Our verse today is part of the Law God gave Israel through Moses, on Mount Sinai. You might say it’s the very “heart” of the punishment phase of that Law. That is, if a person was tried fairly and found “guilty.”

Everyone has heard these words. “And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Deuteronomy 19:21

But this sounds so “harsh,” many would say.

Yet in reality it’s anything but harsh.

It, this simple code of retribution or justice, was MUCH more LENIENT than the laws of existing (heathen) nations of that time, around 1500 years before Christ. Israel’s “neighbors,” so to speak.

In those cultures if  a man (even accidentally) caused a neighbor to lose his “foot” … the angry relatives might cut off BOTH FEET of the perpetrator, even though he did nothing wrong ON PURPOSE. The mishap was not premeditated, in other words.

Or in some cases if a man was careless and caused his coworker to lose a “hand,” that offender might be KILLED in someone’s fit of rage. And the law (for those people) would have “understood” such behavior. Condoned it!

But with our great God of Grace …

NO SUCH OVER-REACTION WAS EVER ALLOWED!

No, just this … “Life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

Strict?

Certainly!

But not overly so.

Just one eye, not both!

One tooth, not a whole mouthful!

Yes, even in God’s “justice” there is an element of “kindness and understanding!”

Oh, how so very often we “misunderstand” the Word of God.

And the God of the Word!

He is Good!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

Jesus, mentioned in Deuteronomy?

Yes, I think so. Really I know so!

“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a PROPHET from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me (Moses); unto Him ye shall hearken; according to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a PROPHET from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will PUT MY WORDS in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.” Deuteronomy 18:15-19

A prophet, like unto Moses?

Twice in the above verses, today’s Text, is this statement made.

A Prophet is coming, “like unto Moses!”

But it is said of Moses that God spoke to Him “Face to face!” (Deuteronomy 34:20)

So is this true of Jesus!

Time and time again, it appears.

Here’s one example: “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there A VOICE FROM HEAVEN, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” John 12:27-28

Wow!

But Moses was “faithful!”

God complementing Moses: “My servant Moses is not so (not like others), but is FAITHFUL in all mine house.” Numbers 12:7 (Also Hebrews 3:5 … “And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant.” What laudation!)

But Jesus is faithful as well, even more so than Moses!

“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, CHRIST JESUS; Who was FAITHFUL to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.” Hebrews 3:1-2

God also in today’s Text said he would “put His Words” into the mouth of this great (coming) Prophet! And Jesus, when on earth, said: “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the WORDS that I speak unto you I speak NOT OF MYSELF: but THE FATHER that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” John 14:10, dynamite!

Yes, Jesus is that Prophet!

Even the people of our Lord’s day, around 30 AD in the Holy Land, thought so! Having seen Jesus enact miracle after miracle they concluded: “Then those men, when they had seen the miracle (feeding the thousands) that Jesus did, said, THIS IS OF A TRUTH THAT PROPHET that should come into the world.” John 6:14

Undoubtedly, Jesus is that Prophet, even greater than Moses!

Blessed be His Name!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

By the way, there’s a warning built into our Text as well. God also says of Jesus: “And it shall come to pass, that WHOSOEVER WILL NOT HEARKEN unto MY WORDS which HE shall speak in my name, I WILL REQUIRE IT of him.”

What could be any more clear?

 

One Preacher called these things, “temptations that go with power!”

And around 1000 BC the Kings of Israel were powerful, indeed.

Therefore God gave them “rules” for proper behavior.

Guarding against “sins that might so easily beset them.”

Today we reach the last of those regulations. (By the way, if these are good guidelines for a King, might they not also be good criteria for any leader to adopt? I think so.)

Today’s Text, a positive act, no longer a prohibition.

“And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall WRITE HIM A COPY of this law IN A BOOK out of that which is before the priests the Levites: and it shall be with him, and he shall READ THEREIN all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.” Deuteronomy 17:18-20

Write a Copy of the Word of God!

That would be at least the whole Book of Deuteronomy. But perhaps the entire Pentateuch, Genesis through Deuteronomy, all five Books of Moses.

Wow!

But not just “copy” the Scriptures, looks like with his own hand, but READ them regularly … “all the days of his life!” A man of the “Book,” he is to be!

Why?

That he might OBEY the Words of God!

Now note the promised “benefits” of so doing:

The fear of God will be nurtured in his life! “That he may learn to fear the LORD his God.”

Humility will be engendered as well! “That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren.”

Seems like faithfulness, dependability, steadiness will be a byproduct of this habit too. “That he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left.”

And the result?

Long life, a healthy kingdom with blessed offspring! “To the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.”

Thrilling!

And truthfully, the Word of God is just as powerful today as it was back then.

Why don’t we make MORE of the Bible than we do?

Help us, Lord.

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

Pray for the Revival this week, continuing through Wednesday night, the Lord willing.

TODAY’S LESSON …

I did not originally intend to invest four Lessons in the 17th chapter (of Deuteronomy). Actually it will be a total of five before I can leave the subject at hand. We have been focusing on the “qualifications” God set in place for the different men who would serve as Kings of Israel.

One … He could not be of foreign descent. He had to be a blood brother to all the other Jews.

Two … He could not “collect” horses.”

Three … He could not be involved in polygamy. He could not “multiply” wives.

And for today … fourthly … He could not concentrate solely on money, silver and gold!

Deuteronomy 17:17, the last half of the verse … “Neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.” Pretty plain, direct.

The “string” of words “greatly multiply” requires two Hebrew equivalents, “meod rabah.” An adverb placed by a verb. (In the Hebrew text there’s a preposition between “rabah” the verb and “meod” the adverb. Like this: “Silver and gold he shall not multiply unto greatness.”)

The prohibition is quite clear.

He can’t be a lover of “filthy lucre,” as Paul would have said, Peter too. (They used this negative expression four times between them.)

No, the King must “focus” on other, more worthy things.

But do note what the text did NOT say. He can amass some gold or silver. To meet the “needs” of life, one presumes. But he cannot overly concentrate on the stuff. He is not totally forbidden an income!

In today’s language He is saying, God is: “The King must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” He is forbidden to be “excessively rich!” He can’t “pile up” a lot of silver and gold.

I believe God wants His leaders (the Jews still being “God’s Heritage”) to concentrate on Him … not primarily on cash or investments or acquiring more and more.

Now, from Solomon to you and me. Let’s apply this verse …

Truly, God supplies all our needs, directly or indirectly.

He gives us benefits, daily!

Yet … He, the Lord, still does not want US to be lovers of money, either.

Craving more silver or gold, simply for the sake of gain, is tantamount to “idolatry” in God’s Eyes! Listen to Paul the Apostle again: “Mortify (to put to death) therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, AND COVETOUSNESS, WHICH IS IDOLATRY.” Colossians 3:5

Today (maybe more than ever) we need to let the words of the old hymn “I’d Rather Have Jesus” become a reality in our lives. With Jesus meaning more to us than “silver or gold.”

Wow!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

“The love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1st Timothy 6:10

So true.

 

A Quick Discussion of Deuteronomy 17:17

This “rule,” another in a series concerning the Kings of Israel … is most understandable. It is clearly predicated on previous divine legislation. (Like the Ten Commandments!)

God told Israel (well before her first Monarch ever sat upon a throne) … “Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away.” Deuteronomy 17:17, the first half of the verse, to be more precise.

Simply stated: the King cannot have many wives!

The verb “multiply” (actually “shall multiply”) is “rabah” in Hebrew, meaning “to become many.” Or “numerous,” or just “in abundance.”

This law we can all understand. We have been reared in a (once) monogamous society … the term means “one woman, one wife.”

For man to have two (or more) living wives … in my years … was called an adulterous situation.

So of course … the King cannot have many wives! (Over 500 years previously God had commanded: “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14)

But here in our Text today God uses another reason for the limitation! Again: “Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away.”

See it?  “That his heart turn not away.”

They possibly might “turn away” (in Hebrew “sur”) the King’s heart … from the living God of Israel! This verb (“sur”) can mean “to hate” as well, “to eschew” something or someone!

And this is exactly what happened later to King Solomon! “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives TURNED AWAY his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God.” First Kings 11:4

Lesson “point” today … THAT WHICH WE LOVE OFTEN CAN CONTROL OTHER AREAS OF OUR LIVES! Apparently, the desire to please one’s Wife can (at times) conflict with the desire to please one’s God!

And God was fearful that the Wife would win! God, knowing human nature as He does, since He is the very Creator of us all! So God has (wisely) “banned” many wives for an individual man.

By the way, seems that if one has a Wife who also loves the God of Heaven and earth … he has been prudent from the very start! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

That’s why Proverbs 18:22 shouts: “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.”

Wow!

And Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell