Deuteronomy 23: Those Excluded from the Assembly / Sanitary, Ritual, and Humanitarian Precepts
More grab-bag regulations. These get kind of gruesome. Enjoy?
Those Excluded from the Assembly: Deuteronomy 23.1-8
The assembly of the Lord is a group of adult male Israelites that served various government functions. This section covers those that are excluded. Note that Israelite religion cannot be separated from Israelite government. More on that later.
Freud would love this first one. Your genitals must not be crushed or your penis cut off if you wish to be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Your sexual potency, though concealed, directly affects your ability to hold power within this assembly.
Bastard (those born of an illicit union) may not enter the assembly of God. In addition, descendants to the tenth generation may not be admitted.
Ammonites or Moabites (even to the tenth generation) may not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. The justification given is that these peoples did not give food or water to the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness, and furthermore because they hired Balaam to curse the Israelites (even though it did not work). In fact, the Israelites are never to promote the welfare or prosperity of the Amonites or Moabites.
Sanitary, Ritual, and Humanitarian Precepts: Deuteronomy 23.9-25
When encamped near your enemies, guard against impropriety. [Like my crew coach used to tell me: "When you're on the road, you're representing Ithaca College. Don't do anything to make the school look bad."]
One who has a nocturnal emission is ritually unclean and must exit the camp. He should wash himself and may reenter the camp at nightfall the next day.
The Lord travels with you when you are encamped. Therefore, keep the camp holy by doing your business in a hole you dig outside the camp, and fill it when you are finished.
Escaped slaves from other peoples should not be retuned to their original owners. They will be free among the Israelites to live where they choose.
Israelites may not be prostitutes. Any money gained through prostitution or the money that will be used to pay a prostitute may not be brought into the house of the Lord.
Interest may not be charged on anything one Israelite lends to another. However, a foreigner my be charged interest.
Don't postpone fulfilling vows to the Lord. If you do so (or do not fulfill them at all), you will incur guilt. An exit strategy is proposed: don't make vows.
Two hospitality regulations demonstrate that to a degree, you are to provide for the hungry that come to you: Israelites may eat their fill of grapes from a neighbor's vineyard, but are not allowed to put any in a container. Likewise, you may pluck your neighbor's grain by hand but may not employ a sickle to make the work easier.
No comments:
Post a Comment