We're in the longest of the exhortations that Moses gives to the children of Israel on the plains of Moab prior to entrance into the promised land. And this particular section is connected by the community, the emphasis on community relations and relationships. Chapter 15, as we saw, dealt with the sabbatical year. and the Jubilee. And then in the first part of Chapter 16, as we saw last week, the various feasts on Israel's calendar.

And then tonight, specifically in Chapter 16, verses 18 to Chapter 17, at the end, you see the maintenance of justice. In other words, the emphasis is upon the civil authority in Old Covenant Israel. Again, that has community, relations, manifestation, or connection. And then in chapter 18, the emphasis is on ecclesiastical matters, specifically the place of the priesthood and the prophetic ministry in the life of Old Covenant Israel.

So basically, how does the covenant people conduct themselves as a body politic with a religious emphasis geared toward the worship of the living and the true God? So I want to read beginning in verse 18 in chapter 16, and I'll read to chapter 17 in verse 7. So 16, 18, you shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice.

You shall not show partiality. nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not plant for yourself any tree as a wooden image near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God. You shall not set up a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates.

You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God. If there is found among you, within any of your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing his covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

He shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you. Amen.

Introduction

So three particular emphases in this section of scripture. We'll notice first the appointment of judges at the local level at the end of chapter 16 and verses 18 to 20. Secondly, the prohibition of cultic offenses in 1621 to 1701. And then finally, the procedure for judging offenses in chapter 17 verses 2 to 7.

And then the chapter continues with an emphasis on a higher court in verses 8 to 13, and then principles governing kings in verses 14 to 20. So again, you see the civil orientation of the section in terms of how the people of God are to be managed or ruled by their leaders. And so the emphasis, obviously, is on righteousness and judgment. In fact, if you turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 4, one of the purposes for which God was giving them the land of Canaan, He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then when they go into that land, they are to demonstrate the glory of God in the manner in which they conduct themselves.

In Deuteronomy 4, 5, it says, Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me. that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. Therefore be careful to observe them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?

Now, obviously, they don't realize that. Obviously, they don't fulfill that. The subsequent history from the book of Deuteronomy shows positivity at the time of Joshua, and then a degradation and a slide into idolatry in the book of Judges. And of course, subsequent to that, you see it in 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, and then in the major and the minor prophets.

Israel did not live up to what they had sworn at the base of Sinai. They had promised Yahweh that they would be faithful to everything that He had commanded them. And of course, they got this wrong. They got it wrong so bad that oftentimes God raised up foreign invaders, foreign oppressors to come and basically destroy the people of God.

We see that in 722, the northern tribes are judged via Assyria. You see it in 586, the southern tribes are judged by Babylon. And then ultimately in AD 70, the Old Covenant people are brought to destruction under the Romans. And so basically the curses that are pronounced ultimately in Deuteronomy 28 are carried out by God.

The children of Israel were supposed to be faithful, they were supposed to be obedient, they were supposed to mediate the blessings of their God to the nations around them. But of course, as I said, they failed and they reaped the judgment of God Almighty. So we know that, but nevertheless here we are in Deuteronomy 16 and 17, we need to see how God purposed to structure the civil polity in Old Covenant Israel. So

Appointment of Local Judges

note first the appointment of judges at the local level in verses 18 to 20. verse 18 is the command. You shall appoint judges and officers and all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you according to your tribes. Now there's an obvious precedent here back in the book of Exodus and Exodus chapter 18. Remember that Moses was basically having to serve as judge over all of the matters and all of the affairs facing the covenant people and then his father-in-law Jethro gave him wise counsel, select men, appoint men to function as lesser judiciaries such that they can hear the cases and those that are too big they can bring to you.

It was the division of labor And I think that behind Deuteronomy 16, 18 to 20, you see that sort of emphasis in terms of the type of men they needed to be and the type of rule they were to engage in. So the precedent is back in Jethro's counsel given to Moses, but as well it's stipulated in Exodus 23, verses 1 to 8, that section of the law that we call judicial law. It is precisely that. Statutes, ordinances, and those things given by God through Moses to the children of Israel so that they would know how to apply the Ten Commandments from Exodus chapter 20 in life, in civil life, with reference to matters of jurisprudence.

As well, the practice, they had already known something of this. If you turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 1, in the first exhortation given by Moses on the plains of Moab, which is essentially a historical review, Moses reminds them that this has been the operating structure. Notice in Deuteronomy 1 at verse 12, how can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints? Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.

And you answered me and said, the thing which you have told us to do is good. So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes. Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Here are the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, or the stranger who is with him. You shall not show partiality in judgment.

You shall hear the small as well as the great. You shall not be afraid in any man's presence, for the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it. And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.

So basically in Deuteronomy 16 we are seeing recodified basically what they'd already known in practice, and it also argues for us, or rather implies for us, the reality of the presence of crime. Old Covenant Israel would need law courts. Old Covenant Israel would need judiciaries. Old Covenant Israel would need lower and higher courts.

Why? Because they're going to break the law. They're going to sin and transgress the covenant, and they're going to engage in those sorts of things that are destructive to a body politic. They're going to commit crime.

Therefore, they're going to need judges to sentence them when convicted of those crimes, such that they can be prosecuted and ultimately punished for that. Remember, they were to shine as a light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation and demonstrate the glory of God vis-a-vis His wisdom as it comes through His word, His law. So

The Command and Its Manner

the command is very specific in verse 18a, the emphasis in verse 18b, and they shall judge the people with no just judgment. They're not to be corrupt, They're not to be crooks, they're not to be liars, they're not to be thieves, they're not to engage in these things simply for their own benefit, their own prestige or fame or to carry out any prejudices they might have against particular individuals. Now the manner is given to us there in verse 19. Notice specifically in verse 19, you shall not pervert justice, you shall not show partiality nor take a bride, for a bride blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

Again, Exodus 18 verse 21, Jethro said to Moses, get men who are able. I know that's basic and fundamental and foundational, but it makes a lot of sense. You don't want dummies to be in charge of judging persons. You don't want morons to be given this place of great authority and great power.

They must be men who are able, they must be men who fear God, they must be men of truth, and they must be men who hate covetousness. So that's Jethro's counsel to Moses in Exodus chapter 18. Moses duplicates that, sort of expands on it, and puts it in sort of legal language here in verse 19. The first prohibition is against perverting justice.

You shall not pervert justice. You're not supposed to do that. It's supposed to be a just judgment. It's supposed to be righteousness.

In other words, the covenant nation that God Most High is over, that He's King of, it must be administered in a manner that is consistent with His nature. The psalmist tells us that righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne, according to Psalm 89, and many other psalms in the Psalms of David. And so his people on earth representing his kingdom typologically pointing forward ultimately to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and his bride, they are to function in a way that is not perverting justice. Now, as I said, we're not gonna find a direct application for everything that is done in here in this particular section as to be applied in the nation of Canada.

I mean, there's not laws prohibiting, you know, sacred pillars and wooden images and those sorts of things. But the principle, I think, is very fine and very pure and very much translatable into our particular civil polity. We want men. We want those in high places that don't pervert justice.

That breaks the back of the body politic when there's a perversion of justice. It demoralizes everybody when they don't see justice being meted out.

Prohibition Against Partiality

Notice then, secondly, the prohibition against partiality. You shall not show partiality. In Exodus 23, you see an emphasis on not showing partiality to the rich, and as well, not showing partiality to the poor. So on the one hand, you're not supposed to show partiality to the rich, those who are favorable, those who might make a campaign contribution, those who might take you out for a good stake after the court proceedings over.

You don't show partiality to them. But also in Exodus 23.3, it says, don't show partiality to the poor. In other words, don't let pity and don't let emotions cloud your judgment. If the poor man is guilty of a particular crime, the poor man needs to be punished for that particular crime.

Showing partiality is wrong. God doesn't judge according to partiality. James emphasizes this several times in his epistle, James 2.1, James 2.4, James 2.9, and James 3.17. In other words, partiality is when we don't go based on law and justice and rule and right and commandment and statutes and ordinances.

We let other things persuade us. We let other things guide us. We let other things compromise our ability to engage in a just judgment.

Prohibition Against Bribery

The third prohibition is against bribery, nor take a bribe. Again, very obviously, you know, obvious as to why, if you can pay off a judge and get an innocent verdict, that's not justice, that's not righteousness, that's not fair. And there's plenty of other texts for each of these heads. If you're interested, ask me, I'll email you the notes.

But in terms of the prohibition against bribery, you're not supposed to buy judges. Judges are not supposed to be bought. They're not supposed to be influenced by money, by any promise of benefit, by anything that will work to their advantage. No, they need to judge based on the facts.

They need to judge based on the law. In fact, turn to the prophet Isaiah for just a moment, in Isaiah chapter 11. I think some of these things come out in a prophetic passage concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah chapter 11.

Specifically at verse 1, there shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. This is a prophecy concerning Jesus, the Messiah that was to come. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and this is what he would have in terms of his equipment according to his human nature.

Notice in verse 3, "...his delight is in the fear of the LORD, and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the hearing of his ears." There were some traditions that taught the Messiah would be blind, the Messiah would be deaf. Why? Because of this particular passage. But the idea is, is like Lady Justice that we see in law courts today.

She's got a blindfold on. In other words, she doesn't look at who's rich, they're going to get off. She doesn't look at who's poor, they're going to get off. She's blind to those circumstances and to those periphery, and she's consumed with the application of law to criminal offenses.

To his delight is in the fear of the Lord, and he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his loins, and faithfulness the belt of his waist.

You see, what Israel fails to do in the Old Covenant, Jesus, the true Israel, actually gets right. What Jesus does, He calls Himself the true vine in John 15, verse 1, where I think He's appropriating to Himself that He is the true Israel of God. So what Old Covenant Israel fails to do in terms of the application of God's law righteously to various issues, the Lord Jesus Christ does effectively and He does perfectly. Old Covenant Israel failed in this.

Craigie mentions the problem with the bribe. A bribe disrupted the true course of justice by appealing to the baser side of human nature. Justice would no longer be a right of all men. What was called justice would become, in effect, a hypocritical system, serving only those who were wealthy enough to manipulate it, because God does not take a bribe.

The action was wrong and fell under the curse of a righteous God. Remember Johnny Cochran, the price of justice in America is grain. There's validity to that. You got enough money, and you can buy the best lawyers, and you can maybe give a kickback to the judges, you're going to walk.

Well, that's not right. That's not fair. Just because we're poor doesn't mean we should get punished if we've committed the crime. It does mean that.

But it doesn't mean that the rich have an avenue by which they can evade justice because they buy off or pay off the right people. you can see how obviously these things are requisite for those who occupy a place in the judiciary. And again, I think we have great cause to pray for the judiciary that we have in our own country. I mean, there's a lot of things that are problematic. I mean, there's a lot of things that are perversions of justice.

There is a lot of partiality and there is most likely a lot of bribery going on in terms of what's happening. And toward the end, with reference to the bribery emphasis, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You see, it's a bad thing. You cannot operate a judicial system when there's an avenue by which judges in the judicial system can be bought off, can be paid off, can be manipulated or coerced to give a ruling that is contrary to the revealed will and law of God.

And then this section ends with an exhortation. Notice in verse 20, you shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you. you shall follow what is altogether just." That's been a recurring emphasis all throughout the Pentateuch. I mean, we've been here since Genesis, not literally, but in terms of our study. And what's been the recurring emphasis?

Yeah, you go ahead and cut corners, go ahead and engage in unrighteousness, go ahead and be bad. No, the emphasis recurringly for the first generation, specifically in the book of Exodus, and for the second generation, specifically here in the book of Deuteronomy, is that you need to be righteous. You're going into this land which is given to you by a gracious God as promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When you go into that land, there's certain stipulations, there's certain boundaries, there's certain strictures placed upon you by which you must function.

It was, again, by way of reminder, a covenant of works. Notice that retention of the land is predicated upon their altogether justness. You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you. That's why they got kicked out.

That's why the Assyrians came. That's why the Babylonians came. That's why the Romans came. And again, this is all prophesied or rather promised in the covenant sanctions portion in the book of Deuteronomy.

There's blessings for obedience. Obey God, you'll get the land. Disobey God and you'll be cast out of the land. In fact, the largest section in the curse portion in Deuteronomy 28 has to do with exile.

It has to do with being cast out of the land and being treated with that just judgment of God for their having violated the covenant. They swear at the base of Sinai, all that Yahweh has commanded we will do. They don't get to Exodus 32 before they're dancing around a golden calf. We know it's not going to work out well.

Subsequent history tells us it never worked out well. All of this is driving them or tutoring them for the expectation of the Messiah to come. The Old Testament, the Old Covenant was a tutor, was made and intended to lead them and us to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prohibition of Cultic Offenses

Now, moving on, then, secondly, the prohibition of cultic offenses. We usually use that word cultic in a negative way. Cultic means Jehovah's Witnesses. Cultic means Mormons.

Cultic means something bad. Cultic doesn't mean that all the time. There's a neutral use. It simply means religious ceremony and ritual. religious ceremony, and rituals.

So you might refer to the cultic system of Old Covenant Israel. It doesn't mean they were bad. I mean, they were bad, but that's not why. It means they engaged in certain rituals, certain ceremonies associated with their worship of the living God.

And intriguingly, you've got lower court, cultic offenses, and then you've got how to judge a criminal matter. Why is this prohibition of cultic offenses sort of wedged right in the middle? Meredith Klein, as he introduces this chapter, he says, this section contains a series of stipulations concerning theocratic government. That means God rules directly over a particular people. with primary emphasis on the judiciary.

Israel must add to cultic holiness political judicial righteousness. Between the governmental and the cultic there was a unity of ultimate authority since Yahweh was both God and King in Israel. So I would suspect that why it's sort of wedged in here and what would be otherwise only civil justice, only matters of courts and judicial proceedings, is that cultic offenses in Old Covenant Israel had judicial ramifications. In other words, as a theocratic nation, to commit blasphemy, to commit idolatry, could be a capital offense.

And so it's absolutely appropriate and very much fitting to be wedged in here, so that old covenant Israel would remember, hey, part of my religion is directly connected to the civil authority of the state, directly responsible to carry out God's will. And so if I engage in idolatry, or what I will argue are the precursors to full-on idolatry, then I'm likely to receive the punishment that is stipulated. In fact, the particular crime under question in 17.2 and following is just that. It's idolatry.

So

Prohibition of Idols and Syncretism

note in verses 21 and 22, there's a prohibition of idols. And then in 17.1, there's a prohibition of a blemished sacrifice. In the first prohibition of idols in verses 21 and 22, you shall not plant for yourself any tree as a wooden image or an Asherah, an Asherah pole that was a female deity, a female goddess. Now, remember, they don't really exist.

When I say that, that doesn't mean there really was, and there really is, an Asherah somewhere out there in the netherworld that has, you know, her way amongst, you know, some of the people that inhabit the earth. No, it's a recognition. The land you're going into is filled with, you know, people that subscribe to false gods. One of them is Asherah, one of them is Baal, one of them is Moloch.

One of them is Dagon. There's just a plethora of these false gods. And I would suggest as well, when you look at verse 21, it sort of hints at what I've tried to argue before with reference to Old Covenant Israel's idolatry. Notice verse 21, you shall not plant for yourself any tree as a wooden image near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God.

I don't doubt that in Old Covenant Israel there was a form of idolatry where the idolatry completely swore off Yahweh. I'm done with Yahweh, Asherah gets my money, Baal gets my service, Moloch gets my children, Dagon gets my worship. There probably was some of that, but probably more common was what we call syncretism. That's when you sort of marry the false with the true.

The fact that this Asherah pole is near the altar that they had built seems to suggest that. We want Yahweh, but we also like a bit of Asherah. We want Yahweh, but we'd like a bit of Baal. Especially when you move into the land of Canaan, and your next door neighbor is a Baal worshipper, and he happens to pray to Baal on Thursday, and it rains on Friday.

And then he comes over, and he says, I prayed to Baal yesterday, and it rained today. Baal was the storm god. If you're a Canaanite, an Israelite rather, that's not altogether faithful to Yahweh, you might say, well, Yahweh's good. But man, this Baal seems to perform as well too.

So syncretism, the not complete relinquishment or rejection of the true God, but the true God and the true God and a bit of Asherah, the true God and a bit of Baal. the true God and a bit of this or a bit of that. That's every bit as idolatrous as the absolute repudiation of Yahweh for only Asherah or for only Baal. That emphasis on syncretism, I think, is very prevalent in the Old Testament. Again, not arguing that there's no instances whatsoever where a man doesn't throw off altogether the thought of Yahweh and turn himself to Baal, but more than likely a lot of it was this idea that I want to cover my God basis.

I want to make sure I get whatever it is I can get out of whichever God happens to be giving on that day. That's kind of like man today. You know, we want to hedge our bets. We want to get whatever we can get from whoever it is that happens to be giving it.

People that are spiritual. There's people that go from place to place looking for blessing and blessing. They're not faithful to the living and true God. Jesus is a means like, you know, their other gods are means to whatever it is they are seeking after.

So you shall not plant for yourself any tree or a wooden image, an asherah pole near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God. And again, many passages forbidding this, many passages condemning it, many passages commanding them to destroy those things when they went into the land. In fact, turn back to Deuteronomy 7. Deuteronomy 7, we've got instruction for holy war.

Deuteronomy 7, 1, when the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hibbites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you. And when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them, nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son, for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods.

So the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. But thus you shall deal with them. You shall destroy their altars, break down their sacred pillars, cut down their wooden images or their Asherah, and burn their carved images with fire. So when we get to Deuteronomy 16, there's this clear-cut prohibition against that.

Supposition is obviously, God knows that when you go into that land, you're not going to destroy their sacred pillars. You're not going to destroy their Asherah poles. And because you didn't destroy them, it's not going to be long before you're bowing down to them. You see, when people see that, you know, emphasis on holy war and Deuteronomy 7, well, that seems unfair.

No, God knows his people. When they go into that land that is filled with Canaanite deities, God knows that they're not the holy ones. They're going to, you know, cover the nation with their righteousness. The unholy ones are going to be infected by that.

You don't exclude the gods. Before long, you may be bowing down to the gods. That's why the prohibitions in Deuteronomy 7 and then as well here. And then the sacred pillars again, verse 20.

I'm sorry. I'm going to go back here to Deuteronomy 16, verse 21 or 22, you shall not set up a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates. So again, the idea is, is that God despises, abominates and loathes this whole idea of adding another God alongside of him. or repudiating him completely and then taking on the gods of the Canaanites. These are things that the Lord hates and you are prohibited from engaging in them.

And that God hates Asherah poles and sacred pillars. It indicates that the use of such things was typically the first step toward idolatry and an eventual rejection of Yahweh altogether. And then I think that's how

Prohibition of Blemished Sacrifice

the unblemished animal in verse 1 of chapter 17 functions as well. You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any blemish or defect, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God. So again, we've seen that emphasis on clean animals. for sacrifice. We've seen the emphasis in the book of Leviticus.

The priest needs to be clean. The priest can't have physical defects. He can't be a hunchback. He can't have, you know, all these things.

The text is very specific. But neither can the animal be defective. And what does it indicate about somebody who knows the stipulations put down by God, who then brings the lame, or who brings the blemished, or who brings the one that's not as valuable? They're cheaping out, right?

I'm not going to give God my best. I'll reach back here in the back of the flock and grab the guy that can hardly move and I'll bring him and hand him over to the priest. The emphasis everywhere in the Old Covenant on sacrifice was the best. Again, typically pointing to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

It was absolutely requisite that Jesus be holy, harmless, and undefiled. It was absolutely necessary that he be completely perfect, that he be without blemish, that he be without scab, that he be without all those things condemned in the book of Leviticus. So what happens when you've got a people that are looking at the back of the flock, taking the most mangy out of the flock, and presenting that to God? That shows cheapness.

I think these are two pillars on the way to idolatry. One, not a heart that prioritizes alone believing in the true God in terms of our attention. We throw up an Asherah pole or we're okay with sacred pillars. That's a bit of a division in our hearts.

We're not giving ourselves wholly unto God. But as well, when we start to, you know, go to the back of the barrel and pick the worst of the animals, What are we saying? God's not worthy. God doesn't get my best.

I get my best. And before you think, well, that would never have happened in Old Coven in Israel, it happened in the book of Malachi. The book of Malachi, the Lord God through the prophet Malachi condemns that. You bring the blind, you bring the lame.

You bring the mangy, you bring the loser in the barnyard brawl, and you think to offer him up to me? What does God say? Give that to your governor, to your Persian governor, to your Turshatha, and see if that'll pay him off. Try to pay Revenue Canada with the least of your fruits and see how they're gonna respond.

And then God ups the ante. They were even stealing sacrifice to bring it on the Sabbath day to offer it up to God. As I've said many times in our church, if you find yourself at the point where you're stealing something in order to bring that as a sacrifice to God, you have officially hit the bottom of the barrel. There's not only no sacrifice there, but it's doubly reprehensible because you're stealing something that belongs to somebody else who most likely was going to offer it up as a sacrifice to God.

So these are probably precursors to the idolatry that serves as the pattern case in 17.2 and following, which is in fact idolatry. So

Procedure for Judging Offenses

notice then, thirdly, the procedure for judging offenses in verses 2 to 7. First, you have the act of transgression. There has to be a crime. You know, Old Covenant Israel, even, was not about punishing thought crime.

Let me make it clear. God will always punish your sin. If you have thoughts of sin, God will deal with you. As far as I can tell, the civil government in the Old Covenant and the New Covenant has never been authorized to police the thoughts of men.

It's an actual act of crime. In fact, turn to the book of Romans, chapter 13. Romans 13, I think it's important that we understand what Paul is saying there with reference to the application of the sword by the civil government. Romans 13.1, let every soul be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

Therefore, whoever resists the authority, resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, They shouldn't mess with you when you're actually doing what you're supposed to do. And then it goes on to say, but to evil. I think it's right to supply works.

They're not a terror to good works, but they are a terror to evil works, not evil thoughts. We're in a bad place when the government polices our minds. We're in a bad place when brainwashing becomes the order of the day in order to conform us to political theory. That's the same emphasis that you have here in this process or procedure for judging offenses.

There has to be an actual crime, a transgression of the law of God. Again, if a man sat in his closet and fantasized about worshiping an Asherah pole and hanging out with sacred pillars, God's going to deal with him on that sin. but you cannot be subjected to waterboarding to confess your innermost thoughts and then be punished for that. If we have an idea that that's how biblical law is ordered, we are wrong. And if we have an idea that biblical law is barbaric and the gutters will run with blood, you'll see as we move through these legal sections, there are built-in safeguards.

There are built-in protections. There is the protection even of criminals. in the law codes of Moses. So there is an act of transgression.

The Act of Transgression

Notice in verse two, if there is found among you within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you a man or woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God in transgressing his covenant, and then it's specified, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded. So the parties. Notice that the law is universal. It applies to both men and women.

I wonder if Linda Clancy's husband had strangled their three children, what the response would have been then? The law applies equally. The law applies universally. Why does she get away with it?

Because she's a hormonal woman? No man can ever invoke that particular argument. So every time the man's gonna lose, which he should if he executes his three children, but she should too. because she broke the law. She transgressed the sixth commandment.

She did a very bad thing. And so notice the application of the law to both men and women. Again, the commission of an actual transgression had taken place. The state doesn't execute for thought crime, though God will punish for idolatrous thoughts.

And then notice that it's confirmed. It's not a hearsay. It's not a personal vendetta. It's not one man against another.

Notice specifically in verse three, who has gone and served other gods and worship them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, commanded you or commanded. Deuteronomy 419, there's a prohibition against idolatry there and specifically sun and moon and other heavenly bodies are stipulated. The idea being, the sun, wow, it's awesome and glorious, I should worship it. The moon, wow, it's awesome and glorious, I should worship it.

God already forbid them from doing that. You saw no form when you came to sign up. Don't try to picture God. Don't try to image God.

Yours is a word-based religion. Yours is a revelatory religion. You hear the word and you respond to the word. You respond to the God of that word without, you know, developing images or trying to capture Him or trying to portray Him as sun, moon and stars or whatever.

And so there's an actual crime that's committed, and then notice the crime is investigated. So an allegation is made, and the facts suggest that this has indeed happened. Now

Investigation and Due Process

notice in verse 4, again, built-in safeguards. And it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. It demands investigation. It demands judicial process.

It demands due process. It demands that we treat people with the respect that God affords even the guilty when it comes to criminal matters. In fact, turn to Deuteronomy 25 for just a moment. You can see this.

Deuteronomy 25. This is the corporal punishment. You have lesser punishments than the death penalty, and corporal punishment was one of them. Vis-a-vis, you got beat if you did something wrong.

Notice in Deuteronomy 25.1, if there is a dispute between men and they come to court that the judges may judge them and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked. In other words, they do their job. According to what we see here in Deuteronomy 16, they do their job, they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked. Then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows.

Forty blows he may give him and no more. Lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother be humiliated in your sight. Yes, beat him. Yes, punish him.

But you're not supposed to be unrestrained in the application of this disciplinary process. You don't go hog wild and just beat this guy to death. There is restraint imposed by God to maintain the dignity of even a criminal offender who's being beat for his crimes with reference to God and his people. So built-in safeguards.

You hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. Now, what does it mean to inquire diligently? Well, we learn from other places in the Bible and based on what we know of law courts and things that we've been exposed to, the examination of evidence. Well, there's his Asherah pole.

There's his sacred pillar. I mean, if it happened today, we got his fingerprints. It's all over the place, right? We got his DNA, he dropped a beard hair on top of the Asher pole and we got him on the scene.

He had motive, means, opportunity, everything. So the examination of evidence, the testimony of witnesses, right? We gotta do that when we investigate something. It's not a kangaroo court.

We don't just run rough shot over the law or due process. We gotta ask witnesses what they know and can they corroborate. As well, you've got the testimony of the accused himself. Right?

Proverbs 18.17, the first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him. We see that emphasis in the New Testament as well. John 7.51, Acts 25.16, Acts 26.1 and 2. What's the emphasis?

The accused has the right to meet his accuser and to give a defense for himself. Those things are built into this process, and then of course, the use of cross-examination. Proverbs 18, 17, the first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him. It's too easy for us to hear one side of a story and pronounce guilt.

Oh, that guy's guilty, I know it, in my bones. Well, do you know he has an alibi? He was in Italy at the time. But I know it.

No, you don't. You see, the Bible knows, or God knows the human condition. And so the Bible speaks to things that are likely to happen in the human condition. And it provides safeguards, it provides protection, it affords benefit to all men, even if they are criminals.

They should get their day in court, they should be able to offer up a defense. You often hear it talked about before there's a sentence rendered or a verdict pronounced, you hear the alleged murderer. I mean, even if the guy we see on video, he shoots somebody in the head, he's always an alleged murderer until he's convicted. That probably bugs some of us at some level.

I saw him shoot him in the head. But until the decision is made by the judiciary, it's an allege, it's an allegation. It's gotta be proven, and then it's gotta be acted upon, and then there's sentencing, and then there's punishment. Klein says the central point is the demand that justice be safeguarded by a conscientiously thorough investigation and insistence on adequate evidence.

This isn't barbarism. This isn't the gutters flowing with blood. This is due process. This is what we hopefully should be attaining or trying to attain in our own civil government.

These are good things. These are blessed and wonderful things, foundational for all of Western civilization. And the further that we depart from that, it is to our detriment ultimately. And then notice there's confirmation. verse 4, again, verse 4.

And if it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel. So the true and certain means the accusation was valid and the guilt of the accused was firmly established. He's guilty.

So now what? Well, we give him a slap on the hand and we send him on his way and tell him, don't do it again. Avoid those Asherah, avoid those sacred pillars. Eat, drink, and be merry.

No, no, here it's a capital offense. Again, not every offense is a capital offense, but some offenses are capital offenses, and the Bible teaches capital punishment, not just here, and not just in a way that people can say, well, you know, that's the Old Testament, didn't apply to us, it's only Old Covenant Israel. The Noahic Covenant stipulates, whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood will be shed, for in the image of God he made man, Genesis 9.6. The Noahic Covenant is universal, it's comprehensive, it's binding on all men at all times.

It's a common grace covenant built for the proper ordering of civil society. And of course, Romans 13, we already looked at it. We didn't get to verse 4, but Paul says he has the sword. It doesn't bear it in vain as a minister to execute God's wrath in history against criminal offenders.

The sword doesn't mean always and ever we will punish by death, but to deny that it's operative to punish by death is to deny biblical justice altogether. So the death penalty is biblical, it is consistent, and it reflects God's demand. Numbers 35 tells us there ought not to be any ransom for murder. There's one crime that should always be punished by death, it's the crime of murder.

I'd argue there's other crimes that should be punished by murder or by death, but that's a different story. The crime of murder, numbers 35, you cannot take a ransom with reference to somebody who's committed murder. It is by that that the blood of the land is polluted, or the land is polluted rather with the blood of the righteous. You think about that in a society like ours where made and abortion and the judicially innocent people are murdered.

How much blood guiltiness is in this land? I honestly think, brethren, that we've got larger fish to fry at times than we even think of or consider. I've mentioned it before that government today never even talks about the maintenance of justice and peace is absolutely barbaric. That they never talk about punishing criminals.

That's the job. Their job is not to care for you from the cradle to the grave. Their job is to provide a context where injustice and peace flourish. They're to punish criminal offenders and they're to defend us from foreign invasion.

I'd argue that's it. That's it. And I know I'd get some back argument. But what about the roads?

I've got ideas for the roads. But the bottom line is we are in a time when there is so little regard for the actual embracing of the civil government in terms of their under God position over man for the glory of God and for the good of man in the primary maintenance of justice and peace. See, Old Covenant Israel, God directly telling them how to function, puts quite the emphasis on these matters of civil and criminal offenses. You're not supposed to just live in a society that is riddled with blood guiltiness.

I know, it's weird, but that's not the way it's supposed to be. So

Punishment of the Guilty

notice in terms of the punishment of the guilty in verses five to seven. Verse five, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. Again, there's something in us, sensitivity-wise, oh, but it's a woman who murdered somebody or went a-whoring from God. She's got Asherah poles in her living room.

Yeah, she's a criminal. The law doesn't say, well, if you're a woman or you're poor, you're disadvantaged, you're either downtrodden, then it's okay for you to engage in abominable activity. No. You're a man, you're a woman.

You're poor, you're rich. Whatever your station, whatever your lot, you do, you break the law of God and you reap the consequences. It's a very simple process or very simple procedure. So we see the implementation of the death penalty.

The public nature of the death penalty Right? Why do you think that was? You've heard the argument against the death penalty. It doesn't deter any crime.

One, it always deters at least one criminal. Two, how do we know? Because it's never been effectively carried out, at least as long as I've been alive. And three, even if it doesn't, so what?

It's punitive. It's punishment. It is to destroy the criminal. But I'd argue that if it was carried out successfully and effectively, all Israel would hear and fear.

If you knew that if I get out of line, and I'm gonna commit this crime, I'm gonna be stoned to death in five corners, because I saw it happen last week at five corners, I gotta think that at some level, you'd probably think twice. So death by stoning in this particular instance. And then notice the requirement, verse six, again, safeguards built in. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

He shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. Now, I would suspect that if there was one witness, and it was obvious that he had committed the crime to the judges involved, there would be a lesser punishment. The idea here is simply this. You cannot be executed, you cannot be capitally punished, except on the basis of two or three witnesses.

This is in Numbers 35. This will be restated essentially in Deuteronomy chapter 19. There has to be two or three witnesses. Safeguard, protection, blessing.

Deuteronomy 19 even advances the safeguard. Deuteronomy 19 says that if I bring my brother to court and I charge him or allege that he engaged in a capital crime, The judges hear it and determine that I'm false. I get the punishment that he would have gotten had he been guilty. I'm looking at Ted.

He was my brother in that particular scenario. But in that scenario, I get killed, not you. So I guess it worked out for Ted. But you get that?

That would hopefully restrict the sue happy generation. Oh, this guy did so and so. Okay, you ready to pony up the evidence? You ready to testify?

You ready to make the case? Because if you're found lacking, whatever punishment would have been on him is going to be on you. I really think that would hopefully stay a bit of the litigiousness that plagues us as a people. So built-in protection.

And then notice the final emphasis in verse 7. The hands of the witnesses. excuse me, the hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you. So the witnesses are first.

That's intriguing. If I'm going to witness in a capital crime, I'm going to know that I'm part of the first wave of the throwers of stone to execute that man. I better be pretty sure of my case. I better be pretty sure of my testimony.

I better be pretty sure that guy's guilty. Now, remember, these communities weren't probably, you know, eight billion people all hovering around. No, they were probably somewhat intimate. You'd know people.

He'd seen the guy at the bank or you saw the guy at Walmart. Are you really willing to allege that he's engaged in a capital offense? Realize that if he is and he's found guilty, you're going to be one of the first ones that have to throw a stone. Again, a safeguard to promote, hopefully, restrict a hypocritical mess.

I think this is behind Jesus' words in John 8. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. I don't think he means without any sin. I think he means without this particular sin.

You guys are actually going to pick up stones to throw at this adulterous woman. When you know good and well you all have girlfriends, when you know good and well that you all have your consorts, you know good and well that you're all engaged in this particular activity, what happens? They all bail. He's not saying he was without sin, but nobody could ever carry out punishment of criminals, because every one of us has sin.

I think it's without this particular sin. And when he says to the woman, go and sin no more, is Jesus a Pelagian or a perfectionist that thinks she can actually go out and sin no more? No, go out and don't commit this sin anymore. Don't engage in adultery.

Don't be found in the very act. So there's a principle embedded in this. If you're going to pick up a stone to throw at somebody for a crime, you better not be guilty of that same crime, or you're a monster. And if you're found out for that kind of activity, you're going to get a stone in the head as well.

Meredith Klein again says a minimum of two witnesses was required and their confidence in their own testimony was to be evidenced by their assuming the dread responsibility of delivering the first and quite possibly lethal blows in the execution of the condemned. You may not have been the last guy to throw a stone at an already dead body. You may be the first guy based on your witness testimony. Again, I think this would work in the hearts of people as bad as they may have been to at least give them pause and thought and contemplation.

Christopher Wright says, along with other laws concerning false witness, this ruling must have had a strong psychological deterrent effect because frivolous or false accusation in local communities where accused or unaccused would be acquaintances. You'd know the guy. And so then the covenant community follows, it's a shared responsibility. The witnesses are first, but then the rest of the people, they take up stones.

Notice an afterword, the hands of all the people. And then the last statement, so you shall put away the evil from among you. Again, it's punitive, get rid of the evil. But it's beneficial for the people of God in that particular place.

Contrary to modern practice, unpunished crimes and criminals make society a whole lot less desirable. It's tougher to raise a family. It's tougher to operate a business. Remember Seattle during the COVID era when the weirdos took over that whole neighborhood and called it Chaz?

Imagine owning a business there at that time. You're ruined. It's over. You're done.

Unpunished crime and criminals don't better a community. They don't make it happier. You don't say, I want to move to the worst part of Vancouver and raise my beloved children there. No, I don't want them to trip over needles.

I don't want them to get shot in the head. You see, unpunished criminals makes for a less than desirable society. And, you know, there is the sense where God in his infinite goodness, even to unbelievers, in common grace has given blessing. We ought to be able to raise families.

We ought to be able to have, you know, businesses. If we're hard workers, we're doing all the things, we're using the means. That shouldn't be stripped away from us by the prevalence of criminals and by the prevalence of a judiciary that does nothing to punish those criminals. This isn't supposed to be the way, what we're witnessing isn't supposed to be the way of decency in society.

So

Application

I would suggest in conclusion, the responsibility of the civil state, very clear, necessity of lower courts, the necessity of judicial procedure, the necessity of due process, and the necessity of capital punishment. Our confession well states concerning the civil magistrate, God, the Supreme Lord and King of all the world, has ordained civil magistrates to be under him, over the people, for his own glory and the public good, and to this end has armed them with the power of the sword for defense and encouragement of them that do good and for the punishment of evildoers. That's a great encapsulation of what scripture says. And then in terms of the prudence or the wisdom of biblical law, the application of the law universally.

Doesn't matter if you're a man, doesn't matter if you're a woman, doesn't matter if you're rich, doesn't matter if you're poor, doesn't matter if you're the downtrodden and the poor, doesn't matter if you're whatever. You do the crime and you will be punished. It should always just be that simple. I don't know how we've complicated it so much.

The accusation of a person. It's publicly leveled. Again, it's not a private vendetta. As well, the investigation of the accusation.

It is thorough. You've got to do the job that you're getting paid to do or you're serving in, and you've got to do it well and thoroughly. And then the responsibility of the witnesses to tell the truth, understanding that should this man be sentenced to death, I'm going to be the first one, or one of the first ones, to throw a stone at his head. And then the execution of the criminal, again in capital situations, and the benefit to the community.

So you shall put away the evil from among you. punitive for the criminal, beneficial for those in society so that they don't have to put up with the sorts of people that run amok on our streets and get nothing in terms of any penalties for their behavior. So, same stuff, different era and covenantal age, but the same principles I think are uniquely applicable and directly applicable to the situation that we find ourselves in. I think we should pray for civil government. I think we should pray that God raises up men that function in a manner that's consistent with his word.

Well, let us pray now.

Closing Prayer

Father in heaven, we thank you for the clarity of Holy Scripture, the consistency of Holy Scripture, and for the revelation of your nature and your will in Holy Scripture. Pray for our own government. We pray that there would be righteous men in high places, men with wisdom that would be able, that would have some modicum of fear of God, and would do the things that we see specified in these judicial laws. We ask that you would bless our local church.

Help us to be faithful. Help us to glorify and honor you, and be with all the families and the young people in our church. Again, we thank you for the Sunday school. Pray for your blessing upon that.

Endeavor and may it redound to the praise and glory of your great name and we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Questions and Answers

Any comments Notice I said I

Scripture References

• Genesis 9:6
• Exodus 18; 18:21; 20; 23:1-8; 23:3; 32
• Numbers 35
• Deuteronomy 1:12-18; 4:5; 4:19; 7:1-5; 16:18-17:20; 19; 25:1-3; 28
• Psalm 89
• Proverbs 18:17
• Isaiah 11:1-5
• John 7:51; 8:7; 15:1
• Acts 25:16; 26:1-2
• Romans 13:1-4
• James 2:1; 2:4; 2:9; 3:17