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Today’s Reading

Devotional: Deut. 19

The justice envisaged in Deuteronomy 19 seems to stand a considerable distance from the views that prevail in Western nations today.

With part of this text’s emphasis, most of us will find ourselves in substantial sympathy: the courts must not convict a person on meager evidence. In the days before powerful forensic tools, this almost always meant that multiple witnesses should be required (Deut. 19:15). Today the kind of evidence thought to be sufficient has expanded: fingerprints, blood-typing, and so forth. Most of us recognize that this is a good thing. But enough reports have circulated of evidence that has been tampered with that the concern of our text is scarcely out of date. Procedures and policies must be put in place that make it difficult to corrupt the court or convict an innocent person.

But the rest of the chapter (Deut. 19:16-21) seems, at first, somewhat alien to us, for three reasons. (1) If careful judges determine that some witness has perjured himself, then the judges are to impose on that person the penalty that would have been imposed on the defendant wrongfully charged: you are to “do to him as he intended to do to his brother” (Deut. 19:19). (2) The aim is “to purge the evil from among you” (Deut. 19:20). (3) Once again, the lex talionis (the “eye for an eye” statute) is repeated (Deut. 19:21; cf. Ex. 21:24, and the meditation for March 11).

All three points are looked at very differently in Western courts. (1) Punishment for malicious perjury is usually negligible. But this means there is little official effort to fan the flame of social passion for public justice. You lie if you can get away with it; the shame is only in getting caught. (2) Our penal theorists think incarceration serves to make society a safer place, or provides a venue for reform (therapeutic or otherwise), or ensures that an offender “pays his debt to society.” So much effort goes into analyzing the social conditions that play a contributing role in shaping a criminal that everywhere there is widespread reluctance to speak of the evil of a person or an act. Perhaps that is why revenge movies have to depict really astoundingly horrendous cruelty in one-dimensional monsters before the revenge can be justified. The Bible’s stance is truly radical (i.e., it goes to the radix, the root): judicially, the courts must purge out the evil among you. (3) We incarcerate; we rarely think about the justice of making a punishment “fit” the crime. But that was one of the functions of the lex talionis.

When one focuses on justice and personal accountability, it is our own judicial and penal system that seems increasingly misguided and alien.

Devotional: Isaiah 46

There are three sections to Isaiah 46, and each advances a distinct argument that implicitly or explicitly calls Israel to faithfulness toward the living God.

(1) In the first two verses, Isaiah mocks Babylonian gods. “Bel” means “lord” and is equivalent to Baal as a title. It was applied to Marduk, the chief god of the city of Babylon. “Nebo” was the son of Bel-Marduk. He was the patron of writing and wisdom. At the New Year festival, Bel-Marduk and Nebo were carried through the streets in a great procession to the Esagila shrine. It was the greatest religious event of the year. But Isaiah foresees a time when Bel-Marduk and Nebo bow and stoop, and the exhausted beasts of burden that have to carry them fall and stagger off into captivity (Isa. 46:1–2). This was not literally fulfilled when the Persians took over in the sixth century, for Cyrus preserved and even enhanced the status of the Babylonian gods. On the long haul, of course, Bel-Marduk and Nebo slipped into oblivion. No one worships them today. But millions of men and women still worship the God of Israel.

(2) In the next section (Isa. 46:3–7), God continues his denunciation of idolatry. Now there is a slightly novel development. God says, in effect, that idolaters have to carry their gods, and even their beasts of burden get tired; but with the true God, it is the other way around: he carries his people. It is hard not to perceive a contrast between two religions. In the one, the people do all the heavy lifting; in the other, God does it, and his people are carried by him.

(3) In the last section (Isa. 46:8–13), God rebukes his covenant people in blunt, not to say brutal, terms. They are rebels, and they have forgotten all of God’s gracious and powerful ways with them when the nation was born at the time of the Exodus. There are important things for the believer to remember (Isa. 46:8–9). Probably part of their hang-up is still Cyrus. They still find it difficult to imagine that God will use a pagan king like that, rather than simply destroy him. But God insists he will summon from the east “a bird of prey” (Isa. 46:11)—almost certainly a reference to Cyrus. Whatever his purpose and plan, he will be sure to bring it to pass. The implication, of course, is that God is both sovereign and good—so stop trying to second-guess him, and trust him. “Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are far from righteousness. I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away; and my salvation will not be delayed” (Isa. 46:12–13).

Deut. 19

Laws Concerning Cities of Refuge

19:1 “When the LORD your God cuts off the nations whose land the LORD your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, you shall set apart three cities for yourselves in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess. You shall measure the distances1 and divide into three parts the area of the land that the LORD your God gives you as a possession, so that any manslayer can flee to them.

“This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having hated him in the past—as when someone goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live, lest the avenger of blood in hot anger pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him fatally, though the man did not deserve to die, since he had not hated his neighbor in the past. Therefore I command you, You shall set apart three cities. And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land that he promised to give to your fathers—provided you are careful to keep all this commandment, which I command you today, by loving the LORD your God and by walking ever in his ways—then you shall add three other cities to these three, 10 lest innocent blood be shed in your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, and so the guilt of bloodshed be upon you.

11 “But if anyone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and attacks him and strikes him fatally so that he dies, and he flees into one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood2 from Israel, so that it may be well with you.

Property Boundaries

14 “You shall not move your neighbor's landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

Laws Concerning Witnesses

15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil3 from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Footnotes

[1] 19:3 Hebrew road
[2] 19:13 Or the blood of the innocent
[3] 19:19 Or evil person

(ESV)

Psalm 106

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good

106:1   Praise the LORD!
  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
  Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD,
    or declare all his praise?
  Blessed are they who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times!
  Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you save them,1
  that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.
  Both we and our fathers have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
  Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wondrous works;
  they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
    but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
  Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
    that he might make known his mighty power.
  He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
    and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10   So he saved them from the hand of the foe
    and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11   And the waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.
12   Then they believed his words;
    they sang his praise.
13   But they soon forgot his works;
    they did not wait for his counsel.
14   But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
    and put God to the test in the desert;
15   he gave them what they asked,
    but sent a wasting disease among them.
16   When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
    and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,
17   the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
    and covered the company of Abiram.
18   Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.
19   They made a calf in Horeb
    and worshiped a metal image.
20   They exchanged the glory of God2
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21   They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
22   wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23   Therefore he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
  stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24   Then they despised the pleasant land,
    having no faith in his promise.
25   They murmured in their tents,
    and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
26   Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27   and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
    scattering them among the lands.
28   Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29   they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
30   Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was stayed.
31   And that was counted to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.
32   They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
    and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33   for they made his spirit bitter,3
    and he spoke rashly with his lips.
34   They did not destroy the peoples,
    as the LORD commanded them,
35   but they mixed with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
36   They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
37   They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;
38   they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
  whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was polluted with blood.
39   Thus they became unclean by their acts,
    and played the whore in their deeds.
40   Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
41   he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42   Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43   Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes
    and were brought low through their iniquity.
44   Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
    when he heard their cry.
45   For their sake he remembered his covenant,
    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46   He caused them to be pitied
    by all those who held them captive.
47   Save us, O LORD our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
  that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.
48   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
  And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Praise the LORD!

Footnotes

[1] 106:4 Or Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you show to your people; help me with your salvation
[2] 106:20 Hebrew exchanged their glory
[3] 106:33 Or they rebelled against God's Spirit

(ESV)

Isaiah 46

The Idols of Babylon and the One True God

46:1   Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;
    their idols are on beasts and livestock;
  these things you carry are borne
    as burdens on weary beasts.
  They stoop; they bow down together;
    they cannot save the burden,
    but themselves go into captivity.
  “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
    all the remnant of the house of Israel,
  who have been borne by me from before your birth,
    carried from the womb;
  even to your old age I am he,
    and to gray hairs I will carry you.
  I have made, and I will bear;
    I will carry and will save.
  “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
    and compare me, that we may be alike?
  Those who lavish gold from the purse,
    and weigh out silver in the scales,
  hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
    then they fall down and worship!
  They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
    they set it in its place, and it stands there;
    it cannot move from its place.
  If one cries to it, it does not answer
    or save him from his trouble.
  “Remember this and stand firm,
    recall it to mind, you transgressors,
    remember the former things of old;
  for I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me,
10   declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
  saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11   calling a bird of prey from the east,
    the man of my counsel from a far country.
  I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
    I have purposed, and I will do it.
12   “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
    you who are far from righteousness:
13   I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
    and my salvation will not delay;
  I will put salvation in Zion,
    for Israel my glory.”

(ESV)

Revelation 16

The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters1 say,

  “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
    for you brought these judgments.
  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
    and you have given them blood to drink.
  It is what they deserve!”

And I heard the altar saying,

  “Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
    true and just are your judgments!”

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed2 the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

The Seventh Bowl

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings,3 peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds4 each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

Footnotes

[1] 16:5 Greek angel of the waters
[2] 16:9 Greek blasphemed; also verses 11, 21
[3] 16:18 Or voices, or sounds
[4] 16:21 Greek a talent in weight

(ESV)