Deuteronomy 23

As I read through this chapter today there were several items that caught my attention. Verse 5: “…but the Lord you God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.” This was stated to remind the Hebrews of what God had done for them in the wilderness when they had been attacked by the Ammonites and the Moabites.

Another verse that stood out to me today was verse 14: “Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you lest He turn away from you.” What an encouragement in this verse.
Their part was to keep the camp holy and not do any indecent thing.
God’s part was to:
walk among the camp,
to deliver the them
and to defeat the enemies before they were attacked.

The next few verses tell about things that are considered cruel, unkind or an abomination to the Lord.
Unkindness to an escaped slave
No sons or daughters of Israel shall become cult prostitutes
No wages from harlots, men or women shall be given toward offerings
Shall not charge interest on money, food or anything loaned to a Israelite or fellow kinsman (this was repeated a second time)
If you make a vow to the Lord, you shall keep it
Again, when a voluntary vow is made to the Lord, keep it
In grapes and grain when you enter a neighbor’s field, you may eat to satisfied, but take none for later.

Then, the encouraging words that I received when I read verse 14, remembering the many verses in the New Testament that bear out this truth: “The Lord your God walks in the midst…”
This verse came to mind in Romans 8:28. “All things work together for the good the those that love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.”

When I read verse 24, about the grapes and grain my mind jumped to the time Jesus and His disciples were walking through a field and plucked an ear of corn to eat. Later He was rebuked by the Pharisees for working on Sunday. But in Deuteronomy according to what God said in chapter 23 it was permissible to take food needed for the time.

Thank you, God, for reminders today of Your great love for us. I feel as though I need to write that in huge letters on every wall around me. I just forget the message too many times. God may I grow closer to you and continue to rely on all of the understanding that You provide for me this day. Oh, the depths of your riches in glory that you bring down to earth even today for me.