My last post marked the conclusion of a lengthy discussion on the topic of bloodguilt and what the consequences are when the Lord’s Laws concerning blood are violated.
From today, we’re going to move on to the next part of the chapter (from verse 10).
While are at first glance, the content may seem to be just a hodgepodge of miscellaneous laws, they actually are not.
There is a common theme and a logical structure in what we’re going to study.
Deuteronomy Chapter 21 actually begins a 4-chapter section dealing with the following four main topics:
-HOLY WAR
-SEXUAL RELATIONS & FAMILY
-CARING FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE IN SOCIETY
-OTHER HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS
Also, do you recall what I mentioned at the very beginning of our study of the Book of Deuteronomy?
Basically, Deuteronomy is Moses’ version of the Sermon On The Mount.
This chosen mediator of Israel is expounding on the laws that were established 40 years earlier at Mount Sinai.
In this sense, Moses sermon on the mount here in Deuteronomy is similar to Yeshua’s sermon on the mount in the Book of Matthew.
In both instances, these mediators of God are taking the Torah instructions and filling them up with deeper spiritual meaning and on a practical level explaining how they are to be applied in our daily lives.
The content of what we’ll be studying are actually extensions of and build upon the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th commandments.
Therefore, we’ll be deep-diving into the topics of theft, coveting, bearing false witness, killing as well as the dicey subject of adultery which the Torah defines as a combination of unfaithfulness and unlawful mixture.
Finally, this is as good a time as ever to remind you that chapter 21 is a continuation of the subject of Holy War which began in the last chapter, Deuteronomy 20.
This is never a pleasant subject to talk about because we’re dealing with the mass killing of human beings.
Here’s the important thing you’ve got to understand about a God-ordained Holy War.
The killing done in a holy war is perfectly justified and acceptable to God.
It is NOT considered murder if an Israelite soldier kills a Canaanite according to the laws God has laid down in His Torah.
Or another way to put it is…
…a person who obeys God’s commands in killing another human being remains at peace with the Lord.
On the other hand, if an Israelite soldier kills outside the rules of warfare God has established, he, the community and the land where he committed the unlawful killing will come under the curse of bloodguilt.
The next time we meet, we’ll begin discussing the dicey topic of what to do with a young woman who has been captured in war.
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