mh_parser/vol_split/5 - Deuteronomy/Chapter 21.xml

<div2 id="Deu.xxii" n="xxii" next="Deu.xxiii" prev="Deu.xxi" progress="90.97%" title="Chapter XXI">
<h2 id="Deu.xxii-p0.1">D E U T E R O N O M Y</h2>
<h3 id="Deu.xxii-p0.2">CHAP. XXI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Deu.xxii-p1">In this chapter provision is made, I. For the
putting away of the guilt of blood from the land, when he that shed
it had fled from justice, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.1-Deut.21.9" parsed="|Deut|21|1|21|9" passage="De 21:1-9">ver.
1-9</scripRef>. II. For the preserving of the honour of a captive
maid, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.10-Deut.21.14" parsed="|Deut|21|10|21|14" passage="De 21:10-14">ver. 10-14</scripRef>. III.
For the securing of the right of a first-born son, though he were
not a favourite, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.15-Deut.21.17" parsed="|Deut|21|15|21|17" passage="De 21:15-17">ver.
15-17</scripRef>. IV. For the restraining and punishing of a
rebellious son, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.18-Deut.21.21" parsed="|Deut|21|18|21|21" passage="De 21:18-21">ver.
18-21</scripRef>. V. For the maintaining of the honour of human
bodies, which must not be hanged in chains, but decently buried,
even the bodies of the worst malefactors, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.22-Deut.21.23" parsed="|Deut|21|22|21|23" passage="De 21:22,23">ver. 22, 23</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Deu.xxii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21" parsed="|Deut|21|0|0|0" passage="De 21" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xxii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.1-Deut.21.9" parsed="|Deut|21|1|21|9" passage="De 21:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.21.1-Deut.21.9">
<h4 id="Deu.xxii-p1.8">Undetected Murder. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p1.9">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xxii-p2">1 If <i>one</i> be found slain in the land which
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p2.1">Lord</span> thy God giveth thee to
possess it, lying in the field, <i>and</i> it be not known who hath
slain him:   2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall come
forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which <i>are</i>
round about him that is slain:   3 And it shall be,
<i>that</i> the city <i>which is</i> next unto the slain man, even
the elders of that city shall take a heifer, which hath not been
wrought with, <i>and</i> which hath not drawn in the yoke;   4
And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a
rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off
the heifer's neck there in the valley:   5 And the priests the
sons of Levi shall come near; for them the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p2.2">Lord</span> thy God hath chosen to minister unto him,
and to bless in the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p2.3">Lord</span>; and by their word shall every controversy
and every stroke be <i>tried:</i>   6 And all the elders of
that city, <i>that are</i> next unto the slain <i>man,</i> shall
wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:
  7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed
this blood, neither have our eyes seen <i>it.</i>   8 Be
merciful, <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p2.4">O Lord</span>, unto thy people
Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto
thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven
them.   9 So shalt thou put away the <i>guilt of</i> innocent
blood from among you, when thou shalt do <i>that which is</i> right
in the sight of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p2.5">Lord</span>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p3">Care had been taken by some preceding laws
for the vigorous and effectual persecution of a wilful murderer
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.19.11-Deut.19.13" parsed="|Deut|19|11|19|13" passage="De 19:11-13"><i>ch.</i> xix. 11</scripRef>,
&amp;c.), the putting of whom to death was the putting away of the
guilt of blood from the land; but if this could not be done, the
murderer not being discovered, they must not think that the land
was in no danger of contracting any pollution because it was not
through any neglect of theirs that the murderer was unpunished; no,
a great solemnity is here provided for the putting away of the
guilt, as an expression of their dread and detestation of that
sin.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p4">I. The case supposed is that <i>one is
found slain, and it is not known who slew him,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.1" parsed="|Deut|21|1|0|0" passage="De 21:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. The providence of God has
sometimes wonderfully brought to light these hidden works of
darkness, and by strange occurrences the sin of the guilty has
found them out, insomuch that it has become a proverb, <i>Murder
will out.</i> But it is not always so; now and then the devil's
promises of secresy and impunity in this world are made good; yet
it is but for a while: there is a time coming when secret murders
will be discovered; the <i>earth shall disclose her blood</i>
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.26.21" parsed="|Isa|26|21|0|0" passage="Isa 26:21">Isa. xxvi. 21</scripRef>), upon the
inquisition which justice makes for it; and there is an eternity
coming when those that escaped punishment from men will lie under
the righteous judgment of God. And the impunity with which so many
murders and other wickednesses are committed in this world makes it
necessary that there should be a day of judgment, to <i>require
that which is past,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.3.15" parsed="|Eccl|3|15|0|0" passage="Ec 3:15">Eccl. iii.
15</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p5">II. Directions are given concerning what is
to be done in this case. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p6">1. It is taken for granted that a diligent
search had been made for the murderer, witnesses examined, and
circumstances strictly enquired into, that if possible they might
find out the guilty person; but if, after all, they could not trace
it out, not fasten the charge upon any, then, (1.) The <i>elders of
the next city</i> (that had a court of three and twenty in it) were
to concern themselves about this matter. If it were doubtful which
city was next, the great sanhedrim were to send commissioners to
determine that matter by an exact measure, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.2-Deut.21.3" parsed="|Deut|21|2|21|3" passage="De 21:2,3"><i>v.</i> 2, 3</scripRef>. Note, Public persons must be
solicitous about the public good; and those that are in power and
reputation in cities must lay out themselves to redress grievances,
and reform what is amiss in the country and neighbourhood that lie
about them. Those that are next to them should have the largest
share of their good influence, as ministers of God for good. (2.)
The priests and Levites must assist and preside in this solemnity
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.5" parsed="|Deut|21|5|0|0" passage="De 21:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), that they
might direct the management of it in all points according to the
law, and particularly might be the people's mouth to God in the
prayer that was to be put up on this sad occasion, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.8" parsed="|Deut|21|8|0|0" passage="De 21:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. God being Israel's King,
his ministers must be their magistrates, and by their word, as the
mouth of the court and learned in the laws, every controversy must
be tried. It was Israel's privilege that they had such guides,
overseers, and rulers, and their duty to make use of them upon all
occasions, especially in sacred things, as this was. (3.) They were
to bring a heifer down into a rough and unoccupied valley, and to
kill it there, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.3-Deut.21.4" parsed="|Deut|21|3|21|4" passage="De 21:3,4"><i>v.</i> 3,
4</scripRef>. This was not a sacrifice (for it was not brought to
the altar), but a solemn protestation that thus they would put the
murderer to death if they had him in their hands. The heifer must
be one that had not drawn in the yoke, to signify (say some) that
the murderer was a son of Belial; it must be brought into a rough
valley, to signify the horror of the fact, and that the defilement
which blood brings upon a land turns it into barrenness. And the
Jews say that unless, after this, the murderer was found out, this
valley where the heifer was killed was never to be tilled nor sown.
(4.) The elders were to <i>wash their hands in water</i> over the
heifer that was killed, and to profess, not only that they had not
shed this innocent blood themselves, but that they knew not who had
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.6-Deut.21.7" parsed="|Deut|21|6|21|7" passage="De 21:6,7"><i>v.</i> 6, 7</scripRef>), nor had
knowingly concealed the murderer, helped him to make his escape, or
been any way aiding or abetting. To this custom David alludes,
<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.26.6" parsed="|Ps|26|6|0|0" passage="Ps 26:6">Ps. xxvi. 6</scripRef>, <i>I will wash
my hands in innocency;</i> but if Pilate had any eye to it
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Matt.27.24" parsed="|Matt|27|24|0|0" passage="Mt 27:24">Matt. xxvii. 24</scripRef>) he
wretchedly misapplied it when he condemned Christ, knowing him to
be innocent, and yet acquitted himself from the guilt of innocent
blood. <i>Protestatio non valet contra factum—Protestations are of
no avail when contradicted by fact.</i> (5.) The priests were to
pray to God for the country and nation, that God would be merciful
to them, and not bring upon them the judgments which the connivance
at the sin of murder would deserve. It might be presumed that the
murderer was either one of their city or was now harboured in their
city; and therefore they must pray that they might not fare the
worse for his being among them, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p6.8" osisRef="Bible:Num.16.22" parsed="|Num|16|22|0|0" passage="Nu 16:22">Num.
xvi. 22</scripRef>. <i>Be merciful, O Lord, to thy people
Israel,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p6.9" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.8" parsed="|Deut|21|8|0|0" passage="De 21:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>.
Note, When we hear of the wickedness of the wicked we have need to
cry earnestly to God for mercy for our land, which groans and
trembles under it. We must empty the measure by our prayers which
others are filling by their sins. Now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p7">2. This solemnity was appointed, (1.) That
it might give occasion to common and public discourse concerning
the murder, which perhaps might some way or other occasion the
discovery of it. (2.) That it might possess people with a dread of
the guilt of blood, which defiles not only the conscience of him
that sheds it (this should engage us all to pray with David,
<i>Deliver me from blood—guiltiness</i>), but the land in which it
is shed; it cries to the magistrate for justice on the criminal,
and, if that cry be not heard, it cries to heaven for judgment on
the land. If there must be so much care employed to save the land
from guilt when the murderer was not known, it was certainly
impossible to secure it from guilt if the murderer was known and
yet protected. All would be taught, by this solemnity, to use their
utmost care and diligence to prevent, discover, and punish murder.
Even the heathen mariners dreaded the guilt of blood, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jonah.1.14" parsed="|Jonah|1|14|0|0" passage="Jon 1:14">Jon. i. 14</scripRef>. (3.) That we might all
learn to take heed of partaking in other men's sins, and making
ourselves accessory to them <i>ex post facto—after the fact,</i>
by countenancing the sin or sinner, and not witnessing against it
in our places. We have <i>fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness</i> if we do not reprove them rather, and bear our
testimony against them. The repentance of the church of Corinth for
the sin of one of their members produced such a carefulness, such a
clearing of themselves, such a holy indignation, fear, and revenge
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.7.11" parsed="|2Cor|7|11|0|0" passage="2Co 7:11">2 Cor. vii. 11</scripRef>), as were
signified by the solemnity here appointed.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Deu.xxii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21" parsed="|Deut|21|0|0|0" passage="De 21" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xxii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.10-Deut.21.14" parsed="|Deut|21|10|21|14" passage="De 21:10-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.21.10-Deut.21.14">
<h4 id="Deu.xxii-p7.5">The Case of Captive Women. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p7.6">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xxii-p8">10 When thou goest forth to war against thine
enemies, and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p8.1">Lord</span> thy God hath
delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,
  11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast
a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;  
12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall
shave her head, and pare her nails;   13 And she shall put the
raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine
house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after
that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall
be thy wife.   14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in
her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt
not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of
her, because thou hast humbled her.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p9">By this law a soldier is allowed to marry
his captive if he pleased. For the hardness of their hearts Moses
gave them this permission, lest, if they had not had liberty given
them to marry such, they should have taken liberty to defile
themselves with them, and by such wickedness the camp would have
been troubled. The man is supposed to have a wife already, and to
take this wife for a secondary wife, as the Jews called them. This
indulgence of men's inordinate desires, in which their hearts
walked after their eyes, is by no means agreeable to the law of
Christ, which therefore in this respect, among others, far exceeds
in glory the law of Moses. The gospel permits not him that has one
wife to take another, for <i>from the beginning it was not so.</i>
The gospel forbids looking upon a woman, though a beautiful one, to
lust after her, and commands the mortifying and denying of all
irregular desires, though it be as uneasy as the cutting off of a
right hand; so much does our holy religion, more than that of the
Jews, advance the honour and support the dominion of the soul over
the body, the spirit over the flesh, consonant to the glorious
discovery it makes of life and immortality, and the better
hope.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p10">But, though military men were allowed this
liberty, yet care is here taken that they should not abuse it, that
is,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p11">I. That they should not abuse themselves by
doing it too hastily, though the captive was ever so desirable:
"<i>If thou wouldest have her to thy wife</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.10-Deut.21.11" parsed="|Deut|21|10|21|11" passage="De 21:10,11"><i>v.</i> 10, 11</scripRef>), it is true thou needest
not ask her parents' consent, for she is thy captive, and is at thy
disposal. But, 1. Thou shalt have no familiar intercourse till thou
hast married her." This allowance was designed to gratify, not a
filthy brutish lust, in the heat and fury of its rebellion against
reason and virtue, but an honourable and generous affection to a
comely and amiable person, though in distress; therefore he may
make her his wife if he will, but he must not <i>deal with her as
with a harlot.</i> 2. "Thou shalt not marry her of a sudden, but
keep her a full month in thy house," <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.12-Deut.21.13" parsed="|Deut|21|12|21|13" passage="De 21:12,13"><i>v.</i> 12, 13</scripRef>. This he must do either,
(1.) That he may try to take his affection off from her; for he
must know that, though in marrying her he does not do ill (so the
law then stood), yet in letting her alone he does much better. Let
her therefore shave her head, that he might not be enamoured with
her locks, and <i>let her nails grow</i> (so the margin reads it),
to spoil the beauty of her hand. <i>Quisquid amas cupias non
placuisse nimis—We should moderate our affection for those things
which we are tempted to love inordinately.</i> Or rather, (2.) This
was done in token of her renouncing idolatry, and becoming a
proselyte to the Jewish religion. The shaving of her head, the
paring of her nails, and the changing of her apparel, signified her
putting off her former conversation, which was corrupt in her
ignorance, that she might become a new creature. She must remain in
his house to be taught the good knowledge of the Lord and the
worship of him: and the Jews say that if she refused, and continued
obstinate in idolatry, he must not marry her. Note, The professors
of religion must not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.6.14" parsed="|2Cor|6|14|0|0" passage="2Co 6:14">2 Cor. vi. 14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p12">II. That they should not abuse the poor
captive. 1. She must have time to <i>bewail her father and
mother,</i> from whom she was separated, and without whose consent
and blessing she is now likely to be married, and perhaps to a
common soldier of Israel, though in her country ever so nobly born
and bred. To force a marriage till these sorrows were digested, and
in some measure got over, and she was better reconciled to the land
of her captivity by being better acquainted with it, would be very
unkind. She must not bewail her idols, but be glad to part with
them; to her near and dear relations only her affection must be
thus indulged. 2. If, upon second thoughts, he that had brought her
to his house with a purpose to marry her changed his mind and would
not marry her, he might not make merchandise of her, as of his
other prisoners, but must give her liberty to return, if she
pleased, to her own country, because he had humbled her and
afflicted her, by raising expectations and then disappointing them
(<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.14" parsed="|Deut|21|14|0|0" passage="De 21:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>); having made
a fool of her, he might not make a prey of her. This intimates how
binding the laws of justice and honour are, particularly in the
pretensions of love, the courting of affections, and the promises
of marriage, which are to be looked upon as solemn things, that
have something sacred in them, and therefore are not to be jested
with.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Deu.xxii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21" parsed="|Deut|21|0|0|0" passage="De 21" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xxii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.15-Deut.21.17" parsed="|Deut|21|15|21|17" passage="De 21:15-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.21.15-Deut.21.17">
<h4 id="Deu.xxii-p12.4">The Right of the Firstborn. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p12.5">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xxii-p13">15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and
another hated, and they have born him children, <i>both</i> the
beloved and the hated; and <i>if</i> the firstborn son be hers that
was hated:   16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to
inherit <i>that</i> which he hath, <i>that</i> he may not make the
son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, <i>which
is indeed</i> the firstborn:   17 But he shall acknowledge the
son of the hated <i>for</i> the firstborn, by giving him a double
portion of all that he hath: for he <i>is</i> the beginning of his
strength; the right of the firstborn <i>is</i> his.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p14">This law restrains men from disinheriting
their eldest sons out of mere caprice, and without just
provocation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p15">I. The case here put (<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.15" parsed="|Deut|21|15|0|0" passage="De 21:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>) is very instructive. 1. It
shows the great mischief of having more wives than one, which the
law of Moses did not restrain, probably in hopes that men's own
experience of the great inconvenience of it in families would at
last put an end to it and make them a law to themselves. Observe
the supposition here: If a man have two wives, it is a thousand to
one but one of them is beloved and the other hated (that is,
manifestly loved less) as Leah was by Jacob, and the effect of this
cannot but be strifes and jealousies, envy, confusion, and every
evil work, which could not but create a constant uneasiness and
vexation to the husband, and involve him both in sin and trouble.
Those do much better consult their own ease and satisfaction who
adhere to God's law than those who indulge their own lusts. 2. It
shows how Providence commonly sides with the weakest, and <i>gives
more abundant honour to that part which lacked;</i> for the
first-born son is here supposed to be <i>hers that was hated;</i>
it was so in Jacob's family: because <i>the Lord saw that Leah was
hated,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.29.31" parsed="|Gen|29|31|0|0" passage="Ge 29:31">Gen. xxix. 31</scripRef>.
The great householder wisely gives to each his dividend of comfort;
if one had the honour to be the beloved wife, it often proved that
the other had the honour to be the mother of the first-born.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p16">II. The law in this case is still binding
on parents; they must give their children their right without
partiality. In the case supposed, the eldest son, though the son of
the less-beloved wife, must have his birthright privilege, which
was a double portion of the father's estate, because he was the
beginning of his strength that is, in him his family began to be
strengthened and his quiver began to be filled with the <i>arrows
of a mighty man</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.127.4" parsed="|Ps|127|4|0|0" passage="Ps 127:4">Ps. cxxvii.
4</scripRef>), and therefore the right of the first-born is his,
<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.16-Deut.21.17" parsed="|Deut|21|16|21|17" passage="De 21:16,17"><i>v.</i> 16, 17</scripRef>. Jacob
had indeed deprived Reuben of his birthright, and given it to
Joseph, but it was because Reuben had forfeited the birthright by
his incest, not because he was the <i>son of the hated;</i> now,
lest that which Jacob did justly should be drawn into a precedent
for others to do the same thing unjustly, it is here provided that
when the father makes his will, or otherwise settled his estate,
the child shall not fare the worse for the mother's unhappiness in
having less of her husband's love, for that was not the child's
fault. Note, (1.) Parents ought to make no other difference in
dispensing their affections among their children than what they see
plainly God makes in dispensing his grace among them. (2.) Since it
is the providence of God that makes heirs, the disposal of
providence in that matter must be acquiesced in and not opposed. No
son should be abandoned by his father till he manifestly appear to
be abandoned of God, which is hard to say of any while there is
life.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Deu.xxii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21" parsed="|Deut|21|0|0|0" passage="De 21" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Deu.xxii-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.18-Deut.21.23" parsed="|Deut|21|18|21|23" passage="De 21:18-23" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Deut.21.18-Deut.21.23">
<h4 id="Deu.xxii-p16.5">Punishment of a Rebellious Son; Burial of
Malefactors. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p16.6">b. c.</span> 1451.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Deu.xxii-p17">18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son,
which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his
mother, and <i>that,</i> when they have chastened him, will not
hearken unto them:   19 Then shall his father and his mother
lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and
unto the gate of his place;   20 And they shall say unto the
elders of his city, This our son <i>is</i> stubborn and rebellious,
he will not obey our voice; <i>he is</i> a glutton, and a drunkard.
  21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones,
that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all
Israel shall hear, and fear.   22 And if a man have committed
a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang
him on a tree:   23 His body shall not remain all night upon
the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he
that is hanged <i>is</i> accursed of God;) that thy land be not
defiled, which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Deu.xxii-p17.1">Lord</span> thy God
giveth thee <i>for</i> an inheritance.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p18">Here is, I. A law for the punishing of a
rebellious son. Having in the former law provided that parents
should not deprive their children of their right, it was fit that
it should next be provided that children withdraw not the honour
and duty which are owing to their parents, for there is no
partiality in the divine law. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p19">1. How the criminal is here described. He
is a <i>stubborn and rebellious son,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.18" parsed="|Deut|21|18|0|0" passage="De 21:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. No child was to fare the worse
for the weakness of his capacity, the slowness or dulness of his
understanding, but for his wilfulness and obstinacy. If he carry
himself proudly and insolently towards his parents, contemn their
authority, slight their reproofs and admonitions, disobey the
express commands they give him for his own good, hate to be
reformed by the correction they give him, shame their family,
grieve their hearts, waste their substance, and threaten to ruin
their estate by riotous living—this is a <i>stubborn and
rebellious son.</i> He is particularly supposed (<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.20" parsed="|Deut|21|20|0|0" passage="De 21:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>) to be a <i>glutton or a
drunkard.</i> This intimates either, (1.) That these were sins
which his parents did in a particular manner warn him against, and
therefore that in these instances there was a plain evidence that
he did not obey their voice. Lemuel had this charge from his
mother, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.31.4" parsed="|Prov|31|4|0|0" passage="Pr 31:4">Prov. xxxi. 4</scripRef>. Note,
In the education of children, great care should be taken to
suppress all inclinations to drunkenness, and to keep them out of
the way of temptations to it; in order hereunto they should be
possessed betimes with a dread and detestation of that beastly sin,
and taught betimes to deny themselves. Or, (2.) That his being a
<i>glutton and a drunkard</i> was the cause of his insolence and
obstinacy towards his parents. Note, There is nothing that draws
men into all manner of wickedness, and hardens them in it, more
certainly and fatally than drunkenness does. When men take to drink
they forget the law, they forget all law (<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.31.5" parsed="|Prov|31|5|0|0" passage="Pr 31:5">Prov. xxxi. 5</scripRef>), even that fundamental law of
honouring parents.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p20">2. How this criminal is to be proceeded
against. His own father and mother are to be his prosecutors,
<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.19-Deut.21.20" parsed="|Deut|21|19|21|20" passage="De 21:19,20"><i>v.</i> 19, 20</scripRef>. They
might not put him to death themselves, but they must complain of
him to the elders of the city, and the complaint must needs be made
with a sad heart: <i>This our son is stubborn and rebellious.</i>
Note, Those that give up themselves to vice and wickedness, and
will not be reclaimed, forfeit their interest in the natural
affections of the nearest relations; the instruments of their being
justly become the instruments of their destruction. The children
that forget their duty must thank themselves and not blame their
parents if they are regarded with less and less affection. And, how
difficult soever tender parents now find it to reconcile themselves
to the just punishment of their rebellious children, in the day of
the revelation of the righteous judgment of God all natural
affection will be so entirely swallowed up in divine love that they
will acquiesce even in the condemnation of those children, because
God will be therein for ever glorified.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p21">3. What judgment is to be executed upon
him: he must publicly <i>stoned to death by the men of his
city,</i> <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.21" parsed="|Deut|21|21|0|0" passage="De 21:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. And
thus, (1.) The paternal authority was supported, and God, our
common Father, showed himself jealous for it, it being one of the
first and most ancient streams derived from him that is the
fountain of all power. (2.) This law, if duly executed, would
<i>early destroy the wicked of the land.</i> (<scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.101.8" parsed="|Ps|101|8|0|0" passage="Ps 101:8">Ps. ci. 8</scripRef>), and prevent the spreading of the
gangrene, by cutting off the corrupt part betimes; for those that
were bad members of families would never make good members of the
commonwealth. (3.) It would strike an awe upon children, and
frighten them into obedience to their parents, if they would not
otherwise be brought to their duty and kept in it: <i>All Israel
shall hear.</i> The Jews say, "The elders that condemned him were
to send notice of it in writing all the nation over, <i>In such a
court, such a day, we stoned such a one, because he was a stubborn
and rebellious son.</i>" And I have sometimes wished that as in all
our courts there is an exact record kept of the condemnation of
criminals, <i>in perpetuam rei memoriam—that the memorial may
never be lost,</i> so there might be public and authentic notice
given in print to the kingdom of such condemnations, and the
executions upon them, by the elders themselves, <i>in
terrorem—that all may hear and fear.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Deu.xxii-p22">II. A law for the burying of the bodies of
malefactors that were hanged, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Deut.21.22" parsed="|Deut|21|22|0|0" passage="De 21:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>. The hanging of them by the neck
till the body was dead was not used at all among the Jews, as with
us; but of such as were stoned to death, if it were for blasphemy,
or some other very execrable crime, it was usual, by order of the
judges, to hang up the dead bodies upon a post for some time, as a
spectacle to the world, to express the ignominy of the crime, and
to strike the greater terror upon others, that they might not only
hear and fear, but see and fear. Now it is here provided that,
whatever time of the day they were thus hanged up, at sun-set they
should be taken down and buried, and not left to hang out all
night; sufficient (says the law) <i>to such a man is this
punishment;</i> hitherto let it go, but no further. Let the
malefactor and his crime be hidden in the grave. Now, 1. God would
thus preserve the honour of human bodies and tenderness towards the
worst of criminals. The time of exposing dead bodies thus is
limited for the same reason that the number of stripes was limited
by another law: <i>Lest thy brother seem vile unto thee.</i>
Punishing beyond death God reserves to himself; as for man, there
is no more that he can do. Whether therefore the hanging of
malefactors in chains, and setting up their heads and quarters, be
decent among Christians that look for the resurrection of the body,
may perhaps be worth considering. 2. Yet it is plain there was
something ceremonial in it; by the law of Moses the touch of a dead
body was defiling, and therefore dead bodies must not be left
hanging up in the country, because, by the same rule, this would
defile the land. But, 3. There is one reason here given which has
reference to Christ. <i>He that is hanged is accursed of God,</i>
that is, it is the highest degree of disgrace and reproach that can
be done to a man, and proclaims him under the curse of God as much
as any external punishment can. Those that see him thus hang
between heaven and earth will conclude him abandoned of both and
unworthy of either; and therefore let him not hang all night, for
that would carry it too far. Now the apostle, showing how Christ
has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being himself made a
curse for us, illustrates it by comparing the brand here put on him
that was hanged on a tree with the death of Christ, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.3.13" parsed="|Gal|3|13|0|0" passage="Ga 3:13">Gal. iii. 13</scripRef>. Moses, by the Spirit,
uses this phrase of being <i>accursed of God,</i> when he means no
more than being treated most ignominiously, that it might
afterwards be applied to the death of Christ, and might show that
in it he underwent the curse of the law for us, which is a great
enhancement of his love and a great encouragement to our faith in
him. And (as the excellent bishop Patrick well observes) this
passage is applied to the death of Christ, not only because he bore
our sins and was exposed to shame, as these malefactors were that
were accursed of God, but because he was in the evening taken down
from the cursed tree and buried (and that by the particular care of
the Jews, with an eye to this law, <scripRef id="Deu.xxii-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:John.19.31" parsed="|John|19|31|0|0" passage="Joh 19:31">John xix. 31</scripRef>), in token that now, the guilt
being removed, the law was satisfied, as it was when the malefactor
had hanged till sun-set; it demanded no more. Then he ceased to be
a curse, and those that were his. And, as the land of Israel was
pure and clean when the dead body was buried, so the church is
washed and cleansed by the complete satisfaction which thus Christ
made.</p>
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