“No ‘Amoni or Mo’avi 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.”-Deuteronomy 23:4-5
Let’s talk a little more about why the Lord singled out the Ammonites and Moabites and barred them from entering the assembly of Israel for ten generations.
First, it’s important to understand that this special restriction was historic in nature.
The bottom line is when Israel needed help, they weren’t given any.
Ammon refused to let Israel pass through their territory which would have made their journey so much easier and Moab tried to get Israel cursed by hiring the sorcerer Balaam.
When we examine this story, it seems that the Ammonites and Moabites weren’t murderously cruel to Israel.
What I mean by that is…
…they did end up selling Israel the essential food and water they needed to sustain their lives.
But in the ancient Middle East that was A HUGE OFFENSE!
In the Biblical era, it was understood that when a guest came to you (especially if that guest was a stranger), it was the norm to offer them food and drink for free.
In response, of course, it was also customary for the guest to offer to pay for the food.
There would have been this continuous back-and-forth kabuki dance of courtesies customary of Asian cultures until either the guest accepted the hospitality of the host OR…
…the host reluctantly accepted the money.
However, more often than not, a host insisted that a weary and traveling stranger receive food and drink for free unless it was a special situation of there being so many guests that it would be unfair for the host to provide all of them with food supplies without receiving some form of compensation in return.
So understand this was Ammon and Moab’s big sin.
By holding back the customary and expected hospitality of the times, they ended up insulting God’s chosen people.
As a result, instead of receiving a tremendous blessing, they were cursed.
Remember, the promise God gave to Abraham.
“I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families
of the earth shall be blessed.”
-Genesis 12:3
And don’t think this idea has changed with the advent of Messiah.
In fact, Yeshua reinforced this principle.
Check out these words of his:
“Then the King will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you whom my Father has blessed,
take your inheritance,
the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you made me your guest,
I needed clothes and you provided them,
I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me.’
Then the people who have done what God
wants will reply,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you something to drink?
When did we see you a stranger and make you our guest,
or needing clothes and provide them?
When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’
The King will say to them,
‘Yes! I tell you that whenever you did these things
for one of the least important of these brothers of mine,
you did them for me!’
-Matthew 25:34-40
Here’s what you’ve got to understand, a vast majority of the passages in the New Testament are allusions to historical happenings from Israel’s past.
The “brothers” that Yeshua is referring to here are of course his fellow Jewish brethren.
Yeshua is here telling us that the way the Lord will judge the world hinges on two key pieces of criteria.
One’s individual decision to accept Yeshua as Messiah AND…
…a nation’s national decision concerning its treatment of Israel.
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