Reflections on Deuteronomy 17

Deuteronomy 17 (Contemporary English Version)

1. If an ox or a sheep has something wrong with it, don't offer it as a sacrifice to the LORD your God--he will be disgusted!
   
2. The LORD your God is giving you towns to live in. But later, a man or a woman in your town may start worshiping other gods, or even the sun, moon, or stars. I have warned you not to worship other gods, because whoever worships them is disobeying the LORD and breaking the agreement he made with you.
   
3. (SEE 17:2)
   
4. So when you hear that someone in your town is committing this disgusting sin, you must carefully find out if that person really is guilty.
   
5. But you will need two or three witnesses--one witness isn't enough to prove a person guilty. Get rid of those who are guilty of such evil. Take them outside your town gates and have everyone stone them to death. But the witnesses must be the first to throw stones.
   
6. (SEE 17:5)
   
7. (SEE 17:5)
   
8. It may be difficult to find out the truth in some legal cases in your town. You may not be able to decide if someone was killed accidentally or murdered. Or you may not be able to tell whether an injury or some property damage was done by accident or on purpose. If the case is too difficult, take it to the court at the place where the LORD your God chooses to be worshiped. This court will be made up of one judge and several priests who serve at the LORD's altar. They will explain the law to you and give you their decision about the case. Do exactly what they tell you, or you will be put to death.
   
9. (SEE 17:8)
   
10. (SEE 17:8)
    
11. (SEE 17:8)
    
12. (SEE 17:8)
    
13. When other Israelites hear about it, they will be afraid and obey the decisions of the court.
    
14. People of Israel, after you capture the land the LORD your God is giving you, and after you settle on it, you will say, "We want a king, just like the nations around us."
    
15. Go ahead and appoint a king, but make sure that he is an Israelite and that he is the one the LORD has chosen.
    
16. The king should not have many horses, especially those from Egypt. The LORD has said never to go back there again.
    
17. And the king must not have a lot of wives--they might tempt him to be unfaithful to the LORD. Finally, the king must not try to get huge amounts of silver and gold.
    
18. The official copy of God's laws will be kept by the priests of the Levi tribe. So, as soon as anyone becomes king, he must go to the priests and write out a copy of these laws while they watch.
    
19. Each day the king must read and obey these laws, so that he will learn to worship the LORD with fear and trembling
    
20. and not think that he's better than everyone else. If the king completely obeys the LORD's commands, he and his descendants will rule Israel for many years.
    

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    In the last verses of the previous chapter Moses instructed Israel to appoint judges "in all your towns the LORD your God is giving you," (16:18) once they were established in their new land. This instruction included the responsibilities of the judges which continues in chapter 17.
    
    The first responsibility of the judges was to enforce pure worship in the land. This included the prohibition of objects in worship that were connected with idolatry which would lead to syncretism. It also included prohibition of defective animals as offerings in worship. The offering of defective animals was more than disobedience to the covenant, it was failure to recognize God as the provider of what they had and to show contempt for Him.
    
    The first line of defense against impure worship was the priests, but the judges held the ultimate responsibility. The priests instructed the people and guided them in their worship to be sure it was done properly, but  enforcement belonged solely to the judges. If it were reported to them that a person was discovered participating in idol worship the judges were responsible to investigate it thoroughly. No action was to be taken without the testimony of two or three witnesses, but if substantiated by two or three witnesses, the person was to be stoned to death. The first stones were to be thrown by the witnesses. This helped to assure honest witnesses. Should their testimony prove to be false, they were guilty of murder.
    
    Provision was made for difficult cases. If a case were too difficult for a judge he could go to where the tabernacle was located and seek the judgment of a tribunal made up of Levitical priests and judges. The verdict of this tribunal was law. Its instructions were to be followed precisely. Refusal to act in accordance with the verdict of the tribunal was to be met with corporal punishment. Such action was a purging of evil from among the Israelites.
    
    In the final verses of the chapter Moses anticipated the future desire of the people to have a king, and in effect, the eventual failure of this system of judges.  Moses gave instructions for selection of a king when that time came.  First were his qualifications. He was to be chosen by God and to be an Israelite. As for his personal character and behavior, he was not to acquire many horses, many wives, or huge wealth. His dependence was to be on God, not horses or wealth. And he was not to be turned astray by many wives. One who was to become king was to be instructed by these statutes given by Moses. That involved writing a copy of these statutes himself in the presence of the Levitical priests and reading from it daily.
    
    This is wise counsel not only for kings but for any of us. If our hearts are to remain devoted to the Lord, we must be regularly reading and observing His Word.