• : Deuteronomy Chapters
• 18:
• 9-22
• , 19:
• 15-21
• , 21:
• 22-23
• , 22:
• 1-5
• Avoid the wicked customs of nations among you
• The Lord God will raise up a Prophet like Moses
• 2 or 3 witnesses
• Anyone hanged from a tree is cursed
• Helping your brother
• Command against cross-dressing
• Key Verses and Themes
• Chapter 18
• Prophet like Moses:

Deut. 18:15-19

A prophet like Moses is promised to be raised up by God for the Israelites at a later time!

• Identifying False prophets:
• Deut. 18:21-22

God gives a way to identify false prophets for the Israelites.

• Chapter 19
• 2 or 3 Witnesses:
• Deut. 19:15

This law is established concerning witnesses in a legal matter.

• Chapter 21
• Anyone hanged from a tree is cursed:
• Deut. 21:22-23

A rather peculiar couple of verses... See the discussion questions!

• Chapter 22
• Care for the lost:

Deut. 22:1-4

Moses discusses returning the lost property of your brother, particularly concerning their animals.

• Crossdressing:
• Deut. 22:5

Cross-dressing is an abomination to God. See discussion questions.

References to the New Testament & our Church practices

• Prophet like Moses

Acts 3:22-23

St. Peter, among others, recalls this prophecy from Moses when preaching to the Israelites early after Christ's Ascension. See discussion questions.

• 2 or 3 Witnesses

Matthew 18:15-18

Christ references this law when teaching us how to reconcile with others. See discussion questions.

• Anyone hanged from a tree is cursed

Galatians 3:13

St. Paul references this curse, but how is Jesus cursed? See discussion questions.

• Care for the Lost
• Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan. See discussion questions.

Discussion Questions

***We are skipping around a lot in Deuteronomy because it’s mostly a repetition of Leviticus, which is where the Law was outlined. That’s why in Assyrian its called “Tinyan Namoosa" (ܬܸܢܝܵܢ ܢܵܡܘܿܤܵܐ) which literally means "repetition of the Law”

V. 22 says a false prophet is identified by his word not coming to pass, but ch. 13 v.2 last week said “if the sign or wonder spoken of [by the false prophet] takes place… you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer…”

As you know now, there are not contradictions with God, just clarifications!

Ch. 13

indeed spoke of false prophets, but those that specifically say to worship other gods. Here, the false prophet is someone who says one thing,

i.e.

a certain event will take place, and it doesn’t, which makes him a false prophet because what he said is a lie.

• Remember when we read
• Matthew 24
• alongside
• Deut. 13
• Matthew 24:24

says “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and

perform great signs and wonders to deceive

, if possible, even the elect”, with the express purpose of leading people away from Christ/to false christs.

This recalls the demons who confessed Christ as the Messiah when Jesus came to cast them out, but Jesus always silenced them! So demons can work apparent wonders to deceive, just like the magicians did against Moses’s first couple plagues, but they are always cheap imitations and the goal is to destroy.

Miracles don’t authenticate a prophet, but fidelity and faithfulness to God’s revelation does. Working signs but having false doctrine makes you a false prophet the same way giving a false prophecy makes you one.

• Prophet like Moses:

If this “prophet” is Jesus, why is He called a “prophet” and “like Moses”

• Because a
• prophet
• was specially expected who would be

like Moses

in that he would mediate between God and humanity, and who received the covenant from God and give the new covenant to those who became disciples. So he was like Moses in that regard.

Also, “like me”, says Moses meaning according to the form of the flesh, not to the eminence of majesty. Therefore we find the Lord Jesus called a prophet.

EXTRA

As Moses was born in a strange land, in Egypt, so was Christ born in a world and country which did not know him, in a city which rejected Him, in Bethlehem.

Both were Israelites by birth.

To preserve his life Moses was laid in a basket [and put in the river]. Christ's life was preserved by the lowliness of the manger in which He lay.

The jealousy of Pharaoh put the life of Moses in jeopardy as soon as he was born, the same way Herod sought the life of Christ because of the same jealous fear, and both kings ordered the male children to be slain, in order to preserve the stability of their respective thrones.

Both were mediators between God and a sinful people, and as Moses pleaded for the children of Israel, so does Christ plead for mankind by His death and Ascension.

Both Moses and Christ were the legislators (i.e. Law-givers and administrators) of God’s people, the former for those under the first covenant, the latter for those under the second.

As Moses led the people from slavery into the land promised to their fathers, so did Christ deliver His people out of the power of Satan, and go before them in heaven.

Both Moses and Christ signalized and proved the truth of their mission by miracles and signs”

• Deuteronomy 19
• 2 OR 3 WITNESSES:

What formula does Christ give for reconciliation with our fellow Christians?

Step 1.

is to go and tell him his fault; He did not say “revile” but simply “tell him his fault.” [correct softly]. “If he hears you” means “if he acknowledges his fault.” He desires that sinners first be corrected in private, lest they become even more shameless when admonished before many.

Step 2.

Admonished before two or more witnesses. Adding others into the mix to confirm the wrong, pray for the individuals, and perhaps spark his sense of shame could alleviate the issue.

Step 3

. But if when admonished before two or more witnesses the sinner still is not ashamed, then divulge his sin to those who preside in the Church. Since he would not listen to two or three, even though the law says that every charge is confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses, then let him be chastised by the Church. And if he will not hear the Church, then let him be put out of the Church lest he transmit his wickedness to others as well.

V.18

follows with that apostolic authority we discussed. So yes, these apostles have authority to bind and loose in heaven and earth! A bishop has the authority AND responsibility to withhold such people from Church & Holy Eucharist. Don’t believe it? Then recall

• 1 Corinthians 5
• , where in

Vv.5 & 13

St. Paul says to hand the wicked man over to Satan and to expel him from among the congregation.

• Deuteronomy 21
• HUNG FROM TREE IS CURSED:

How can Christ be cursed?

*For context, tree means wood, and the Cross was made from the wood of a tree, naturally.

After reading this law in Deut., we can now understand what we read in

• John 19:31

, meaning this law was known and observed. So is Christ cursed?

Remember that everything we have read about the Law so far has a penalty for not upholding it.

If you couldn’t uphold the Law, you were liable to punishment

• . How do we know,

Deuteronomy 27:26

, which we will get to, says “Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.” In fact, a few verses before

• Galatians v.13
• , in

Galatians 3:10

, St. Paul recalls this. The “issue” was that no one could uphold the law in perfection, but Christ did uphold the Law in perfection, particularly love, which is its essence (we discussed in

• Deut. 10

).

So then what is St. Paul saying?

Someone who is hanged, or someone who transgresses the law, are accursed. Christ, who was going to lift that curse, could not properly be made liable to it [because he did not transgress the Law], yet had to receive a curse. He

• received
• the curse
• instead of being liable to it

and through this lifted the curse.

“Just as, when someone is condemned to death, another innocent person who chooses to die for him releases him from that punishment, so Christ also did.… As the innocent man saves from death the condemned one, so also when Christ suffered the curse of the Crucifixion, He released us from the curse of the Law that comes from not fulfilling it.”

Let’s put it some other ways:

Paul does not mean Christ was by nature accursed, but that He took on the form of the curse — the shameful death on the Cross.

Christ “endured the curse” to remove it from us — He carried what was ours, our rightful curse, not what was His.

Just as He was “made sin”, meaning he bore our sins without sinning Himself, so He was “made a curse”, meaning bearing the curse without being accursed Himself.

Do you see the infinite humility and love of God? Christ allowed Himself to be treated as cursed and despised in order to provide our salvation… meanwhile this is God incarnate!!! (

Philippians 2:7-8

How can we ever trade anything in the world for this Christ? He took on our flesh despite being the creator of it. He walked this Earth in that flesh despite being the creator of said Earth, and the entire universe, by His speech.

Again, remember this is our loving God, and glorify God because of it, by words AND deeds. Live according to the commandments of this Christ. Don’t give up Sunday raza for sleep nor fishing nor day trips. Don’t give up reading your Bible for TikTok/IG reels, nor

• YouTube shorts (Sh. Colin!!!)

, or for movies. Don’t give up prayer for meditating or relaxing.

• Deuteronomy 22
• CARE FOR THE LOST:

Why did we read this passage about care for lost animals?

Look at it in a spiritual lense. The law commands to pull out the donkey or the ox which is lying in the mud. Do you then see a Christian like yourself, lying in the sewer of sin and wallowing in the mud of dissipation, going astray, and you remain silent? Do you pass by, ignoring them?

You cannot do that.

The Law teaches to help your brother, meaning fellow Israelite. The parable of the Good Samaritan goes even further, Christ teaching us to count all of mankind as our brother.

A lawyer was someone trained in the Law; he was likely a Pharisee. He came to try and trip up Christ, by making Him stumble in His words. After answering Christ’s questions well, and thus receiving praise from the Messiah, this lawyer grew incredibly arrogant and prideful, more than he already was. So, he asked “Who is my neighbor”, because he thought himself to be righteous, and that only another righteous person could be his neighbor.

How does Christ destroy this idea? He speaks of a “good samaritan” which would have been a contradiction to His audience, because Jews and Samaritans despised each other. Samaritans were ethnically mixed foreign & Israeli DNA.

So Christ presents a Samaritan to be an example to show that no matter how different or foreign someone seems, you are the neighbor of someone in need of mercy.

Now this parable is incredibly rich in meaning, but let’s recognize the face-value message, which is to show mercy to anyone in need of it, not just Christians. You can’t glorify God by acting in a way to non-Christians that puts them off from ever coming to Christ.

Now applying it to your fellow Christians is to correct a brother in sin or error, no matter how difficult it is, be it because you fear their reaction, or they’re your friend, or whatever may be preventing you. Remember the process for correction/reconciliation with your Christian brother/sister.

• CROSSDRESSING:

What’s the point in this one verse?

Remember, from the beginning, “God made them male and female”. This is for order, not for confusion. If crossdressing is an abomination, how much more wretched are those who claim being transgenders! If wearing the opposite gender’s clothes is an abomination to God, how about going against His order and will to imitate the opposite gender with surgeries, hormones, makeup, etc. Anyone tortured by these demons needs our fervent prayer to bring about God’s grace!

The pipeline to get to this point is both genders dressing immodestly, because that leads to lust, lust to fornications, and addiction to fornication and sexual immorality leads to perverse things like homosexuality and transgenderism. Besides the fact that many people suffering from this were abused as kids, almost all also have pornography addictions.

Remember, God told Moses to not go up His altars by stairs so he does not reveal his “nakedness”. God is not unable to see your body because you’re wearing clothes; it’s God stressing modesty and humility, especially in his presence.

So again, a reminder to dress modestly, guys and girls. Do not “highlight” your body, cover it. We discussed in

Lev. 18

how serious sexual immorality is, and that to not cause others to sin. That means we don’t want to see sleeveless tees and crop tops again! We don’t want to see guys wearing clothes that are tight to show off their muscles, nor girls doing something similar…

This Week's Study

Follow up on our brief discussion of the Parable of the Good Samaritan with this Double Edged Sword episodes that discusses the richness of its meaning!