Deut. 17-20

In addition to admonition against worshiping other gods, this selection discusses legal procedure.  For example, it talks about using law courts, witnesses and sanctuary cities again.  Fascinating how often these come up.  The ancient Hebrew code always requires an investigation and, before someone is put to death, at least two eye witnesses.  So, it is not like they are worried about rehabilitation, but they are more worried about wrongful conviction than modern criminal justice, it seems.

The selection includes some weird things for Moses to discuss, like what to do when they have a king, something that won’t happen for generations per the narrative, and what to do when warring with fair away nations (make a peace offering) as compared to those nearby (kill them all and let God sort them out).  This causes me to note how silly it is to think that anyone before 1900 thought these were literally the words of Moses.  At least in the sense that we use the term literally.  Really, before entering the Promised Land, Moses was warning them about what to do generations later when they have a king?

I do want to note a couple more passages quoted by Jesus.  Deut. 18:21-22 and 19:21.


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