Jo’s Place

​ Still More Regulations …Continued   “You must use accurate scales, when you weigh out merchandise, and you must use full and honest measures.  Yes, always use honest weights and measures, so that you may enjoy a long life, in the land the Lord, your God, is giving you.  All who cheat, with dishonest weights and measures, are detestable to the Lord your God… “Never forget what the Amalekites did to you, as you came from Egypt.  They attacked you, when you were exhausted and weary, and they struck down those, who were straggling behind.  They had no fear of God.  Therefore, when the Lord, your God, has given you rest, from all your enemies, in the land He is giving you, as a special possession, you must destroy the Amalekites …and erase their memory from under heaven.  Never forget this!  This is from the Book of Deuteronomy Chapter 25: verses13–19 (in the NLT) ————————————— Today, Jewish Law is called the “Halakah” , which literally means “that b...

Still More Regulations …Continued “Suppose two people take a dispute to court, and the judges declare that one is right and the other is wrong.  If the person, in the wrong, is sentenced to be flogged, the judge must command him to lie down …and be beaten in his presence, with the number of lashes appropriate, to the crime.  But never give more than forty lashes; more than forty lashes would publicly humiliate your neighbor...  “You must not muzzle an ox, to keep it from eating, as it treads out the grain… “If two brothers are living together, on the same property …and one of them dies, without a son, his widow may not be married, to anyone from outside the family.  Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her …and have intercourse with her, to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law.  The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.  “But, if the man refuses to marry his brot...

​ More Regulations Continued   “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners, living in your towns.  You must pay them their wages, each day, before sunset, because they are poor …and are counting on it.  If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord, against you, and it would be counted, against you, as sin.  “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents.  Those, deserving to die, must be put to death, for their own crimes.  “True justice must be given to foreigners, living among you …and to orphans, …and you must never accept a widow’s garment, as security for her debt.  Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt …and that the Lord your God redeemed you, from your slavery.  That is why I have given you this command.  “When you are harvesting your crops …and forget to bring in a bundle of grain, from your field, don’t go ...

More Regulations …Continued  “Suppose a man marries a woman, but she does not please him.  Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house.  When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man.  But if the second husband also turns against her, writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away, …or if he dies, the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled.  That would be detestable, to the Lord.  You must not bring guilt, upon the land, that the Lord, your God, is giving to you, as a special possession… “A newly married man must not be drafted, into the army …or be given any other official responsibilities.  He must be free to spend one year, at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married… “It is wrong to take a set of millstones, or even just the upper millstone,, as security for a loan, for the owner uses it to make a ...

Still More Regulations… Continued “If slaves should escape from their masters… and take refuge with you, you must not hand them over, to their masters.  Let them live among you, in any town they choose, and do not oppress them.  “No Israelite, whether man or woman, may become a temple prostitute.  When you are bringing an offering, to fulfill a vow, you must not bring, to the house of the Lord, your God, any offering, from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man or a woman, for both are detestable, to the Lord your God.  “Do not charge interest, on the loans you make, to a fellow Israelite, whether you loan money, or food, or anything else.  You may charge interest to foreigners, but you may not charge interest to Israelites, so that the Lord, your God, may bless you, in everything you do, in the land you are about to enter …and occupy.  “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him.  For the Lord, you...

Still More Regulations “If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.  “If a person is illegitimate, by birth, neither he nor his descendants, for ten generations, may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.  “No Ammonite, or Moabite, or any of their descendants, for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.  These nations did not welcome you, with food and water, when you came out of Egypt.  Instead, they hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor, in distant Aram-naharaim, to curse you.  But the Lord, your God, refused to listen to Balaam.  He turned the intended curse into a blessing, because the Lord, your God, loves you.  As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity, of the Ammonites …or Moabites.  “Do not detest the Edomites… or the Egyptians, because the Edomites are your relatives …and you lived, as foreigners, among the Egyptians....