Page 125 - Pentateuch - Student Textbook

a person’s mind while normal life is downgraded, having little value. The downward tendency can be
checked if the law excusing people from battle who have not yet enjoyed certain fruits of normal life is
kept in mind.

At this point we can take a further step. If Deuteronomy elevates normal life above warrior life, the New
Testament elevates the gospel above both. Jesus compares the invitation of the gospel to an invitation
to a great banquet (Luke 14:16-24). As he relates his illustration, he describes people who refuse the
invitation for a variety of reasons. One has “just bought a field (v. 18).” Another “just bought five yoke of
oxen (v. 19).” A third “just got married (v. 20).” We should hear the echo of Deuteronomy in these
excuses. They sound very much like the examples of common life’s joys that would exclude a person
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from military service. The same excuses are not acceptable where the gospel is concerned.

Family life is more important than military service because military
service protects family life. The gospel takes precedence over
everything including family life. Those who refuse to come will not get
a taste of God’s great banquet. As Jesus continues his teaching, he
emphasizes the relative importance of the gospel and family life. “If
anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and
children, brothers and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person
cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).” The point is made even more
bluntly by the word “hate.” Jesus is speaking comparatively. Our
Fig. 82: Family life absolute love of God in response to his offer of salvation in the gospel
of Jesus changes everything. We do not love our family less than we
did before we believed the gospel. In comparison that same love just looks a lot smaller. When “God’s
love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5),” we know by experience a
different category of love. We can no longer put our lesser human loves
on the same level as God’s love for us through Christ. In comparison we “hate” the ones we most love.
God’s love first. Family comes second. War is a much less valuable activity.

Another value of this section of laws in Deuteronomy is its foundational character for other OT books.
We cringe (again) about the instructions in 21:18-21 concerning a rebellious son. After all attempts to
“discipline” him, he is brought to the elders at the gate of the town, the place where court cases are
decided. If he is found guilty of rebellion, engaging in activities like gluttony and drunkenness, he is to be
stoned to death by the men of the town.

The word “discipline” connects us to both Proverbs and Psalms. It carries connotations of “teach,
discipline, and chastise.” This is the role of parents in the life of a child, if that child is to grow up
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knowing God. In the book of Proverbs the word is used five times. Three are in connection with parental
teaching and discipline, very powerfully presenting a picture of hope and joy instead of death (19:18;
29:17; 31:1). The law in Deuteronomy is the basis for these practical guidelines.

When this principle of discipline is applied to God’s relationship with his people in Psalms, we
understand better how God works in our lives. We do not want to be disciplined in God’s wrath (Ps. 6:1).
The experience often consumes what we value (39:11). If a nation continues to reject God, his discipline

134 This idea has been modified from J. A. Sanders, “The Ethic of Election in Luke’s Great Banquet
Parable” in Essays in Old Testament Ethics, Crenshaw and Willis eds. (New York: KTAV, 1974), p. 256.
135 J. Andrew Dearman, The Book of Hosea (Erdmann: Grand Rapids, 2010), p. 211.

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