Ancient societies tended to be based on carefully protected caste systems with kings at the top and slaves at the bottom. This was true in the ancient Near East, it was true of Ancient Greece and Rome, and it is a feature of ancient societies generally. Plato, in his famous ‘Republic’ advocated a caste system as the perfect embodiment of natural justice. Ancient laws were designed to maintain the caste systems. The law of Moses, however, is unique in that it is designed to demolish caste differences and place all people on a common footing. It treats all human beings with a dignity that was elsewhere only ascribed to kings. People could not be held in bond-service for more than 6 years (15:12), escaped slaves were not to be returned to masters (23:15), land was to return to the original owners after 49 years (Leviticus 25), debts were erased after 7 years (15:1). The law of Moses is a remarkable phenomenon in its ancient context. This is also true of the law limiting the behaviour of kings. In the ancient world kings were always above the law. But we see here in Deuteronomy 17 that the king more than anyone was accountable to the law and there were even specific laws that applied to him aside from everyone else. The point is that God wanted his people to live by different values to their neighbours. That is still true today. Paul tells us not to conform to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2). We must embody different values to those of our neighbours. That’s what it means to be a holy people.
Reflect on how your life contrasts with those who do not share your beliefs.
Read Deuteronomy 17.
