The Fifth Book of Moses, called Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 17
Chapter XVII · Vol. I, pp. 506–507
1 The things sacrificed must be sound. 2 Idolaters must be slain. 8 Hard controversies are to be determined by the priests and judges. 12 The contemner of that determination must die. 14 The election, 16 and duty of a king.
1 THOU shalta not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock or sheep1 wherein is blemish, or any evil-favouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
a ch. 15.21. Ex. 12.5. Le. i.-viii.; 22.20-25. Mal. 1.8,13,14.
1 Or, goat.
2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, bman or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
b ch. 13.6. ver. 3.
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either cthe sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and dinquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
d ch. 13.14; 19.18. Jn. 7.51.
5 Then eshalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones till they die.
e ch. 22.24; 13.10. Le. 24.14,16. Jos. 7.25.
6 Atf the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.2
f Nu. 35.30. ch. 19.15. Mat. 18.16. Jn. 8.17. 2 Co. 13.1. 1 Ti. 5.19. He. 10.28.
2 See note on Nu. 35. 30, and on De. 13. 9.—C.
7 Theg hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people: so thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
g ch. 13.5,9; 19.19. Ac. 7.58. This made witnesses cautious in their testimony, and afraid to imitate what they had seen.
8 Ifh there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment,3 between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then ishalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
h Ex. 18.26; 21.13,20, &c. 2 Ch. 19.8-10. Nu. 35.10-33. 1 Ki. 3.16, &c. ch. 19.4,10,11.
3 The necessity of courts of appeal, and of final resort, has been discovered in all civilized countries; but in such courts of human institution much is left to the opinion of the judge, in cases of a novel form; and much to the influence of former decisions, without any very special regard to the principle upon which they were founded. The Mosaic supreme court differed from such courts chiefly in this: it allowed no latitude for the personal opinions or feelings of the judge; no influence to precedent, by whomsoever pronounced; but tied both the interpretation of the living judge and the influence of ancient precedent down to the letter and spirit of the divine law, ver. 11, as strictly as it bound the people to implicit obedience.—C.
i ch. 12.5; 19.17. 2 Ch. 19.8-10. Ps. 122.5.
9 And thou kshalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment.
k ver. 12; ch. 21.5; 19.17. Je. 18.18. Mal. 2.7. 2 Ch. 19.8-11. Hag. 2.11.
10 And thou shalt do according to lthe sentence which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:
l Mat. 23.2,3. ch. 3.32,33.
11 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
12 And the man that mwill do presumptuously, and will not hearken4 unto the 5priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: nand thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
m Nu. 15.30. Ezr. 10.8. Ho. 4.4. ch. 10.8; 13.5,11. He. 10.26-29. Mat. 10.14.
4 Heb. not to hearken.
5 This passage has been confidently pleaded for the power assumed by the priests of Rome in matters of faith, and for the implicit obedience she exacts to her decrees. But the decretal power here allotted to the Jewish priests, ver. 9, 12, is not extended to any authoritative definitions or expositions in matters of doctrine or faith, but to civil cases, between plea and plea; cases of assault, between stroke and stroke; and cases of felony, between blood and blood. In fact, the Levitical priests were not merely the servants of the altar, but certain of them were the civil and criminal judges of the land; and, in this point of view, serve as no example to the Christian minister, who, like his Master, must say to all such secular offices and duties, 'Who hath made me a divider over you?' Lu. 12. 14.—C.
n ver. 7; ch. 15.11; 10.20; 21.21; 13.11. Pr. 21.11; 19.25. 1 Ti. 5.20.
13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
14 Wheno thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, pI will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
15 Thou qshalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
16 But he shall not rmultiply horses6 to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, sYe shall henceforth return no more that way.
r 1 Ki. 4.26; 10.26,28. Ps. 20.7. Is. 31.1-3. Je. 42.10, &c. Eze. 17.15.
6 This prohibition is founded upon principles natural and moral. (1) Canaan was a land of mountains and defiles, and unfit either for the rearing of horses or the use of cavalry. (2) God seeks to prevent intercourse with Egypt, which was anciently famous for horses. (3) He would restrain the spirit of conquest, which, in eastern countries, has been chiefly fostered by the possession of a numerous cavalry. (4) He would repress that spirit of extravagance and gambling—though the world calls them by gentler names—which is generated, especially among the rich, by the competition of horses; and which, in all countries where it has been fostered, has resulted in the dissolution of the manners of all ranks.—C.
s Ex. 14.13. Nu. 14.3,4. ch. 28.68. Ho. 11.5. Je. 42.15.
17 Neither shall he tmultiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither shall he ugreatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of xthis law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
x ch. 31.9,26. 2 Ki. 22.8.
19 And yit shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law, and these statutes, to do them:
y Jos. 1.8. Ps. 119.24,97-100. ch. 6.6-9; 11.18. 2 Ti. 3.15-17. Jn. 5.39; 20.31.
20 That zhis heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left; toa the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.7
z Ps. 131.1,2. ver. 11; ch. 4.2; 12.25,28,32; 5.29,32; 11.32.
a Ps. 19.11; 132.12. 1 Ki. 11.12,13,34,36. 2 Ki. 10.30. 1 Sa. 13.13,14; 15.23.
7 The law here referred to, which the king was to copy, or have copied, for his private use and guidance, unquestionably signifies the Pentateuch—the whole of it as it was preserved in the keeping of the priests. What a noble lesson this is for the kings and rulers of the earth! The law of God should be their constant study; their guide in the management of public affairs; their rule of life in private.—P.
Notes
[Ver. 12. At first sight this seems a hard law, and even cruel, that the person who should object to or fail to carry out the sentence of priest or judge in any civil case should be put to death. It would have been both unjust and cruel had the priest been a mere temporal ruler; but he was the commissioned minister of God, and it is implied here that in cases of great difficulty and delicacy, such as those referred to, he should ask counsel of God. God, therefore, was the real judge in the case; and a refusal to submit to his judgment was treason against heaven. P.]
Ver. 14. [I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me. Moses, foreseeing by the prophetic spirit that the tide in popular opinion would one day turn in favour of monarchy, so far from pronouncing any authoritative opinion concerning theoretical forms of government, addresses himself, by divine direction, to propound the true maxims and principles of all government. And when the period foreseen by Moses arrived, and the people demanded a king, 1 Sa. viii., the displeasure of Samuel neither arose from any sense of wounded pride or disappointed ambition, nor from any abstract objection to the kingly form of government, but from the self-will and practical atheism of the people, who never thought of consulting God upon so great an organic change, though Samuel was with them with Urim and Thummim. C.]
Reflections.—We ought to honour the Lord with the best that we have—the best of our time and abilities, the best of our age and strength. But apostasy from the true religion to the worship of idols is extremely wicked and ruinous. It is necessary that the execution of malefactors be as public and solemn as possible, that others may hear and fear. But, in matters of life and death, nothing less than the clearest evidence should be admitted. Great care must be taken at once to maintain the just rights of subjects and the lawful authority of magistrates: and we must obey, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. To rebel against the lawful orders of government is to commit treason against the majesty of heaven. But, in order to secure respect to their government, magistrates ought to be deliberately set up: they ought to avoid whatever gratifies their lust or tends to corrupt them. God's word should be the supreme standard of their determinations. Piety, prudence, humble condescension, and equity should run through the whole of their conduct. No day should pass without reading of God's word. The fear of God powerfully induces to an obedience to his commands. And the higher our station is, the more exemplary and humble our conversation ought to be. Religion is the best security of thrones, and every other honour: and even in this world there is a great reward in keeping God's commandments.