I once took a course to prepare for the state real estate license exam. It gave me a small glimpse into what law school might be like because I had to master so many different pieces of information, from how big the type has to be in a contract, to the rights of tenants in a rental property. I studied and studied . . . and I passed the exam.

Today’s reading covered a wide variety of topics in the Law, but Moses expected his people to pass the test on this content in their future.

Order in the Courts

I grouped some passages from today’s reading together so we can get a better picture of what Moses taught on different subjects. The first one is courts and judges.

In Deuteronomy 16:18-20 Moses calls for honest and fair judges. They must not take bribes, “for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent.” (vs. 19)

Israel’s judges had to be impartial and devoted to true justice because God would only bless a nation with a fair judicial system.

“Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (vs. 20)

Higher Courts

God knew that some cases were too difficult for lower courts to handle. When the ordinary application of the law didn’t produce a sound verdict, the case was taken to the priestly judge for a decision. His verdict was final and the sentence he imposed had to be carried out.

“Act according to whatever they teach you and the decision they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left. Anyone who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God is to be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.” Deuteronomy 17:11-12

Respect for the courts was meant to help deter crime.

“All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.”Deuteronomy 17:13

Property Laws

One of the injustices that God hated was moving boundary stones that established land ownership. In other parts of Scripture he talks specifically about moving the markers on land belonging to widows.

This can be a real problem. I recently saw a documentary about Russia’s plan to move its borders deeper into Ukraine. An old Ukrainian woman went to bed one night and the next morning her house was inside Russia. Soldiers had moved the boundary markers overnight.

God was right to care as much about a widow’s rights as he did about a wealthy landowner.

Malicious Witnesses

One witness was not enough to convict anyone of a crime. Testimony had to come from two to three eye-witnesses.

When someone accused another person of a crime, and there was suspicion that the accusation might be false, the accused and accuser stood before God and the priest tried the case.

If the priest’s investigation revealed that the accuser gave false testimony against his fellow Israelite, he imposed on the false witness the same sentence the accuser expected the one he falsely accused to suffer.

God told the judges to show no pity so that “the rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you.” Deuteronomy 19:20

Murder Cases

Sometimes someone caused the accidental death of another person. God provided six cities of refuge for them to flee to, and as Israel’s territory expanded he made sure more cities of refuge would be added. God didn’t want the death penalty applied to anyone who committed involuntary manslaughter so the cities of refuge protected them.

However, if someone was convicted of an intentional murder and fled to a city of refuge, he could not stay there. Anyone convicted of first-degree murder was handed over for execution where the murder conviction took place.

Sometimes there was no way to discover who committed the crime if someone was murdered and their body was left in a field. Officials from the nearest town were required to investigate and if the crime was unsolved, they performed atonement for the death. They brought a young heifer and sacrificed her in an uncultivated field with running water. The elders of the town washed their hands over her body and said,

“Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, Lord, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent person.” Deuteronomy 21:8

Guidelines for a King

God anticipated that eventually Israel would want a human king like the ones they saw in the nations around them, so he told them what qualifications to look for.

First they had to pray for God to help them choose the king. He had to be an Israelite, not a foreigner. He must not be obsessed with power and money, and he shouldn’t acquire many wives. God specifically forbade the king from buying horses from Egypt, “for the Lord has told you, ‘You are not to go back that way again.’” Deuteronomy 17:16

The king needed to be well versed in the Law, so God commanded him to get a copy of the Law from the Levites and write it out it on a scroll with his own hand. He was to keep his copy with him all of the time and read it everyday so he would revere God and obey his Word.

The king was not to think of himself as better than his subjects. He was to live like everyone else and model for them how to keep the Law, not turning to the left or the right.

Regulations for Military Service

War was inevitable for Israel as they marched into Canaan. They needed to know that God was going to be with them, so before they went into battle a priest spoke to them.

“Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deuteronomy 20:3

Every man over the age of twenty (who had the physical ability) was eligible to serve in the army, but not all of them were good candidates to go into a battle. The officers of the army sorted them out by asking questions.

• Who had a new home and hadn’t established residency in it yet? He should go back and make sure no one took it over in his absence.
• Did anyone have a new vineyard that needed tending? Go home and take care of it.
• Was anyone betrothed to a woman? He was free to go home and get married.
• Was anyone frightened at the prospect of going into battle? He should leave so he wouldn’t dishearten his fellow soldiers.

The Rules of War

When Israel’s army approached a city, they asked the citizens to surrender to them peacefully. If they surrendered, they were allowed to live and serve as forced labor.

If the city refused to make peace, God told Israel to lay siege to it. He would deliver it into their hands and they were to put all of the men of the city to the sword. They could take the women, children, livestock and all of the plunder for themselves.

These rules of engagement were only for cities that were far away from the center of Israel. God had other plans for the cities located where he wanted Israel to settle.

The cities deep inside Canaan, whose people followed detestable religious practices, were to be completely wiped out. God didn’t want any of them left to teach Israel the ways of idolatry.

Preserve the Trees

When a war took a long time, God told Israel to preserve the fruit trees so they could eat the fruit.

“Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?” Deuteronomy 20:19

They were allowed to build siege works from trees that didn’t bear fruit, however. God owned the earth, and the trees belonged to him.

Timeless Laws

We are not required to fulfill the Mosaic Law anymore, but notice how many of these laws we still follow. The laws about judicial fairness, eye-witness testimony, and differentiating between manslaughter and first-degree murder are still with us. We have a system of higher courts for difficult decisions, much like the ones Israel had.

The Old Testament Law is foundational to the justice we take for granted these days. It’s a lot to grasp, but isn’t it good to know that Justice originated with God?