Seder 155: Deuteronomy 24:19-25:19---Responsibility for the Welfare of Others

 Moses lays out several cases in this section of Deuteronomy.  In 24:19-22, farmers are told to not harvest every bit of a crop, but to leave some for the poor.  We see this instruction in action in Ruth 2, where Boaz leaves grain in his field for Ruth to glean.  

In commenting on this passage at Church of the Messiah on August 5, 2023, Frank Fenton observed that a person who obeys this instruction is, in effect, giving some of one's life to one's friends (Jn 15:13).

Deuteronomy 25:1-3 places limitations on a punishment for wrongdoing so as not to humiliate the criminal.  For a beating, the stated limit is 40 lashes.  In practice the limit was set at 39 in order to make sure that the number did not exceed 40 by mistake. 

Paul later made reference to this practice in 2 Corinthians 11:24 when he mentioned, "Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one."  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on August 5, 2023, Kyle Kettering pointed out this example as further evidence for a Torah-observant "Paul within Judaism." In receiving such a punishment, Paul was submitting to the authority of a local synagogue, an indication that he was still working within synagogue communities when he planted his congregations. 

Deuteronomy 25:4 is a principle stated as a proverb:  "You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain."  This principle is applied in the New Testament to argue that church workers are entitled to be supported by their congregations (1 Cor 9:1-14; 1 Tim 5:17-18).  

 Deuteronomy 25:5-10 deals with the ancient institution of levirate marriage, where if a man died childless, his brother might marry his widow in order to continue the man's family line.  We see an example of this institution in Ruth 4, where Boaz marries Ruth to perpetuate the line of Elimelech.  There is another example in Genesis 38, where Tamar, the wife of Judah's oldest son Er, makes sure that Judah carries out this responsibility after he and his other sons neglect it. 

Deuteronomy 25:11-12 is another case meant to ensure that family lines are continued.  Verses 13-16 emphasize the importance of honest weights and measures.  Finally, verses 17-19 are on Israel's responsibility to punish the Amalekites for their unwarranted attack on the Israelites shortly after their departure from Egypt (Ex 17).  This attack was, in effect, an attempt to thwart God's plan to bless all nations through the descendants of Abraham.  Moses also mentions here that the Amalekites took advantage of the weak in their cowardly offensive.

Seder 57: Exodus 17---Further Lessons in Faith

Tempers flared at Rephidim (Exod 17:1-2) when there was no water to drink.  Some have asked why God had the Israelites camp at a place with no drinking water.  One suggestion that has been proposed is that perhaps the Amalekites (who soon attack) did not allow them access to the water.  

The lack of water led to widespread complaints.  Did people complain because this tactic had achieved good results earlier in the journey?  At any rate, Moses was feeling the strain of the journey and prayed for help.  "What shall I do with this people?  They are almost ready to stone me" (v 4).  

God instructed Moses to "pass in front of the people" (v 5) with his staff in his hand.  He would then strike a rock, and water would come out.  One midrash says that one reason God had Moses "pass in front of the people" was to show Moses that he actually would not be stoned.  Certainly the staff that had divided the waters of the Yam Suf communicated a message.  The staff represented God's power and presence, and it  let the people know that they could trust God and the human leaders that he had appointed. 

The symbolism of Moses' staff is also important in the ensuing battle with Amalek (vv 8-15). In the battle the Israelites prevailed whenever the staff was held high, sending the message that God was there to give them the victory.  At the same time, God wanted the Israelites to participate in the battle.  He was going to work through them, not strike down the enemy while they sat on the sidelines as spectators.  

An altar commemorating the battle was called, literally, "Yahweh is my signal pole" (v 15).  

In attacking Israel, the Amalekites were opposing God and his plan to bless the nations through Israel.  We learn later (Deut 25:17-19) that the Amalekites had attacked the weak at the rear of the Israelite camp.  In both Exodus 17 and Deuteronomy 25, God called upon the Israelites to be sure to remember to "blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."      

Some comment upon the apparent paradox involved in "remembering to erase the memory" of the Amalekites.  One explanation is that the Israelites are  not to forget the evil the Amalekites did, while at the same time the Amalekites should not be rewarded by being memorialized for their evil deeds.    

Amalek, the ancestor of the Amalekites, was a grandson of Esau and son of Eliphaz and Timna.  Timna was one of the Horites (v 22), the people that the Edomites displaced when they settled at Seir.  The Horites are later mentioned in connection with giant clans like the Emim, Anakim, and Rephaim (Deut 2:10-12).  It may be that the Amalekites were part of the opposition to God represented by the infamous "sons of God" of Genesis 6 and their fierce offspring, the Nephilim.  (Michael Heiser speculates along these lines in episode 283 of his Naked Bible Podcast.)

Exodus 17 also mentions an Israelite leader named Hur (v 10), who will again be referred to briefly in Exodus 32.  There is a tradition that Hur was the husband of Miriam (e.g., Josephus in Ant 3.2.4).  We do not know for sure if this is the same Hur as the son of Caleb mentioned in 1 Chron 2:18-20.