Frequently Asked Questions About the Old Testament
Session 9 – Deuteronomy 12-34
Why couldn’t the Israelites worship anywhere (12:5)?
The Canaanites worshiped their nature-gods wherever they thought they were evident (usually on high hills or under trees). But God was concerned that his people not be drawn away to the practices and false gods of their neighbors. He chose the tabernacle, and later the temple, as the place where he was to be revealed–one place to correspond to one God over Israel.
–The Quest Study Bible
Why does God have to test us (13:3)?
God does not need to test his people to discover how they will respond. Rather, testing teaches us what we need to know about ourselves. The Israelites needed to learn whether they would remain faithful to God. Testing and trials can strengthen our faith and commitment.
–The Quest Study Bible
What is the Old Testament teaching on the use of intoxicating liquor? Deuteronomy 14:26 seems to permit the purchase and use of wine and strong drink, while other biblical passages seems to reject the use of any wine.
The Old Testament abounds with warning examples of the misuse of wine and the very grave dangers it holds in store for those who drink it. According to Leviticus 10:8-11, no priest was allowed to enter into the tabernacle or temple to perform divine service if he had partaken of wine. It is clear that in the days of Christ and the apostles, wine was served as a table beverage at meals and used in communion services. It is also very clear that the New Testament itself lays down a principle that makes it very difficult for a conscientious believer to carry on the use of liquor even on a temperate scale. That principle is found in Romans 14:21: “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” In other words, the basic issue at stake is the law of love toward the weaker brother, and whether we as ambassadors of Christ are so concerned about souls that we are willing to forgo personal “rights” in order to win alcoholics and near-alcoholics to Christ.
–Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties
With God’s concern for the “alien,” why would God allow the Israelites to require payment from a foreigner while canceling the debts of Israelites (15:3)?
Since he was not subject to the command to allow his fields to lie fallow during the seventh year, a foreigner would probably be financially able to pay his debts if asked to do so.
–NIV Study Bible Notes
How can Deuteronomy 15:4– “There should be no poor among you”–be reconciled with Deuteronomy 15:11– “There will always be poor people in the land?”
Taken in context with verse 15:5, it is clear that this is a conditional promise based on the obedience of the people. In v.11 we find a true prediction, for there is no real expectation that the Israelites will long or consistently maintain biblical standards of holiness, fairness, consideration, and love among themselves; and the poverty-free state envisioned in v.4 is merely a theoretical possibility.
–Dictionary of Bible Difficulties
Are there contradictions between the laws of Deuteronomy and the earlier legal material found in Exodus (as we compare Exodus 21:26 with Deuteronomy 15:12-18 and Exodus 23:10-11 with Deuteronomy 15:1-11)?
The two sets of passages contain no contradiction whatever, so far as this writer can see (on the basis of his own legal training). In Exodus 21:26 it is laid down as a ruling that any slaveowner who strikes a male or female servant in such a way as to blind an eye must free that slave by way of compensation. In Deuteronomy 15:12-18 it is provided that after six years of service a Hebrew slave must be set free, and in addition he must be well provided with enough equipment to become self-supporting. These are two different grounds for manumission, but they do not in the slightest contradict each other.
Exodus 23:10-11 relates to the requirement that, after six continuous years of cultivation, plowed acreage is to be left fallow during the seventh or sabbatical year, and that which grows on it without cultivation is to be left to the poor or else to wild animals. Deuteronomy 15:1-11 has nothing to do with the cultivation of land but relates to the remission of debts at the end of seven years. It also contains a promise that there will be no poor in the land of Israel after the conquest and settlement by the Hebrews–provided only they will keep the Lord’s commandments (both concerning the sabbatical year and concerning the other main guidelines for stewardship of the land as provided in the Mosaic Law). There is therefore no contradiction at all between these provisions.
–Dictionary of Bible Difficulties
Why the instructions in Deuteronomy 17:14ff. if God was to be their King?
Moses, Joshua and a succession of judges were chosen directly by the Lord to govern Israel on his behalf. As Gideon later said, “The Lord will rule over you” (Judges 8:23). Moses here, however, anticipates a time when the people would ask for a king (1Samuel 8:4-9) contrary to the Lord’s ideal for them. So Moses gives guidance concerning the eventual selection of a king.
–NIV Study Bible Notes
What does the Bible say about “consulting the dead” (18:11)?
There has been an increase in “Spiritism” (a religion which offers contact with, and information from, beings beyond the grave) in recent years. Some of contemporary Spiritism has been exposed as fraudulent. However, there is a spiritual dimension which cannot be ignored. Authentic spiritists draw their power from the one the Bible calls “a roaring lion” who seeks to devour and destroy (1 Peter 5:8). The attitude of God toward those who practice Spiritism is clearly outlined in the Bible. The Lord ordered the death penalty for all sorcerers (for example, Exodus 22:18 and Leviticus 20:27). The Old Testament also named as those cursed by God, persons consorting with demons and mediums. The Bible records King Manasseh’s fall as being partly due to his practice of Spiritism. These are just a few examples. The Bible is clearly consistent in its rejection of Spiritism and consultation of the dead.
–Don Porter
Who is the “avenger of blood”(Deuteronomy 19:12)?
When someone was killed, an avenger of blood was obligated to put the killer to death. Typically this was the nearest male relative of the victim. The avenger was not to be a vigilante seeking vengeance, however. His aim instead was retribution, the restoration of life balance in society (Exodus 21:23-25; Lev. 24:17).
–The Quest Study Bible
How do prophecy and divination differ (18:14-15)?
Divination is a human-initiated attempt to predict the future or discover other things known only to God. Prophecy, on the other hand, was a method chosen by God to communicate with his people.
–The Quest Study Bible
How can we get God on our side (20:4)?
Believers today cannot claim this verse as a promise for victory in their nations' war efforts. There is a great difference between the wars Israel fought under the direct command of God and the wars nations engage in today, which may or may not be just. Still, individuals can trust God for their personal and spiritual success. The question is not whether God is on our side but whether we have joined his side.
–The Quest Study Bible
Why would God’s people plunder women and children (20:14)?
It was customary at that time for prisoners of war to become slaves. But Israel was to treat their slaves according to God's standards–not with the brutality that could be found among other nations. Women captured by the Israelites were not treated merely as booty; God insisted on certain rights for them and provided for the possibility of their inclusion in the covenant community through marriage (21:10-14).
–The Quest Study Bible
Why a ritual for an unsolved murder (21:1-9)?
God had declared that “bloodshed pollutes the land” (Numbers 35:33-34). So something had to be done to cleanse the land of the guilt of murder. Unplowed land may have symbolized unproductive land. It pictured fields without crops as the consequences of the murder. Running water, then, would have symbolized cleansing. This ritual thus would mean that no plow could uncover any guilt or blood that had soaked into the ground.
–The Quest Study Bible
Why did God have to warn his people about sacrificing their own children (12:31)?
Because he knew that they could be influenced by the lower standards of the world around them. God’s commands demonstrated his [values, including his view of human life. Yet, though God consistently condemned human sacrifice, Israel often adopted the ways of their pagan neighbors in hopes of gaining the favor of false gods.
–The Quest Study Bible
Is this testing a type of entrapment (13:3)?
No. God never desires his people to fall into sin. But trial comes from many sources: resisting false prophets with their signs and wonders was only one way to prove their allegiance to the Lord. Overcoming false prophets allowed Israel to strengthen their love and obedience to God.
–The Quest Study Bible
Is not being pleased grounds for divorce (21:14)?
Not in the sense that we would think of it today. In Old Testament times, however, this provision would actually have protected the woman from misuse and loss of status on the whim of her husband. It was very generous in comparison with the treatment of women captured by neighboring nations.
–The Quest Study Bible
Is Deuteronomy 22:5 applicable today?
The basic principle here is that each of the two sexes is to appreciate and honor the dignity of its own sex rather than to adopt the appearance or role of the opposite sex. If a man is thankful to God that he was created a male and the woman that she was a female, then they should be happy to dress the part of a man or a woman, as the case may be, rather than imitating the costume of another. The specific range of styles worn by each sex tends to differ somewhat from one decade to another, and so it is impractical to lay down any hard and fast rule beyond the simple principle enunciated above.
–Dictionary of Bible Difficulties
Does God reject the children of sinful parents (23:2)?
Some suggest this means God rejected illegitimate children born out of wedlock. Others say a “forbidden marriage” probably was an incestuous affair or a sexual liaison with a cult prostitute in pagan worship. However, excluding descendants for the fault of their ancestors seems extreme, and some see this as a figure of speech (hyperbole) to portray the severity of this sin. The same penalty on the Moabites (v. 3), for example, did not prevent Ruth from becoming a proselyte and an ancestor in the Messiah's family tree (Ruth 1:16; 4:17).
–The Quest Study Bible
How could Moses have written the first five books of the Bible when the fifth book, Deuteronomy, reports his burial in an unknown grave?
Obviously Moses did not write in advance the account of his own death. Deuteronomy 34 is an obituary written by a friend and contemporary, possibly Joshua the son of Nun (v.9). Under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then, Joshua possibly appended an appropriate record of the death and burial of his revered master and framed the eloquent praise with which the book closes. There is no reason to believe that Moses is not responsible for Genesis 1 through Deuteronomy 33.
–Dictionary of Bible Difficulties
