considered what we give but how we got it. Where the borrower gets or hopes to get it is just that the lender should share the gain; but to him that borrows for necessary food pity must be showed. That which is gone out of thy lips as a solemn and deliberate vow must not be recalled but thou shalt keep and perform it punctually and fully. They were allowed to pluck and eat of the corn or grapes that grew by the road side; only they must not carry any away. This law intimated what great plenty of corn and wine they should have in Canaan. It provided for the support of poor travellers and teaches us to be kind to such teaches us to be ready to distribute and not to think every thing lost that is given away. Yet it forbids us to abuse the kindness of friends or to take advantage of what is allowed. Faithfulness to their engagements should mark the people of God; and they should never encroach upon others.

── Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on Deuteronomy

 

Deuteronomy 23

Verse 1

[1] He that is wounded in the stones or hath his privy member cut off shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

He that is wounded — A phrase denoting an eunuch.

Shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord — Shall not be admitted to honours and offices either in the church or commonwealth of Israel; and so the congregation of the Lord doth not here signify the body of the people but the society of the elders or rulers of the people. Add to this that the Hebrew word Kahal generally signifies a congregation or company of men met together; and therefore this cannot so conveniently be meant of all the body of the people which could never meet in one place but of the chief rulers which frequently did so. Nor is it strange that eunuchs are excluded from government both because such persons are commonly observed to want that courage which is necessary for a governor because as such persons ordinarily were despicable so the authority in their hands was likely to be exposed to the same contempt.

Verse 2

[2] A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

The congregation — Taking the word as in the former verse.

Verse 3

[3] An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:

For ever — This seems to note the perpetuity of this law that it should be inviolably observed in all succeeding ages.

Verse 4

[4] Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia to curse thee.

They met you not with bread and water — As the manner of those times was to wait and provide for strangers and travellers which was the more necessary because in those times and countries there were no public houses of entertainment. Their fault then was unmercifulness to strangers and afflicted persons which was aggravated both by their relation to the Israelites as being the children of Lot and by the special kindness of God and of the Israelites to them in not fighting against them.

Verse 6

[6] Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

Thou shalt not seek their peace — That is make no contracts either by marriages or leagues or commerce with them but rather constantly keep a jealous eye over them as enemies who will watch every opportunity to ensnare or disturb thee. This counsel was now the more necessary because a great part of the Israelites lived beyond Jordan in the borders of those people and therefore God sets up this wall of partition betwixt them as well knowing the mischief of bad neighbours and Israel's proneness to receive infection from them. Each particular Israelite is not hereby forbidden to perform any office of humanity to them but the body of the nation are forbidden all familiar conversation with them.

Verse 7

[7] Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.

Thou wast a stranger — And didst receive habitation protection and provision from them a long time which kindness thou must not forget for their following persecution. It is ordinary with men that one injury blots out the remembrance of twenty courtesies; but God doth not deal so with us nor will he have us to deal so with others but commands us to forget injuries and to remember kindnesses.

Verse 8

[8] The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.

In their third generation — Supposing their grandfather or great-grandfather turned proselyte and the children continue in that faith received by such ancestors.

Verse 9

[9] When the host goeth forth against thine enemies then keep thee from every wicked thing.

Keep from every wicked thing — Then especially take heed because that is a time of confusion and licentiousness; when the laws of God and man cannot be heard for the noise of arms; because the success of thy arms depends upon God's blessing which wicked men have no reason to expect; and because thou dost carry thy life in thy hand and therefore hast need to be well prepared for death and judgment.

Verse 13

[13] And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be when thou wilt ease thyself abroad thou shalt dig therewith and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

Cover — To prevent the annoyance of ourselves or others; to preserve and exercise modesty and natural honesty; and principally that by such outward rites they might be innured to the greater reverence of the Divine Majesty and the greater caution to avoid all real and moral uncleanness.

Verse 15

[15] Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:

The servant — Of such as belonged to the Canaanites or other neighbouring nations because if he had lived in remote countries it is not probable that he would flee so far to avoid his master or that his master would follow him so far to recover him. For the Canaanites this sentence was most just because both they and theirs were all forfeited to God and Israel and whatsoever they enjoyed was by special indulgence. And for the other neighbours it may seem just also because both masters and servants of these and other nations are unquestionably at the disposal of the Lord their maker and sovereign ruler. Understand it likewise of such as upon enquiry appear to have been unjustly oppressed by their masters. Now it is not strange if the great God who hates all tyranny and styles himself the refuge of the oppressed doth interpose his authority to rescue such persons from their cruel masters.

Verse 17

[17] There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.

No whore — No common prostitute such as were tolerated and encouraged by the Gentiles and used even in their religious worship. Not that such practices were allowed to the strangers among them as is evident from many scriptures and reasons but that it was in a peculiar manner and upon special reasons forbidden to them as being much more odious in them than in strangers.

Verse 18

[18] Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

The hire of a whore — This is opposed to the practice of the Gentiles who allowed both such persons and the oblations they made out of their infamous gains; and some of them kept lewd women who prostituted themselves in the temples to the honour of their false Gods and offered part of their profit to them.

Or the price of a dog — It seems to mean of a whoremonger or sodomite. Such are called dogs Revelation 22:15. And it is not improbable they are called so here. From these God would not accept of any offering.

Verse 19

[19] Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money usury of victuals usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:

Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother — To an Israelite. They held their estates immediately from God who while he distinguished them from all other people might have ordered had he pleased that they should have all things in common. But instead of that and in token of their joint interest in the good land he had given them he only appointed them as there was occasion to lend to one another without interest. This among them would be little or no loss to the lender because their land was so divided their estates so settled and there was so little a merchandise among them that it was seldom or never they had occasion to borrow any great sums but only for the subsistence of their family or some uncommon emergence. But they might lend to a stranger upon usury who was supposed to live by trade and therefore got by what he borrowed: in which case 'tis just the lender should share in the gain. This usury therefore is not oppressive: for they might not oppress a stranger.

Verse 21

[21] When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

Not slack — Not delay: because delays may make them both unable to pay it and unwilling too.

Verse 23

[23] That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

A free-will-offering — Which though thou didst really make yet being made thou art no longer free but obliged to perform it.

Verse 24

[24] When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.

At thy pleasure — Which was allowed in those parts because of the great plenty and fruitfulness of vines there.

── John WesleyExplanatory Notes on Deuteronomy

 

23 Chapter 23

 

Verse 5

Deuteronomy 23:5

The Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing.

Balaam’s curse turned into a blessing by God

Here a difficult question meets us. Was there any reality whatever in Balaam’s curse! Or was it altogether a harmless thing--in fact nothing at all? If there was nothing in it why should it have been averted Why should it be said that God “would not hearken unto Balaam”? Why not let it be pronounced? The result would have shown that there was no power or reality in it. On the other hand it is difficult to suppose that such power could reside in a curse especially when spoken by such a man as Balaam. One thing is certain that God Himself never did give false prophets power to curse. Could they then derive it from any other quarter? Why not from Satan? No creature is absolutely independent; all are instruments in the hands of another. If through grace we have been placed in the kingdom of light then we are instruments in the hands of God. If we are in the kingdom of darkness we can only he instruments in the hands of Satan; a curse and not a blessing to others. Now heathenism is one great territory of Satan’s power--one chief part of his kingdom of darkness. He reigns supreme there. We believe then that within the sphere of his kingdom of darkness Satan has power to employ false prophets as his instruments--has power to enable them to curse and to fulfil their curse when pronounced. The conflict here then was not merely one between the king of Moab and Israel but between the kingdom of light in Israel and the kingdom of darkness in Moab and Midian. Balaam’s curse would have been the utterance of the power of darkness; but he was obliged however reluctantly to confess his impotency before God. It was an act of Divine power when God turned the curse into a blessing. It showed His watchful care and love towards His people. And what is it that God is accomplishing now by the gift of His son and the power of His grace but turning the curse into a blessing? Oh there is a widespread curse which has long been resting upon this guilty world the curse pronounced on man’s disobedience; and what makes it so awful is that it is a righteous curse. Wherever we look we see its tokens--man doomed to a life of weary labour suffering from different kinds of sickness and at last seized with the irresistible hand of death; so that St. Paul says “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” But to the children of God this three-fold curse is changed by the grace of God into a blessing. Look at the lowest element of the curse that of labour according to the sentence “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” How wearisome is ceaseless toil in itself! But to the true Christian how different is toil and labour! He consecrates his powers to Him who has redeemed him with His precious blood! Or look at sickness. What is it but the visible reflection of a spiritual disease within? If the image of God had not been obliterated from the soul by sin there would have been no sickness or sorrow in the world. No miracle is exerted to exempt the Christian from this trial. But its nature is changed; there is no longer any curse in it. How many can bless God for it painful as it may have been--can bless God for His sanctifying and sustaining power--for the near communion with Jesus which they then enjoyed--for the hallowed impressions made upon their souls; and most of all for the manifestations of God’s faithfulness and tenderness--of His power and gentleness. But of all the elements of the curse the most manifest and the most awful is death--so universal in its reign--so tremendous in its power--so mysterious in its nature. We can scarcely stand by a dying bed without the question pressing itself upon our thoughts--oh why this convulsion? Why this distressing and humiliating close to our life here? One answer can only be given--It is because of sin. “Death passed upon all men in that all have sinned.” To the Christian its sting is drawn. It is but the rending of the veil which separates his soul from the visible presence of his Redeemer. (G. Wagner.)


Verse 14

Deuteronomy 23:14

The Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp.

Camp law and camp life

I. An instructive comparison. The Church of God is in many respects comparable to a camp.

1. It is a camp for separation. We are crusaders and are separated from the mass for the service of the Cross which we bear on our hearts. We are in an enemy’s country and we must keep ourselves to ourselves very much or else we shall certainly fail of that holy military discipline which the Captain of our salvation would have us strictly enforce.

2. It is a camp because it is on the defensive.

3. It is a camp especially because it is always assailing the powers of darkness. We have a world to conquer and we cannot afford to loiter. We have a kingdom to set up for the Lord of hosts and we must not sleep for the adversaries of the Lord are ruing. We are an army sworn to war against the Canaanites of error and sin to cast down their walled cities to break their idols and to cut down their groves.

4. It is a camp because we are on the march. We ought to be advancing in grace in knowledge in earnestness in holiness in usefulness and if not we scarcely realise the figure of a camp.

5. Yet once more no doubt a camp as formed for temporary purposes was a token of the Church; for although the Church stands still and abides yet in her individual members she is subject to the same law of decay and death and change as the rest of the world. Soon shall the camp cease and the soldiers become citizens and the tents be exchanged for mansions.

II. A special privilege.

1. God is present in the camp of His people with a special presence of love. The Church is the garden of the Lord His paradise. Where is a father most at home but with his children?

2. God is present in the camp of His people with a special presence of observation. He sees all things; but His eyes are in the first place fixed on His Church. With burning glance He searches the very heart of professors.

3. The peculiar privilege of Israel is to have a special presence of salvation. “The Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp to deliver thee.” God is with His people to help them in their times of trouble to rescue them out of danger to answer their cries in their necessity to save them in the hour of temptation.

4. The Lord is with the camp of His” people as a special presence for victory.

5. It is a special presence in covenant. “The Lord thy God.

III. A corresponding conduct.

1. This rule that the camp be holy applies to the commonest places wherein we are found. The Holy Spirit arrays you in the white raiment of holiness that you may shine out bright and clear and distinct before the sons of men.

2. While this holiness pertained to their commonest things it was also ordered that every unclean thing was to be put from them. Let us come continually to the washing place--even to the fountain opened. Let us beseech the cleansing Spirit to operate as with fire and burn His purifying way through and through our souls.

3. Note well the fearful warning which is added. If there be in the camp an unclean thing tolerated and delighted in and He see it--if it becomes conspicuous and grievous to Him then the worst consequences will follow--“Lest He turn away from thee.” Oh! what would happen to us if the Lord were to turn away from us as a Church? (C. H. Spurgeon.)


Verse 15-16

Deuteronomy 23:15-16

Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped.

The escaped slave

A Flemish artist was painting a picture when two friends noticed the high finish of a broom which was only an insignificant item in the composition. He told them he should spend three more days in working on the broom intending to be mindful of detail in the general effect of his picture. Moses gave grand laws to the Israelites. His legislation as to the religious duties of the people is sublime. But he was not indifferent to regulations touching their common life and bent his mind to the task of showing the minute as well as the vast in the order of right-doing. The word servant as used by Moses meant slave. Remembering what the Israelites had to endure in their Egyptian bondage he had great sympathy with those who were held in servitude and compelled to work without remuneration. He could well understand that a man or woman in slavery badly treated and with no hope of an ameliorated lot would if possible get away from the cruel owner and make a desperate rush for liberty. He did not blame the slave for stealing away from the owner. If technically there was theft in such an action there was no dishonesty. The slaves who at one time escaped from southern plantations to Canada did no wrong. The masters suffered loss but they lost what did not belong to them by any righteous law. There is a moral and spiritual application of this. Many people are in slavery. It is true they have not lost their civil liberty; they have not been sold in any slave market; they know nothing of literal chains scourges and labour for which there is no payment. They are proud of the freedom which is one of the glories of their native land. But they are slaves for they are in bondage to evils which they have allowed to obtain mastery over their souls. There are powers in them which make them feeble for action when they would do good and almost force them to transgression of Divine law. They have a right to break loose from the enthralling powers of sin for sin holds nothing by legal proprietorship. Every sinner has a right to freedom and is urged to rush to Jesus as a refuge from tyranny. The escaped slave was to be kept from the pursuer. When in the morning the master called for the slave and there was no answer and looked for him but could not find him he would conclude at once that the slave had gone away. Making inquiries the master would ascertain the direction the fugitive had gone and follow him until he found the place in which he was hiding. He would say to the elders: “My slave is here and I must have him. Give him up to me.” “No no” was to be the reply; “we shall never give him up and so long as these walls stand the poor man shall be kept out of your hands.” We rejoice that our country has long been what the Israelitish village and city were to be to the escaped slave in the old time. The footprint of the slave on British soil is the certificate of his manumission. When the slaves of sin get loose from their bonds and escape into Immanuel’s land they at once experience the blessedness there is in the liberty of the children of God. Christ never gives up to any old master those who have fled for refuge to His land; He loves them so much that He does not wish to have them out of His sight; and to defend them from the powers which would tear them back to sin He throws around them the awful grandeur and radiant blaze of His own perfections. The escaped slave was to be kindly treated. The man who had made a rush for freedom was not to rush into a new slavery. Those to whom he fled for refuge were not to take advantage of his necessities and use him in compulsory labour for their own profit; no service or tax was to be levied on him as the price of security from his old master. He was to be treated as a free Israelite and to be allowed to live and work where he liked. The sinner who escapes from slavery to Immanuel’s land is to be welcomed and cared for by members of the Church. He is to be recognised as having a claim to brotherly love and to all the dignities and privileges that distinguish the Christian life. Even if members of the Church do look shyly on a newly converted sinner Jesus does not but bids him welcome to the palace of love and opens to him immensities of blessing. (J. Marrat.)


Verse 22

Deuteronomy 23:22

If thou shalt forbear to vow.

Extraordinary and particular vows considered as not necessary under the Mosaic or expedient under the Christian institution

I. The nature of vows under the Jewish dispensation: which as they are particularly voluntary engagements we ought to observe when made though we cannot infer a necessity of making them from the Divine law or the nature of things. It would seem but an ill consequence should we thus argue: God has commanded us in general to honour Him with our substance and therefore we ought to make ourselves liable to His judgments if in such a particular case at such a particular time and to such a particular degree we do it not. This I say would be but an ill consequence though there may be some fit reasons assigned why such particular vows were used by good and pious men under the circumcision (Genesis 28:20; Judges 11:20; Judges 11:31; 2 Samuel 15:7-8). Hence we observe that things consecrated or desecrated though they are in a vulgar sense styled devoted are not always reducible under the general nature of a vow in the proper and scriptural sense of the word and there seems to be a greater difference than is commonly apprehended between them. Thus much may suffice to determine the notion of vows as they are distinguished from other sacrifices under the Jewish dispensation; but it will still be more clear from some further reflections upon the lawful matter of them. For this we need only in general observe that everything which was not appropriated to God which was not profaned or which was not properly under the right or arbitrament of another was the subject matter of them. From whence it follows that tenths in the first place were under the Mosaic law excluded from it and that these could not be vowed to the Almighty or be accepted by Him as a freely promised offering because they were properly His before both by prescription and command. Again nothing which was profaned or unclean unless as it was redeemable could be the matter of a vow. The heathens for the generality had more exalted notions than to think their gods would be gratified with such sacrifices as were held in contempt by themselves and were in their kind of least estimation with them. Lastly whatsoever was under the right and power of another was excluded from the matter of a vow and therefore those who were subject to the authority of fathers or husbands were by the law not obliged to the performance of vows made without their consent during their right and power over them.

II. Under the Gospel the Christian’s vows are comprehended under the sacramental and therefore particular vows are neither necessary nor expedient. It may be proper to give a fit instance or two of particular vows in order to settle what are so. We are in general by our baptismal covenant obliged to renounce all the sinful lusts of the flesh and in consequence of this are obliged to make use of the means prescribed suppose mortification by fasting. But should we by a solemn promise to God Almighty oblige ourselves to abstain such a number of days or hours this circumstance nowhere enjoined would make it a particular vow. Again we are obliged by our general vow to acts of charity and piety; but should we make a voluntary promise to God to bestow at such a future time such a certain sum to such an assigned use in view of such a desired blessing this would also be a particular vow. And these are the vows which I undertake to prove neither necessary nor expedient. If they had been necessary we might reasonably suppose that as our Saviour appointed that grand one for the initiation of His followers He would also have prescribed the other either by precept or practice for the perfection of them that so the use of them might have been derived by authority to the Christian Church as it was to the Jews from the patriarchs. But we have no instance of this kind either from our Saviour His apostles or followers in the New Testament. And if we take them under the general notion as acts of gratitude by which the good Christian promises to God the acknowledgment of a blessing by a suitable offering and oblation though it is lawful and not absurd as Calvin expresses it to enter into such engagements yet what advantage this method of acknowledgment has above others is not easily discerned. Should the pious Christian be made a peculiar favourite of heaven and blessed with extraordinary advantages either in prospect or possession he may by his free gifts and offerings give a more noble and generous instance of his pious resentment which under the law were always deemed the most acceptable sacrifices and must recommend to the favour of the Almighty who loveth a cheerful giver whereas he who lays a constraint upon himself may give afterwards with an unwilling mind and though he pays the vow may not answer the end of it. And it is for these reasons I presume that the Jewish doctors discouraged and deterred their scholars from such kind of vows. But were they ever so expedient the ill use which has been made of the doctrine of particular vows by the Church of Rome would be enough to give us a prejudice against them. (T. Silvester M. A.)


Verse 24-25

Deuteronomy 23:24-25

Thou mayest eat grapes.

Grapes and ears of corn free

Thus a privilege was granted but one strictly limited. A man who was thirsty might help himself to as many grapes as he cared to eat but he was not to take any away. A man who was hungry might pluck ears of corn as the disciples of Jesus did and eat the grains but he was not to carry a sheaf from the field. In this manner property was guarded. This is in harmony with the biblical law of property generally honoured at the present time. Even those who denounce individual property in land and minerals and wish to nationalise them do not advocate such nationalisation without payment to the proprietors. If ownership in land were set aside the poor might lose the farm or the field bequeathed for their benefit. If ownership in money or goods were set aside the widow might lose her small annuity and even have to give up the old watch she values as having belonged to her husband and the treasured curiosities brought by her sailor son from a foreign land. Still the best property human beings possess is the mental and spiritual wealth they carry in their mind and heart. In other words they may have history biography poetry religion as the treasures of their inner life. The owners of property are not to be greedily selfish. Nothing was said by Moses to the proprietor or tenant of the vineyard or corn field but much was implied. If he saw a man woman or child pulling a cluster of grapes he was not to be in a tempest of wrath as though some great wrong had been done him or to threaten the intruder with a criminal action. The man was rather to be glad that out of his abundance thirsty and hungry wayfarers could have their needs so readily supplied. Those who have are to be generous to those who have not. Every rich man in the country who does not value his riches as power to do good is an enemy to himself and the country. The limitation of privilege in the vineyard and the corn field enjoined by Moses was an implied exhortation to industry. Grapes might be eaten in the vineyard but no vessel was to be filled with them and carried away. Those who wanted grapes for the wine press were to grow grapes. Ears of corn might be plucked but the sickle was not to be used in the field. Those who wanted corn to grind were to plough to sow and reap in their own fields; there was to be no greedy appropriation of the fruit for which other men had laboured. It is much better for human beings to act for themselves than indolently to lean on others. There is no food so good as that which a man earns with his own hands. Labour is the law of the spiritual as well as of the temporal sphere. Those who wish to attain a good degree in the Church and to win the eulogiums pronounced on Christ’s faithful servants must work hard for themselves that they may learn how to work hard for others. They must read much think much pray much. In one of his books Lord Beaconsfield represents a youth as saying “I should like to be a great man.” The counsel given him was: “You must nourish your mind with great thoughts.” Those who wish to rank high in Christ’s service must appropriate great thoughts and make them their own by reflection and meditation. There is no way to usefulness except by ardent toil. It is only by setting ourselves to work that we shall be able to afford grapes and corn to famishing souls. (J. Marrat.)

──The Biblical Illustrator