“No ‘Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of Adonai, nor may any of his descendants down to the tenth generation ever enter the assembly of Adonai, because they did not supply you with food and water when you were on the road after leaving Egypt, and because they hired Bil‘am the son of B‘or from P’tor in Aram-Naharayim to put a curse on you. But Adonai your God would not listen to Bil‘am; rather, Adonai your God turned the curse into a blessing for you; because Adonai your God loved you. So you are never to seek their peace or well being, as long as you live.”-Deuteronomy 23:4-7
Verse 4 which prohibits gentiles from the nations of Moab or Ammon from becoming a full citizen of Israel connects to our previous discussion of the MAMZER.
We’re told that no descendant of a Moabite or Ammonite can ever enter the assembly of Israel for a full 10 generations.
What are the reasons given for this?
There are two main reasons.
The first reason is lack of hospitality.
During Israel’s exodus from Egypt, the Moabites and Ammonites did not provide Israel with food and water.
The second reason is they tried to hire a sorcerer named Bil’am to curse Israel.
A plan that God totally foiled because Bil’am ended up blessing Israel instead of cursing them.
Because of these two events, God made it clear to Israel that they are to have nothing to do with the Moabites or Ammonites.
The Lord wasn’t saying that Israel should necessarily go out of their way to harm these two people groups but neither should they seek them as potential marriage partners or even as friends and allies.
Let me just say off the bat that these verses we’ve just read raise all kinds of head-scratching questions for scholars.
For example…
…what exactly does “10 generations” mean?
Are we to take that literally?
Some have suggested that “10 generations” is just a poetic way of saying forever.
If that’s the case, apparently the Israelites didn’t it see it that way.
Why?
Because over time Moab and Ammon did indeed become friendly with Israel to the point where intermarriage became quite common.
If that’s the case, then when exactly is the starting point for the “10 generations”?
Does it begin as soon as Israel enters into the land of Canaan?
Or does it start once the first Ammonite or Moabite moves to Israel and begins life in the promised land as a “resident alien“?
Also, it’s not really clear what the exact nature of the offense of not providing the Israelites with food and water was all about.
Is this referring to a close to life-or-death situation when the Israelites were on the verge of starvation and dehydration and needed food and water to keep them from toppling over on their journey?
Or was it more about the Ammonites and Moabites not paying respect to Israel by offering food and drinks as a gift?
As with many of the events in Scripture that aren’t so clear, sometimes it’s best to look at the underlying principles involved rather than get hung up on precise names and numbers.
The first thing I think we should accept is that it’s not that the Ammonites and Moabites were to be excluded from living in Israel forever.
It’s only that their legal status was to be limited for several generations before they would be allowed to become full-fledged citizens.
Keep in mind the idea that resident foreigners are to be treated with respect and given full protection under the law is a non-negotiable and overarching Torah principle.
And this Torah principle applied just as equally to the Moabites and the Ammonites.
Finally, speaking of overarching principles, the bottom line of why some gentiles can be accepted into Israel and others can’t boils down to this: People who are the products of illicit unions (such as the MAMZERIM) or who are not physically whole (such as eunuchs) simply don’t meet God’s requirements for holiness which is literally perfection.
That is why a Levitical priest who through no fault of his own who had lost a limb due to some accident or who came down with a skin disease was no longer allowed to officiate at the Temple.
God’s required holiness standard is PERFECTION.
Yet the catch 22 of all this is that it is only the Lord who can bestow His perfect HOLINESS unto us.
We’ll continue this discussion the next time we meet.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Be perfect, therefore,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
-Matthew 5:48
That’s true they were never a loud to enter into the inner circle but that goes for anybody who violates Torah but in extenuating circumstances of people repent and honor Torah be the Gentile or Hebrew they still can honor the father would be just outside of the camper that’s true they were never a loud to enter into the inner circle but that goes for anybody who violates Torah but in extenuating circumstances if people repent and honor Torah be they Gentile or Hebrew they still can honor the father would be just outside of the camp. Welcome in the overall congregation but not allowed in the inner circle. That is not the same as absolute exclusion which is sometimes asserted or assumed .
Furthermore it only speaks of 10 generations giving them 10 generations to repent and adjust and to then be ready because as they remain pure they can count down the days until they can enter in to the inner circle when the time is up.