Year 7, Day 168: Deuteronomy 17

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Deuteronomy 17 has a huge amount of foreshadowing in it.  Just about every way that the Hebrew people rebel in the rest of the Old Testament is covered by this chapter.  When we read the whole of the rest of the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 17 is the prefect lens.

For example, take the fact that the community is supposed to police itself.  I’m not saying that we need to turn neighbors into spies who scrutinize each other over the fence – although that is usually what happens.  What I am saying is that as a community we should be looking out for the well-being of one another.  We should be warning our neighbors when they are about to do something or make a choice that is bad for them.  As the Hebrew nation grew, people stopped caring about one another.  People stopped being concerned neighbors and started being hostile to one another and envious of one another.  When our communities break down, we’re in trouble.

Or, take a look at the next section of scripture.  In this section we are told that we should respect the decisions of the priests.  We are told that we shouldn’t work against what they say is right and just.  The priests were to be the spiritual backbone for the community!  They were to be that which kept it together.  However, how many times in the Old Testament are we going to read that the people did what was right in their own eyes?  We’ll read that in practically every chapter in Judges, that’s for sure!  When human beings abandon their leadership and focus in on their own life without concern for the greater good, we’re in trouble.

Finally, take a look at the last section.  When we do elect leaders, we need to make sure that they aren’t worldly leaders.  We need to make sure that they aren’t putting their faith and trust in amassed wealth.  We need to make sure that the reasons they are desiring to lead are just and upright. we need to make sure that they are not corrupted by foreign influences and foreign thought.  Think about what happens with David.  He marries many women.  Solomon sees this happen, and he marries hundreds more than David.  Solomon marries women of all different countries as a means of forming political alliances.  He becomes swayed by their foreign policy and their foreign religion.  Soon the kingdom splits and the kings fall into a downward spiral of poor and selfish leadership.  When our leaders stop valuing what makes us strong and begin to look to their own strength and their own thinking, were in trouble.

In the end, Deuteronomy 17 is a case against the story of the Hebrew people to come.  They will have moments of redemption and restitution.  However, in nearly every chapter in the Old Testament to come, we’ll find something that points us back to Deuteronomy 17.  There’s a lesson in there about the importance of applying Deuteronomy 17 into our life, too.

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