Deuteronomy 23

"Two households, both alike in dignity" starts William Shakespeare's most famous love story, Romeo and Juliet. Don't worry--I'm not going to turn this into a didactic monograph on iambic pentameter, poetic motifs, or even Shakespeare's innumerable dirty jokes. I just want to make the point that Romeo and Juliet come from two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, that feud with each other just because that's what they've always done. No doubt there was some sort of reason that kicked off the enmity several generations ago--it even could've been as inane and implausible a reason as, say, the assassination of some archduke--but said reason has been all but forgotten by the time the play begins.

Moses explains that the Israelites are to hold a similar grudge against the Ammonites and Moabites. Not only did they fail to provide the Israelites with "bread and water" (verse 4), but they also sent Balaam, that old scoundrel, to curse God's chosen people. As a result, no Ammonite or Moabite may enter God's assembly--to the tenth generation (verse 3). The NIV study notes say that "tenth generation" basically means forever--a long time to forbid a race of people from God's presence. Fortunately, Jesus' sacrifice would nullify this restriction. (Either that, or the line of Ammonites and Moabites died out somewhere along the way.)

Verses 12-13 provide delight for anyone who likes poop jokes (i.e., kids and many males of any age). I'm guessing Sunday school teachers are wary of letting kids pick their own memory verses because inevitably some wag will pick something like Deuteronomy 23:13 or a gem from Song of Songs. Imagine the unstoppable giggle fits that would break out when it came time to recite the verse.

I find verse 24 odd--Israelites can basically eat all the grapes they can stomach from a neighbor's vineyard. I know this verse isn't supposed to be promoting gluttony, but you'd think Moses would foresee corruptible humans taking advantage of this law.

On a more serious note, verses 21-23 emphasize the importance of keeping vows to God. Which makes sense, but then verse 22 goes on to say, "But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty." I've written this before, but I admit that I seldom make vows to God because I know I might not be able to keep them. However, I have to keep in mind that I did make a vow to God once I let Him in my heart--a vow to follow Him and trust in His power.

Finally, the Moses nugget for this chapter comes from verse 18, in which he refers to male prostitutes as "dogs." What an insult to dogs.