The fifth commandment is, "Honor your father and your mother"(5:16). What follows is legislation that advocates respecting authority figures in the nation, which was an extended family.
"With the regency of Yahweh and the proper protocol by which He had to be approached having been established, the covenant text then addresses the human leaders who serve Him and exercise authority over the nation at large."185
"Just as in its religious worship the Israelitish nation was to show itself to be the holy nation of Jehovah, so was it in its political relations also. This thought forms the link between the laws already given and those which follow."186
As in the other sections of Deuteronomy here too Moses' emphasis was on underlying principles more than on procedures. Here he stressed the principle of justice.
16:18-20 Probably the people chose the judges, and the leaders of the nation appointed them (cf. 1:13). "Judges"were individuals responsible for administering justice, and "officers"were administrators charged with the enforcement of law, perhaps similar to modern police officers.187The number of these in each town probably varied according to the needs of each community.
". . . in order to give the people and the judges appointed by them a brief practical admonition, as to the things they were more especially to observe in their administration of justice, Moses notices by way of example a few crimes that were deserving of punishment (vers. 21, 22, and chap. xvii. 1), and then proceeds in chap. xvii. 2-7 to describe more fully the judicial proceedings in the case of idolaters."188
"For most of us today, the notion that it is always and everywhere wrong for a judge to take a gift from a litigant probably seems so obvious as to be virtually self-evident. Nevertheless, the fact remains that that idea has historically been far from apparent to a large part of humankind. In the ancient Near East, for instance, almost every society regarded the practice of judges taking gifts from litigants as being perfectly moral and absolutely legitimate . . .
". . . a gift-giver placed upon a recipient a binding moral obligation to respond in kind . . .
"Importantly, such reciprocity is notconsidered morally reprehensible. Indeed the failure of either judge or litigant to reciprocate is what is deemed immoraland unjust . . ."189
In this respect then Israel was to be different from other nations.
". . . in Israel, as in much of the ancient world, the human judge was considered proxy for the divine judge. For instance, . . . in II Chronicles 19:6-7 . . ."190
"Deuteronomy is passionately concerned about justice(Hebrew tsedeq, mishpat): Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue' (16:20, which makes this a condition of living and prospering in the land). This follows from the doctrine of Israel as a community of brothers' equal before God."191
16:21-22 An asherah (v. 21) was perhaps a sacred tree or group of trees or more probably a wooden pole that the Canaanites used in the worship of their female fertility goddess, Asherah. Asherah was evidently both the name of a Canaanite goddess as well as a cult object used in her worship. The pagans usually made their sacred pillars (v. 22) of stone or wood and used them in the worship of Baal, the male Canaanite god of fertility, and Asherah.
"In Canaan the asherah(trees,' pillars,' or groves') were associated with oracular verdicts by their gods and goddesses."192
The judges were not to tolerate the planting (v. 21) of these trees or poles that were so common in Canaan that the people regarded them as a prominent part of the native culture.
Judges customarily dispensed justice in the open space near the main gate of the towns. This area was the main congregating place of the community (cf. Ruth 4:1-12).
17:1-7 God specified the method of execution as stoning for idolaters as well as other capital offenders. At least two and preferably three witnesses had to be willing to take the lead in stoning the convicted offender (vv. 6-7). These requirements were safeguards against injustice and perjury.
"The evidencemust be adequate and credible; and anyone ready to make a serious accusation must be prepared to be executioner as well as witness."193
17:8-13 Verses 2-7 explain a specific example of how the judges were to deal with a particular type of case. In these verses we have the legal procedure they were to follow in general.
When the priests would set up the tabernacle in the land the nation was to establish a supreme court to provide judgment in cases too difficult for the local judges. The location of this legal center may have been at the tabernacle194, or it may have been at some other place.195At least two men would decide the case: a judge and a priest. The priest's function was to clarify how the law of God related to the case. The decision of this court was final, and the people were to regard it as the will of God. People who rejected the decisions of this court were to die because to do so was to rebel against the will of God (v. 12).
Moses recognized that when Israel settled in Canaan and took on the characteristics of other nations (e.g., a homeland, political organization, etc.) her people would desire a king. As he revealed the mind of God here a king was permissible, but he had to qualify in certain respects.196
1. He had to be an Israelite (v. 15). This was essential since Israel's king would be a vice-regent under Yahweh. The king had to be a member of the covenant community.
2. He must not build up a strong military machine by multiplying horses (v. 16). This would lead to a false sense of security and power. Egypt was a major horse market in the ancient Near East.197
3. He was not to multiply wives (v. 17) since these women would tend to turn his heart away from devotion to and concentration on Yahweh. Furthermore God's standard for marriage has always been monogamy (cf. 1 Kings 11:1-43).
4. He was not to amass a large personal fortune (v. 17). This too would lead to a false sense of security and a divided allegiance (cf. Luke 16:13).
"A richly furnished harem, and the accumulation of silver and gold, were inseparably connected with the luxury of Oriental monarchs generally; so that the fear was a very natural one, that the future king of Israel might follow the general customs of the heathen in these respects."198
5. He was to transcribe a copy of the law of God (the covenant text of Deuteronomy [cf. 1:5; 4:44; 27:3, 8, 26; 29:21, 29; 30:10]199) personally (v. 18). This would encourage his thoughtful mental interaction with God's revealed will for Israel.
6. He was to read this law throughout his lifetime. This would normally produce two conditions. First, he would get to know God personally and thus fear Him. Second, he would be able to obey God's will (vv. 19-20).
"Three conclusions may be drawn from these admonitions. There is, first, a clear limitation on power, to avoid tyranny and the danger of the king's assuming the Lord's rule of the people. . . .
"Second, these restrictions and injunctions serve the main purpose of Deuteronomy, to enjoin a full and undivided allegiance to the Lord. . . .
"Finally, the law of the king places upon that figure the obligations incumbent upon every Israelite. In that sense, Deuteronomy's primary concern was that the king be the model Israelite."200
"It is a remarkable fact that nowhere in the Old Testament is the king represented as having anything to do with the making of laws."201
God was to make the choice of Israel's kings. The people were not to select a monarch without God's approval. He would be Yahweh's vice-regent. In some of Israel's neighbor nations, the king was regarded as a god, but in Israel, God was the true King.
"It is noteworthy that in the secular suzerainty treaties, a similar oversight of the vassal's choice of king is exercised."202
When Israel entered the land and requested a king, Samuel the prophet became greatly distressed (1 Sam. 8:6). His reaction was evidently not due to the request itself but to the motive behind the request. The people were turning away from their real King to a human king (1 Sam. 8:7-8). God granted the people's request even though it sprang from the wrong motive, but He disciplined them in the years following through the king they requested, Saul.
This pericope makes very clear that in civil life God wants justice for all (16:18-20) and His people's wholehearted devotion to Himself (16:21-17:7; cf. Phil. 3:20). Submission to civil authority (17:8-13; cf. Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-15) and leaders who follow Him (17:4-20; cf. 1 Tim. 2:1-7) are also important to God.
The Levites lived as sojourners among the other Israelites. While they had their own cities, they did not possess land and inheritances as the other Israelites did. However the privilege of serving God as they alone could was compensation much greater than their loss of physical benefits.
In addition to the tithes, the Levites also received the parts of the sacrifices allotted to them that included meat of various kinds, wine, oil, and wool (vv. 3-4).
Evidently not all the Levites served at the tabernacle. Some simply lived in their assigned cities. Participation in sanctuary services was apparently voluntary to some extent (vv. 6-8). God did not preserve in Scripture the plan whereby individual Levites served in carrying out various duties at this period in Israel's history (cf. Num. 18).203
One writer argued that verse 8 permitted the Levites to sell the remains of a sacrificed animal.204Most translators believed this verse allowed them to sell their family possessions.
The context of this section is significant as usual. Verses 1-8 deal with people who ministered to Yahweh in various ways for the people, and verses 15-22 concern the delivery of God's revelations to His people. Verses 9-14 contrast illegitimate types of religious personnel and practices with the legitimate kinds Moses dealt with in the surrounding sections.
"Of the three major institutions of ancient Israelite social and religious life--royalty, the priesthood, and prophetism--only the last was charismatic and nonsuccessive. Prophets were men and women raised up individually by God and called and empowered by him to communicate his purposes to the theocratic community. Frequently this ministry would take the form of a word of instruction or even rebuke to the leaders of the people as well as messages addressed to the present and future promises of covenant accomplishment and fulfillment."205
Child burning (v. 10) may have had some connection with determining or discovering the future course of events (cf. 2 Kings 3:26-27). However it was probably a separate type of abominable practice from divination.206The pagans used various phenomena as instruments to divine (foretell) the future. These devices included the patterns of birds as they flew, the arrangement of the organs of an animal offered as a sacrifice, and the relationship of the planets to one another. Witchcraft involved dealing with Satan and his demons to obtain desired ends. Omens were signs of coming events or conditions. Sorcerers cast spells. Mediums and spiritists called up the dead (cf. 1 Sam. 28:8-14). The precise distinction between some of the terms in verses 10-11 is not certain.207
"While the New Testament use of Deuteronomy is pervasive (all but chapters 3, 12, 15, 16, 20, 26, 34 being cited at least once), it is striking that four passages stand out as being the clear centers of focus: 6:4-5; 18:15-19; 21:22-23; and 30:11-14."208
In verses 15-19 God promised that when Moses was dead He would provide guidance for the nation through other prophets like Moses whom He would raise up as her needs demanded. Consequently the people should not try to discover knowledge of the future on their own, as idolatrous pagans did. Commonly they did this through various practices all of which involved contact with the spirit world (vv. 10-11).
"Abraham is called a prophet in Genesis 20:7, and the existence of prophets is presupposed in the Pentateuch (Ex 7:1; Nu 11:29; 12:6, Dt 13:2-3). The present text, however, is the first to discuss the office of the prophet.
"The historical basis for the office is Israel's request for a mediator at Sinai (Ex 19:16-19; 20:19-21). Fearing to stand in God's presence, the people asked Moses to go before the Lord and return God's words to them. Thus the prophet was to be like Moses.' This suggests that the office of the prophet was to play an important role in the further history of God's dealings with Israel. Indeed, a major section of the OT canon is devoted to the work of the prophets (Isaiah-Malachi). The prophet was to be God's mouthpiece to the people."209
Was Moses predicting one coming prophet, many prophets, or both?
"This order [the prophetic order] is first spoken of in the singular--'a prophet like me' and listen to him'--but the continuing context makes it clear that the term is being used in a collective sense to refer to prophetism as an institution (cf. a prophet' and that prophet' in vv. 20, 22). There is nonetheless a lingering importance to the singular prophet,' for in late Jewish and New Testament exegesis there was the expectation of an incomparable eschatological prophet who would be either a messianic figure or the announcer of the Messiah (cf. John 1:21, 25; Acts 3:22; 7:37). The ambiguity of the individual and collective being expressed in the grammatical singular is a common Old Testament device employed to afford multiple meanings or applications to prophetic texts."210
Jesus Christ was one of the prophets that God raised up as promised here (v. 15; Matt. 17:5; John 4:25; 5:45-47; 12:48-50; Acts 3:22-23; 7:37).
"Jesus was like Moses in numerous ways. He was spared in infancy (Ex. 2; Mt. 2:13-23); He renounced a royal court (Heb. 11:24-27; Phil. 2:5-8); had compassion for the people (Num. 27:17; Mt. 9:36); made intercession (Deu. 9:18; Heb. 7:25); spoke with God face to face (Ex. 34:29-30; 2 Cor. 3:7); and was the mediator of a covenant (Deu. 29:1; Heb. 8:6-7). The greatest revelation in the Old Testament era came through Moses. This revelation was only surpassed in the coming of Christ, who not only revealed God's message but provided salvation through His death."211
Perhaps the most important comparison was that both Moses and Jesus laid the foundation for the kingdom of God on earth and called on the Jewish people to prepare for it (cf. Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15; Acts 3:22; 7:37).
God told His people how to distinguish true prophets from impostors because people could step forward in Israel with claims to be prophets with messages from God (vv. 20-22). The people could identify false prophets when their prophecies failed to materialize (v. 22). If someone claimed to be a prophet but sought to lead the people away from the law, the people should recognize that God did not send him (v. 22; cf. 13:1-5). During a prophet's ministry it would become clear whether he was a false or true representative of Yahweh (cf. Matt. 7:15-16).
People who claimed to be prophets but distorted or misrepresented the Word of God were subject to execution in Israel. This shows the importance of presenting the Word of God accurately. Let preachers and Bible teachers take note and beware!
How does this chapter fit into the civil legislation of Israel? Priests, Levites, and prophets were important civil leaders in the theocracy. They represented the people before Israel's heavenly King and served as mediators between the King and the people.
