Laws Concerning Leaders and the People & the Altar on Mount Ebal

Moses was dealing with a new generation to whom he had not told all of the laws. This section of Scripture is basically a retelling of the laws to that new generation.

Leaders

Moses said it was an abomination to sacrifice an ox or a sheep with a blemish. If anyone worshipped false gods, then that person was to be stoned to death. This could only be done based on the testimony of at least two people. Legal decisions made by priests and judges were to be honored. If the people desired a king like the nations around them, then God would choose the king. This had to be a king that came from among them, not a foreigner. This king would not acquire many horses or return to Egypt. He could not have many wives or excessive silver and gold. The new king would also need to write the laws down in a book. He was to keep it with him and read it all of his life.

Priests were not to have their own inheritance; rather, they were to rely on the sacrifices made to God. If a Levite came to a place and ministered in the name of God, then he would get an equal portion to eat.

Abominations

Moses explained that when the people were to arrive in the Promised Land, they were not to take part in the sinful practices of the people that lived there. They were not allowed to burn their children for offerings. Fortune-tellers, sorcerers, necromancers, and mediums were to be driven out. These were an abomination to God.

A New Prophet

Another piece of information that Moses shared with the Israelites was that a new prophet would be raised up from the people of Israel. Moses told the people that this person would speak the words that God put in his mouth. If that prophet spoke in the name of any other gods, then he would die. If what he spoke did not come true, then that was not what God had spoken through him.

Criminal and Civil Laws

Moses then told the people that they should set aside three cities in the Promised Land for someone to flee to if they unintentionally killed a person. If someone killed a person intentionally, then the people were to send one of the Israelites to take the murderer away from these cities of refuge (if the murderer tried to run there). The people were not to show pity on the murderer but rather hand the murderer over so that they may be killed.

Moses also declared that the people could not remove property lines. Moses said that if a person accused another of a crime, there needed to be more than one witness. If there were only one witness, judges would need to determine who was telling the truth. If it was proven that the witness was lying, the same punishment that that person sought against the other was to be done to that person.

War

Moses told the people of Israel not to be afraid when facing a superior enemy—they needed to know that God was with them. A priest was to go before the people of Israel and remind them that God was with them.

Men that had built a house and had not yet dedicated it were to be excused from fighting. In addition, any man that had gotten married but not yet been with his wife was also to be excused. If a man was fearful, he should be excused as well—so as not to make the other soldiers fearful.

Moses instructed the people that when they came to a city, they should offer the residents peace. If the residents surrendered, they were to serve the Israelites. If the residents did not surrender, the Israelites were to kill every male but spare the women, children, and livestock, and all of these lives that were spared would belong to the Israelites. If it was a city that God had given the people of Israel for their inheritance, then they were to kill everything that breathed in the city so that the city residents would not teach the Israelites their evil ways. If the Israelites besieged a city, they were not to cut down the fruit-bearing trees but only the trees that did not give fruit. If they captured females and wanted to marry them, they were to wait one month to let them grieve.

More Laws

Moses also included reminders of other laws. For instance, if there was an unsolved murder, then the leaders of the nearest city were to make a sacrifice of a new heifer. The priest would then come and pray to God for atonement.

Another law stated that a man's firstborn son was to receive his inheritance. It did not matter if the man had two wives—one that he loved and one that he didn't love, like in the case of Jacob, who was married to Rachel and Leah—even if the firstborn was the son of the unloved wife, that son was still to receive the inheritance. No preferential treatment was to be given. Moses also covered laws concerning a rebellious son being stoned to death, hanging (execution) rules, returning found property, and women and men not wearing the clothing of the opposite sex.

Moses also addressed laws concerning birds' nests, home construction, not mixing seeds when planting a vineyard, not plowing with an ox and donkey together, not wearing mixed-material clothing, and the requirement of wearing tassels.

Additionally, Moses went over in-depth laws concerning sexual morality, excluding certain people from the assembly of the Lord, requiring spiritual cleanliness in camp, and proper human waste disposal. He also spoke on not returning runaway slaves to their masters, not allowing daughters or sons to become prostitutes or go to prostitutes, not charging interest on loans to people of Israel, making and keeping vows, not taking a neighbor's grapes, not cutting a neighbor's grain, and laws concerning divorce.

Another law that was given regarded a man that had just gotten married being excused from military service for one year in order to spend time with his wife. In addition, there were laws about not taking other Israelites and selling them as slaves. There was a command to follow the Levitical priests' directions when dealing with lepers as well as laws concerning collecting loans, not oppressing hired workers, not executing a father for the sin of his son, and not executing a son for the sin of his father.

There were other laws about taking care of the poor, travelers, widows, and orphans. One of the ways this could be done was to leave grain in the field for the poor, travelers, widows, and orphans. Another law stated that when punishing a guilty man, that man could not be whipped with more than forty lashes. Yet another law regarded a widow remarrying after her husband's death—she was not to marry outside of the family of her late husband. Instead, in an act of care for the widow, her late husband's brother (if he had one) was to step in and marry her to carry on the responsibility of providing for her. A household was only allowed to use one weight to measure with in order to ensure honesty. Another command was that Amalek was to be forgotten.

There was also an extensive list concerning offerings and tithes.

Mount Ebal

Moses admonished the people of Israel to keep the commandments that he had given them. He told them that they were to make plaster-covered stones and write down the commandments on Mount Ebal. They were to build an altar on Mount Ebal, and they were to use uncut stones in the altar construction. They were to make offerings on this altar. Then, Moses gave them a command that they were to curse those that broke the laws and commandments.

Summary

In this part of Deuteronomy, Moses gave more directions to the people of Israel before they entered the Promised Land. He addressed how leaders were to conduct themselves. He told the people that child sacrifice was an abomination, and he instructed them to set aside three cities for people guilty of unintentional manslaughter to run away to. Moses gave the Israelites laws concerning warfare. He also provided a lengthy list of more laws to follow. He told the people that once they entered the Promised Land, they were to set up an altar on Mount Ebal.

Application

While many of the laws that Moses gave to this new generation may seem strange by today's standards, the intent was for Israel to live a holy life so that they may be pleasing in God's sight. These laws were specific to the time and place that the people lived in. We also have laws that we must follow in order to maintain a civil society. We must follow those laws or work to change any laws that are unjust.