Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 23-24 and Galatians 3

Deuteronomy 23 – Rules on who can and cannot be considered “among the Lord’s people”: not a man whose private parts have been removed, or born out of wedlock. The latter would have to wait 10 generations to have descendants considered “in.” Ammonite and Moabites who failed to permit the Jews to eat or drink while traveling from Egypt through their lands are “out” but the Edomites are “in” (after the 3^rd generation). Other rules involve keeping military camps clean and other laws include treatment of runaway slaves, temple prostitutes and others. When they lend to Israelites, no interest may be charged. And, whatever you harvest – grain or grapes for wine, when you harvest anything left must be available to the poor.

Deuteronomy 24 – Here the details of divorce and remarriage are laid out. A divorced wife may not be taken back once she marries another man. Newly married men shall not be drafted.  No one may take a hand mill (means of sustenance) from anyone as a pledge. Kidnappers must be stoned. Lepers are to be treated as instructed by Levitical priests. No exploitation of poor and destitute hired servants. “Only for his own guilt shall a man be put to death”(24:16). Rights of aliens, orphans and widows to be protected—their dependency and stranger-status should evoke memory of Israel’s own past.  They must leave excess in fields for the poor.

Galatians 3 - He calls the Galatians stupid because they are reverting to observance of the Jewish law. “After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?  Did you experience so many things in vain” (3:3-4)?  Abraham’s blessing came from hearing and obeying – from his faith.  And Christ died so “that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles . . .” (3:14).  The Law was added to deal with transgression until the “descendant” (3:16) came to whom the promise went and that descendant was Christ. It was our “guardian” (3:24,26) until Christ came.

This analysis probably turns on the word ‘seed’ again.  Paul is saying that it isn’t Abraham’s physical descendants to whom the promise ran but to the seed-descendant—Christ. The law was not in place at the time of Abraham, so the promise is not rooted in it but in Abraham’s faith.

Now we are all one in Christ: “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither male nor female, neither slave nor free man; we are all one in Christ Jesus, and if we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to this promise” (3:26-29).