I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 21-23.

    Today’s passage contains a lot of miscellaneous instructions which I do not believe apply today. However, there are a few things of which we should take note. The passage emphasizes the importance of gaining closure when someone has been murdered. If it is not possible to conclude who committed the murder, the political leaders of the closest town must swear that they did not have the person murdered nor know who did so. This focuses on the importance of not allowing the murder of anyone go without notice, someone must acknowledge that a murder has taken place and make some effort to hold the responsible parties to account. The passage also brings up the importance of addressing the issue of children who will not honor their parents. While I do not think we should go as far as this passage goes, its emphasis on how serious it is when children will not obey their parents. In this case, it seems to be concerning children who are old enough that their parents can no longer hold them to account by physical strength. A review of many of the high profile cases of violence in our society shows the importance of this. In many of those cases we see people who had stopped being obedient to their parents long before they reached the age of independence. The final instructions I want to emphasize today are those which tell us to look out for the interests of others: if you see your neighbor’s (and remember what Jesus says about who our neighbor is) animal wondering loose, take it back to them. If you find your neighbor’s possession, return it to them. In both of these cases the passage says, “Do not ignore your responsibility.”