Deuteronomy 23:1-14

Text Read

Those Excluded from the Assembly

23 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.

2 “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.

3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Uncleanness in the Camp

9 “When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

10 “If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.

12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

Text Explained

Introduction:As we come to today’s text we find some more laws that seem to be a little… odd on the surface. However, as one scholar notes: “A corollary (natural consequence) [Ref: 3rd def. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition] to the holiness of Israel as the special, elect people of the Lord is the manifestation of that holiness both in terms of their ethnic identity and the recognition of that identity in physical ways.” Merrill, E. H. (1994). Deuteronomy (Vol. 4, p. 307). Broadman & Holman Publishers. So then, let us roll up our sleeves and get to work.

In the Assembly

What is the Assembly?

The text kicks off with a bit of a unique set-up in the assembly, that is a bit lost in translation. “This phrase occurs in Deuteronomy only in the present chapter. Elsewhere the ‘assembly’ is the whole people of Israel gathered at Horeb ([4:10]; 5:22; 9:10; 10:4; 18:16) or in one case in Moab (31:30). The present chapter looks forward to the assembly at worship in the land.”(McConville, J. G. (2002) According to E.H. Merrill, “The “assembly” (qāhāl) refers specifically here to the formal gathering of the Lord’s people as a community at festival occasions and other times of public worship and not to the nation of Israel as such. (Merrill, E. H. (1994). Deuteronomy (Vol. 4, p. 307). Broadman & Holman Publishers.) So what is being discussed is not the people as a whole, but rather when the people gather together specifically in worship. In fact, when the Hebrew OT was translated into Greek, the word they used for qahal/assembly is ekklesia which is where we get the word “church’ from. Now we need to be careful in how far we take this, b/c the church as we know it has not yet come into being. Regardless, for verses 1-8, the context is specifically regulating those who are allowed in official corporate worship of God. Let’s dive into it.

Command: 1 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord. So in this very first command, we find that men who had their genitals destroyed were not allowed in the assembly of worship. This Law gives no explanation as to the reason for it, so we are left with some speculation. Now we know from Isaiah 56:3–5 “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” So we find that a eunuch was not defacto cut off from the Lord due to birth defect or injury, so there must be more to it. Why would God give them a Law stating that they were not allowed to come? When we realize that “classes of temple personnel in Mesopotamia (Kurgarru and Assinnu), probably eunuchs, who seem to have participated, in female clothing, in cultic performances relating to Ishtar.” we begin to realize that castration via cutting or crushing was a common religious exercise for those who had given themselves to the worship of other gods. To quote AC Welch, “The self-castrated, who carry on their bodies the sign of their recognition of another god, shall not enter the congregation.” (The Code of Deuteronomy (1924), p. 200.) Now does this mean that even if it were a birth defect they were not allowed to enter? That is a point of scholarly disagreement. Regardless, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” (Is 56:5) A eunuch who obeys God would be blessed by God.

Command: 2 “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Further Explanation: Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord. What is a forbidden union? The word is mamzēr and it is only used one other time in the OT (Zechariah 9:6 “a mixed/mongrel people shall dwell in Ashdod.) “This can refer to the offspring of an incestuous or forbidden marriage (cf. 22:30), to a marriage between an Israelite and a foreigner (cf. 7:3), or to the offspring of ritual prostitution (cf17-18) (McConville, J. G. (2002). Deuteronomy (D. W. Baker & G. J. Wenham, Eds.; Vol. 5, p. 348). Apollos; InterVarsity Press.) Due to the lack of use, it is a bit difficult to tell which specific offspring is in focus here or if it is purposefully vague on purpose to include all of them. However, due to some etymological connections, there is a case to be made “that something more specific is intended; the term mamzēr might refer to children born to cult-prostitutes (see vv. 18–19, below). In this case, the children would have been conceived and born in an environment directly related to the cult of a foreign religion, and therefore would be an abomination in the eyes of the Israelites and God. As such, they could not enter the assembly of the Lord.” (Craigie, P. C. (1976). The Book of Deuteronomy (p. 297). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.) (Foot note: etymology is useful but not perfect. Birthday is birth & day. However, Butterfly is not Butter & Fly) So he children of these forbidden unions were disallowed from partaking in public worship, because of their origin. Further, we have command #3

Command/Example: 3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, Here we find the reason for why God would restrict an entire nation from joining in the official public worship at the temple.

Reason: 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. So the Moabites and the Ammonites were the offspring of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. They should have seen their kindred and helped them on the way through the wilderness, but instead, hired a prophet to curse God’s people. However, this attempt had a boomerang effect. They desired to curse God’s people and God gave a curse upon them instead. Their sin had ongoing consequences for their children and children and children. Sin is never in a vacuum, but has affects and effects people for generations. So God commands, Further Explanation: 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

Command 4: 7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, Reason: for he is your brother. When an Edomite would travel in their land, do not abhor him. Edom was the descendants of Esau and as such was family.

Command: You shall not abhor an Egyptian, Now this command is interesting to me b/c of the history that had just occurred. You see, the Israelites had been in Egypt for 400 years and a large chunk of that was as slaves, yet we find God reminding them of the original reason the patriarchs went to Egypt in the first place. The reason being a Famine, Reconciliation with their brother Joseph, and that Egypt had given Israel the best land for the raising of sheep. Reason: because you/Israelites were a sojourner in his land. Further explanation we get is 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord. This would most likely signify that they were there to stay and become a part of the nation of Israel. This brings us to the second portion of the today’s Text:

In the (Military) Camp

Command: 9 “When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing (the word is perhaps better translated shame/nakedness). This command deals with ritual purity in the military camp. The command for the military is very similar to Numbers 5:1–4 “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.” The law of ritual purity continued even in the military camp where some rules are different.

Example 1 Male Bodily Discharge: 10 “If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission/bodily discharge (see also Lev15:16-18), then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp. 12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it.

Example 2 Waste Management: 13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. Now this law continued centuries late among the Essenes (strict Jewish group) who had similar regulations. Jewish historian Josephus stated: “They/Essenes also avoid spitting into the midst of them, or on the right side. Moreover, they are stricter than any other of the Jews in resting from their labors on the seventh day; for they not only get their food ready the day before, that they may not be obliged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not remove any vessel out of its place, nor go to stool thereon. (148) Nay, on the other days they dig a small pit, a foot deep, with a paddle (which kind of hatchet is given them when they are first admitted among them); and covering themselves round with their garment, that they may not affront the divine rays of light, they ease themselves into that pit, (149) after which they put the earth that was dug out again into the pit; and even this they do only in the more lonely places, which they choose out for this purpose; and although this easement of the body be natural, yet it is a rule with them to wash themselves after it, as if it were a defilement to them.” (Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (pp. 606–607). Hendrickson.) So we find that even the men in times of war were to maintain their ritual purity. But why?

Reason: 14 Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that He may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you. “There was to be nothing visible that was indecent (ʿerwāh)—the word indicates something that was “unseemly” or “unbecoming,” without necessarily having any connotations of morality. In other words, things that were not immoral but were not proper. Although the legislation made requirements of the people because of God’s presence, conversely the purity in the camp would serve to remind the people of God’s presence in their midst.” (Craigie, P. C. (1976). The Book of Deuteronomy (p. 300). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)

Text Applied:

Not all are accepted. In our text today we find three different groups of people who were not accepted into the Assembly of God. The eunuchs bore the physical marks of fidelity to foreign gods. The children of forbidden unions were most likely children from cult-prostitutes and thus dedicated to foreign gods. The Ammonites and the Moabites were people who should have been friendly but rather were openly antagonistic and attempting to cause God’s people harm. You may say, well the children didn’t have a choice in it. True, but the parents did and the parents set their children up for destruction. Antagonistic atheists always seem to point to Deuteronomy and say “But what about the children? they are innocent.” Yes and you as the parent are guilty of not training them in the fear of the Lord. They then grow up and, apart from God’s grace, become variations of you. And those who are angry at a God they don’t believe exists are not welcomed by God. Parents, how you raise your children matters. It sets your child up for good or for ill. However, young person, at a certain point, how you were raised stops mattering. At a certain point, you are making the decisions and you are responsible for them. Whether your parents were perfect or whether they were wretched, at a point, the responsibility is on you. The first application however, is that not all people are accepted by God. It is a common thought among many people who claim to be “spiritual but not religious” or “I don’t go to church but I am religious”, that God will accept them b/c God loves them and they are “trying”. It is true God loves you, but He is the gatekeeper on what He accepts. He only accepts those who are made perfect by the blood of Jesus. Because He loves you He made a way for you. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. Only if we humble ourselves and submit to Christ, can we be saved. Repent and believe. Only after we are saved does our worship become acceptable to God. And Christian, lest you think you are out of the discussion, Psalm 66:18–20 “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” If you are harboring sin in your heart, the Lord will not listen. 1 Peter 3:7 echoes the thought that if we are holding on to sin, if we are not right with God our prayers may not be accepted. “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” God only accepts people and their worship when they come to Him on His terms. Not what people feel or think, but on what He has revealed.

God accepts the Eunuch: We mentioned as an aside Isaiah 56:5 “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” Dear one, God will accept the eunuch who submits and obeys. Or perhaps, I should say, God accepts the eunuch who bears in their body the marks of transgender surgery. Dear ones, our world is full of confused and hurting people who are trying to find their identity. As long as they fail to submit to Christ, they will not be accepted by God. However, there are and there will be in the coming years many who fell for the lie that they are something they are not. Those people who were made eunuchs by surgery and pharmaceuticals will be looking for people to show God’s Love and the Way of Salvation. We need to be ready to show them the way and to love them as Christ loved us. They will bear in their bodies the marks, but, just like us, if they repent and believe, even if they bear in their bodies the marks of a lie from the pit of hell, God will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” God accepts the Eunuch.

The Lord is in Our Midst: The Military Camp required the men to be pure and proper, even in a rough and dangerous place. Dear one, 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” The Lord is with you wherever you go. We have the Holy Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity, residing in us. He is working in us. That is a source of encouragement. We are NEVER alone. The Lord is with us in ALL situations. Yet we need to remember that the Lord is with us in all situations. The men of the military camp had to go dig and cover their poo. How we deal with things, even that are not inherently right or wrong, matters. We should not simply ask the question “is how i am handling this situation sin?”, but ask the question, “is how I am handling this situation best?” We need to live in such a way that from the most menial task to the most “HOLY” should be done with God in mind. 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” The Lord is in our midst.