Deuteronomy 17:1-20
Q.1. What breaches of the Covenant required vigilance? How was infidelity to God punished? How was justice protected? – (Dt.17:1-7)
It was a detestable thing to offer blemished offerings to God. He does not want what we don’t want. People tend to reflect the gods that they worship. That is why God commanded His people to refrain from following the gods of the surrounding nations. Those who advocated serving other gods were to be stoned to death. To ensure that such charges were not a cloak for murder, any charge required two or three witnesses. Jezebel earned the wrath of God for deceitfully having Naboth stoned, in order to claim his prized vineyard for her husband, Ahab (1 Kgs.21). There were protective mechanisms in place to see that justice was done.
Q.2. To whom was an appeal directed? What brought integrity to the appeal process? How were litigants expected to respond? – (Dt.17:8-13)
Upon entering the Promised Land, the priesthood would be installed at Jerusalem. They wrote and applied the Word of God and were a safety net in difficult cases. To prevent lawlessness in the land, these priests and judges taught the law and administered justice – You shall do according to the terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the Lord chooses; and you shall be careful to observe according to all that they teach you (Dt.17:10). Anyone who ignored the rulings of the priests and judges would be put to death. God gave a clear process by which to resolve conflicts between parties in the land.
Q.3. What were the warnings addressed to future kings in Israel? How did God ensure that the king observed His laws and statutes? – (Dt.17:14-20)
Long before Israel settled in the Promised Land, God foresaw that the people would demand a king, so they could be like all the other nations (Dt.17:14). Knowing this, He prescribed the terms under which the kings of Israel were to operate. He gave warnings to avoid the excesses of earthly kings, such as accumulating wealth and multiplying horses for war. A king could not be a foreigner and was never to return to Egypt (Dt.17:15-17). He should also refrain from taking many wives – or else his heart will turn away (Dt.17:17). To keep from drifting from these instructions, the king was to write the Law in his own hand – 18 “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may reign long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel (Dt.17:18-20).