Deuteronomy 18 - The Promised Prophet

"The Lord thy God will raise up to thee a PROPHET of thy nation, and of thy brethren, like unto me: him thou shalt hear." (Deuteronomy 18:15)

And so we have another instance of Moses foretelling the coming of Christ, one of the earliest mentions of the Messiah.  One of the most fascinating aspects of the Old Testament is this continuous thread that weaves in and out of the narrative of a great Prophet that is to come in a future age.  It is a wonder of the Word that never fails to captivate me.  There were already some monumental references to Christ in the Book of Genesis, and now again, as we near the end of the Pentateuch, we have a blatant reference to a future great Prophet, one who the people are instructed to listen to and be prepared for.  It is debated, of course, whether these allusions are meant to indicate the Person of Jesus Christ or are just a broad reference to any of the prophets that eventually rose up in the midst of the Jews.  But I find in the arguments of those in favor of the former theory a logical explanation that demonstrates these as obviously Messianic references for a number of reasons.  First, in the passage quoted from Deuteronomy above, Moses says this Prophet will be "like unto me."  Only Jesus Christ, when compared to the other prophets of the Old Testament, can be thoroughly compared to Moses.  Moses was a lawgiver, as is Christ; Moses was the chief of God's people, as is Christ; Moses was a mediator, as is Christ.  None of the other prophets, as great as they were, fit all of those qualifications so exactly.  Secondly, the Messianic references are always in the singular.  We know there were many Old Testament prophets, so why not refer to the coming of prophets rather than prophet?  Could it be that that is because of the, as my commentary puts it, "eminent dignity" of Christ?  He is the only Prophet worth mention.  He is the greatest Hope of the people, and therefore He is referred to frequently to maintain that Hope.  There is also an interesting connection in the verse above to an event in the New Testament.  The verse concludes with the words, "him thou shalt hear."  This sounds a lot like another instruction from God in direct reference to Jesus Christ: "This is my beloved Son, hear him" (Luke 9:35).  It's unbelievable, but here is God centuries before sending His Son, telling His people to "hear him" when he arrives!

But before I conclude, I do not mean to say that God could not have also meant to refer to the general prophets in the verse above.  Much of the Old Testament does operate on two or more levels.  In Deuteronomy 18 God is instructing His people not to take part in the profane activities of the pagans who will be living near them.  This leads to verse 15 in which He promises a prophet.  Along with this being a reference to Jesus Christ, God could be referring to the help He'll provide His people as they strive for holy perfection by sending prophets along the way who will keep the way straight for them.  I don't think the meaning must be one way or the other.

Deuteronomy 17 - Of Kings and Authority

Deuteronomy 17 brings up a lot of significant topics.  First is the mention of a moral authority for the Jews, a central judge that would be the end of the line on difficult issues.  The idea of a central authority is at the core of Catholicism, wherein the Church, founded by Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, provides the definitive interpretation of the Law and the Scriptures.  So it is interesting to see its forerunner here in the Old Testament.  Deuteronomy 17:9-11 says, "And thou shalt come to the priests of the Levitical race, and to the judge, that shall be at that time: and thou shalt ask of them, and they shall shew thee the truth of the judgement. / And thou shalt do whatsoever they shall say, that preside in the place, which the Lord shall choose, and what they shall teach thee, / According to his law: and thou shalt follow their sentence; neither shalt thou decline to the right hand nor to the left hand."  God very clearly does not leave it up to personal judgment.  It is clear that when it comes to the Law, to foundational morals, each man and woman must follow that which is taught by the highest authority in the land.  The Law is found in the Bible, yes, but when it comes to issues that men disagree on, what then?  The Bible, from the oldest books of the Torah through the New Testament, was written through the use of human language, and thus, even though it is inspired, it is subject to imperfections and confusions.  When one of these confusions arise, God does not leave us to blindly figure it out for ourselves.  If He had done so, His Law would be unrecognizable before long.  Instead he provides a teaching authority.  Now, the central authority found in the Old Testament is far inferior to that which we have today.  It was imperfect the way the Law was imperfect, prior to the coming of Christ.  Now, the Magisterium of the Church provides the definitive authority on faith and morals and Scriptural interpretation.  The only thing that can now lead men astray is pride (combined with the promptings of the evil one).

The second topic of significance that intrigued me in Deuteronomy 17 was the mention of a king.  It has been said that God didn't intend on men being led by kings.  In God's perfect plan, kings were not needed.  Furthermore, kings (as God well knew) led to wars, greed, power and pride in men.  But man in his fallen state, God conceded, would be best to follow a virtuous king.  So God provides instruction on how a king ought to be.  As we know from history, not every king was virtuous, and the kingship came with all the foreseeable problems.  But when a king was virtuous, and ruled by God's law, the people benefited.  One interesting verse in Deuteronomy 17 says that "Thou mayst not make a man of another nation king, that is not thy brother" (Deuteronomy 17:15).  The Jews famously broke this commandment when Herod became their king around the time of Christ.  Fascinatingly, though, this was all foretold.  In Genesis 49:10 it is written, "The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations."  The scepter was taken away from Juda's line when Herod assumed the throne, which occurred when the "expectation of nations," Jesus Christ, was sent to save the world.  The Word never ceases to amaze me.

Deuteronomy 15-16: Statues

Since Deuteronomy is, as its name suggests, a second telling of the Law, there isn't a whole lot of new information in this book to comment on.  Every now and then, though, there is a verse or two that includes an interesting statement, or a rephrasing of a statement already made in an earlier book.  The issue of idolatry obviously is a pressing one, especially in these early books of the Bible.  Idols have been condemned, as well as graven images of, in particular, animals.  Yet, some graven images have been not just allowed but ordered!  The cherubs holding the divine seat of God upon the Ark are obvious examples.  And, though it is an example from before Mosaic times, Jacob in Genesis 28 erected a stone monument to God to glorify Him.  The reason I mention all of this is because the very last verse of Deuteronomy 16 states, "Neither shalt thou make, nor set up to thyself a statue: which things the Lord thy God hateth."  This is a strongly worded verse and one that I think deserves a close look.  There is a divide within Christianity over the role or lack thereof that images should take in the practice of the Faith.  Catholicism obviously permits images, many denominations of Protestantism do not.  And though it appears that Deuteronomy 16:22 states resolutely that statues are forbidden, one must apply it within the greater context of the Bible before coming to that conclusion.  I've already mentioned the images that have been permitted, namely the graven cherubs of the Ark.  But there was also the brazen serpent.  Clearly the issue of statuary, or images, is not black and white.  Furthermore, we must look at what the law is directed.  Most of Deuteronomy, thus far, has been concerned with the Israelites not falling into the same errors as the pagans around them.  The Chanaanites, as we know, worshiped idols, material objects, animal statues, stone gods and so forth.  This is what must be condemned.  Not just a statue, but a statue that is worshiped as itself a god.  The English translation of Deuteronomy 16:22 uses the word "statue," but in Hebrew the word is matseba, which means "pillar," or "monument."  So the true meaning of the word is not just a visual representation of someone (which is really all a statue is), but instead a much more significant, solemn structure meant to play some sort of ceremonial role.  Statues as used by the Church today are not what is meant by "statue" in Deuteronomy 16:22.  To quote my commentary, "statues and pictures may be very instructive and commendable."  A statue of a saint, or Mary, or even Jesus, can be used to increase devotion to God, to remind us of those who walked in the way of the Lord, to instruct us in our Faith.  The furthest thing from our mind when gazing upon a statue is idolatry, as if the statue itself were a living god.  I bring this issue up because it is after all rather significant.  My commentary also says that "this subject is of such vast importance, the accusation of idolatry is of so black a nature, that it deserves to be accurately and frequently refuted."

Deuteronomy 13-14: Lawful to Ink?

I have often heard people mention verses in the Bible that seem to condemn tattoos.  The most famous of these verses is probably Leviticus 19:28: "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, for the dead, neither shall you make in yourselves any figures or marks."  However, the glaring words in this verse are "for the dead."  Even if it at first seems to be a reference to tattooing, it becomes clear when viewed in context that what is condemned is hopeless grief.  At that time, among many pagan nations, grieving took on many, sometimes elaborate, forms.  Cutting oneself to cause bleeding was one way to express your sorrow over the death of a loved one.  Marking yourself with symbols of the gods was another.  In Deuteronomy 14:1 the law on cutting is mentioned again: "You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness for the dead."  Here it gets even more specific, as cutting off one's hair is a very ancient form of mourning.  So, essentially, God is here telling the Hebrews, don't grieve like the people around you who put on dramatic displays and carry on with their hopeless wailing.  God wants His people to always have hope, even when sadness is all-consuming.  Nowhere in either the Leviticus verse nor the Deuteronomy verse is tattooing, on its own, condemned.  If someone got a tattoo out of grief and despair, these verses might then be more applicable.  Some commentators, though, think these verses indicate something more about the time they were written, specifically that self-made cuttings and signs on the body refer to pagan customs, especially those devoted to Egyptian gods like Isis and Osiris.  All of Deuteronomy 13 and 14 is devoted to Israelite exceptionalism, meaning that the Israelites were forbidden from partaking in the lowly, barbaric rituals of their pagan neighbors; they were to remain above all that.  So if some pagans cut themselves when a loved one died, the Israelite could do no such thing.  The issue of tattoos in today's society is a much different thing.  Again, the main message here is Hope.  Have hope, don't despair.  A verse from the First Epistle to the Thessalonians says it all:  "And we will not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope." (1 Thessalonians 4:12)

Essentially, St. Paul here says that we have hope, we believe in Christ and His Resurrection, as well as the resurrection of all the dead, and so the ones "asleep" will rise again and we ought not despair over the dead the way the non-believers do.

Deuteronomy 10-12: An Abominable Offense

"When the Lord thy God shall have destroyed before thy face the nations, which thou shalt go in to possess, and when thou shalt possess them, and dwell in their land,
 Beware lest thou imitate them, after they are destroyed at thy coming in, and lest thou seek after their ceremonies, saying: As these nations have worshipped their gods, so will I also worship.
Thou shalt not do in like manner to the Lord thy God. For they have done to their gods, all the abominations which the Lord abhorreth, offering their sons and daughters, and burning them with fire." (Deuteronomy 12:29-31)

 "Thou shalt not give any of thy seed to be consecrated to the idol Moloch." (Leviticus 18:21)

I once again must remark on this.  I find it amazing that anyone would characterize the Canaanites (and other pagans of the region prior to the Jewish takeover) as innocent, victimized people who were unjustly murdered by God.  The whole distortion of God as a ruthless murderer is simply an unsophisticated look at the situation.  The Canaanites clearly were living lives of severe corruption and scandal, breaking left and right natural laws.  The most detestable of their crimes was the ritualistic murder of their children.  In Leviticus it is written that children were sacrificed to a god named Moloch by means of incineration.  In Deuteronomy the god's specific name isn't repeated, but it is mentioned that the Israelites must not copy the practices they will find in Canaan, among these the deplorable sacrifice of children.  This child sacrifice to Moloch goes beyond standard human sacrifice that we find in ancient cultures throughout the world.  The fact that it is innocent babies being voluntarily given up to be murdered makes the whole thing infinitely more revolting.  It was unfortunate that the Canaanites had to be destroyed, and there is no evidence that God did so joyously, but their acts were of a nature that they could not be allowed to continue.  The Canaanites had to answer for their crimes, and hopefully some were saved in the end.  God had to purge the region, which had been mired in iniquity for ages.  The overall situation was much more layered and complex than a simple act of wiping out an unsuspecting and innocent nation.  Again, it's unfortunate that it happened at all, but it says more about man's weakness than God's cruelty.

On a final note, it struck me in a rather profound and painful way that the murder of innocent children is not something for which the Canaanites can claim sole credit.  Abortion has become such a scourge in our land that the comparisons to the ancient practice of sacrificing babies are hard to ignore.  It will probably sound harsh and extreme to bring this up, but sometimes when something hits close to home it is all the more difficult to hear.  Satan found a way in ancient Canaan to have people kill their babies through the guise of a ritualistic and necessary sacrifice to a fake god.  Today, Satan has found a way again to have people kill their babies through the guise of "reproductive rights" and court mandated rulings, i.e., societal acceptance.  It is just as abhorrent and evil in both cases.

Deuteronomy 9 - Humbled

I'm really amazed at how thorough and point-by-point these lessons in Deuteronomy are.  Well, I guess I shouldn't say "amazed."  I mean, there is nothing more monumental than the great mercy God is here showing the Israelites by granting them this land of milk and honey.  If they are allowed to just walk in without any words of wisdom, they would go about it all wrong.  So what we have here in these opening books of Deuteronomy are lessons, instructions, item by item, reminders, anything and everything that can be told to the Israelites so that they may be good stewards of the land.  They have been reminded of the Law, how they are to act; they have been reminded of how they got here, their flight out of Egypt, their long journey through the desert; and now they are being reminded of each and every time they have murmured or transgressed or rebelled against the Lord.  Deuteronomy 9 really puts the Israelites in their place.  God specifically reminds them that it is not because of their goodness that they are getting the Promised Land, it is because of the sinfulness of the pagans living there now.  Deuteronomy 9:5 says, "For it is not for thy justices, and the uprightness of thy heart that thou shalt go in to possess their lands: but because they have done wickedly, they are destroyed at thy coming in."  God also reminds them of how close they came to their own destruction after the incident with the golden calf.  It was because of Moses's supplications and his sacrifices that they were spared.  All these warnings are made in an effort to humble the Israelites.  Humility is really what they need to remain in God's favor once in the Promised Land.  Humility is really what we all need to remain in God's favor even today.