DEUTERONOMY  Lesson 9

DISCUSSION CHPTS. 21-22, INTRO TO CHAPTS. 23-25

OPEN WITH PRAYER

OPENING:

Pass out Prayer Request Cards.  Fill them out and pass them

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS 21-22

CHAPTER 21  There are three sets of commandments in Chapter 21 that are all foreign to us.  The first is what to do about a body found murdered outside any town.  The second concerns the taking and treatment of a woman from a tribe they have captured.  The third involves the punishment of a rebellious son.  Again, if we look at the principles behind the commandments, we see the applications for our lives, lives that are so very different from those of Moses.

CHAPTER 22 contains commandments, some of which touch our lives as they are written, others may seem confusing, still others give us a glimpse into a culture far different than our own.

DISCUSSION FOR WEEK 10, CHAPTERS 21-22

1.  Summarize the scenario described in 21:1-8.

2.  What reasons would the elders need to ask for forgiveness for this murder of which they had no part?

3.  We use the expression today, “I wash my hands of the matter” as a way to say we will have nothing more to do with it.  That is not the meaning in Deu. 21:6-8. Read Matt. 27:24.  Does Deu. 21:6-8 shed light on Pilate’s actions?

4.  The laws of taking a captive woman were for those tribes and people outside the area God had given them.  Those inside the boundaries were to be killed.  In verses 10-14 is described how a man who took a woman captive had to treat her.  How was she to be treated? What changes were required of the woman? Were you surprised by these commandments?  How did the world expect conquered peoples to act, to be treated?

5.  Ch. 21:15-17 gives commandments to men who have more than one wife. The scene could be describing Jacob with Joseph and Benjamin, favoring the children of a favored wife.  What does Jesus say about God apparently accepting that men might have more than one wife? (Matt. 19:3-8)

6.  The treatment of a rebellious son, as in 21:18-21, seems incredibly harsh.  As far as we know, no son has ever been ever stoned for stubbornness.  In addition to stubbornness and general rebelliousness, of what must the son be guilty (vs. 20)?  

7.  Nine times in Deuteronomy God says that the people must take drastic action, usually kill someone, in order to “Purge (or remove) the evil from your midst”.  In addition to being punishment, what effect is the killing of the person doing evil to have? (Deu. 17:13, 19: 20, 21:21).  Furthermore, if the person is allowed to live, even if as an exile, what message does that give to others?  In the world in which we now live, does this pertain to the evil in the world, like the likes of Osama Ben Laden or Sadam Hussein?  How does this pertain to us in the church? (See  Matt. 18:15-17)

8.  A very simple principle is in Ch. 22:1-4, “If you found it, it isn’t yours.  Don’t keep it if you can find the owner.”  Apply Rom. 13:8-9 to Deu. 22:1-4.

9. The law in Deu. 22:5 was to discourage homosexuality and transvestism. Despite there being unisex clothes (sweatshirts, t-shirts, jackets), most clothes are still tailored for either men or women. In general, what is the connection between how a person dresses and how he/she behaves? Does it bother you when people wear shorts to Sunday service?

10.  In Ex. 23:19, 34:26 and Deu. 14:21 we are told not to cook a goat in its mother’s milk.  In Lev. 22:27-28 God commands that when a calf or goat is born it must remain with it’s mother seven days. With a cow or ewe, the young and the mother cannot be killed on the same day. Here, in verses 6-7, we are told we cannot take the mother and child both.  Taken together, what does it tell us about God and his concern for His creation?

11.  Whose responsibility is it, in God’s eyes, if someone gets hurt at your house when you could have done something to prevent it? What do you think of the need for liability insurance in this country? (22:8)

12.  Ch. 22:13-30 deal with sexual relations.  What do these verses say about what God knows about man’s heart?

13. What does Ch. 22:22 say?  What does that tell you about the situation in

Jn 8:1-11?

ASSIGNMENT FOR WEEK 11 Chapters 23-25

1.  The first 6 verses of Ch. 6 deal with excluding groups of people from the assembly, based on their physical defects or their ancestry.  This is not the elders, but all those who assemble to worship together. What groups are many churches today tempted to exclude? Are there any groups we should exclude from our worship? Why/why not?

2.  Versus 1-6 contain part of the law that Jesus’ life and death made obsolete. (Heb. 8:13)  While we are to act like a single body (Eph. 3:6, 4:4, etc.), we must come to faith individually (1Cor. 12).  In what sense is this individual freedom echoed in the preamble to our constitution?  

3. Ch.23: 9-14 seem like they don’t apply to us.  Most of us don’t do primitive camping.  Yet, what is God saying here about keeping our homes free of indecency? (v.14) What are the contaminants we must keep out?

4.  While I suspect that none us can even imagine male and female temple prostitutes, again, there is a principle for us here in v. 18.  Restate v. 18 pertaining to today.

5.  Have you ever made a vow to the Lord?  If so, what have you vowed?

6.  In light of Ch. 23:24-25, what is phony about the Pharisee’s charge in Matt. 12:1-2?

7.  Again, in light of Ch. 24:1 we see the Pharisees bating Jesus in their questioning.  What is wrong with their question in Matt.19:3? What grounds is God in vs.1 allowing the man to divorce his wife?

8. For what reason was a newly wed to be kept out of the army?(24:5) What does this say about the position God gives to wives?

9.  Kidnapping is a crime punishable by death (24:7).  Should it be here?  What is (or should be) the function in a modern society of capital punishment?

10. Why does God say (v. 18, 22) they should treat the poor and the alien (foreigner) as He does in verses of Ch. 24:10-21?   What would God say about “workfare” vs. “welfare”, based on 24:19-21?

11.  Again in Ch. 25:1-3 we have the antecedent of our Bill of Rights amendment against cruel and unusual punishment.  How do we judge what is cruel and unusual when it comes to punishment?

12.  Ch. 25:13-16 are about dishonesty in business.  They apply today in many kinds of businesses.  Discuss some.