Deuteronomy 23:15 - Meaning and Application

Orders are here given about five things that have no direct connection with one another.

I. The land of Israel is treated as a place of shelter for servants who were mistreated by their masters and fled there for safety from nearby countries (Deuteronomy 23:15-16). We should not think this meant they had to welcome every runaway servant who escaped duty. Israel did not need to be filled that way. But they must not hand over a frightened servant to an angry master until it was clear, after careful inquiry, that the servant had wronged his master and truly deserved punishment.

It is a noble thing to protect the weak, as long as they are not evil. God allows his people to support the oppressed. The angel told Hagar to go back to her mistress, and Paul sent Onesimus back to his master Philemon, because neither of them had a good reason to flee, and neither faced danger by returning. But the servant here is one who escapes for his life, seeking refuge among God’s people because he has heard that they are merciful, like Ben-Hadad had heard about the kings of Israel (1 Kings 20:31). To hand such a man back would be like throwing a lamb into a lion’s mouth.

If it became clear that the servant had been abused, they must not only protect him, but, if he was willing to join their faith, they must also help him settle among them. He was to be given freedom to choose where he lived, where it suited him best, and he must not be oppressed again. In this way, he would soon see the difference between the land of Israel and other lands and would choose it as his permanent home. New converts and seekers after truth should be treated with special kindness, so they have no reason to turn back.

II. The land of Israel must not become a refuge for sexual sin. No prostitute and no man given to such sin was to be allowed to live among them. There were to be no houses of uncleanness, whether kept by men or women. One reason is plainly implied: they were Israelites. That name carried weight. For a daughter of Israel to become a prostitute, or a son of Israel to become a pimp or whoremonger, would bring shame on the family they came from, the people they belonged to, and the God they worshiped. It is bad in anyone, but it is especially shameful in Israel, a holy nation (2 Samuel 13:12).

A mark of God’s anger is also placed on this sin. The money earned by a prostitute, and the price of a dog, that is, of a Sodomite, pimp, or whoremonger, was not to be brought into the house of the Lord for any vow. Among the Gentiles, the earnings of prostitutes were sometimes carried into their temples, but this was forbidden in Israel. This means, first, that God would not accept any offering from such wicked people. They had nothing to bring except what they gained through sin, so their sacrifice could only be disgusting to him (Proverbs 15:8). It also means they must not imagine that making vows and bringing offerings would give them permission to keep sinning. Some people in that trade, it seems, tried to excuse themselves that way, saying, in effect, “I have paid my vows, so now I may go on” (Proverbs 7:14-15). Nothing should ever be accepted as a payment that makes up for guilt. And we cannot honor God with our wealth unless it was honestly and honorably gained. It matters not only what we give, but how we got it. God hates robbery used for burnt offerings, and he hates impurity too.

III. The law here settles the matter of interest on loans (Deuteronomy 23:19-20). They must not lend to an Israelite for interest. Their property came directly from God, and while he had set them apart from other nations, he might have arranged things so they held everything in common. Instead, in token of their shared inheritance in the land he gave them, he commanded them to lend to one another without interest when needed. In that setting, this would often cause little or no loss to the lender, because their land was divided, their estates were settled, and they were not a commercial people. They rarely needed large loans, only help for family needs when crops failed or something like that. In such a case, to demand interest on a small loan would have been harsh.

When a borrower is using the money to make profit, it is fair for the lender to share in the gain. But when a person borrows for basic needs, kindness should be shown, and we should lend hoping for nothing in return if we are able to do so (Luke 6:35). They might, however, lend to a foreigner for interest. A stranger was usually thought to be living by trade and making money by his business, so he could reasonably profit from what he borrowed. This shows that interest is not wrong in itself, because they were not to oppress a stranger, yet they were allowed to take interest from him.

IV. The keeping of vows, by which we bind our own souls, is also required here, and this is part of the natural law written on the human heart (Deuteronomy 23:21-23). We are left free whether to make such vows at all. If a person chooses not to vow a special sacrifice or offering beyond what the law already required, it is no sin. God had already shown that he was willing to accept a freewill offering made by vow, even if it were only a little fine flour (Leviticus 2:4 and following), and that was encouragement enough for those who wanted to do so.

This was also meant to prevent the priests, who received much of these vows and freewill offerings, from pressing the people to make vows beyond their ability or desire. So the people are plainly told that it is no sin if they do not make such vows, though it would be sin to leave undone the sacrifices God had specifically commanded. As Bishop Patrick says well, God wants people to serve him with ease, and he wants all their offerings to be free and cheerful.

But once a vow has been made, the strongest duty rests on us to fulfill it, and to do so quickly. We must not be slow in paying it, lest delay cool our zeal, the vow be forgotten, or something happen that makes us unable to keep it.

What has gone out of your lips as a solemn, deliberate vow must not be taken back. You must keep it and carry it out fully and promptly. The rule of the gospel goes even further than this, for Paul says, “Each one should give as he has decided in his heart” (2 Corinthians 9:7), even before it has left his lips.

There is also a strong reason to pay our vows. If we do not, God will require it from us. He will surely and seriously deal with us, not only for lying, but for trying to mock him, and no one can mock God. See (Ecclesiastes 5:4).

Here, though, permission is given to travelers passing through a grain field or vineyard to pick and eat grain or grapes that grow beside the road, whether they need it or simply want it, as long as they carry none away with them (Deuteronomy 23:24, 25). That is why the disciples were not blamed for plucking heads of grain. The law allowed that. They were blamed because they did it on the Sabbath day, which the tradition of the elders had forbidden.

This law showed Israel how much grain and wine they would have in Canaan. There would be such plenty that a small amount taken by the roadside would not matter. They would have enough for themselves and for their friends. It also made provision for poor travelers, to ease the weariness of their journey, and it teaches us to show kindness to people in that condition.

The Jews say this law was mainly meant to help laborers who were gathering the harvest and vintage. Their mouths were not to be muzzled, any more than the mouth of an ox that treads out the grain. It also teaches us not to press ownership in a small matter, where it is easy to say, “What is that between me and you?” The grapes eaten by a traveler were not his own, and the owner did not formally give them to him. But the matter was of so little value that the traveler had reason to think the owner, if present, would not refuse them, just as he himself would not begrudge the same kindness. So it was no theft to take them.

This rule also encouraged hospitality. It teaches us to be ready to share, willing to communicate, and not to count every gift as a loss. Yet it also warns us not to abuse a friend’s kindness, or use a small permission to make unreasonable demands. We must not stretch an inch into an ell. They may eat some grapes from a neighbor’s field, but that does not mean they may carry them away.