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 14-17.

    Today’s passage is a clear reminder of why we call this book “Deuteronomy” because it consists of a rehash of laws given earlier. Today’s passage provides less detail on many of these laws, but also presents them in a way which provides fresh insight into them. As an example, the laws regarding what animals and insects can be eaten significantly reduce the risk of disease and food poisoning. Then there is the restatement of the Sabbath Year, except that here it only talks about canceling debts and freeing slaves. The purpose here is to give people who made bad choices, but who learned from them, the opportunity to “start over” free from debt.

    As I was reading the description about justice in the land a couple of things stood out. While they were told to appoint judges, seeing that justice was carried out was not just the job of those judges. The people were instructed to judge people fairly, to not twist justice. If the death penalty was called for, those who had accused the perpetrator were to be the first to carry out the sentence…meaning that if they had falsely accused the person the accuser was guilty of murder.