Seder 151: Deuteronomy 21:10-23---More on War, Executions, and Other Matters

 Much of Deuteronomy 21 deals with cases related to the commandment, "You shall not murder."  Verses 1-9 discuss a case of unsolved murder.  

Verses 10-14, like 20:19-20, are about curbing the kinds of abuses that accompany war.  These verses describe a case where a man wants to marry a woman who has been taken as a prisoner of war.  As noted in verse 14, this woman has been "humiliated," since (1) her people have been defeated; (2) she has been taken captive; and (3) a warrior wants to marry her.  

Moses lays out guidelines to ensure that this woman, who has been  forced to join the Israelite community, is not mistreated.  The woman shaves her head, pares her nails, and is given new clothes, symbolizing the fact that she is leaving an old life behind and taking on a new identity.  The woman also is given time to mourn the deaths of her parents, while the future husband has this same time to be sure that he wants to go through with the marriage.  

If the man subsequently divorces the woman, she is free to return home or remarry.  She is not to be treated as a slave.

It's possible that the prisoner of war in verses 10-14 is the man's second wife.  Another way in which a second wife could be mistreated would be to have her children treated as inferior to those of the first wife.  Verses 15-17 rule against that possibility, saying that if a man's firstborn son comes from a less-favored wife, that son should still have the privileges of a firstborn son that accompany the responsibilities entailed by that position.

 Verses 18-21 deal with the case of a son who rebels against his parents. Since the future of Israel depends upon children embracing community values, this is a serious matter, one that is to handled by the community.  The seriousness is reflected in the fact that in an extreme case, the son can be put to death.  These verses are meant to preserve community holiness and deter children from engaging in such rebellion.  The ideal is that this kind of execution never be carried out.  

Hosea 11:1-9 later portrays the house of Israel as a whole as a rebellious son.  God is pictured agonizing over what to do with his son.  He decides not to destroy the house of Israel, opting for restoration over judgment. 

Verses 22-23 addresses the custom of publicly displaying the body of an executed person as an example to the community.  When this custom is followed, Moses says, the body should not be left out overnight.  The one being punished is, as a serious criminal, "cursed by God," and his body would defile the land.  An important consideration here is that bodies left exposed would be eaten by animals.  Humans are created in God's image, so their bodies should not be desecrated and mutilated.

We see Joshua following this instruction in Joshua 8:39; 10:26-27.  The New Testament connects the crucifixion with this passage (Acts 5:30; 10:39-40; 13:28-29).  Paul also makes this connection in Gal 3:13-14, quoting Deuteronomy 21 to explain that Jesus, in his crucifixion, took upon himself in our place the curse due to us for our sins.  

There is a traditional story connecting these cases in Deuteronomy 21.  By deciding to marry a prisoner of war, the man in verses 10-14 sets off an unfortunate chain reaction.  The war bride is a less-favored wife but bears the man's firstborn son.  The first son of the favored wife, feeling slighted, rebels and is put to death. His body is hung on a tree to deter further rebellious behavior.  (The story is not continued into chapter 22, so the son does not go on to become a cross-dressing zombie---see 22:5.)  

Reflecting on the discussion of war in Deuteronomy 20-21, Kyle Kettering gave a sermon at Church of the Messiah on July 8, 2023.  He talked about the spiritual war in which we are involved, the greatness of our King the Messiah, and the beauty of his kingdom.  

Seder 120: Numbers 24----Balaam's Third and Fourth Oracles: Israel's Coming King

 After his first two oracles, Balaam saw that there was no possibility he would be placing a curse upon Israel.  Numbers 24:1 informs us that at this point, "he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens."  Instead, the Spirit of God spoke through him, and he blessed Israel a third time.  He pictured Israel in an Edenic setting (24:5), and then he spoke more specifically about a king of Israel---"his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted" (v 7).  

The reference to Agag reminds us of the Amalekite king later defeated by King Saul (1 Sam 15), and of the fact that the infamous Haman of the Persian court was an "Agagite" (Est 3:1, 10).  On the other hand, the Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch say "Gog" rather than "Agag."  Gog is the infamous prophesied end-time opponent of Israel who is defeated by God (Ezek 38-39; Rev 20:8).  The reference to Gog suggests that the king in view here is the Messiah.  Some have connected the beginning of verse 7 ("Water shall flow from his buckets") with Jesus as the source of "living water" in John 7:37-39.  

The beginning of verse 8 ("God brings him out of Egypt") parallels Num 23:22 ("God brings them out of Egypt"), speaking in the singular rather than in the plural.  In context, this seems to be a reference to the Messiah coming out of Egypt (Matt 2;13-15).  It seems that in Matthew 2:15, Matthew could have had Num 24:8 in the back of his mind along with Hosea 11:1.  

The first part of Num 24:9 repeats Gen 49:9, and it could again be a reference to the death and resurrection of the Messiah, as Kevin Chen has argued.  The second part of Num 24;9 refers back to the Abrahamic promise of Gen 12:1-3.

After this thrid oracle Balak made clear that Balaam would not be receiving any reimbursement for his efforts.  But before the two parted, Balaam gave him a free bonus oracle that explicitly refers to "the latter days" (v 14).  "A star shall come out of Jacob," he proclaimed, "And a scepter shall rise out of Israel" (v 17).   

This prophecy of the star and scepter has always been viewed as Messianic by both Jews and Christians.  The scepter imagery refers back to Gen 49:10.  William Grissom has suggested to me that the two parallel clauses of the prophecy might refer to the two comings of the Messiah.  

The prophecy about crushing the forehead of Moab (v 17) contains another allusion to Gen 3:15.  Num 24:17 is referred to later in Jer 48:45.  The dispossession of Edom (v 18) is picked up later by Obadiah.

Numbers 24 is one of the most important Messianic prophecies in the Pentateuch, given by a Gentile seer who blessed Israel in spite of himself.  Sadly, Balaam resisted God and the message God gave through him.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on October 8, 2022, Rob Wilson contrasted Balaam with the faithful prophet Isaiah.

Seder 108: Jeremiah 31:18-34---Israel's Restoration and the New Covenant

 Chapters 30-33 of Jeremiah have been called the Book of Consolation.  At a time just before the fall of Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah to the Babylonians (Jer 32:1-2) in around 586 BC , God gave Jeremiah a message of hope for the future of Israel, promising restoration for both the northern tribes of the House of Israel and the southern tribes of the House of Judah. 

The northern kingdom---symbolized by Ephraim, its leading tribe---had already fallen to Assyria in 722 BC.  The repentance of those tribes in exile is pictured in Jer 31:18-19. "You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf," Ephraim says.  The language here is reminiscent of Hosea 4:16, where Hosea declares, "Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn."  

God responds with compassion for Ephraim (Jer 31:20), expressing sentiments similar to those of Hosea 11:8-9.  "I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord."   

The prophecy goes on to say that God will restore both the northern and southern tribes from exile.  The promise of a new covenant with Israel and Judah comes in Jer 31:31-34.  Commentators Walter Kaiser and Tiberius Rata call this passage "the apex of biblical theology for both Testaments."  They note that while this is the only time the prophets  use the term "new covenant," the same basic promise is repeated, with varying language, in a number of prophecies:

• "everlasting covenant"---Jer 32:40; 50:5; Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Ezek 16:60; 37:26.
• "new heart and a new spirit"---Ezek 11:19; 18:31; 36:26; Jer 32:39 LXX.
•  "covenant of peace"---Isa 54:10; Ezek 34:25; 37:26.
• "a covenant" or "my covenant"---Isa 42:6; 49;8; Hos 2:18-20. 

Like the Sinai covenant, the new covenant involves God's Torah or instruction (v 33).  In terms of its content it is more a "renewed" covenant" than a "brand new" covenant.  Verses 32-34  explain how the new covenant will be different from the Sinai covenant:  many Israelites had not kept the Sinai covenant, but they universally would obey the new one, because God would write his Torah on the hearts of the people.   

This covenant is made with the house of Israel and house of Judah (v 31).  The first participants were Jesus' Jewish disciples (Luke 22:20; Acts 2), but people from all nations were soon added as "wild olive shoots" grafted into the olive tree of Israel (Rom 11:17).