Eb – Purity in Public Worship 23: 1-8

Purity in Public Worship
23: 1-8

Purity in public worship DIG: Which non-Israelites could enter the worshipping assembly? Who is excluded, and why? How did Ruth, a Moabitess, and the great grandmother of King David, end up being included in the genealogy of Yeshua (Matthew 1:5)? Why were foreigners excluded? Why treat the Ammonites and the Moabites differently than the Edomites and the Egyptians? What will happen to these four countries in the far eschatological future?

REFLECT: Who seems to be excluded from your place of worship? Who is most welcomed? Why? What guidelines does this chapter give believers for inclusion and exclusion? How has Yeshua changed the “membership” of the worshipping assembly? What do you learn about hospitality from these verses? How do you feel about the mercy shown to Edom and Egypt during the near historical future, and the judgment shown to Edom in the far eschatological future? Why was Edom ultimately left as a smoldering wasteland inhabited with demons during the Millennial Kingdom?

Ha’Shem had the right to determine who could enter His holy nation.

Deuteronomy 19:1 to 26:15 (to see link click Dl – The Social and Family Mitzvot) deals with individual mitzvot, and to today’s readers they might appear irrelevant at first, but the very principles behind these commandments were the ones that have brought dignity to mankind. We need to examine these mitzvot in depth to discover the spirit in which they were given, so that we can still live in obedience to God’s Word today. For example, in Numbers 18, the Israelites were to bring their tithes to the Tabernacle because the priests and Levites had no inheritance. But today we have no Temple and no priesthood; however, we bring our tithes to our place of worship. That is the spirit of the mitzvah.

Dear Wise and Great Heavenly Father, Praise You that You loving control all who may enter Your holy heaven. Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.  How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and those who find it are few (Matthew 7:13-14)? Praise You for opening the door to heaven to all who love You (Matthew 22:37-38) thru the sacrificial death of Yeshua Messiah (Second Corinthians 5:21).

Yet though You open heaven’s door, it is not open for just anyone who wants to walk in it into heaven. Not even by doing many good deeds in Your name can someone enter heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?”  Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23)! Those who love You will make You their Lord and willing confess You as their Lord, and they will joyfully enter heaven’s gates. For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever trusts in Him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all – richly generous to all who call on Him (Romans 10:9-12).

You are merciful and gracious to provide righteousness for all who love You. You are wise to deny salvation to those who deny your Lordship of their lives.  He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him (John 3:36). I love You and look forward to worshipping and praising you for all eternity! In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of resurrection. Amen

It was a privilege to be a member of the Jewish nation and share in the blessings of God’s covenant. The word community here, refers to the worshipping assembly, and not the nation as a whole. Gentiles could live within Israelite territory, but that didn’t give them the right to share in the feasts and other religious events. Gentiles who submitted to circumcision and confessed YHVH as the true and living God could become proselytes, but some of them were excluded for various reasons.⁴⁹⁰

Like the mitzvot of uncleanness (Leviticus Chapters 12-15), these did not exclude an individual because of his or her own specific moral sin. Rather they had a teaching, or symbolic function. Furthermore, exclusion from the worshipping community did not prevent an individual from believing in ADONAI and being one of the righteous of the TaNaKh. The treatment of Ruth is a good example of this. Her treatment by Boaz, along with the other Israelites of Bethlehem demonstrates that the mention of Moabites here was never meant to exclude one who said: Your people will be my people, and your God my God (Ruth 1:6). It may be that a reason for her acceptance, and eventually her inclusion within the genealogy of David, is that her people showed hospitality to the family of Elimelech and Naomi in their need and distress.⁴⁹¹

Eunuchs (23:1): No one with crushed or cut-off genitals is to enter the community of ADONAI (23:1). Priests laboring under any personal defect were not allowed to officiate in the public service; they might be employed in some inferior duties about the sanctuary but could not offer any sacrifices (Leviticus 21:16-23). Therefore, the men entering the nation had to be free from this defect. The practice of castration in the ancient Near East was sometimes done for entry into particular forms of government service. But eunuchs might have been barred because self-inflicted castration was a feature of certain pagan religious rites that Isra’el utterly rejected.⁴⁹² The prophet Isaiah, however, looked into the far eschatological future when eunuchs would be welcomed into the Kingdom and be blessed of God (see the commentary on Acts Bb – An Ethiopian Asks about Isaiah 53). We can rejoice today that physical blemishes and limitations are not a barrier to faith in Yeshua Messiah and participation in the blessing of the B’rit Chadashah.⁴⁹³

Illegitimate children: (23:2): No one born of forbidden relations (Hebrew mamzer, meaning incest) is to enter the community of ADONAI. The exact definition of a mamzer is not clear, but it could refer to children born of incestuous relationships (22:29), those born to cultic prostitutes (23:17-18), or the offspring of a marriage between an Israelite and a foreigner (7:3). In that case, the children would have been born into a pagan religion, and therefore would be an abomination in the eyes of the Israelites and YHVH. A person, or his descendants, in this category could never (meant by the figure of speech even to the tenth generation) enter the community of ADONAI (23:2). Again, the stringent punishment inflicted on such a person would help deter Israelites from performing such acts, or entering a marriage with anyone who had.⁴⁹⁴

The Ammonites and Moabites (23:3-6): The Ammonites and Moabites are also permanently barred from participation in worshiping assembly. No Ammonite or Moabite is to enter the community of ADONAI – even to the tenth generation (an expression meaning forever) none belonging to them is to enter the community of ADONAI forever. The Ammonites and Moabites were the descendants of the incestuous relationships between Lot and his two daughters (see the commentary on Genesis Fb – Let’s Get Our Father to Drink Wine and then Lie With Him). They were banned from the worshipping assembly because of their treatment of Isra’el during her wilderness wanderings. They did not meet you with bread and water on the way when you came out from Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor from Petor of Aram-naharaim to curse you. But ADONAI your God refused to listen to Balaam, and ADONAI your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because He loves you. You are never to seek their shalom or welfare all your days (23:6-8).

In contrast to customary ancient Near Eastern hospitality, the Ammonites offered no common courtesies to the Israelites when they passed through that region. Even worse, the Moabites hired Balaam to curse God’s people (Numbers 22:5-6). Though their efforts were unsuccessful (Numbers 23:5-12 and 26, 24:13). Not only were the Ammonites and Moabites excluded from participation in YHVH’s assembly, but the Israelites were also prohibited from entering into any political or economic relationships with them.⁴⁹⁵ These facts confirm that from the very beginning, they had been, and would continue to be, adversaries of the LORD and His people. These verses are not mitzvot style, but are woven in among these to explain the reason for the exclusion of Ammon and Mo’ab.

The Edomites and the Egyptians (23:7-9): The treatment of the Edomite people was more lenient, they could enter the worshipping assembly in the third generation, since they were descended from Esau (Genesis 36:40-43), Jacob’s brother. You are not to detest an Egyptian, for you were an outsider in his land. The children born to them – the third generation – may enter the community of ADONAI (23:7-9). It is notable that Isra’el’s historical memory dates back to before their slavery in Egypt, and rewarded the original hospitality offered by Pharaoh to Jacob and his family who came down to Egypt for grain (see the commentary on Genesis Kp – Jacob Settled in Goshen). Therefore, for varying reasons, in the near historical future, the Edomites and the Egyptians would be treated differently than the Ammonites and the Moabites.

But in the far eschatological future, things would be very different. During the Messianic Kingdom, because of the grace of God, Mo’ab, or present-day central Jordan, will suffer destruction during the Great Tribulation, but it will not be total (see the commentary on Jeremiah Dl – The Punishment and Restoration of Mo’ab). Those who survive will repent and a faithful remnant will live during the Messianic Kingdom (see the commentary on Isaiah Dw – The Hope of Mo’ab’s Salvation). Therefore, peace will come between Mo’ab and Isra’el by means of a partial destruction that will lead to a national regeneration of Mo’ab. Consequently, there will be a saved nation called Mo’ab during the Millennial Kingdom.

Ammon, or modern northern Jordan, will also suffer partial destruction during the Great Tribulation, and become a possession of Isra’el. But their destruction will not be total. A believing remnant will survive and believe that Yeshua is the Messiah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Dm – A Message About Ammon). Consequently, peace will come between Isra’el and northern Jordan by the means of a partial destruction, followed by their conversion. As a result, there will be a saved nation in the Messianic Kingdom called Ammon.

To summarize, peace will come between Isra’el and the three parts of modern Jordan by means of destruction, but not all to the same degree. Edom, in southern Jordan, will suffer total destruction by the people of Isra’el (Ezeki’el 25:12-14), and there will be no nation called Edom in the Millennial Kingdom (see the commentary on Isaiah Gi – Edom’s Streams Will Be Turned into Pitch). Founded by the descendants of Jacob’s twin brother Esau, it is especially condemned for their hatred of Isra’el (Jeremiah 49:7-13; Ezeki’el 35:1-9; Obadiah 5-21). Edom’s sin against Isra’el is the greatest because she betrayed her family. Both Mo’ab, or central modern Jordan, and Ammon, or northern modern Jordan, will suffer partial destruction but a believing remnant will survive in both countries. There will be a nation of Mo’ab and a nation of Ammon in the Millennial Kingdom. Both of these nations are descendants of Lot, the nephew of Abraham, and therefore, are distantly related by blood.

Lastly, peace will come between Isra’el and Egypt initially by means of destruction. Because of Egypt’s ancient hatred of Isra’el, they will initially suffer the same fate as Edom and be desolate for the first forty years of the Millennial Kingdom (Ezeki’el 29:8-16). But after that, they will be regathered and a national regeneration of Egypt will take place. So, peace will eventually come between Isra’el and Egypt by means of conversion (see the commentary on Isaiah Ef – The LORD Will Make Himself Known to the Egyptians).