September 16, 2019
Physical Birth, Spiritual Birth
Deuteronomy 23
Cecil Blanton
Central Truth
Believers are be able to relate to an escaped slave, as we once were slaves to sin; but the blood of Jesus Christ freed us! We are no longer oppressed by the ruler and prince of this world. Hallelujah!
Key Verse | Deuteronomy 23:14, 16
"Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you. . . . He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him."
Deuteronomy 23
Those Excluded from the Assembly
1 No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the LORD.
2 No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD.
3 No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
7 You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the LORD.
Uncleanness in the Camp
9 When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10 If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.
12 You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 You shall not give up to his master a slave 1 23:15 Or servant; the Hebrew term ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface) who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.
17 None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog 2 23:18 Or male prostitute into the house of the LORD your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.
19 You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. 20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
21 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.
24 If you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. 25 If you go into your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain.
Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 23
I am writing this devotional on my birthday weekend, September 16, 2018. For this birthday, I rented a barn converted into rental lodging to unplug from the world, i.e., social media, television, radio, texting, etc. and plug into God's Word.
Today may be my physical birth, but my spiritual birth occurred about six years ago. I truly understand what Jesus meant when he told Nicodemus he must be born again. In that passage in John 3:1-21, "Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Nicodemus said to him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?' Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.'" (John 3:3-5)
In Deuteronomy 23, God conveys laws to the Israelite family about how to be pure and honorable and not bring shame and disgrace to them. These were laws given to set Israel apart from its surrounding neighbors and push Israel to a higher level of justice. I can very much feel a kinship to Israel.
I grew up in a church that was very much about following rules; and if you sinned, by all means keep it to yourself and hidden from the congregation. Unfortunately for me, that mentality led to a life of depression and attempted suicide because of my "shame" of being attracted to the same sex.
Deuteronomy 23:14 & 16 resonate with me. For most of my life, I felt God was always judging and disapproving of me. These feelings emerged because of the lack of an emotionally loving relationship with my earthly father. I correlated that relationship with my Creator. In retrospect, it was the opposite. As I now know, there wasn't anything I could do or say that deterred God from loving me. He created me in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), and being His child comforts me in a way I never thought I would experience.
Discussion Questions
1. What is your definition of love when it comes to your relationship with Jesus? Do you think you need to "do" something to make Him love you more? Do you think you can "do" something to make Him love you less?
2. Have you thought about where you will spend eternity? Got questions? If so, submit them to: http://www.watermark.org/dallas/ministries/great-questions.
3. Are you struggling with forgiveness, with making amends for wrongs done to you or that you have done to someone else, or with any sin struggle? If so, ask me about how Jesus changed my life and helped me and others find freedom through re:generation, Watermark's recovery program, or visit its website.