◄ Deuteronomy 17:10 ►
You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you,
Study Bible
You must abide by
The phrase "You must abide by" emphasizes the necessity of obedience and submission to authority. In the Hebrew text, the word used here is "עָשָׂה" (asah), which means to do, make, or act. This implies an active, intentional compliance with the decisions made by the appointed leaders. In a conservative Christian perspective, this reflects the importance of respecting God-ordained authority and the structures He has established for governance and order within the community of faith.

the verdict they give you
The term "verdict" refers to a judicial decision or judgment. In Hebrew, the word "מִשְׁפָּט" (mishpat) is used, which encompasses not only legal decisions but also the concept of justice and righteousness. This highlights the role of the judges and priests in ancient Israel as mediators of God's justice. From a historical context, this reflects the theocratic nature of Israelite society, where legal decisions were intertwined with divine will.

at the place the LORD will choose
This phrase underscores the centralization of worship and legal authority in a specific location chosen by God. Historically, this refers to the eventual establishment of Jerusalem as the spiritual and judicial center of Israel. Theologically, it signifies God's sovereign choice and His presence among His people. For conservative Christians, this can be seen as a foreshadowing of Christ, who is the ultimate chosen One through whom God’s presence and authority are fully realized.

Be careful to do
The instruction to "Be careful to do" is a call to diligence and attentiveness in following God's commands. The Hebrew word "שָׁמַר" (shamar) means to keep, guard, or observe. This conveys the idea of guarding one's actions to ensure they align with divine instructions. It reflects the biblical principle that obedience to God requires intentionality and vigilance, a theme that resonates throughout Scripture.

everything they instruct you
The phrase "everything they instruct you" indicates the comprehensive nature of the obedience required. The Hebrew word "יָרָה" (yarah) means to teach or instruct, suggesting that the leaders' role was not only judicial but also educational. This highlights the importance of teaching and learning in the community of faith. In a conservative Christian view, it underscores the value of sound doctrine and the responsibility of leaders to guide their communities according to God’s Word.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's laws and instructions to the Israelites.

2. The Israelites
The chosen people of God, receiving the law as they prepare to enter the Promised Land.

3. The Place the LORD Will Choose
Refers to the central place of worship and judgment, which would later be established in Jerusalem.

4. Priests and Judges
The appointed leaders responsible for interpreting and applying God's law.

5. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant God of Israel, who provides the law and guidance for His people.
Teaching Points
Obedience to God-Ordained Authority
God establishes leaders and systems of authority for the well-being of His people. We are called to respect and follow these authorities as they align with God's Word.

The Importance of Centralized Worship and Judgment
The place God chooses for worship and judgment signifies His presence and authority. Our worship and decisions should be centered on God's will and guidance.

Careful Adherence to God’s Instructions
The call to "be careful to do everything they instruct you" emphasizes the importance of diligence and faithfulness in following God's commands.

The Role of Community in Discerning God’s Will
The community of faith, through its leaders, plays a crucial role in interpreting and applying God's Word. We should seek counsel and wisdom from godly leaders.

The Balance of Justice and Mercy
While the law provides structure and order, it must be applied with a heart of justice and mercy, reflecting God's character.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of God-ordained authority in Deuteronomy 17:10 relate to the New Testament teachings on submission to authority?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our worship and decisions are centered on God's will, as emphasized in this verse?

3. How can we discern when to follow human authority and when to prioritize God's commands, especially when they seem to conflict?

4. What role does the community of faith play in helping us understand and apply God's instructions in our lives today?

5. How can we balance justice and mercy in our application of God's law, following the example set in Deuteronomy 17:10?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 18
Describes the establishment of a system of judges to help Moses govern the people, emphasizing the need for wise and godly leadership.

Matthew 23
Jesus speaks about the authority of the teachers of the law, highlighting the importance of following godly instruction.

Romans 13
Paul discusses the role of governing authorities and the Christian's responsibility to submit to them, reflecting the principle of obedience to God-ordained leadership.
Sermons
High Court of AppealD. Davies Deuteronomy 17:8-13
The Priest and the JudgeJ. Orr Deuteronomy 17:8-13
The Ruling -Power of the Priests in the Jewish ChurchR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 17:8-13
People
Levites, Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor, Egypt
Topics
Careful, Choose, Chooses, Decision, Decisions, Declare, Direct, Guided, Hast, Heed, Inform, Instruct, Named, Observe, Observed, Sentence, Teach, Tenor, Terms, Verdict, Whatever
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 17:8-13

     5025   killing
     5383   lawsuits

Deuteronomy 17:9-10

     8130   guidance, from godly people

Library
Bethphage
There is very frequent mention of this place in the Talmudists: and, certainly, a more careful comparison of the maps with those things which are said by them of the situation of this place is worthy to be made; when they place it in mount Olivet, these make it contiguous to the buildings of Jerusalem. I. In the place cited in the margin, the case "of a stubborn judge" (or elder) is handling. For when, by the prescript of the law, difficult matters, and such things as concerning which the lower councils …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Reign of Saul.
I Sam. 8-31; I Chron. 10 The Demand for a King. The last period saw one tribe after another come to the front and assert itself through some leading man as an emergency arose, but now the tribes are to be united into a monarchy and this, too, at their own request made in the form of a desire for a king. Several things no doubt influenced them to make this request. (1) From the days of Joshua there had been no strong national bond. They were only held together by the law of Moses and the annual assemblages …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

'Make us a King'
'Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel, onto Ramah, 5. And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 7. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Adonijah
BY REV. ALFRED ROWLAND, D.D., LL.B. It is notorious that the sons of devout men sometimes prove a curse to their parents, and bring dishonour on the cause of God. When Eve rejoiced over her first-born, she little suspected that passions were sleeping within him which would impel him to slay his own brother; and the experience of the first mother has been repeated, though in different forms, in all lands and in all ages. Isaac's heart was rent by the deceit of Jacob, and by the self-will of Esau. …
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

Jehoiada and Joash
'And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 2. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. 3. And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. 4. And the seventh year Jehoiada …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Bible in the Days of Jesus Christ
[Illustration: (drop cap S) Reading from a Roll--old Roman Painting] Slowly but surely, as time went on, God was adding to His Book, until about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ the Old Testament Scriptures, in their present shape, were completed. Many questions have been asked as to how the canon of the Old Testament was formed--that is, how and when did the Jews first begin to understand that the Books of the Old Testament were inspired by God. About the first five Books--the …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Story of the Adulteress.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John VII. 53-VIII. 11. [This section is wanting in nearly all older manuscripts, but Jerome (a.d. 346-420) says that in his time it was contained in "many Greek and Latin manuscripts," and these must have been as good or better than the best manuscripts we now possess. But whether we regard it as part of John's narrative or not, scholars very generally accept it as a genuine piece of history.] ^d 53 And they went every man unto his own house [confused by the question of Nicodemus, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Golden Eagle is Cut to Pieces. Herod's Barbarity when He was Ready to Die. He Attempts to Kill Himself. He Commands Antipater to be Slain.
1. Now Herod's distemper became more and more severe to him, and this because these his disorders fell upon him in his old age, and when he was in a melancholy condition; for he was already seventy years of age, and had been brought by the calamities that happened to him about his children, whereby he had no pleasure in life, even when he was in health; the grief also that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, whom he resolved to put to death now not at random, but as soon as he should …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem

A Sermon on Isaiah xxvi. By John Knox.
[In the Prospectus of our Publication it was stated, that one discourse, at least, would be given in each number. A strict adherence to this arrangement, however, it is found, would exclude from our pages some of the most talented discourses of our early Divines; and it is therefore deemed expedient to depart from it as occasion may require. The following Sermon will occupy two numbers, and we hope, that from its intrinsic value, its historical interest, and the illustrious name of its author, it …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Second Stage of Jewish Trial. Jesus Condemned by Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.
(Palace of Caiaphas. Friday.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 57, 59-68; ^B Mark XIV. 53, 55-65; ^C Luke XXII. 54, 63-65; ^D John XVIII. 24. ^d 24 Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest. [Foiled in his attempted examination of Jesus, Annas sends him to trial.] ^b and there come together with him all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes. ^a 57 And they that had taken Jesus led him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, ^c and brought him into the high priest's house. ^a where …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Easter Tuesday
Second Sermon. Same Text. Acts 13, 26-39. THE WORD AND THE RESURRECTION.[1] [Footnote 1: This sermon appeared first in the Church Postil, the Explanation of the Epistle and Gospel Texts from Easter to Advent. Printed by Hans Lufft, Wittenberg, 1559.] 1. This sermon was preached by Paul in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia, where were gathered with the Jews some Greek converts. Wherever in a city Jews were to be found, there also were their synagogues in which they taught and preached; and many …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
THE FALL OF NINEVEH AND THE RISE OF THE CHALDAEAN AND MEDIAN EMPIRES--THE XXVIth EGYPTIAN DYNASTY: CYAXARES, ALYATTES, AND NEBUCHADREZZAR. The legendary history of the kings of Media and the first contact of the Medes with the Assyrians: the alleged Iranian migrations of the Avesta--Media-proper, its fauna and flora; Phraortes and the beginning of the Median empire--Persia proper and the Persians; conquest of Persia by the Medes--The last monuments of Assur-bani-pal: the library of Kouyunjik--Phraortes …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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