In
this chapter provision is made, I. For the putting away of the guilt of
blood from the land, when he that shed it had fled from justice, ver. 1-9.
II. For the preserving of the honour of a captive maid, ver. 10-14. III. For
the securing of the right of a first-born son, though he were not a
favourite, ver. 15-17. IV. For the restraining and punishing of a rebellious
son, ver. 18-21. V. For the maintaining of the honour of human bodies, which
must not be hanged in chains, but decently buried, even the bodies of the
worst malefactors, ver. 22, 23.
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Undetected
Murder.
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B.
C. 1451.
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1 If one be
found slain in the land which the LORD
thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not
known who hath slain him: 2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall
come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round
about him that is slain: 3 And it shall be, that the city
which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall
take a heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not
drawn in the yoke; 4 And the elders of that city shall bring
down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and
shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley: 5 And
the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD
thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD;
and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:
6 And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man,
shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:
7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither
have our eyes seen it. 8 Be merciful, O LORD,
unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood
unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven
them. 9 So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent
blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the
sight of the LORD.
Care had been taken by some preceding laws for the vigorous and effectual
persecution of a wilful murderer (ch. xix. 11, &c.), the putting
of whom to death was the putting away of the guilt of blood from the land;
but if this could not be done, the murderer not being discovered, they must
not think that the land was in no danger of contracting any pollution
because it was not through any neglect of theirs that the murderer was
unpunished; no, a great solemnity is here provided for the putting away of
the guilt, as an expression of their dread and detestation of that sin.
I. The case supposed is that one is found slain, and it is not known who
slew him, v. 1. The providence of God has sometimes wonderfully
brought to light these hidden works of darkness, and by strange occurrences
the sin of the guilty has found them out, insomuch that it has become a
proverb, Murder will out. But it is not always so; now and then the
devil's promises of secrecy and impunity in this world are made good; yet it
is but for a while: there is a time coming when secret murders will be
discovered; the earth shall disclose her blood (Isa. xxvi. 21), upon
the inquisition which justice makes for it; and there is an eternity coming
when those that escaped punishment from men will lie under the righteous
judgment of God. And the impunity with which so many murders and other
wickednesses are committed in this world makes it necessary that there
should be a day of judgment, to require that which is past, Eccl.
iii. 15.
II. Directions are given concerning what is to be done in this case.
Observe,
1. It is taken for granted that a diligent search had been made for the
murderer, witnesses examined, and circumstances strictly enquired into, that
if possible they might find out the guilty person; but if, after all, they
could not trace it out, not fasten the charge upon any, then, (1.) The elders
of the next city (that had a court of three and twenty in it) were to
concern themselves about this matter. If it were doubtful which city was
next, the great sanhedrim were to send commissioners to determine that
matter by an exact measure, v. 2, 3. Note, Public persons must be
solicitous about the public good; and those that are in power and reputation
in cities must lay out themselves to redress grievances, and reform what is
amiss in the country and neighbourhood that lie about them. Those that are
next to them should have the largest share of their good influence, as
ministers of God for good. (2.) The priests and Levites must assist and
preside in this solemnity (v. 5), that they might direct the
management of it in all points according to the law, and particularly might
be the people's mouth to God in the prayer that was to be put up on this sad
occasion, v. 8. God being Israel's King, his ministers must be their
magistrates, and by their word, as the mouth of the court and learned in the
laws, every controversy must be tried. It was Israel's privilege that they
had such guides, overseers, and rulers, and their duty to make use of them
upon all occasions, especially in sacred things, as this was. (3.) They were
to bring a heifer down into a rough and unoccupied valley, and to kill it
there, v. 3, 4. This was not a sacrifice (for it was not brought to
the altar), but a solemn protestation that thus they would put the murderer
to death if they had him in their hands. The heifer must be one that had not
drawn in the yoke, to signify (say some) that the murderer was a son of
Belial; it must be brought into a rough valley, to signify the horror of the
fact, and that the defilement which blood brings upon a land turns it into
barrenness. And the Jews say that unless, after this, the murderer was found
out, this valley where the heifer was killed was never to be tilled nor
sown. (4.) The elders were to wash their hands in water over the
heifer that was killed, and to profess, not only that they had not shed this
innocent blood themselves, but that they knew not who had (v. 6, 7),
nor had knowingly concealed the murderer, helped him to make his escape, or
been any way aiding or abetting. To this custom David alludes, Ps. xxvi. 6, I
will wash my hands in innocency; but if Pilate had any eye to it (Matt.
xxvii. 24) he wretchedly misapplied it when he condemned Christ, knowing him
to be innocent, and yet acquitted himself from the guilt of innocent blood. Protestatio
non valet contra factum--Protestations are of no avail when contradicted by
fact. (5.) The priests were to pray to God for the country and nation,
that God would be merciful to them, and not bring upon them the judgments
which the connivance at the sin of murder would deserve. It might be
presumed that the murderer was either one of their city or was now harboured
in their city; and therefore they must pray that they might not fare the
worse for his being among them, Num. xvi. 22. Be merciful, O Lord, to thy
people Israel, v. 8. Note, When we hear of the wickedness of the
wicked we have need to cry earnestly to God for mercy for our land, which
groans and trembles under it. We must empty the measure by our prayers which
others are filling by their sins. Now,
2. This solemnity was appointed, (1.) That it might give occasion to common
and public discourse concerning the murder, which perhaps might some way or
other occasion the discovery of it. (2.) That it might possess people with a
dread of the guilt of blood, which defiles not only the conscience of him
that sheds it (this should engage us all to pray with David, Deliver me
from blood--guiltiness), but the land in which it is shed; it cries to
the magistrate for justice on the criminal, and, if that cry be not heard,
it cries to heaven for judgment on the land. If there must be so much care
employed to save the land from guilt when the murderer was not known, it was
certainly impossible to secure it from guilt if the murderer was known and
yet protected. All would be taught, by this solemnity, to use their utmost
care and diligence to prevent, discover, and punish murder. Even the heathen
mariners dreaded the guilt of blood, Jon. i. 14. (3.) That we might all
learn to take heed of partaking in other men's sins, and making ourselves
accessory to them ex post facto--after the fact, by countenancing the
sin or sinner, and not witnessing against it in our places. We have fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness if we do not reprove them rather,
and bear our testimony against them. The repentance of the church of Corinth
for the sin of one of their members produced such a carefulness, such a
clearing of themselves, such a holy indignation, fear, and revenge (2 Cor.
vii. 11), as were signified by the solemnity here appointed.
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The
Case of Captive Women.
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B.
C. 1451.
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10 When thou goest
forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD
thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them
captive, 11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and
hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;
12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her
head, and pare her nails; 13 And she shall put the raiment of
her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her
father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto
her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. 14 And it
shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither
she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make
merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.
By this law a soldier is allowed to marry his captive if he pleased. For the
hardness of their hearts Moses gave them this permission, lest, if they had
not had liberty given them to marry such, they should have taken liberty to
defile themselves with them, and by such wickedness the camp would have been
troubled. The man is supposed to have a wife already, and to take this wife
for a secondary wife, as the Jews called them. This indulgence of men's
inordinate desires, in which their hearts walked after their eyes, is by no
means agreeable to the law of Christ, which therefore in this respect, among
others, far exceeds in glory the law of Moses. The gospel permits not him
that has one wife to take another, for from the beginning it was not so.
The gospel forbids looking upon a woman, though a beautiful one, to lust
after her, and commands the mortifying and denying of all irregular desires,
though it be as uneasy as the cutting off of a right hand; so much does our
holy religion, more than that of the Jews, advance the honour and support
the dominion of the soul over the body, the spirit over the flesh, consonant
to the glorious discovery it makes of life and immortality, and the better
hope.
But, though military men were allowed this liberty, yet care is here taken
that they should not abuse it, that is,
I. That they should not abuse themselves by doing it too hastily, though the
captive was ever so desirable: "If thou wouldest have her to thy
wife (v. 10, 11), it is true thou needest not ask her parents'
consent, for she is thy captive, and is at thy disposal. But, 1. Thou shalt
have no familiar intercourse till thou hast married her." This
allowance was designed to gratify, not a filthy brutish lust, in the heat
and fury of its rebellion against reason and virtue, but an honourable and
generous affection to a comely and amiable person, though in distress;
therefore he may make her his wife if he will, but he must not deal with
her as with a harlot. 2. "Thou shalt not marry her of a sudden, but
keep her a full month in thy house," v. 12, 13. This he must do
either, (1.) That he may try to take his affection off from her; for he must
know that, though in marrying her he does not do ill (so the law then
stood), yet in letting her alone he does much better. Let her therefore
shave her head, that he might not be enamoured with her locks, and let
her nails grow (so the margin reads it), to spoil the beauty of her
hand. Quisquid amas cupias non placuisse nimis--We should moderate our
affection for those things which we are tempted to love inordinately. Or
rather, (2.) This was done in token of her renouncing idolatry, and becoming
a proselyte to the Jewish religion. The shaving of her head, the paring of
her nails, and the changing of her apparel, signified her putting off her
former conversation, which was corrupt in her ignorance, that she might
become a new creature. She must remain in his house to be taught the good
knowledge of the Lord and the worship of him: and the Jews say that if she
refused, and continued obstinate in idolatry, he must not marry her. Note,
The professors of religion must not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, 2
Cor. vi. 14.
II. That they should not abuse the poor captive. 1. She must have time to bewail
her father and mother, from whom she was separated, and without whose
consent and blessing she is now likely to be married, and perhaps to a
common soldier of Israel, though in her country ever so nobly born and bred.
To force a marriage till these sorrows were digested, and in some measure
got over, and she was better reconciled to the land of her captivity by
being better acquainted with it, would be very unkind. She must not bewail
her idols, but be glad to part with them; to her near and dear relations
only her affection must be thus indulged. 2. If, upon second thoughts, he
that had brought her to his house with a purpose to marry her changed his
mind and would not marry her, he might not make merchandise of her, as of
his other prisoners, but must give her liberty to return, if she pleased, to
her own country, because he had humbled her and afflicted her, by raising
expectations and then disappointing them (v. 14); having made a fool
of her, he might not make a prey of her. This intimates how binding the laws
of justice and honour are, particularly in the pretensions of love, the
courting of affections, and the promises of marriage, which are to be looked
upon as solemn things, that have something sacred in them, and therefore are
not to be jested with.
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The
Right of the Firstborn.
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B.
C. 1451.
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15 If a man have two
wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both
the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was
hated: 16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that
which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn
before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:
17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn,
by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the
beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.
This law restrains men from disinheriting their eldest sons out of mere
caprice, and without just provocation.
I. The case here put (v. 15) is very instructive. 1. It shows the
great mischief of having more wives than one, which the law of Moses did not
restrain, probably in hopes that men's own experience of the great
inconvenience of it in families would at last put an end to it and make them
a law to themselves. Observe the supposition here: If a man have two wives,
it is a thousand to one but one of them is beloved and the other hated (that
is, manifestly loved less) as Leah was by Jacob, and the effect of this
cannot but be strifes and jealousies, envy, confusion, and every evil work,
which could not but create a constant uneasiness and vexation to the
husband, and involve him both in sin and trouble. Those do much better
consult their own ease and satisfaction who adhere to God's law than those
who indulge their own lusts. 2. It shows how Providence commonly sides with
the weakest, and gives more abundant honour to that part which lacked;
for the first-born son is here supposed to be hers that was hated; it
was so in Jacob's family: because the Lord saw that Leah was hated,
Gen. xxix. 31. The great householder wisely gives to each his dividend of
comfort; if one had the honour to be the beloved wife, it often proved that
the other had the honour to be the mother of the first-born.
II. The law in this case is still binding on parents; they must give their
children their right without partiality. In the case supposed, the eldest
son, though the son of the less-beloved wife, must have his birthright
privilege, which was a double portion of the father's estate, because he was
the beginning of his strength that is, in him his family began to be
strengthened and his quiver began to be filled with the arrows of a
mighty man (Ps. cxxvii. 4), and therefore the right of the first-born is
his, v. 16, 17. Jacob had indeed deprived Reuben of his birthright,
and given it to Joseph, but it was because Reuben had forfeited the
birthright by his incest, not because he was the son of the hated;
now, lest that which Jacob did justly should be drawn into a precedent for
others to do the same thing unjustly, it is here provided that when the
father makes his will, or otherwise settled his estate, the child shall not
fare the worse for the mother's unhappiness in having less of her husband's
love, for that was not the child's fault. Note, (1.) Parents ought to make
no other difference in dispensing their affections among their children than
what they see plainly God makes in dispensing his grace among them. (2.)
Since it is the providence of God that makes heirs, the disposal of
providence in that matter must be acquiesced in and not opposed. No son
should be abandoned by his father till he manifestly appear to be abandoned
of God, which is hard to say of any while there is life.
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Punishment
of a Rebellious Son; Burial of Malefactors.
B. C.
1451.
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18 If a man have a
stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or
the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will
not hearken unto them: 19 Then shall his father and his mother
lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the
gate of his place; 20 And they shall say unto the elders of his
city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our
voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21 And all the
men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put
evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to
death, and thou hang him on a tree: 23 His body shall not remain
all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for
he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled,
which the LORD
thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Here is, I. A law for the punishing of a rebellious son. Having in the
former law provided that parents should not deprive their children of their
right, it was fit that it should next be provided that children withdraw not
the honour and duty which are owing to their parents, for there is no
partiality in the divine law. Observe,
1. How the criminal is here described. He is a stubborn and rebellious
son, v. 18. No child was to fare the worse for the weakness of
his capacity, the slowness or dulness of his understanding, but for his
wilfulness and obstinacy. If he carry himself proudly and insolently towards
his parents, contemn their authority, slight their reproofs and admonitions,
disobey the express commands they give him for his own good, hate to be
reformed by the correction they give him, shame their family, grieve their
hearts, waste their substance, and threaten to ruin their estate by riotous
living--this is a stubborn and rebellious son. He is particularly
supposed (v. 20) to be a glutton or a drunkard. This intimates
either, (1.) That these were sins which his parents did in a particular
manner warn him against, and therefore that in these instances there was a
plain evidence that he did not obey their voice. Lemuel had this charge from
his mother, Prov. xxxi. 4. Note, In the education of children, great care
should be taken to suppress all inclinations to drunkenness, and to keep
them out of the way of temptations to it; in order hereunto they should be
possessed betimes with a dread and detestation of that beastly sin, and
taught betimes to deny themselves. Or, (2.) That his being a glutton and
a drunkard was the cause of his insolence and obstinacy towards his
parents. Note, There is nothing that draws men into all manner of
wickedness, and hardens them in it, more certainly and fatally than
drunkenness does. When men take to drink they forget the law, they forget
all law (Prov. xxxi. 5), even that fundamental law of honouring parents.
2. How this criminal is to be proceeded against. His own father and mother
are to be his prosecutors, v. 19, 20. They might not put him to death
themselves, but they must complain of him to the elders of the city, and the
complaint must needs be made with a sad heart: This our son is stubborn
and rebellious. Note, Those that give up themselves to vice and
wickedness, and will not be reclaimed, forfeit their interest in the natural
affections of the nearest relations; the instruments of their being justly
become the instruments of their destruction. The children that forget their
duty must thank themselves and not blame their parents if they are regarded
with less and less affection. And, how difficult soever tender parents now
find it to reconcile themselves to the just punishment of their rebellious
children, in the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God all
natural affection will be so entirely swallowed up in divine love that they
will acquiesce even in the condemnation of those children, because God will
be therein for ever glorified.
3. What judgment is to be executed upon him: he must publicly stoned to
death by the men of his city, v. 21. And thus, (1.) The paternal
authority was supported, and God, our common Father, showed himself jealous
for it, it being one of the first and most ancient streams derived from him
that is the fountain of all power. (2.) This law, if duly executed, would early
destroy the wicked of the land. (Ps. ci. 8), and prevent the spreading
of the gangrene, by cutting off the corrupt part betimes; for those that
were bad members of families would never make good members of the
commonwealth. (3.) It would strike an awe upon children, and frighten them
into obedience to their parents, if they would not otherwise be brought to
their duty and kept in it: All Israel shall hear. The Jews say,
"The elders that condemned him were to send notice of it in writing all
the nation over, In such a court, such a day, we stoned such a one,
because he was a stubborn and rebellious son." And I have sometimes
wished that as in all our courts there is an exact record kept of the
condemnation of criminals, in perpetuam rei memoriam--that the memorial
may never be lost, so there might be public and authentic notice given
in print to the kingdom of such condemnations, and the executions upon them,
by the elders themselves, in terrorem--that all may hear and fear.
II. A law for the burying of the bodies of malefactors that were hanged, v.
22. The hanging of them by the neck till the body was dead was not used at
all among the Jews, as with us; but of such as were stoned to death, if it
were for blasphemy, or some other very execrable crime, it was usual, by
order of the judges, to hang up the dead bodies upon a post for some time,
as a spectacle to the world, to express the ignominy of the crime, and to
strike the greater terror upon others, that they might not only hear and
fear, but see and fear. Now it is here provided that, whatever time of the
day they were thus hanged up, at sun-set they should be taken down and
buried, and not left to hang out all night; sufficient (says the law) to
such a man is this punishment; hitherto let it go, but no further. Let
the malefactor and his crime be hidden in the grave. Now, 1. God would thus
preserve the honour of human bodies and tenderness towards the worst of
criminals. The time of exposing dead bodies thus is limited for the same
reason that the number of stripes was limited by another law: Lest thy
brother seem vile unto thee. Punishing beyond death God reserves to
himself; as for man, there is no more that he can do. Whether therefore the
hanging of malefactors in chains, and setting up their heads and quarters,
be decent among Christians that look for the resurrection of the body, may
perhaps be worth considering. 2. Yet it is plain there was something
ceremonial in it; by the law of Moses the touch of a dead body was defiling,
and therefore dead bodies must not be left hanging up in the country,
because, by the same rule, this would defile the land. But, 3. There is one
reason here given which has reference to Christ. He that is hanged is
accursed of God, that is, it is the highest degree of disgrace and
reproach that can be done to a man, and proclaims him under the curse of God
as much as any external punishment can. Those that see him thus hang between
heaven and earth will conclude him abandoned of both and unworthy of either;
and therefore let him not hang all night, for that would carry it too far.
Now the apostle, showing how Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the
law by being himself made a curse for us, illustrates it by comparing the
brand here put on him that was hanged on a tree with the death of Christ,
Gal. iii. 13. Moses, by the Spirit, uses this phrase of being accursed of
God, when he means no more than being treated most ignominiously, that
it might afterwards be applied to the death of Christ, and might show that
in it he underwent the curse of the law for us, which is a great enhancement
of his love and a great encouragement to our faith in him. And (as the
excellent bishop Patrick well observes) this passage is applied to the death
of Christ, not only because he bore our sins and was exposed to shame, as
these malefactors were that were accursed of God, but because he was in the
evening taken down from the cursed tree and buried (and that by the
particular care of the Jews, with an eye to this law, John xix. 31), in
token that now, the guilt being removed, the law was satisfied, as it was
when the malefactor had hanged till sun-set; it demanded no more. Then he
ceased to be a curse, and those that were his. And, as the land of Israel
was pure and clean when the dead body was buried, so the church is washed
and cleansed by the complete satisfaction which thus Christ made.
