Page 114 - Pentateuch

The tenth commandment briefly touches on some situations having to do with coveting (25:5-26:15). Even
oxen deserve to eat while threshing. A brother’s widow must not be deprived of the means of a living.
Differing weights and measures should not be used to cheat. Israel must always remember how the
Amalekites showed them no pity, desiring the goods of the Israelites instead. The concluding section on
tithing can also be seen in the context of coveting when a person keeps more than his just share.

So, how are we to use this large section of scripture today? We might find some principles of government,
for example, in passages like Deuteronomy 20. A nation should be careful about the purposes of a standing
army. The exemptions from military duty in 20:5-9 (new house, new vineyard, new wife, or even
faintheartedness) give some perspective on the parts of life that are most valuable. “The building of homes
and orchards, the marrying of a wife, and other such things were of the essence of life in the Promised
Land, and if these things ceased, then the wars would become pointless.” 133 A nation that attacks its
neighbors needlessly or spends too much of its resources on an army has lost its perspective on the reason
a nation exists. Israel was to be different. Nations today can incorporate some of these principles.

The same can be said for the thinking of an individual. Society, in its popular expressions, often glorifies
sinful outlooks. Throughout history, nations have honored a “warrior class.” These men have been highly
trained in the best weapons and tactics, whether swords and arrows or tanks and body armor. At some
point, admiration begins to deteriorate. “Warriors” then no longer exist to protect normal life. “Warriors”
become better than normal life. They alone are the heroes bearing the cost of normal life for everyone else.
They can be glorified in 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 yokes of oxen (v.
19).” A third “just got married (v. 20). We should hear the echo of Deuteronomy in these excuses. 134 They
sound very much like the examples of common life’s joys that would exclude a person 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 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

133 Craigie, Deuteronomy. 274.
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.
112