Dt. 23: More Weirdy Laws

Deuteronomy 23:12 "Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself."

Another list of laws... lets see.

The first part of the chapter includes those who will not be admitted to assembly. I don't really find it hard to believe that there were exclusions. Israel was an exclusive nation. God was an exclusive God. Why? Israel was a holy and separate nation. This is why someone who was emasculated by crushing or cutting was not allowed in. I presume that this wasn't just some agricultural accident. I would guess that castration was some sort of ceremonial thing, for a sexually impure faith practice. Forbidden marriages, and anyone who had anything to do with Balak (who hired Balaam to curse Israel) were not allowed in. Edomites, and Egyptians, they were alright, since Edom is Israel's brother nation (Jacob and Esau), and the Israelites were aliens in the Egyptian land.

There seems to be some honor in being an alien in someone's land, and vice versa...someone being an alien in your land. As though they are strangers in an unfamiliar place...needing some sort of hospitality...

Uncleanness through nocturnal emission and defecation was dealt with. The emission more for a purity thing (see Leviticus 15), and the defecation probably for a practical health thing. God did not want to see that sh...stuff laying around the camp, since it was holy ground, presumably.

I had been wondering about paying off loans in a timely fashion after reading through the first half of Deuteronomy...you know, how loans are to be forgiven every 7 years...God will demand vows made to Him in short order, so mean what you say, when you vow to God.