This small group Deuteronomy 23 Bible study guide contains commentary, discussion questions, cross-references, and application to encourage life change. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Deuteronomy 23 Bible Study – Keeping Clean and Holy
Outline
I. People excluded from the assembly (1-8)
II. Keeping a clean camp (9-14)
III. Various laws (15-25)
I. People excluded from the assembly (1-8)
Discussion Questions
• What is the “assembly of the Lord?”
• Why are there many restrictions about who can enter it?
• What does this teach us about people?
• What does this teach us about God?
• Who is Balaam and what does he have to do with Israel?
• Is there any way for an unclean person to enter into God’s presence/assembly today? If so, how?
Cross-References
Leviticus 19:2 – Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
2 Corinthians 7:1 – Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Revelation 7:9-12 – After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Restrictions on who can enter the assembly of the Lord (1-8) –
It is likely that the people who read this law would understand immediately what “the assembly of the Lord” referred to. However, the meaning is less clear now, 3500 years later. It could mean an exclusion from religious life, political life, or even citizenship as one member of the congregation of Israel.
It is apparent that those excluded did not have the full rights of citizenship.
God called His people to be a holy and clean nation.
Exodus 19:5-6 – Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
They were not to mix with the Canaanites or allow Canaanite practices into their midst.
Many scholars argue that the assembly of the Lord refers to taking a political office as an elder, officer, or leader. If so, this passage reminds us that God has high standards for those who represent His people.
In New Testament times, elders are also held to a high standard and strict qualifications are listed for their service (1 Timothy 3).
2. Restriction on eunuchs (1) – Eunuchs were not allowed entrance to the assembly of the Lord. That does not mean that they could not be saved or be allowed into God’s spiritual kingdom. It is clear from Isaiah 56 that God accepts any person who sincerely comes to Him in faith.
Isaiah 56:4-7 – For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
3. Restriction on those born of a forbidden union (2) –
The NASB translates “forbidden union” as “illegitimate birth.” A forbidden union would be any marriage or relationship that is not allowed under the law. Some of these banned relationships include intermarriage with Canaanites, incest, adultery, and fornication. Descendants from these sinful relationships could not be part of the assembly. In other words, full citizenship would not be passed on to the offspring of those who disobeyed the law.
Modern-day countries also have many rules about how citizenship can be passed on, as well as who is qualified to run for public office. For example, in the United States, a person cannot run for president unless he or she is a natural-born citizen and has at least fourteen years of US residency. While most people born in the US will automatically gain citizenship, there are a couple of exceptions. One is that children born of alien enemies who are in a hostile occupation cannot be citizens.
This law was one way that God discouraged these illegitimate relationships. If one knew that a child resulting from this relationship would not be a full-fledged citizen, he might rethink and pursue a legal marriage instead.
4. Restriction on Ammonite and Moabite descendants from entering the assembly of the Lord (3-6) –
Deuteronomy 23:3 – No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever.
The Moabites and Ammonites were descended from Lot and were relatives of the Israelites. Yet they did not welcome Israel but hired Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22-24). Thus, these two nationalities were treated more strictly than Edomites and Egyptians.
The most common question in relation to this law is, “What about David?” David was the great-grandson (third generation) of Ruth the Moabite.
We should first note that the meaning of “assembly of the Lord” is not entirely clear in this passage. Therefore it is also not 100% clear whether David was part of it. However, we can assume that as the king and ancestor of Jesus, he likely was.
Why was he allowed to serve as king?
National citizenship was passed from father to children. Joseph had an Egyptian wife, but his sons had full rights as Israelis. Moses married a Midianite woman, but his sons were considered as part of the tribe of Levi, not Midianites. In like manner, Boaz’s son, Obed, though born of Ruth, was Jewish. In addition, Boaz was redeeming Elimelech’s family line. Therefore, Obed received the inheritance rights that would have passed from Elimelech to his sons. Obed had the same legal rights as Elimelech’s son would have.
Orthodox Jews argue that this law in Deuteronomy 23:3 only applies to male Moabites and Ammonites because it was the men who were hostile to Israel and refused to provision them.
We can also consider the purpose behind this law and many others like it. God wanted His people to be pure and holy. He did not want pagan religious practices to infiltrate His people and influence them from within. Here, the specific reason given is that the Moabites and Ammonites refused to provide bread and water for the Jews leaving Egypt.
Ruth had left Moabite religion behind and was totally committed to Yahweh (Ruth 1:16). She was a proselyte who was Jewish in religion and practice.
Is Deuteronomy 23:3 referring to the non-converted pagan Moabite and Ammonite? Or is it referring to every Moabite and Ammonite regardless of their religion? The answer is not clear from the context, but the argument can be made that because Ruth converted to Judaism, she and her descendants would be and should be accepted.
Bible characters are not perfect. Ruth, Boaz, and David were all sinners who at times broke various Old Testament commands. However, God chose David as king and commanded Samuel to anoint him. By looking at this wider context, we can conclude that because God endorsed David as king, this did not violate the law in Deuteronomy 23:3. God is not the author of sin (James 1:13-15). He is the Supreme authority. His interpretation is the most weighty of all and God chose to allow it.
5. God is holy – God is holy and people are not. No man, woman, or child has the right or the holiness required to enter into His presence or be part of His kingdom. We are all unclean. We are all lawbreakers. We cannot be part of His family based on our own merits.
The only way is Jesus.
John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus brings the sinners and the outsiders into a proper relationship with the Father.
Ephesians 2:12-13 – Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
We are not born into the family. We have to enter it through the blood of Christ by placing our faith in Him. It is fitting that Jesus the Jew, descended from a Moabite woman, is the one who opens the door for all outsiders to come into the presence of a holy God.
II. Keeping a clean camp (9-14)
Discussion Questions
• Why was it important for them to have a clean camp?
• How could a person gain access to the camp again?
• How does washing with water signify a deeper spiritual reality?
• What does this passage teach us about hygiene?
• What does it mean that the “Lord your God walks in the midst of the camp?”
• Does the Lord walk among you in your home and church? If so, how should this affect you?
• If you knew Jesus was visiting your church this Sunday, what would you do differently?
• If you knew Jesus was visiting your home for a week, what would you do differently?
• Is there anything or any habit you need to remove from your home to make it a clean place?
• How can we, who are unclean sinners, approach a holy God?
Cross-References
Isaiah 1:16-17 – Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
Psalms 51:7 – Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Psalms 51:10 – Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Ezekiel 36:25-26 – I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Isaiah 6:3-5 – Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”