Bro. Bruce's commentaries for the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus are
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DEUTERONOMY
CHAPTER 23

1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD. 2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

Salvation of these mentioned here is not being prohibited. These are given special places several times in the New Testament according to Isaiah 56:1-8 and fulfilled in Acts 8:27-28.
However, these WERE prohibited from serving in the house of the Lord.
As is referred to in the last chapter, God wants His people to be different from the world. And God is here guarding his church from the introduction of heathen practices.

NOTHING can hinder a person from being SAVED!
But SOME ministerial services may not be performed by certain individuals because this defiles God's church.

3 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: 4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. 5 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. 6 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

There are consequences for ever sin. Sometimes those consequences are spread far and wide, and may last a long time.
Note that while the Ammonites and Moabites were trying to do "evil" to Israel, God was protecting His people (verse 5).
It is interesting also to see that while they were instructed to not "seek" peace or prosperity for these people, neither were they to impede the same if God allowed it.
Ruth, a Moabitess, became wife to Boaz and great-grandmother to King David.

Now let me again be permitted to say "I think" here.
I "think" that we often don't realize the consequences of our sins.
I believe that our USA is going to see some AWFUL consequences for the wholesale allowance of pornography, abortion, homosexuality, and gambling.
Remember - some of those consequences are spread FAR and WIDE, and may last a LONG time!
While 7 million couples wait to adopt children in the USA, 1.8 million babies are killed through abortion, and that sanctioned by our government!
The U.S. population spends more on GAMBLING today than on GROCERIES!

7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land. 8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.

While God says not to SEEK prosperity of one, He also says not to HATE another. There are certain people, though unsaved, we should be careful to care for, and we should never "hate" any people.

9 When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing. 10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp: 11 But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again. 12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: 13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: 14 For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

These things apply to the army when it goes to battle:
1) Use only "clean" people (verses 9-11),
2) Keep sanitation (verse 13),
3) Remember God is WITH you (verse 14).
I believe Christians go to battle every day with evil. We should remember to keep ourselves clean through prayer seeking God's forgiveness. We should also remember to keep ourselves clean before others. And we should remember that God is WITH us.

15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: 16 He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.

WOW!
A slave who "escaped" probably had a reason. If he'd been maliciously treated, it would have been inhuman to return him to the former owner.
What's REALLY interesting here is that God says if he came to you, you should make a place for him!
Now won't that cause a conflict between you and the owner? YEP!
I believe God teaches us that when we truly live the Christian life, we're gonna be in CONFLICT with Satan who is the OWNER of those enslaved to sin.
And the "sparks" oughta FLY!!

17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. 18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Does God despise prostitution and homosexuality?
While these may be common in the world around us, God says they have NO PLACE in HIS camp!
God doesn't even want the tithes of those people (verse 18).

19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: 20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

God says don't charge INTEREST to a "brother" when you make him a loan. You can do that with a "stranger" but not with a "brother."
Hmmm. Wonder if I could get a loan from my Christian "brother" down at the bank without interest?
NOPE! We have a law today that says they must charge the same interest to ALL people.
WHY? Why do we have that law? Well, I believe it's because people simply don't see things God's way!
21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. 22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. 23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

A long time ago, my wife and I prayed and decided through prayer to give God 1/15 of our earnings. We also decided that would be given BEFORE anything else was bought or paid. That was our VOW to God!
We didn't have to decide on 15 percent. The "tithe" is described as 1/10th, but God decreed special OFFERINGS in addition to the tithe. So what a person tithes today is entirely between him and God. Because Jesus died to REDEEM us from the "curse" of the law.
Since the time we decided to give 15 percent though, we have ALWAYS made sure that God's money was given FIRST! And, of course, we give many other offerings during the year.
And we've been blessed! God has seen to it that we haven't done without anything we needed.
I believe that many couples today are suffering because they never have decided to really give God what's due to Him. And many couples are suffering because they don't treat ALL they earn as belonging to God!
LISTEN!! EVERYTHING you have BELONGS to God! What Ann and I do with that first 15 percent is very important, because it is our VOW to God. But it is very important also what we do with that OTHER 85 percent!
Whatever you VOW to give, be sure to give. But be sure to VOW SOMETHING!

24 When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. 25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.

Today's English: When you come to my house, you can eat all you can HOLD; but don't go sacking up my groceries to take them home with you! ((he he))
In most large companies today (especially food companies), there is a common law about "grazing." That is, a person may take what he needs for sustenance for that day, but any MORE is THEFT!
In Matthew 12, Jesus and His disciples were going through a field of "corn" and the disciples broke off a few ears and began to eat.
The Pharisees said that the disciples were breaking the law and harvesting on the Sabbath. "Picky, picky, picky!"
I remember my father-in-law, before Ann and I were married, always had a field of watermelons. We kids used to go by his field when the watermelons were ripe and take one or two. We really thought we were doing something.
I found out later, he didn't really care! One or two watermelons missing weren't going to hurt him! God was BLESSING him! He never cared if people came by and took one or two. And he ALWAYS had more to sell than anyone else!
God will bless when we consider all we have as His, and treat others with kindness.

Please continue to follow with us daily in Bible study.