Day 56. Deuteronomy 16-19

The Book of Deuteronomy comes from the period when the worship of Israel was being centralized in order to combat local pagan cultic centers left over from pre-conquest times. And old laws and customs are being reinterpreted to fit this situation.
For instance, the feast of Passover was originally a domestic feast, celebrated at home by a gathering of family or neighbors (Exodus 23: 14-17). Deuteronomy reverses this practice (16: 5) and commands that it shall instead be celebrated at the "place that the LORD. . . will choose as a dwelling for his name" (16:6). This centralized celebration of Passover was still the practice in New Testament times. At the time of Jesus' arrest and execution, he and his disciples were in Jerusalem as observant Jews keeping Passover. But when the Roman armies destroyed the Jerusalem temple in A.D. 70, Passover went back to being celebrated at home, and that is still the Jewish practice.
Passover and the other feasts were so important to Israel because they gave the people the opportunity to sanctify time, to make the seasons of the year holy by setting them in the context of God's work of salvation. Most of the feasts began as agricultural festivals, but as the years passed and the Jewish people became less wedded to the land and its rhythm of planting and harvesting, the feasts became more and more historical in nature. They were opportunities to remember and relive the past. For instance, the Festival of Weeks (16:9-12), which began as a harvest festival, later became identified with the giving of the Law on Mount. We celebrate the Festival of Weeks as Pentecost, our Christian feast that remembers the giving of the Holy Spirit to the infant church, as God gave the Law to Israel at Mount Sinai.
The three great feasts of the Israelite holy years also served to gather and unify the people—all adult males were commanded to attend (16:16)—as well as to give them the opportunity to contribute to the sanctuary. "You shall not appear before the LORD empty –handed," the voice of Moses says. God demands his tip as the rightful acknowledgement of his love and faithfulness.
And the LORD's love and faithfulness take the form of establishing justice, which is necessary if the people are to take possession of the Promise Land and hold onto it. Judges are forbidden to take bribes or show partiality: "justice and only justice you shall pursue," the voice of Moses says (16:20).
Worshipping other gods is a capital offense, punishable by stoning (17:5). But the death sentence cannot be exacted without the evidence of at least two witnesses (17:6), and the witnesses must take responsibility for the truth of allegations by being the first to throw stones at the condemned, thus taking ultimate responsibility for the truth of their accusations. (In the story of the woman taken in adultery, remember Jesus' saying, "Let him anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her"--John 8:7.) Harsh as the punishments are, they are clearly regarded as a deterrent to crime: "all the people will hear and be afraid," Moses declares, "and will not act presumptuously again" (17:13).
But even in this discussion of crime and punishment, there is concern with the establishment of the central sanctuary and its authority. Ultimate judicial power is given the priests who serve there. They are the court of final resort for those accused of a crime, and their decisions are to be regarded as final. "Carry out exactly the decision that they announce to you from the place that the LORD will choose," Moses tells the people, "diligently observing everything they instruct you" (17:9-10).
In Deuteronomy the voice of Moses looks forward to a time when Israel will have a king. When a king is appointed, he must belong to community (17:15). He must not acquire a large harem from the pagan nations around about for fear he will be corrupted by them, and he must not amass silver and gold for himself lest wealth and luxury become the motive for his rule (17:17). Instead his overriding concern must be justice. He must have a copy of the Law written down for himself and make it his study "all the days of his life" (17:19)
Creating a just community is the constant concern of the LORD of the covenant, because only a community based upon justice can survive. So Moses is at pains to give laws that control vendettas and curb the law of revenge (19:1-13). He makes rules to protect property lines (19:14), and he provides for harsh penalties for perjury (19:16-18).
He also promises on the LORD's behalf that the community will be provided with life-giving prophesy--"the LORD will raise up for you a prophet like [himself] from among [their] own people; you shall heed such a prophet" (18:15). Israel looked forward to the appearance of a prophet "like Moses" as a fulfillment of prophecy, and in the Gospel of Matthew, for instance, when Jesus teaches as the Great Rabbi he is clearly presented by evangelist as the "new Moses," the promised one, who renews and fulfills the Law.