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Statutes from Deuteronomy

Some of the Levitical statutes are repeated along with several additions and clearer explanations.

Deuteronomy 4:5-9 says:

5. Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
6. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
8. And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
9. Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; (Deuteronomy 4:5-9)

13. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
14. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
15. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
16. Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
17. The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18. The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
19. And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. (Deuteronomy 5:13-19)

In other words God is saying, “Since you don’t know what I look like, don’t make images of things you do see and try to set them up as images of Me.”

Deuteronomy 4:23 says:

23. Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.

The following verses are a beautiful promise of protection for the obedient saint during the tribulation of the latter days.

Deuteronomy 4:29-30 says:

29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
30. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;

Deuteronomy 4:40-43 says:

40. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.

Before continuing with the statutes, Moses set aside three special cities to take care of citizens that otherwise would have been abused.

41. Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;
42. That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:
43. Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites. (Deuteronomy 4:40-43)

Deuteronomy 5:7-14:

7. Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
8. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
9. Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
10. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
11. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
12. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
13. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
14. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

Deuteronomy 5:15-21 says:

15. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
16. Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
17. Thou shalt not kill.
18. Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
19. Neither shalt thou steal.
20. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.
21. Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's. (Deuteronomy 5:7-21)

At this point, the children of Israel became fearful for their lives. God, as a consuming fire, seemed too close for their comfort. So He honored their request to stop speaking to them at that time. Moses became the middleman.

Deuteronomy 5:24-25 says:

24. And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.
25. Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.

God did not stop giving the commandments because He did not have more commandments to give, but because they requested that He give the rest of His commandments to them in a different manner, using Moses as mediator.

Deuteronomy 5:30-33 says:

30. Go say to them, Get you into your tents again.
31. But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.
32. Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
33. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

Deuteronomy 6:5-6 says:

5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

Deuteronomy 6:14 says:

14. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

Deuteronomy 6:16-17 says:

16. Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
17. Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.

As God’s people conquered their enemies, the Lord forbade intermarriage.

Deuteronomy 7:3

3. Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

Deuteronomy 7:5-6

5. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their alters, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
6. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

God does not approve of holy representations. He has never wanted any of these items in the religious territory of His people.

Deuteronomy 8:10

10. When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

Deuteronomy 11:16

16. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

Deuteronomy 12:3 says:

3. And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.

Do not compromise your religion as did the religions of the transgressors. They may claim to know God, but God says they do not.

1 John 2:4 says,” He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Deuteronomy 12:15

15. Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the heart.

In this text the clean and unclean refer to people. Those who are unceremonially unclean, those in prison, those who take time off for child bearing, and those of Gentile origin, still have the right to eat whatever God’s people eat. This statute is clearer in chapter 15:22 which says:

“Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart.”

Deuteronomy 12:19

19. Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as though livest upon the earth.

Several statutes regarding the proper care and respect for the minister is written in the statutes. These statutes, though not always included in this manuscript, are still worth reading. God’s ordained ministry is special to the Lord and blessings are pronounced upon those who treat them with respect.

Deuteronomy 12:23 says:

23. Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.

Deuteronomy 12:28 says:

28. Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.

Deuteronomy 13:1-4 says:

1. If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
2. And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3. Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

Deuteronomy 13:6-8 says:

6. If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
7. Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
8. Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

I am departing from the statutes to include verses 12-18 to show how serious God detests mixing the religion of the transgressor with His church.

Deuteronomy 13:12-18:

13. Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
14. Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;
15. Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.
16. And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
17. And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
18. When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.

Deuteronomy 14:1-2:

1. Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
2. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

These pagan religious signs for grief were offensive to God. Jeremiah 16:6 says, “Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:”

Deuteronomy 14:21-22 says:

21. Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

God’s people were to be special, and above all others in cleanliness and in health. They were to be examples before the world so the people of the world would see the benefits and eventually become as careful in their diet.

Seething a kid in his mother’s milk is believed to be associated with a pagan religious rite.

22. Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

Deuteronomy 14:28-29 says:

28. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29. And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Some commentators believe this offering to be a second tithe.

Notice how the church members were to treat each other in the next few verses.

Deuteronomy 15:1-5:

1. At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release.
2. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD's release.
3. Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release;
4. Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:
5. Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.

A person who received a loan should diligently try to repay it before the year of release. However, if he fell into a calamity and lost his wealth, he would then be destitute. After seven years he would be released from his debt, enabling him to climb out of poverty.

Deuteronomy 15:7-8:

7. If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
8. But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.

Deuteronomy 15:11:

11. For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.

Deuteronomy 16:1

1. Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.

Deuteronomy 16:3:

3. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.

They are our ancestors. “And if ye be in Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

Deuteronomy 16:8-10:

8. Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.
9. Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
10. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:

Deuteronomy 16:13-17:

13. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
14. And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
15. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

The following is a note on the words, “in the place that God shall choose.” Originally the feasts were to be kept at the Sanctuary in Israel. Centuries later Jesus responded to a question regarding the proper place for worship. The Lord told the woman at the well to simply worship in spirit and in truth. A little later, Jesus stated that their house (sanctuary) in Jerusalem was made (spiritually) desolate. Still later, after Jesus’ ascension, Paul began keeping the feasts in Gentile territory. All of the above harmonizes with the fact that God’s religion was sent to the uttermost parts of the earth and we can confidently worship and honor God’s holy days in any location.

16. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
17. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.

Women and children also attended these feasts (see vs. 11), but men were required to leave their mundane pursuits to be present.

Deuteronomy 16:19:

19. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

Deuteronomy 16:21-22:

21. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
22. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.

God does not want even the appearance of a mixture of religions. Most of all, He hates religious images.

Deuteronomy 17:2-6:

2. If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
3. And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4. And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
5. Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

The last part of the previous text is left in to show God’s firm feelings about such sins.

6. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

Deuteronomy 17:12:

12. And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.

Deuteronomy 17:15:

15. Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.

Only a true follower of the faith could function in the sanctuary services. This is still sound practice today.

In verse fifteen this idea is extended to civil rulers. We have little or no choice in electing such holy dedicated leaders who would religiously read God’s law (verse 19). But this statute will be in effect on the earth made new. The kings will be holy and righteous people. Speaking of the New Jerusalem, the prophet John wrote:

“And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.” (Revelation 21:24-27)

Deuteronomy 18:10-13 says:

10. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
11. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
13. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

Deuteronomy 18:15 says:

15. The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Deuteronomy 18:20 says:

20. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

Deuteronomy 19:2-4 says:

2. Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
3. Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.
4. And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;

To protect the innocent person and his family from unjustified harassment was not only kind, it is still a principal intact today. The innocent are sometimes given a new identity and relocated to another area for these same reasons.

Deuteronomy 19:14-15 says:

14. Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
15. One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

Deuteronomy 19:18-19 says:

18. And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;
19. Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

Chapter 20 has to do with the rights of soldiers: right to protect their home, their property, and their marriage. In verse 14 genocide of the enemy is prohibited, and trees bearing food are not to be destroyed.

In chapter 21 the rites and feelings of captured women are recorded. Such a woman was not to be bothered nor molested and was given thirty days to mourn her losses. During that time, symbols of mourning were provided her, such as cutting the nails and shaving the head. These symbols can be compared with the wearing of a black dress at a time of mourning today. At such a time a person’s sadness is not to be mocked, but respected.

Deuteronomy 21:11-21:

11. And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;
12. Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
13. And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
14. And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.
15. If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:
16. Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:
17. But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

In the beginning God made but one wife for Adam. The New Testament also recommends that men have but one wife. The verse above do not recommend having more than one wife. Rather, these verses are written to protect the rights of the firstborn.

The firstborn do have special consideration. Jesus was the ‘firstborn’ from the dead. As Creator, Redeemer, and LORD, He has a right to sit on the throne with His Father. The 144,000 ministers in the time of the end are also called ‘firstborn’ and they too have special rights.

18. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
19. Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20. And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
21. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

This law affected the parents more than the children. It encouraged the parents to teach their young to be respectful and courteous from the cradle up. The parents were careful to “train up a child in the way that it should go.”

Family relations are important issues in the statutes, such as relations of loyalty and respect between husband and wife, parents and children, and grandparents. Respect for the life, dignity, and health of the family are all included. Obeying the statutes will have a positive effect. Notice these very results of the Elijah message in the last four lines of the following passage:

“Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Mal. 4:4-4)

Commenting on Bible discipline E.G. White wrote: “The young man was incorrigible, yet the carrying out of so severe a penalty was not left to the father’s judgment; it was the solemn responsibility of the men of the city (see Chs. 13:10; 17:5; 22:24). To discipline with severity was within the province of the parent (Prov. 19:18), but not the carrying out of the death penalty.” 1BC 1028

Deuteronomy 22:1-19:

1. Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother.
2. And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.
3. In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself.
4. Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
5. The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
6. If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:
7. But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

The principle here is to prolong life. The dam can have more young if she is freed.

8. When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.

Building codes are most often designed for the safety of the occupants.

9. Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.
10. Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

This statute is for the sake of the animals. An ox and an as cannot pull evenly together, which would be frustrating to the driver as well as to the animals.

11. Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.
12. Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.

The dress of the true Israelite was to be special. They were not to dress according to the fashions of the people among whom they were living.

Those who believe in the principles taught in the statutes will still not dress according to the fashions of the people around them. God is clear enough regarding the dress of His special people. (For more information regarding dress codes order “A Special Message to the Little Flock” by John VanDenburgh.)

13. If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,
14. And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:
15. Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:
16. And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;
17. And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.
18. And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;
19. And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

This statute assures four things: First, God expects purity among the youth. Second, He expects honesty among the youth. Third, He expects a young married could to work out their problems from the first day of marriage. Fourth, He expects the marriage contract to be taken very seriously.

Verses 23-29 deal with sex out of wedlock. In each instance the penalty of sexual sin is death with one exception – the virgin couple. In this case, the boy must owe the girls’ father a large sum of money, marry the girl, and stay married to her for life.

Deuteronomy 23:1-3 says:

1. He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

Self mutilation for the sake of celibacy was practiced among the pagans. God wanted His people to know that neither self mutilation nor celibacy for religious reasons would be tolerated. 1BC 1033

A eunuch that did not self-inflict his wound was at times highly respected by kings (2 Kings 9:32), and even honored by God’s ministers and welcomed into the church through baptism. Acts 8:27-40

2. A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

The original world translated ‘bastard’ in the above text is unknown. It is true that purity of family is important to God, but this word is improperly translated, because no one knows what the original word means.

3. An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:

We are many centuries beyond the 10th generation. The phrase “forever’ often meant ‘until life ceases.’ The Israelites were not to socialize, or mix in any intimate relationships with the pagan people.

Deuteronomy 23:9-18 says:

9. When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.

This would give God every right to defend His human army. Why? Because they were absolutely showing themselves to be ‘His’ people. Satan could not say God was without right to defend them. By their holiness they were showing they belonged to God alone.

10. If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
11. But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
12. Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:

The place without the camp was a sanitary dump site. Cleanliness in the army camp was for both health and morale. Another statute of cleanliness for the soldiers was to put a shovel on the end of their weapons to bury their human waste.

13. And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:
14. For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

God remains close to those who are clean in their minds, clean in their bodies, and clean in their habitations.

15. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:
16. He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
17. There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Deuteronomy 23:20-25

20. Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
21. When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
22. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.
23. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
24. When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
25. When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.

Principles of fair play are almost without number in the statutes.

Deuteronomy 24:4-7:

4. Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
5. When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.
6. No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man's life to pledge.

Such a token of pledge would make it very difficult for the family to make bread. In other words, his family would pay a price for the pledge of one individual.

7. If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.

Children today are captured to work the streets of large cities. Any adult involve din such trafficking of children will have to meet a stern and angry God. The principles of the statutes stand forever.

Deuteronomy 24:10-17:

10. When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.
11. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
12. And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:
13. In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
14. Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
15. At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.
16. The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
17. Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:

Deuteronomy 24:21-22:

21. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

In the earlier pages of this book, you read where Ellen White stated that these same principles were given by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Throughout Scripture, blessings are promised to the benevolent.

In the statutes, beatitudes, proverbs, and psalms, the character of God is revealed. God’s character will be reproduced in His people.

22. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

Deuteronomy 25:4-10:

4. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
5. If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.
6. And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
7. And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.
8. Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;
9. Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house.
10. And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

“The only exceptions were the high priest, who was not subject to the levirate law (Lev. 21:13,14), brothers living at a distance, and the aged.” 1BC 1042

Deuteronomy 25:13-15:

13. Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
14. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small.
15. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Deuteronomy 26:12-13:

12. When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
13. Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

The tithe payer divided his tithe and gave it to:

1. The Levite, for the sustenance of the minister.
2. The stranger who has of yet no work for his support.
3. The fatherless who must live without a provider.
4. The widow. Some widows yet today are not equipped to support themselves.

Thus, he had fulfilled the law of tithing and could expect God’s favor.

Deuteronomy 26:16-19:

16. This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
17. Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:
18. And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
19. And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.

The rest of the book of Deuteronomy is filled with the blessings of God promised to his faithful people, as well as the troubles that would befall them if they would not be faithful to His commandments.

Deuteronomy 30:8-9:

8. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
9. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:

Deuteronomy 30:19-20:

19. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
20. That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

“The closing words of Malachi are a prophecy regarding the work that should be done preparatory to the first and the second advent of Christ. This prophecy is introduced with the admonition, ‘Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments [Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the LORD].” The Southern Watchman 3/21/1905 (insert is authors note).

The message concerning the statutes will be a prominent part of the work just before the second coming, and the Elijah message will proclaim all the Godly principles that Elijah believed. So what shall we do?

The phrase “all Israel” is exciting to ponder since the 144,000 are made up of the children of the tribes of Israel. In other words they are the last picture of Israel given in Scripture prior to the second coming of Christ. See Revelation 7:1-4.

God’s messages have always been shared by people who believe in God. Will you be willing to see that others have the same opportunity to study this material? Call to see how easily it can be done.

“Remember ye the law of Moses my servant which I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

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