Deuteronomy 21:1-22:8

"Sixth Commandment: Love Your Neighbor II"

The Sixth Commandment declares that you shall not murder.

Last week we saw how two instances where killing is not murder:

the case of accidental death, and the case of warfare.

But we also saw how murder starts in the heart,

and can be expressed through any words and actions that are hateful.

Tonight we will look at some other ways that Israel was called to love one another,

and along the way we will attempt to understand the principles of justice

in the Kingdom of Christ.

Because while we confess that the judicial laws of the OT are not binding on any modern nation,

we do affirm that their general equity-the basic principles of justice-

ought to guide all peoples.

1. Unsolved Mysteries (21:1-9)

We live in a day where we feel a strong impulse to solve every murder.

Indeed, this has resulted in the State of Illinois (among others)

declaring a moratorium on the death penalty

because so many death row inmates have been cleared by advanced technology

(such as DNA tests).

That impulse is proper.

God declared that the one who sheds blood should be put to death (Genesis 9).

And for the holy nation Israel, the guilt of innocent blood required a sacrifice.

But in our day, the passion to solve every crime has resulted in a system of justice

that is willing to convict a man on circumstantial evidence.

Deuteronomy 21 does not encourage such a system.

There may be only one suspect.

There may be circumstantial evidence that links him to the scene of the crime,

but the principle of "beyond reasonable doubt" is a lousy one

when it comes to murder.

It may be that a murderer "gets away with murder" from time to time,

but if only proven murderers were convicted, and all of them were executed,

we would not have the stain of innocent blood on our hands.

The precise model of Israel, however, will not work for our nation.

The whole procedure is bound up with the sacrificial system,

and with their unique status as a redeemed nation.

The elders of the closest city would break the neck of the heifer,

and the elders would testify before the priests

that they were not guilty of this blood,

asking God to "accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel,

whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood

in the midst of your people Israel." (V8)

Magistrates who desire justice will seek to convict murderers and execute them,

but if they cannot prove who did it,

they should simply pray that God will execute judgment in his time.

2. How to Find a Wife (21:10-13)

The second section speaks of an Israelite falling in love with a captive woman.

Deuteronomy uses this word "desire" or "love" (hashaq) in two other places:

Dt 7:7-"It was not because you were more in number than any other people that Yahweh set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples." Yet he redeemed you from slavery in Egypt.

Dt 10:15-"Yet Yahweh set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day."

As Yahweh set his love upon you, when you were captives,

so you may set your love upon this captive woman.

She must set aside her past and become an Israelite.

Give her a month to lament her parents (whom you killed).

3. The Rights of the Unloved Wife (21:14)

Verse 14 makes sure that you've understood the point.

If you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants.

You may not humble her-and then sell her for money or treat her like a slave.

Just as God exalted you through redeeming you from slavery,

so you have exalted this woman through marrying her.

And the freedom she has gained cannot be taken away.

If you will exalt this woman-and then humiliate her-

for the hardness of your heart, you may divorce her,

but you may go no further.

She is free.

3'. The Rights of the Unloved Son (21:15-17)

Likewise, we may speak of the rights of the firstborn son in 15-17.

Just as the unloved captive wife must still be treated as a free woman,

so also the firstborn son of the unloved wife must be treated as a firstborn.

Israel practiced polygamy, with God's permission.

Like slavery and divorce it was regulated, but permitted,

as temporary things that were not the way things should be.

But if you had two wives, you could not alter the inheritance to suit your preferences.

The firstborn son was still to receive the double portion.

Again we see how the command "you shall not murder" speaks of more than just killing.

It speaks to the heart.

It speaks to how you treat your family.

But it does not only speak to the husband/father.

2'. The Rebellious Son (21:18-21)

The stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father

or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them,

shall be put to death.

All the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones.

Children,

when you persistently and willfully refuse to obey your parents,

you are murdering them.

And indeed, as the fifth commandment suggests,

the one who rebels against lawful authority is really rebelling against God,

and symbolically, is trying to murder God.

It is not likely that this law was carried out very often in Israel.

The Rabbis added so many qualifications

that it was nearly impossible to find a case that would apply!

But God here declares what stubborn, unrepentant rebellion deserves.

1'. The Cursed Man

After dealing with these various laws related to family,

we come back to the stain of blood upon the land.

If a man is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, don't leave him on the tree all night.

The common practice in the Middle East was that after the man was dead,

his body would be left hanging on a tree as a warning to others.

God declares that a "hanged man is cursed by God."

Therefore to allow the curse to remain upon the tree all night would be to defile the land.

It was for this reason, in part,

that Joseph of Arimathea wished to have Jesus buried that evening.

But Paul shows that it was in this way that Jesus became a curse for us.

Gal 3:13 declares,

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us-

for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.'"

Some have suggested that Christ only fulfills the ceremonial law,

while the judicial law is still binding.

But this is a case of Christ fulfilling a judicial law.

The command "You shall not murder" tends to focus on the negative.

Chapter 22:1-8 presents us with a series of positive obligations in the sixth commandment.

1-4 1. You shall do all in your power to assist your neighbor.

It is not enough to simply refrain from hurting him,

you must actively seek to help him.

5 2. Anticipates the seventh commandment-mixing things that should not be mixed.

6-7 3. We are to protect not only human life, but also the lives of animals.

Moses is not only a treehugger (20:19-20), but a bunnyhugger as well!

If you take the mother with the young, or the eggs,

then you are no longer a steward of creation, but a despot.

You are to make sure that the creation continues to function properly.

As a part of the new humanity, the new creation,

you are to exercise dominion by ensuring

that those under your care are well provided for.

Modern industry has wreaked havoc with the created order.

We have not been good stewards of creation,

but have used it selfishly and for our own profit.

But of course, all such mishandling of the creation comes back to destroy ourselves.

Chopping down a forest without replenishing it is not only wrong,

but suicidal-since we would use up the resources God has given.

(Think of the cedars of Lebanon-now but a legend of the past).

8 4. If we believe in the general equity of the law of Moses,

then this law provides a rationale for all sorts of preventative laws.

A fence around a swimming pool might be the most obvious,

but seat belt laws, speed limit laws, building codes,

and all sorts of laws fit under this category.

Some have suggested that because Moses does not specify a penalty,

therefore this law could not be enforced by the elders of Israel.

But Deuteronomy, as we have seen, is not a law code.

It does not set forth every detail for judges to follow.

Rather, it is Torah-God's instruction for what he expects of his people.

If the elders of Israel saw a man whose house had no parapet,

they were expected to use wisdom and justice to see to it that the parapet got built.

If that meant sending their own servants to build it,

and then charging the man double for the labor,

that would be just (the cost of the labor, plus the lost labor for the other man).

But this also suggests that the laws of Israel were not limited

to what you find in the Five Books of Moses.

The elders of Israel would have had to maintain some sort of common law

to cover the horde of issues that are not addressed in the Scriptures.

Libertarianism is not found in the Word of God.

There is no suggestion of allowing everyone to do what is right in their own eyes,

except in these specific instances.

Moses does not set forth an exhaustive law code,

but the general principles of justice by which Israel, as the kingdom of God,

should live.

And so for us,

who in Jesus Christ have become the Kingdom of God,

we look to the law of Moses not as binding in all respects,

but as illustrative of what justice is.

We learn about what God has declared to be just and unjust.

We cannot allow ourselves to become enamored with the political philosophy of our day.

In these two chapters we have seen how both Republicans and Democrats in our own day,

fall short of God's standard of justice both with respect to the death penalty,

and with respect to environmental concerns.

I believe that this is because few Republicans or Democrats

have learned their principles of justice from the Word of God.

We must always remember that we are citizens of a different kingdom.

Jesus Christ has set his love on us, while we were yet sinners-

while we were yet captives under the power of the devil.

Through his death, by which he became a curse for us, by hanging on the tree,

he removed our curse.

Therefore we must live our lives as those who are redeemed,

and who live by his standards-and not by the standards of the world.

Listen, then, as I read our Larger Catechism's summary of the duties required, and the sins forbidden, by the sixth commandment:

Q135: What are the duties required in the sixth commandment?

A135: The duties required in the sixth commandment are, all careful studies, and lawful endeavors, to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts and purposes, subduing all passions, and avoiding all occasions, temptations, and practices, which tend to the unjust taking away the life of any; by just defense thereof against violence, patient bearing of the hand of God, quietness of mind, cheerfulness of spirit; a sober use of meat, drink, physic, sleep, labor, and recreations; by charitable thoughts, love, compassion, meekness, gentleness, kindness; peaceable, mild and courteous speeches and behavior; forbearance, readiness to be reconciled, patient bearing and forgiving of injuries, and requiting good for evil; comforting and succoring the distressed, and protecting and defending the innocent.

Q136: What are the sins forbidden in the sixth commandment?

A136: The sins forbidden in the sixth commandment are, all taking away the life of ourselves, or of others, except in case of public justice, lawful war, or necessary defense; the neglecting or withdrawing the lawful and necessary means of preservation of life; sinful anger, hatred, envy, desire of revenge; all excessive passions, distracting cares; immoderate use of meat, drink, labor, and recreations; provoking words, oppression, quarreling, striking, wounding, and: Whatsoever else tends to the destruction of the life of any.