Page 102 - Pentateuch

Chapter 14: Pentateuch VI:
Vassal Treaty and the Ban: Deuteronomy 1:1-5:33; 7:1-6

Connect…

The book of Deuteronomy is a written record of the words of Moses to the people of Israel as they were
about to enter the Promised Land. “These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of
the Jordan (1:1).” Just a few months, more than forty years have passed since God had brought them out of
Egypt (1:3). Some of the people to whom he is speaking had grown from infants to young adults. The oldest
are nearing sixty years. Most had witnessed the death of their parents in the wilderness due to
disobedience. A large number are still children. All had experienced daily manna and other miracles from
the hand of God. Yet this new generation is addressed as if connected to that previous generation now
dead. Moses refers to those earlier years by saying, “At that time I said to you (1:9)” and “all of you came
to me and said (1:22).” Israel, through the ages, stands as a unity before God.

Throughout the Pentateuch, we find events and commands that seem morally objectionable. Since Moses
presents God as just (Gen. 18:25), we are puzzled by God’s command to sacrifice Isaac or by his instructions
to the people of Israel to “steal” jewelry and other items from their Egyptian neighbors. Discussing each
would take much time and study. Perhaps it is enough to focus on one of the greatest criticisms of God as
revealed in the Pentateuch, his command to wipe out the nations in Palestine. Several times already, we
have read the warning about the influence of these nations. “Do not let them live in your land” (Ex. 23:32-
33; 34:12-16). The warnings by themselves are not as graphic as the events. We get uncomfortable over the
episode when Israel destroyed Midian. We understand the rationale behind defeating this nation that had
caused them so much trouble (Num. 31:16). The harshness of the defeat is a different matter. “Now kill all
the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never
slept with a man (Numbers 31:17).”

The Lesson ...

Vassal Treaty and the Ban

The form of the words of Moses follows a well-known pattern in that
day. When a nation was conquered by another, it was forced to
accept a “vassal treaty,” agreeing to obey a new king in specific
ways. “The Hebrews adopted the treaty form for their own use to
express the nature of their relationship to God. For many years, they
were, in effect, vassals to Egypt, but that old bondage was brought
to an end in the exodus from Egypt. Being liberated from bondage to
earthly power, they then submitted themselves in the Sinai
Covenant to become vassals of God.” 116 We might reverse the
initiative and say that God adapted a treaty that the people would
understand, employing it to teach them about himself.

116 Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy (Grand Rapids: Erdmann, 1976), 24.
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