National Pride (DT 25:17-19)

"Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall come about when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget." (Deuteronomy 25:17-19)

After the Israelites had fully possessed the Promised Land and had vanquished their surrounding enemies, they were then to turn their attention to some unfinished business, namely the punishing of the Amalekites for how they treated them as they journeyed through the desert. At the time, Israel was not in a position to deal with them and punish them for their mistreatment. Later, however, there would come a time to requite the Amalekites for the injuries they suffered from them.

This "taking care of unfinished business" was common among the kings. Just before his death, David gives this charge to his son Solomon to take care of some of his own unfinished business.

"Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt about his waist, and on his sandals on his feet. So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace... Behold, there is with you Shimei the son of Gera the Benjamite, of Bahurim; now it was he who cursed me with a violent curse on the day I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, 'I will not put you to death with the sword.' Now therefore, do not let him go unpunished, for you are a wise man; and you will know what you ought to do to him, and you will bring his gray hair down to Sheol with blood." (1 Kings 2:5-6, 8-9)

What must be understood is the importance of national pride. National pride reinforces a strong since of national identity and motivates a nation's citizens to work together for a common good and purpose. It fuels the citizenry to participate in their civic duties and to fight for the preservation of their nation. Without a since of national pride a nation becomes weak and susceptible to various innovations and a deterioration of its culture and identity.

When a nation's pride is injured it must be addressed and defended. In this case, the remedy was the complete and utter destruction of Amalek as punishment for the injuries the Israelites suffered. This is not to say that every slight of insult needs to be retaliated or that the correct response for every injury is war, but national pride must be defended and, when injured, necessitates a response.

One thing that saddens me regarding my country's present circumstances is that national pride is almost ridiculed. Our president has made multiple speeches in foreign countries, not supporting his country, but apologizing for America and casting dispersions upon her. Even recently, the president of Mexico, while appearing before congress, chastised America's immigration laws, laws that are more generous than his own country's laws, with no response or rebuff from the president. At what point do we say, "enough is enough?" At what point to we defend our national pride? How long can we be silent?

David Robison

National Pride, Book of Deuteronomy, Foundations of Governance, The Robe, David Robison

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God and commerce (DT 25:13-16)

"You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 25:13-16)

God does not view our lives as compartmentalized; our spiritual life, family life, work life, and recreational life. God views all of our life as one. Whether it is in business, family, church, or leisurely pursuits, God views it as one life before Him and He expects us to display morality and righteousness in every aspect of our lives.

In this scripture God is referring to how we relate to others in the course of business. Do we treat everyone fairly? Do we represent ourselves, our products, and our services honestly and equitably? Or do we oppress others in our business dealings? "A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress." (Hosea 12:5) God is not opposed to making a profit but He does condemn those who, in their pursuit of a profit, seek to deceive and oppress others.

"Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land, saying, 'When will the new moon be over, so that we may sell grain, and the sabbath, that we may open the wheat market, to make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger, and to cheat with dishonest scales, so as to buy the helpless for money and the needy for a pair of sandals, and that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?'" (Amos 8:4-6)

There are things more important than money; righteousness, fairness, decency, and honesty are all of greater value than all the gold in the world. These values are to be prized, not only in our religious life, but also in our work, business, and enterprises.

When considering good government, one of the primary enablers of commerce is a system of standard weights and measures. God provided a specific set of measurements for the Israelites to promote commerce and a healthy economy.

"Thus says the Lord God, 'Enough, you princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your expropriations from My people,' declares the Lord God. 'You shall have just balances, a just ephah and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be the same quantity, so that the bath will contain a tenth of a homer and the ephah a tenth of a homer; their standard shall be according to the homer. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your maneh.'" (Ezekiel 45:9-12)

God goes to great lengths to describe the different measurements and their quantities so that the Israelites would have standards to support their commerce. In the same way, it is incumbent upon government to establish standard weights and measures to help promote equitable commerce between its people.

David Robison

commerce, The Robe, Book of Deuteronomy, Foundations of Governance, David Robison

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Private Parts (Dt 25:11-12)

"If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity." (Deuteronomy 25:11-12 NIV)

I've chosen a more gentle translation for some of the younger members of our audience. Sometimes it is hard to know what we can take away from some of the more bizarre scriptures such as this one. Beyond stating the obvious, I think there are three things we can learn from this scripture.

First, we need to understand that we are not brute beasts, we are humans, created in the image of God. When it comes to the animal kingdom there are no such injunctions or biblical laws pertaining to their sexual behavior, but for mankind there are plenty. God is not concerned with animals' sexual practices but he is concerned with ours. The reason is because we are special; we are not mere animals given over to our base impulses and passions, rather we have been created with the power of self control and the ability to rule over our passions and desires. God created us for sex and He created sex as something very powerful, beautify, and intimate; something to be shared by only two when united by the bonds of marriage. Every now and then you will hear some "expert" using the animal world as an example to try and convince us that our sexual morays are outdated. For example, since animals are not monogamous then nether should we expect ourselves to be. However, we are not animals but humans, and our sexual behavior is not to be governed by what animals do but rather by what God has said.

Secondly, God has created our sexuality as something very private. The Hebrew word here literally means, "his secrets". God provided for strict punishment for those who would violate someones "secrets". Even in the case of a wife defending her husband, it is no just cause for sexually violating someone else. We need to see that, not just sexual sin, but sexual harassment is an abomination before God. We must never excuse or placate such behavior. It must be exposed and dealt with for the protection of all.

lastly, we see that God often uses various forms of punishment for different crimes. In my country, most often our only form of punishment is incarceration. By limiting the forms of punishment we limit the effectiveness of our judicial system. While I am not condoning or advocating for the cutting off of people's hand as a form of punishment, I do think that sometimes there is a form of punishment that can be more appropriate to the crime than simple incarceration.

David Robison

Foundations of Governance, The Robe, David Robison, Isaiah

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The duty of the brother-in-law (Dt 25:5-10)

"When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. But if the man does not desire to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, 'My husband's brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.' Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, 'I do not desire to take her,' then his brother's wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall declare, 'Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.' In Israel his name shall be called, 'The house of him whose sandal is removed.'" (Deuteronomy 25:5-10)

First off, let me say that, while I love my brothers and their wives, this aint never going to happen! Children or no children, command from God or not, I'm happily married and the thought of marrying my bothers wives is, frankly, disturbing. What in the world was God thinking?

To understand this law we must first realize that this was not uncommon in biblical days. The scriptures have several examples of the duty of one to marry his dead brother's wife. In Genesis 38:8-11 Judah's eldest son Er dies and Judah instructs his other son, Onan, to marry Er's wife, Tamar. When Onan died, Judah told Tamar to live in the house and wait for his son Shelah to grow up. In Ruth 4:10 Boaz marry Ruth to raise up children for her dead husband. Finally, in Matthew 23:23-28 the Sadducees question Jesus about this very law and ask, in such cases, whose wife the woman will be when they all get to heaven. It is evident that this practice was common and accepted among the ancients. In fact, so established was this practice that in the Hebrew language there was a single word "wabam" which means "Preform the duty of a husband's brother to her".

So how can we, living in this modern era, understand the importance of this law? Our first clue is when the scripture says, "When brothers live together." In those days many families lived as families in excluded and desert areas. Many people live a bedouin lifestyle; separated from other tribes, clans, and foreigners. When brothers lived together, if one died, they had few options for the care for the dead brother's wife. There may not have been any non-relatives nearby that she could marry. It would not be right for her to live in an unmarried state with the other brother, and it would be harsh to send her away to a foreign people; people she did not know and with no certainty of her future among them. In this case, what was best for the widow was to marry the remaining brother and continue to live with the family she knew.

The other reason for the importance of this law had to do with the issue of inheritance. Today, we think of inheritance primarily in monetary terms. We work and save throughout our lives to leave something behind for our children. However, in those days, the inheritance was largely land. When Joshuah divided up the promise land, it was divided by tribes, clans, and families. When a brother died with no heirs, the question remained what to do with his inheritance. They could let the wife remarry and let her new husband have the inheritance, but this would invite foreigners (or at least those not related to the family) into the family land and inheritance, or they could deny the wife the inheritance, keeping it in the family, impoverishing the woman. Given the options, the best for the widow was fore her to keep the inheritance, marry her husband's brother, and raise offspring to her dead husband who would carry on the family inheritance.

So why do we not follow this law today? Today we live in very different times from those biblical days. Very few of us live bedouin lifestyles. Instead we live in cities and communities; intermingled with other families and even foreigners. Even in the times of the first century church we see the need for this law was diminished. That is why Paul recommends for young widows to, "get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach." (1 Timothy 5:14) Note that he did not tell them to marry their husband's brother but rather to simply marry and raise children. For this reason I believe that this law no longer applies to us today, and for that, I am grateful.

One final thought, it is evident from this scripture that Polygamy is not a sin. That is not to say that it is preferable or to be encouraged, but it is not a sin before God. This is important when carrying the Gospel to lands where polygamy is still practiced. My grandmother's sister and her husband were life long missionaries in Nigeria. When the church first went there they told their new converts that they could have only one wife and, if they had more than one, they had to send the others away and keep only one. This lead to the impoverishment of many women and children as the men sent away the old, weak, and those with children, keeping only the young and strong for themselves. It was years later that, after much reflection, the church went back and repented for what they had done. They realized that it was not a sin for them to keep their many wives and that what they had done was not from God.

David Robison

polygamy, widow, marry, Book of Deuteronomy, The Robe, David Robison

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Don't Muzzle the Preacher (Dt 25:4)

"You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing." (Deuteronomy 25:4)

Paul further expounds on this verse by applying it to those who were sent out for the ministry of the gospel.

"If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:11-14)

Paul plainly states that those who proclaim the gospel have the right to make a living from the gospel. Those whom God calls, He provides for; often through the generosity and support of others. Even Jesus was thus supported in His earthly ministry.

"Soon afterwards, He [Jesus] began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means." (Luke 8:1-3)

Paul Himself, while he did not always make use of this right, did receive the support and assistance of other believers.

"You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God." (Philippians 4:15-18)

However, given these scriptures, it seems to me that those whom the early believes supported where those that were sent out, send away from the church, to spread the gospel. It was the traveling ministries that were supported by the churches and the believers.

"You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth." (3 John 6-8)

It is my belief that our present practices, at least in my own country, of hiring and paying full-time pastors and staff for the local church is not what Paul meant when he spoke of those who proclaimed the gospel. I believe that Paul was more directly speaking of those traveling ministries; those who left the comfort of home and the local church for the sake of the gospel. They were the ones sent out and went about proclaiming the gospel; they were the ones who had the right to make their living from the gospel. This is not to say that paying a local pastor is wrong, but we should seek first to support traveling ministries in the work of the gospel.

David Robison

Book of Deuteronomy, The Robe, David Robison, ministry, gospel

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The Hope for Profit (Dt 25:4)

"You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing." (Deuteronomy 25:4)

Paul helps us understand this scripture when he gives the following explanation.

"For it is written in the Law of Moses, 'You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.' God is not concerned about oxen, is He? Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. (1 Corinthians 9:9-10)

This law applies to more than just oxen, it also applies to all who labor in the hopes of a reward; laboring in the hope of making a profit. It is in the nature of man to apply himself in labors where there is a hope for gain. This "profit motive" is from the Lord and is what drives and fuels the economic growth of any society. Take away the hope for a profit and you take away the incentive for industry, both personal and corporate. The profit motive applies not only to the owners of business but to all who participate in the chain of production required to produce a product and/or service. In this case, it apples to the ox as well as the farmer. In more modern examples, it would apply to the worker as well as the business owner. In all cases, the motivation for working is the hope for a profit.

This Profit Motive is what makes capitalism far more productive to socialism. In the early colonization of North America, the Pilgrims established early forms of socialism where all contributed to a common stock and received from the same stock according to their needs. However, without the hope for a profit, industry was lacking and many Pilgrims were starving. Because of this, in 1623 William Bradford abolished the system of socialism and gave each household a plot of land and made each responsible for their own needs. In the end, the colony grew as people applied their labors according to their hope for a profit.

I believe that this motivation for profit is from God; He has given us this motivation to spur us on in our labors and industry. If this is the case, then it is incumbent upon good government not to nullify this motivation or to make it of no affect. It concerns me when my own president says, speaking a year ago of the financial industry:

"There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses. Now is not that time." (Obama)

In saying this he misses the importance of the hope for profit to motivate people to work and succeed. If we take away the hope of any sector of our economy to make a profit, then we will decimate that sector as people move into other sectors where there remains a hope of profit. Hoping for a profit (and even making a profit) is not a sin, it is part of how God made us.

David Robison

profit, capitalism, socialism, Book of Deuteronomy, The Robe, David Robison

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