Deuteronomy 13 contains a warning about false
prophets leading Israel astray. Such false prophets are to be killed. Once
again, the modern reader naturally questions the harshness of this punishment.
Friedman, as usual, has a helpful explanation:
Worship
of other gods is the ultimate ritual sin in Deuteronomy. As with all ritual
infringements, the perpetrators must be utterly eliminated from Israel. If it
is an entire city, then that city must be eliminated from Israel—including any
righteous members of the community and even the animals.
All of this may seem foreign and barbaric in our time.
That is because (1) Israel has not been a religious state for 2000 years; and
(2) after the destruction of the Second Temple, ritual became less central in
Judaism, and emphasis on ethics rose. Also (3) monotheism has defeated pagan
religion in Western civilization, so we no longer feel the degree of threat
that authors of the Bible felt toward it.[1]
Deuteronomy 14:22 says, “Set apart a tithe of all
the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field.” Though many
Christians seek to practice tithing, giving 10% of their income to the church
or to charity in general, it should be recognized that this is an Old Testament
principle not one that is derived from the New Testament. In fact, I have heard
it said that if one adds up all the offerings that the Israelites were supposed
to give it comes to something like 23% of their income. One must also recognize
that for ancient Israelites their religious and political institutions were one
entity. If one pauses to consider that most American Christians must “give” at
least 30% of their income to the state, one can then see why it is difficult
for many to give 10% to the church on top of this. It would seem that the
important thing is not the percentage but to “Give liberally and be ungrudging”
(Deuteronomy 15:10) as even the New Testament emphasizes (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
When it comes to giving money to the poor,
Deuteronomy 15:11 instructs us, “Because there won’t stop being an indigent in
the land. On account of this I command you: saying you shall open your hand to your brother, to your
poor, and to your indigent in your land.”
Friedman comments on this:
This is generally understood to mean that there will
never cease to be poor people. And the problem is that just a few verses
earlier the text says the opposite: “there won’t be an indigent one among you”
(15:4). Ibn Ezra and others have explained this apparent contradiction by
noting that the statement that “there won’t be an indigent one among you” goes
on to say “only if you’ll listen….”
Since Israel will not, in fact, listen in the future, therefore “there won’t
stop being an indigent in the land.” Ramban criticizes this view, saying that
it is unimaginable that the Torah would say that the Jewish people will never come
to listen to the Torah’s commandments. It seems to me that the problem arises
because everyone takes this verse to mean that there will never stop being indigent people. But it simply says “there won’t
stop.” I take that to mean that poverty will not just come to a stop on its own
one day—without any action by humans.[2]
Deuteronomy 16 deals further with issues of
justice. Friedman elaborates:
It should be obvious, but, regrettably, it needs to be
said: judgment and justice are not the same thing. Judges and lawyers can be
part of one of the noblest endeavors of humankind: the law. When they fail to
pursue justice in their performance of judgment, they pervert and degrade the
law, and thus they demean humankind—nothing less. The same goes for clerks,
bailiffs, law enforcement officers, and everyone else involved in the execution
of justice. They elevate or lower themselves—and all of us—by the degree of
their commitment to justice.[3]
The word “justice” is repeated in Deuteronomy
16:20 by way of emphasis. Biblical Hebrew does not have italics or exclamation
points. Thus, repetition is one of the few ways this language has to express
emphasis.
Deuteronomy 16:22 provides yet another instance
of progressive revelation within Scripture. Moses instructs the Israelites not
to set up a pillar in worship of YHWH. Yet, Moses set up pillars (Exodus 24:4)
and so did Jacob (Genesis 28:18; 32:45; 35:14,20). Friedman understands the
text in this way:
Perhaps we should understand it to mean that Moses is
prohibiting the people from making pillars after the formal altar and Temple
are built in the land, because then an altar might be taken as an alternative
locus of God. Here in Deuteronomy Moses repeatedly emphasizes that there can be
only one place of worship, one structure in which God’s name is housed. Thus,
even Joshua sets up a large stone, which seems like a pillar (although the word
is not used there; Josh 24:26), but this may be before the establishment of an
official central place of worship.[4]
Though our circumstances are radically different
today, these chapters in Deuteronomy raise the question of how we can best
worship God, do justice, and care for the poor in our own day. In this regard,
C. S. Lewis has some helpful, though open-ended, guidance:
Christianity has not, and does not profess to have, a
detailed political programme for applying “Do as you would be done by” to a
particular society at a particular moment. It could not have. It is meant for
all men at all times and the particular programme which suited one place or
time would not suit another. And, anyhow, that is not how Christianity works.
When it tells you to feed the hungry it does not give you lessons in cookery.
When it tells you to read the Scriptures it does not give you lessons in Hebrew
and Greek, or even in English grammar. It was never intended to replace or
supersede the ordinary human arts and sciences: it is rather a director which
will set them all to the right jobs, and a source of energy which will give
them all new life, if only they will put themselves at its disposal. (Mere Christianity)
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