17:6,7
While the Law could be taken as looking forward, it was also very much aware of the present, as the command for how idol worshippers were to be dealt with shows. This verse is also set very much in the present. Nothing was to be taken on the testimony of just one witness, everything had to be corroborated. If the evidence was supported, then the witnesses had to throw the first stones. This would emphasise the seriousness of what they were doing. Accusing someone was not to be done lightly, but when serious things happened, serious action had to be taken. “In this way you will purge the evil from among you”.
17:8,9
There was something like our gradation of courts. So if a case was very difficult, with specific examples being given here, then it was to be taken to the Levitical priest or a judge at the “place the Lord your God will choose”. The place of God’s choosing was also a place of judgement.
No comments:
Post a Comment