Deuteronomy 17:8 - Meaning and Application

Courts of judgment were set up in every city (Deuteronomy 16:18). These courts could hear both criminal cases and disputes between private people, and they usually settled the matters brought before them. But sometimes a case was too hard for the local judges to decide.

If a case was too difficult in judgment, it was no shame for the judges to admit it. It might involve “blood and blood,” meaning a question between one death and another, such as whether a killing was murder or accidental. It might involve “plea and plea,” meaning a dispute between a plaintiff and a defendant. Or it might involve “stroke and stroke,” meaning cases of injury or assault. In such cases, even if the facts seemed clear, the meaning of the law and how it applied could still be unclear.

These hard cases had once been brought to Moses, following Jethro’s advice. After Moses died, they were to be taken to the highest authority in Israel. That might be a judge, when God raised up an unusual person for that work, like Othniel, Deborah, or Gideon. It might be the high priest, as in Eli’s case, when God gave him gifts to guide public affairs. If no single person was set apart for that role, then the priests and Levites, the temple servants and law teachers, were to hear the appeal. They were likely the best suited by learning and experience, and they would also have the help of God’s Spirit in deciding these matters (Deuteronomy 17:9, 17:11, 17:12).

They were not told to consult the Urim and Thummim, the sacred means by which God sometimes gave direct answers. That was meant for matters affecting the whole people or the ruler, not ordinary private cases. In normal disputes, the people had to trust the wisdom and honesty of those sitting in judgment. Their decision did not have the direct authority of an oracle, but it did have the strength of a divine promise, because God said, “They shall show thee the sentence of judgment” (Deuteronomy 17:9). It also rested on God’s own appointment of them as the nation’s highest court.

The final sentence of the judge, priest, or great council had to be obeyed, on pain of death: “You shall do according to their sentence” (Deuteronomy 17:10). They were to follow it carefully and not turn aside from it, neither to the right nor to the left (Deuteronomy 17:11). This was for God’s honor and for the good order of the people. Those appointed to rule must be obeyed in all matters within their authority, even when a person feels wrongly treated and does not like the decision.

If an inferior judge refused to carry out the higher court’s ruling, or if a private person would not accept it, that stubbornness was to be punished with death. Even if the matter was small, the resistance itself was serious: “That man shall die, and all the people shall hear and fear” (Deuteronomy 17:12, 17:13). Rebellion and stubborn opposition to God’s appointed authority are as serious as witchcraft and idolatry. A person may differ because of weakness or honest uncertainty, and that should be borne with. But to oppose authority out of pride and willful wickedness is to fight against the government God has set in place.

The purpose of the punishment was that others would hear and fear, and not do the same. Some would be moved by the severity of the penalty to hate the offense itself. Others would think of their own safety and choose to submit rather than sin against their own lives. From this law, the apostle drew an argument about the greater punishment deserved by those who trample on the authority of the Son of God (Hebrews 10:28, Hebrews 10:29).