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Day 68: The Waters of Meribah
The number of deaths within the camp as a result of the rebellion in Chapter 17 is the cause for new legislation. There must be a remedy for those who have become ritually defiled by death-the greatest affront to God's plan for an immortal mankind living in communion with his creator. The remedy is the sacrifice of the ritually perfect red heifer. The sacrifice of the red heifer, totally consumed in death outside the camp of God, prefigured the Passion of the Christ who was totally consumed in death on the altar of the Cross outside the gates of Jerusalem. The chapter is divided into three sections:
- Instructions for the sacrifice of the red heifer (verses 1-10).
- The Law concerning contamination by a corpse (verses 11-16).
- The ritual of purification when contaminated by a corpse (verses 17-22).
Numbers 19:1-10 Instructions for the Sacrifice of the Red Heifer
Instructions for the sacrifice of the red heifer are found in the Talmud in Mishnah: Sotah 9:5; Mishnah: Parah 1:1-12:11. According to the Mishnah, in Jesus' time the sacrifice of the red heifer took place on the Mount of Olives, east of the city of Jerusalem (Mishnah: Parah 3:7f). It was from the Mount of Olives that Jesus ascended into heaven, and it is from the Mount of Olives that He will return (Acts 1:9-12; Zech 14:4)
The instructions in Chapter 19 are full of symbolism and typology. A key Hebrew word is the word of "red", 'dm ('adom with vowels), which is also the word for "humanity" (Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative, page 395). It is also significant that the two central features of the ritual are the "ashes" of the heifer (verses 9-10) and the "water for purification" (verse 9) over which the ashes are to be sprinkled. But in verse 17 they are not called "ashes" (epher) but "dust" (aphar). The use of the specific term "dust" provides a link to the Fall of man in Genesis and the judgment that in death man will return to the dust from which he was created (see Gen 2:7, 3:14, 19).
It is also significant that in verse 17 the water over which the "dust" is sprinkled is called "living water"-the Hebrew word chay, "alive", is used figuratively for water that is flowing. It is the "living water" that makes the unclean ashes pure and renders the person contaminated by death purified and restored to a holy state to return to the covenant family. The "living water" in the red heifer ritual is a reminder of the "living water" Jesus spoke of to the woman of Samaria, the "living water" that will become "a spring of water, welling up for eternal life" (Jn 4:14). In the contrast between the "dust" of the dead red heifer and the "living water" that symbolically restores the life of the covenant member we have the two key terms of the narrative of the Fall in Genesis 3:19 and 24. The ashes represent the return to dust that characterizes humanity's fall and death that is ultimate defilement of God's good Creation. The "living water", however, does not look back to the past but is a promise of restoration that will be fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah.
Question: What kind of sacrifice was the red heifer? See verses 9 and 17.
Answer: It is a sacrifice for sin.
Question: What is the threefold separation of death?
Answer: Death as separation:
- Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body
- Spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God
- Everlasting death is the separation of the soul and body from God for eternity.
Question: Why is it that Aaron, the High Priest, does not perform the ritual?
Answer: The High Priest must avoid becoming contaminated by anything unclean. He cannot even prepare his own parents for burial. Since this sacrifice is performed outside the Sanctuary, the sanctity of the Sanctuary altar does not protect the priest from defilement.
Question: How many people are required to perform the ritual of sacrifice? How are they affected by the ritual of sacrifice?
Answer: Three men: the officiating priest and two ritually clean laymen. All three become ritually unclean and must be purified by water and remain outside the camp until sundown when the next day begins.
Question: How is this sacrifice for sin totally unlike the other classifications of sin sacrifices?
Answer: It does not take place at the sacrificial altar. The animal is sacrificed outside the camp and every part of the animal is consumed in the fire, including its hide. Its blood is sprinkled seven times toward the entrance of the Sanctuary.
Question: Why are the animal's ashes kept outside the camp? Why are the men who performed the ritual kept outside the camp until sundown?
Answer: The ashes are unclean and cannot enter the camp. The men who performed the ritual have become ritually unclean in association with the sacrifice and must have a one day separation. They cannot be purified fully until they have washed and the next day has begun at sundown.
Summary of the selection of the animal and the sacrificial ritual:
- The red color of the heifer suggests the color of blood and the sin of a fallen humanity.
- The scarlet material and the red cedar wood suggest the use of the sacrifice to remove sin (Is 1:18).
- The unblemished animal indicates the perfection needed for sacrifice.
- That the animal has never borne a yoke symbolized it has not been the servant of any man but is only a creature of God.
- The hyssop suggests purity.
- The sprinkling of the blood toward the Sanctuary is part of the ritual of expiation.
- The sacrifice taking place outside the camp put a special stress on separation from uncleanness and the unique nature of this sacrifice.
- The unclean ashes mixed with pure water symbolically removed the pollution of death.
Numbers 19:11-16 The Law Concerning Ritual Contamination by a Corpse
Question: For how long is a person contaminated by death unclean? What does the ritual for restoration require?
Answer: A contaminated person is unclean for seven days and must receive the purifying waters on the third and seventh days.
Not only was death alien to God's good plan for creation, it is opposed to the blessings God has planned for His covenant people which is why covenant members were not to linger over the body of the dead, even to remain in a tent with a deal body-a corpse is unclean-it is the ultimate expression of the corruption of sin and contaminates humans who come in contact with it.
Question: Under what conditions does a person become contaminated by death?
Answer:
- Anyone who touches a corpse.
- Anyone who is in close contact with a corpse (in the same tent).
- Anyone who touches a murder victim.
- Anyone who touches human bones or a grave.
Numbers 19:17-22 The Ritual of Purification
The change in the description of the remains of the red heifer from "ashes" to "dust" in verse 17 is significant. The word "dust" is a reminder of the Fall of man and God's judgment that sin has corrupted man's physical immortality and he was destined to return to the dust from which he was created.
Question: Who is to perform the ritual of purification?
Answer: A ritually clean layman.
Question: What is the significance of the double sprinkling of the dust of the red heifer and the living water?
Answer: In order to be fully restored, the individual must receive a double cleansing before the final restoration. Full restoration is a two-step process.
Question: How does the red heifer, in this unique cleansing from contamination by death, become a type of Christ? See Heb 9:13-14. What is the symbolic link to Christian baptism and the Christian's hope of a double resurrection?
Answer: Jesus Christ cleanses all humanity from the defilement of sin. By dying He purified us from all that death implies and involves in separation from God. The waters of Christian baptism cleanse the believer of the stain of original sin. The baptized believer dies to sin and is resurrected to new life in Christ Jesus. This is the "first resurrection." The first resurrection in Christian baptism makes possible the promise of a future second resurrection that is the resurrection of the body-when man is returned to the state in which he was created with an immortal soul and an immortal body.
| The Typology of Jesus Christ and the Red Heifer | |
| The red heifer was sacrificed outside the camp. | Jesus was sacrificed on the altar of the Cross outside the walls of Jerusalem. |
| The animal had to be unblemished and never to have been under the command of man (never yoked). | Jesus was without sin and His authority came from God. |
| The animal's red color suggests blood. | Jesus was covered with blood from His scourging. |
| Wood and hyssop were part of the sacrifice. | Jesus was sacrificed on a wooden Cross and a Roman soldier used hyssop to give Jesus a last drink of wine. |
| The animal was to be totally consumed in the sacrifice. | Jesus' life was totally consumed on the altar of the Cross. |
| The remains of the animal were to be kept outside the camp. | Jesus was buried outside the walls of Jerusalem, the camp of God. |
| The sin sacrifice was meant to remove the defilement of death. | Jesus' sacrifice freed mankind from the defilement of sin and death. |
| The sacrificial remains of the red heifer mixed with living water purified the individual, freed him/her from the contamination of death that caused separation from God and restored him/her to the community family. | Jesus' sacrificial death and the waters of Christian baptism purify the believer, freed him/her from sin and its consequence of spiritual death that separated him/her from God and restored him/her to life in the family of God. |
| The three day and seven day purification ritual was a two step process before the individual was fully restored. | The Christian will experience a double resurrection: the first in dying with Christ and being raised to new life in the Sacrament of baptism, and the second bodily resurrection at the end of time when the complete person, body and soul, will be fully restored to God. |
| Michal E. Hunt © 2010 | |
Chapter 20: The Death of Miriam and Water from the Rock
It took thirty-eight years for the old generation of the Exodus to die; the years are counted from God's judgment against the Exodus generation at Kadesh-Barnea. This part of the narrative begins in the first month of the fortieth year from leaving Egypt.
The chronological sequence of major events in Chapters 19:1-22:1:
- The ritual of purification with the ashes of a red heifer.
- Miriam dies at Kadesh and the miracle of the water from the rock.
- The Edomite king refuses to give the Israelites right of way through Edom.
- Aaron dies at Mt. Hor and the Canaanites attack the Israelites.
- The Israelites turn south toward the Gulf of Aqaba to avoid Edom.
- The incident of the fiery serpents and the healing serpent standard.
- The Israelites travel by stages to Transjordan.
- The Israelites defeat the Amorites.
- The Israelites defeat King Og of Bashan at the Battle of Edrei.
- The Israelites encamp on the Plains of Moab opposite Jericho.
It is the first time since the Israelites left Mt. Sinai on the 20th day of the second month in the second year after leaving Egypt that we are given a time marker (Num 10:11). The events recorded in Chapter 20 took place in the first month of Abib in what is the 40th year after leaving Egypt. The death of Miriam is recorded briefly in verse one. It is the only time she is mentioned since she disgraced herself when she challenged her brother's authority in Chapter 12.
Miriam's death seems to have unsettled the people; it is an unsettling that results in another incident of the people's complaints, God's action, and the naming of the site as a memorial of the event.
Bible scholar John Sailhamer points out that the incident recorded in Chapter 20 presents and interesting pattern, linking the events to the first miracle of water from the rock in Exodus Chapter 17. Both events took place in the wilderness. The first event took place on the wilderness journey from Egypt to Mt. Sinai and the second miracle took place on the wilderness journey after the events at Mt. Sinai on the way to Kadesh. Both miracles occurred after two significant events concerning the manna and the quail and the prophecy of the forty years in the wilderness and both events are separated by the covenant formation at Mt. Sinai:
| Wilderness journey | Theophany & Covenant formation at Sinai Ex 19-40 | Wilderness journey | ||||
| Journey to Mt Sinai = Manna & quail Ex 16:4-34 | 40 years Ex 16:35 | Water from the rock Ex 17:1-7 | Journey away from Mt Sinai = Manna & quail Num 11:4-34 | 40 years Num 14:21-22 | Water from the rock Num 20:1-12 | |
Inspired by a chart from The Pentateuch as Narrative, page 277 | ||||||
The Miracle of Water from the Rock
The account of the first water from the rock miracle in Exodus 17:1-7.
Question: Where was Moses instructed to go to find water?
Answer: He was instructed to meet Yahweh at Horeb, the location of Mt. Sinai.
Question: When Moses arrived, where was Yahweh?
Answer: Yahweh told Moses He would be waiting "on the rock".
Question: How was Moses to obtain water as God commanded him?
Answer: He was commanded to "strike the rock" upon which God waited and water would come out for all the people and their animals.
Question: Where there any witnesses to the miracle?
Answer: Yes, the elders of Israel.
Numbers 20:1-13 Miriam's death and the Dissatisfaction within the Community
Moses handled the rebellion of the Levites led by Korah with confidence, but as in that episode, he became very angry with the people: At the waters of Meribah they so angered Yahweh that Moses suffered on their account, for they had embittered his spirit, and he spoke without due thought (Ps 106:32-33). Moses not only became embittered, he failed to obey Yahweh's command. One cannot understand the full impact of this event on salvation history, however, without comparing it with the first event when God provided water from the rock in Exodus Chapter 17.
| Exodus 17:1-7 | Numbers 20:2-11 |
| The event took place at Horeb/Mt. Sinai (vs. 6a). | The event took place at Kadesh in the desert of Zin (vs. 1). |
| The people complained that there was no water (vs. 1-2). | The people complained that there was no water (vs. 2). |
| They blamed Moses (vs. 2b-3). | They blamed Moses (vs. 3-5). |
| Moses appealed to God (vs. 4). | Moses and Aaron appealed to God (vs. 6) |
| God told Moses to take some elders and to go on ahead to Horeb/Mt. Sinai, taking the staff he used to part the waters of the Red Sea (vs. 5). | God told Moses to take his staff and to call the community together with Aaron (vs. 7-8a). |
| With the elders looking on, God told Moses to take his staff and to strike the rock upon which God waited and water would come out for the people to drink (vs. 6a). | In view of the community, God told Moses to take the staff and to call upon the rock to release its water for the people to drink (vs. 8b). |
| Moses did as God told him; water came out (vs. 6b) | Moses took his staff and he struck the rock twice; water came gushing out (vs. 10-11) |
| Moses and Aaron were rebuked by God for their disbelief (vs. 12) | |
| Moses named the place Messah [trial] and Meribah [contention] (vs. 7) | The site came to be known as the Waters of Meribah (vs. 13) |
| Michal E. Hunt © 2010 | |
Question: What is the most significant difference between the commands God gave Moses in the two events?
Answer: In the first event Moses was commanded to strike the rock upon which God waited and in the second event Moses was commanded to speak to the rock.
It is significant that "Rock" is a divine title. For example, for God the Father:
- Yahweh is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer is my God. I take refuge in him, my rock, my shield, my saving strength, my stronghold, my place of refuge ... For who is God but Yahweh, who is a rock but our God? ... Life to Yahweh! Blessed be my rock! Exalted be the God of my salvation (Ps 18:2, 31, 46).
- He is the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are equitable ... He has disowned the God who made him, and dishonored the Rock, his salvation ... You forget the Rock who fathered you, the God who made you, you no longer remember ... How else could one man rout a thousand, how could two put ten thousand to flight, were it not that their Rock has sold them, that Yahweh has delivered them up? ... But their rock is not like our Rock: our enemies cannot pray for us! (Dt 32:4, 16, 18, 30, 31).
- The spirit of Yahweh speaks through me, his word is on my tongue; the God of Jacob has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me ... (2 Sam 23:3)
- Also see Gen 49:24; Ps 18:2, 31, 46; 19:14; 28:1; 31:2-3; 42:9; 62:2, 6; 78:35; 89:26; 92:15; 94:22; 95:1; 144:1; 1 Sam 2:2; 2 Sam 22:2, 3, 32, 47.
It was a title St. Paul used for God the Son:
- I want you to be quite certain, brothers that our ancestors all had the cloud over them and all passed through the sea. In the cloud and in the sea they were all baptized into Moses; all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ (1 Cor 10:1-4).
It was a title Yahweh shared with his covenant representative Abraham:
- Listen to me, you who pursue saving justice, you who seek Yahweh. Consider the rock from which you were hewn, the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Abraham your father and Sarah who have you birth (Is 51:1-2).
And it was a title Jesus shared with His covenant representative Simon-Peter:
- So I say to you: You are Peter [petros = rock] and on this rock I will build my community [Church] (Mt 16:18)
Abraham was the "rock" of the Old Covenant, the physical father of the Church of the Sinai Covenant, and Peter was the "rock" of the New Covenant, the spiritual father of the universal New Covenant Church of Jesus Christ.
Both Moses and Aaron denied entry into the Promised Land. Moses blamed the Israelites (see Dt 1:34-40; 3:23-28; 4:21-22). Moses and Aaron were both part of the condemned Exodus generation-only Caleb and Joshua were exempted from the death sentence for the Exodus generation at Kadesh in Numbers chapter 14. Some conclude that Moses and Aaron were forbidden entrance into the Promised Land because Moses claimed that he and Aaron had caused water to come from the rock (Num 20:10), but God told Moses in verse 8: "You will release the water from the rock for them." Scripture records that Moses and Aaron were not to enter the Promised Land because they both did not believe and disobeyed God's order at "the Waters of Meribah" (Num 20:12 and 24). Despite the death sentence at Kadesh in Numbers 14, Moses and Aaron's actions in the second water from the rock miracle was enough to keep that death sentence in place, as God will tell Moses in Num 20:24, 27:12-14 and Dt 32:48-52.
Question: What didn't Moses and Aaron believe (Num 20:12) and why was Moses' action in striking the rock so serious?
Answer: Like all the other Israelites of their generation, Moses and Aaron were already under a death sentence. When God pronounced that none of the Exodus generation would ever see the Promised Land, He only exempted Joshua and Caleb from the judgment, but verse 24 clearly states that the action of striking the rock at Meribah was in itself enough to deny them the privilege. It is clear that their failure to believe is linked to Moses' action of striking the rock twice when he was told that only "speaking" to the rock would yield the water. Moses' and Aaron's disbelief has to be that they did not believe only speaking to the rock could yield the water, and their action in striking the rock as before must have had greater significance than the narrative revealed.
The water from the rock is a "type" of Christ.
The Typology of Jesus and Water from the Rock ... they drank from the spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ 1 Cor 10:4 | |||
The first command: the rock is to be struck to yield its gift of water Ex 17:6 | The second command: the rock is to be called and it will yield its gift of water Num 20:8 | Jesus is struck down as a sacrifice for sin on the Cross-blood and water flowed from His side Jn 19:34 1 Jn 5:6-8 | The priest calls to Christ in the words of consecration-Christ's life flows from the gift of the Eucharist |
Michal E. Hunt © 2010 | |||
Numbers 20:14-21 Edom Refuses to Allow the Israelites Passage
Question: Why did Moses address the Edomites as "brothers/kinsmen"? See Gen 25:20-26; 36:9.
Answer: The Israelites are the descendants of Jacob/Israel whose brother was Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites.
The King's Highway [derek hammelek] was a major ancient roadway traveled by caravans. It led from the delta of Egypt via Elath (Dt 2:8) to Damascus and then north into Asia Minor and Mesopotamia. It intersected the other major trade route, the "Way of the Sea" [Via Maris in Latin] that led from the Egyptian delta and extended along the Mediterranean coast with a major branch of the trade route also ending at Damascus. The King's Highway will be mentioned again in Numbers 21:22. A branch of the King's Highway extended from Elath into Arabia.
The people complain | Israel's lack of faith Num 14:11 | Israel denied entrance into Canaan | The people complain | Moses' lack of faith Num 20:12 | Israel denied entrance into Edom |
Adapted from a chart in The Pentateuch as Narrative, page 400 | |||||
The Israelites were commanded to treat the Edomites as kinsmen and that they were not to possess any land belonging to them. It was for this reason that they did not invade Edom and went south around Mt. Seir on their way to the Plains of Moab to the east. However, after traveling for several days, Yahweh instructed them to take the road through the Arabah, passing through the territory of the Edomites without provoking them and to play them in money for what food they ate and water they drank (Dt 2:1-8).
The Death of Aaron
They left Kadesh and encamped at Mount Hor, on the borders of the land of Edom. The priest Aaron went up Mount Hor on Yahweh’s orders and died there in the fortieth year of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month. Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.
Numbers 33:37-39
Mount Hor
Numbers 20:22-29 Aaron's Last Act of Obedience
The exact location of Mt. Hor is uncertain, but from the Biblical description it appears to be a mountain on the border of Edom (Num 20:22-29, 21:4; 33:37; Dt 32:50).
Question: For how many days did the people mourn Aaron's death?
Answer: They mourned for thirty days.
Question: Who succeeded Aaron as Israel's new High Priest?
Answer: Aaron's eldest surviving son, Eleazar, succeeded him as the next High Priest.
A thirty-day period of mourning will also be observed when Moses dies (Dt 34:8). In both events, God provided a bridge for continuing leadership: when Aaron was about to die he was succeeded by his son Eleazar and when Moses was about to die he was succeeded by his spiritual son, Joshua (Num 27:12-13, 18-23; Dt 31:7-8; 34:9).
Numbers 20:14-21:3 records seven events; however, they are not related in chronological order. The order of events should be as follows:
- From Kadesh Moses sent messengers ahead to the King of Edom to request permission to pass through Edomite territory (Ex 20:14-18).
- Israel departed from Kadesh (20:22a).
- The Israelites arrived at Mt. Hor on the border with Edom (20:22).
- Aaron died on Mt. Hor and Eleazar became the High Priest (20:23-29)
- The Israelites were attacked by the Canaanite forces of King Arad; they defeated the Canaanites (21:1-3).
- The Israelites spoke to the Edomites, making a second request to pass through Edom and were denied (20:19-21).
- The Israelites departed from Mt. Hor to go around Edom by way of the Gulf of Aqaba (20:21b, 21:4)
Chapter 21: Miscellaneous Laws
Deuteronomy 21:1-9 is the last of this section of laws dealing with the responsibilities of Israel's leaders. Moses' instruction in Deuteronomy 17:8 and 19:1-13 dealt with distinctions between manslaughter and murder and the manner of bringing justice to the victim and his family in such cases. Moses' instruction in this section seeks to protect the nation from the destructive vengeance of blood-feuds between families and the religious implications of a murder or manslaughter in which the killer is unknown.
Deuteronomy 21:1-9 The Law Concerning an Unsolved Murder
The ritual for removing the blood-guilt on the land when a murderer was unknown involved a seven step process:
- Elders and judges of Israel determine which town was nearest to the body of the victim (Dt 21:2)
- The elders of that town provide a young heifer for sacrifice (Dt 21:3)
- Killing the heifer near a free-running stream by the elders of the nearest town (Dt 21:4)
- In the presence of the priests, the town elders wash their hands over the heifer (Dt 21:5-6)
- They make a declaration of their innocence (Dt 21:7)
- They pray for absolution (Dt 21:8)
- Absolution is granted by the priests (Dt 21:5; Lev 4:20)
Question: What official in the New Testament Gospels performed such a ritual, declaring his innocence in the shedding of the blood of a man whose death was to take place outside the town of Jerusalem? See Mt 27:24-25.
Answer: The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate washed his hands in front of the Jewish crowd and declared: 'I am innocent of this man's blood. It is your concern.'
Question: Did the crowd of people witnessing Pilate's gesture understand its meaning? Is there any evidence that they understood in the context of the ritual in Dt 21:1-9?
Answer: The significance of the gesture was completely understood by the Jewish crowd in the context of the ritual in Dt 21:1-9. In that ritual the representatives of the community took on the responsibility for the murdered victim on behalf of the community and sought atonement. In response to Pilate's declaration of innocence-that neither he nor the Roman government would take responsibility in the shedding of Jesus' innocent blood, the Jerusalem crowd shouted back: 'Let his blood be on us and on our children!' taking the responsibility of Jesus' blood upon themselves.
Since Pilate, as the representative of the Roman Empire, refused to take responsibility for the shedding of Jesus' blood, there was no atonement for the blood-guilt on the land, which the Law required. Therefore, the elders and the people of Jerusalem who forced Pilate's hand in condemning Jesus took upon themselves the burden of the blood-guilt in Jesus' death according to the Law in their statement 'Let his blood be on us and on our children!' In this case they all acted as the witnesses who were to cast the first stones when a guilty verdict was given in a death penalty case, accepting in their actions their sworn oath (in the form of a self curse if they were lying) that they had been truthful witnesses in their part in the man's condemnation unto death (Dt 17:7). The irony is that they did receive atonement for their self-curse and for the blood-guilt of His innocent death. Jesus' death was offered in atonement for all the sins of mankind, included those who falsely testified and who contrived to bring about His death.
The previous series of laws dealt with public officials and the nation as a whole. The next series of laws in Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19 are mostly concerned with the domestic lives of individuals, their families and their neighbors. The first three laws deal with the family:
- Marriage with captive women (verses 10-14)
- Birthrights of sons (verses 15-17)
- Penalty for rebellious sons (verses 18-21)
Several laws in this section reflect concern for the welfare of women. The first two laws in this section limit the rights of husbands over their wives while other laws address a bridegroom's accusations of misconduct against his bride, the violation of a virgin, and the rights of a childless widow:
- The rights of captured women taken in marriage (21:10-14)
- The protection of the birthright of a firstborn son of an unloved wife (21:15-17)
- The challenge to the reputation of a young wife (22:13-21)
- The violation of a virgin (22:23-29)
- The Levirate Law giving a childless widow the right to bear a son in her dead husband's name and to become his heir by her brother-in-law or nearest kinsman (25:5-10)
The laws we will study in this part of Moses' second homily will begin with the law associated with marriage to captured women (Dt 21:10-14) and will end with law which provides for the sharing of crops with those in need (Dt 23:25-26).
Deuteronomy 21:10-23 address five laws:
- The procedure for Israelite men taking captive women as wives (Dt 21:10-13).
- The rights of captured women married to Israelites (Dt 21:14).
- The birthrights of first born sons (Dt 21:15-17).
- The penalty for a son's rebellion against his parents (Dt 21:18-21).
- The curse of being hung on a tree (Dt 22-23).
Deuteronomy 21:10-14 Women Captured in War
This law concerns Gentile women war captives who are not from the despised peoples who inhabited Canaan.
Question: What are four procedures the woman must observe before the man could legally claim her as his wife?
Answer:
- She must shave her head
- She must cut her nails
- She must remove the clothing she wore when she was captured
- She must mourn her parents for a month
These actions probably have a double significance. The change in her appearance may indicate the transfer from her Gentile community to the community of Israel, and her mourning period may represent not only the separation from her parents but the death of her old life. After the month of mourning had passed, the man was permitted to have sexual relations with her. There is a practical reason for the thirty days of sexual abstinence. The time allowed the woman to come to terms with her fate and gave the Israelite man time to win her affection, thus increasing the chances for a successful marriage.
There is a contingency clause added at the end of the legislation. If, from the man's point of view, the marriage was not a success, he could divorce the woman (the literal translation "let go" is interpreted as "divorce").
Question: If the Israelite chose to divorce the woman, how were her rights protected by the Law?
Answer:
- She was free to go wherever she wanted
- He could not sell her into slavery
- She could not be given in exchange for some other person or goods.
The Law of the Sinai Covenant does not forbid divorce, but the reason divorce was allowed was, as Jesus' said, because of the hard-hearts of the Israelite men (Mt 19:3-9). We will cover the topic of divorce in lesson 12.
Deuteronomy 21:15-17 Birthrights of Sons born to an Unloved Wife
The Law did not try to regulate plural marriage. It was a very old practice, dating back to Genesis 4:19, but the normal practice as ordained by God was marriage between one man and one woman (Gen 2:24). Plural marriage is never presented in a positive light in Scripture, and Jesus affirmed God's plan of marriage between one man and one woman in His teachings (Mt 19:4-6).
This law protects the rights of the first-born son in polygamous marriages and forbids the action Jacob-Israel took on his death bed when he gave the double portion to Joseph, the eleventh son born to him but the son by his beloved wife Rachel (Gen 29:30-31; 49:22-26; Josh 17:14).
Question: The father had the right to divide his property as he wished, so long as he observed what prohibition?
Answer: He could not favor a younger son as his principal heir over his legal first-born son.
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 The Punishment of a Rebellious Son
The most important duty of parents is to teach their children about Yahweh and His law. If a son is disobedient and refused to respect his parents, he will also refuse to learn about God or to observe His law. Israel's obedience to the Law meant life for the community; therefore, such disruptive behavior and such a bad example to other children could not be tolerated. What the rebellious son has done is to violate the commandment concerning honoring parents (Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16; 19:2).
Question: What is the blessing for honoring parents in the Decalogue? See Ex 20:12 and Dt 5:16? What is the curse for disobedience (Dt 21:21).
Answer: The blessing of honoring parents in the Decalogue is life and the curse for disrespect is death.
Question: The parents are the witnesses against their rebellious son in his trial, but what is different in the carrying out of the execution as compared to other death penalty offenses? See Dt 17:7.
Answer: The parents are not required to take part in his execution. The entire community acts as the executioners since the man's behavior threatened the entire community's stability.
St. Paul included rebelling against one's parents among a list of sins that are most offensive to God (Rom 1:30). See CCC 2197-2231.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 The Treatment of a Body of an Executed Criminal
Hanging is not a form of execution mentioned in the Pentateuch. Therefore, the hanging of the executed person on a tree was to take place after execution as a sign that the man is to be despised as cursed for rejecting the blessings of God and for putting the entire community in jeopardy in their covenant relationship with God (see Gen 40:19; Josh 10:26; Est 9:6-14).
Question: In other ancient Near Eastern cultures, as in Genesis 40:19, the corpse was left handing and the body was to be denied a proper burial. How is this law different and what two reasons are given for removing the body and giving it a proper burial? See Num 6:9; 19:11-13; 31:19, 24; Wis 2:23-24.
Answer: The Israelites must bury the body the same day as the execution, prior to sundown which began the next day because:
- For the dead body to remain exposed is an affront to God who is the author of life.
- The continual exposure may lead to further pollution on the land since a dead body is the primary source of ritual impurity and if it were left to decompose its parts would eventually be scattered by birds and animals, spreading the impurity.
Examples in Scripture of executions followed by hanging the body on a tree:
- In Joshua 8:29, the Canaanite king of Ai was executed and then hung on a tree until sundown.
- In Joshua 10:23-27, the dead bodies of five Canaanite kings were hung by Joshua and then were buried before sundown in conformity with the law.
- The body of Haman, the Persian, who had planned to annihilate the Jews living in Persia was also displayed this way (Est 9:11-14).
This kind of display was reserved for those who were enemies of the covenant people, and the law applied to both Israelites and non-Israelites. Other peoples in the region also displayed the bodies of dead enemies, as the Philistines did with the bodies of Saul and his sons (1 Sam 31:8-13; 2 Sam 21:13-14).
To the Israelites of past centuries and the Jews of Jesus' time, the body of a condemned man hanging on a tree was a sign that he was cursed by God. This is the reason the priests and elders of the Sanhedrin wanted to have Jesus condemned and crucified by the Romans, a form of execution assigned to only the worst of criminals. Roman citizens were never executed by crucifixion. It was the hope of the Temple hierarchy that Jesus' death in this manner would destroy the regard that the common people had for Him and brand Him as a sinner and enemy of the covenant people.
St. Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 21:23 and links the passage to Jesus' crucifixion in Galatians 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by being cursed for our sake since scripture says: Anyone hanged is accursed, so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles in Christ Jesus, and so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith (emphasis added).
Question: How was Jesus Christ "cursed for our sake"? See Rom 8:3; 2 Cor 5:21; Col 2:14.
Answer: The human race was cursed with death and sin, a curse incurred by disobedience to God in the Fall of Adam (Gen 3:16-19), just as the Israelites became cursed by disobedience to God for violations of the Law. Christ made himself answerable for the curse, making the Law's requirements for accountability for sin and rebellion against God fully satisfied in His sacrificial death.
Question: How are the requirements of the Law that demand atonement for sin satisfied?
Answer: The requirements of the Law are satisfied only through faith and union with Christ's death and Resurrection and are summed up in Jesus' command to love one another as He has loved us.
See Heb 9:15-22 and CCC 580.
CHALLENGE: “If praying to Mary is good, why don’t we see it in the New Testament?”
DEFENSE: We would not expect to. Not every teaching has to be present in Scripture (see Day 5), and not every practice consistent with Christian liberty has to be documented in the New Testament.
It took time for Christians to work out the implications of the deposit of faith Jesus gave the apostles. Scripture shows an awareness that we can pray for the dead (2 Macc. 12:42 and, quite possibly, 2 Tim. 1:18) and an awareness that those in heaven intercede for the living (2 Macc. 15:12, 14; Matt. 18:10; Rev. 5:8, 8:3–4). It was not long before Christians took the natural step of asking those in heaven to pray for them (see Jimmy Akin, The Fathers Know Best, chapter 52).
Whether this practice was already in use in the first century, we do not know, but if it was, we still would not expect to see references to Marian prayers in the New Testament.
Its documents are not private devotionals and are not the type of literature we would expect to contain such references.
The Gospels are set during the life of Christ, when Mary was clearly still alive, and Revelation is a prophetic work that records almost nothing of John’s life outside the vision. We do find references to personal prayer in Acts and the epistles, but there is a good reason they, too, wouldn’t include Marian prayers: Mary was probably still alive. According to the Protoevangelium of James (chapters 8–9), Mary was betrothed to Joseph when she was twelve. This was a common age for girls to be married (boys typically married in their teens). The Talmud describes the onset of puberty as the preferred time for a daughter to be married (b. Sanhedrin 76a-b).
If Mary was thirteen when Jesus was born, then, based on the traditional date of his birth in 3–2 B.C., Mary would have been born around 15 B.C. She would be seventy in A.D. 55 and eighty in 65. Acts was written in A.D. 60, and the New Testament epistles were written between the late 40s and the mid-60s. It is thus quite possible that Mary had not reached the end of her earthly life.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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