Deuteronomy 23:15-25

Various Duties Within the Congregation.

v. 15. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant, the slave, which is escaped from his master unto thee. This rule concerned the case of a slave from one of the heathen nations, who had fled from his master on account of inhuman treatment.

v. 16. He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, in any of the cities of Israel, where it liketh him best, he was at liberty to make such changes frequently, until he found a place which suited him in every respect; thou shalt not oppress him, he should be treated as a fellow-dweller in the good land of Jehovah, and there was always chance of his becoming a member of God's people.

v. 17. There shall be no whore, a so-called consecrated prostitute, of the daughters of Israel, nor a Sodomite of the sons of Israel, both of whom prostituted their bodies in the service of the Phenician goddess Astarte, a most shameful practice.

v. 18. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, namely, one engaged in such unnatural excesses, or the price of a dog, what was usually paid to a Sodomite for one service, into the house of the Lord, thy God, for any vow, for the heathen even went to the extent of paying such money, the fruits of their lewdness, to their idols; for even both these are an abomination unto the Lord, thy God, both the gift and the giver.

v. 19. Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother, take any interest for a necessary loan; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury, since this would not agree with the demands of unselfish love.

v. 20. Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury, perhaps one passing through Israel for purposes of trade; but unto thy brother, a member of the children of Israel, thou shalt not lend upon usury, the peculiar circumstances of the chosen people of God demanding the strictest insistence upon the law of love; that the Lord, thy God, may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

v. 21. When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord, thy God, Numbers 30:2, thou shalt not slack to pay it, Leviticus 27:1-1 Chronicles :; for the Lord, thy God, will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee, for it was a sacred obligation and demanded payment.

v. 22. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee, for it is better not to make a vow than to vow and then not to pay, Ecclesiastes 5:3-Numbers :.

v. 23. That which is gone out of thy lips, in the form of a sacred promise to the Lord, thou shalt keep and perform; even a free-will offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord, thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

v. 24. When thou comest into thy neighbor's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill, enough to satisfy the demands of hunger, at thine own pleasure, according to the appetite and desire; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel, to carry away a supply.

v. 25. When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, into the maturing grain, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand, Matthew 12:1; Luke 6 :l; but thou shalt not move a sickle, in the act of reaping, unto thy neighbor's standing corn. It was a privilege granted to the traveler, to the passer-by, who might feel hunger, but it was not to be abused by avaricious neighbors. With Christians the law of love regulates all the affairs of their lives, and they gladly submit to its guidance.