BRAGADAYJAH 570

BRAGADAYJAH 570

The Law of Brotherhood and Female Garb

God commanded that if you see any of your neighbor’s goods such as his animals going astray, you must not ignore them, but must take hold of them and take them to him or tether them in your yard until he comes seeking after them.  Likewise if you find any of his other goods such as his clothing or other belongings you shall keep them for him and not conceal them, ignore them or hide them from him.

The Lord also commanded that a woman shall not put on garments belonging to a man neither should a man put on that which pertains to a woman; all such says the Lord is abomination in His sight.

 www.chaberbooks.com

BRAGADAYJAH 569

BRAGADAYJAH 569

A Man with Two Wives

If a man has two wives and one is loved and the other hated, and they have both borne him children, then if the firstborn son be of the hated wife, then when that man provides inheritance for his children, he shall not make the son of his beloved wife to inherit as his heir instead of the son who was indeed the firstborn. He shall acknowledge the son of the hated wife as the firstborn as indeed he is. And if a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father and his mother, and when they chasten him he will not listen, then they shall lay hold on him and take him unto he elders of the city, and lay a complaint to them against their son and the elders of the city shall stone him to death. And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is hanged upon a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree that the land may not be defiled.

www.chaberbooks.com 

BRAGADAYJAH 568

BRAGADAYJAH 568

Domestic Regulations.

The last episode as may be seen, sheds light on what is often misquoted as the sixth commandment which says, “thou shall not kill;” but kill is not the best or even a good translation of what God says to us which is “Thou shall not shed innocent blood, or thou shall not commit murder,” which as most of us know is a vastly different think from kill.

Be that as it may, the Lord now gives directions regarding the treatment of certain captives.  For instance He says, if you capture a beautiful woman and you desire to make her your wife, then she shall be taken to your house where she must first shave her head and cut her nails, after which she shall rid herself of her captive garments and remain in your house for a full month, during which she shall be allowed to weep over the loss of her father and her mother, after which you may consummate a marriage with her and she shall be your wife. And if she does not please you and you are of a mind to let her go, then she shall be free to go wherever she will and shall not be sold by you, because you have humiliated her.

www.chaberbooks.com

BRAGADAYJAH 567

BRAGADAYJAH 567

Inquest for the Slain

If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God give thee to possess, lying in the field, and it is not known who has slain him, then the elders and the judges shall come forth and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about the slain, and it shall be that the city which is nearest the slain man, and the elders of that city shall take a young calf which has not worked or borne a yoke, and the elders shall take the heifer into a rough valley, and behead it there. And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near because the Lord has chosen them and they shall try every question concerning the matter; and all the elders of that city shall wash their hands over the heifer, and they shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood neither have our eyes seen it.  Be merciful or Lord unto thy people Israel whom thou has redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to the charge of thy people.”  That there be put away from among the people the shedding of innocent blood.

www.chaberbooks.com

BRAGADAYJAH 566

BRAGADAYJAH 566

Final Instructions as to War.

Anyone does not understand the mind of God and in particular God’s absolute aversion to sin, may have a difficult time reconciling with what follows.  But God’s instructions to his people with regard to the treatment of the conquered nations is best understood in light of  God’s desire to have his people absolutely separated from the ways of sinful men and evil people.  So God instructed His people, to deal with the cities that they conquer with absolute severity to the end that they “destroy everything that breathe.”  “Thou shalt utterly destroy them, namely, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord has commanded you.”

and here comes the rationale; ”that they teach you not to do after all their abomination which they have done unto their gods, and cause you to sin against your God.”

“When you besiege a city over a long period of time, in the course of making war against it in order to take it, thou shall not destroy the fruit trees by cutting them down with axes, that you may eat of them during the siege. Only the trees which you know are not fruit trees may you cut down and use for strengthening your defenses against the city until it is subdued.

www.chaberbooks.com

BRAGADAYJAH 565

BRAGADAYJAH 565

The Law of Warfare [continued]

We may conclude from what has gone before, that the battle is not for the faint of heart, or for the distracted.  So if you are going to war, and pining for the new bride you left behind, or for the new wine you have not tasted, or the new house you have not lived in, stay behind or go home instructed the LORD.  In other words, whatever you do your heart must be in it.

And when the officers have finished addressing the people, they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.  And further when the army come upon a city to fight against it, they were first to declare peace upon it; and if the inhabitants of that city shall accept terms of peace, then they shall become bond servants unto you and serve you. But if they decline your offer of peace then surround it and besiege it.  And when the LORD your God shall deliver that city unto you,  you shall smite all the males with the edge of the sword; but the women and the children and the cattle and everything in the city shall be spoils to you, and you shall eat of the spoils that the LORD has given unto you.

www.chaberbooks.com

BRAGADAYJAH 564

BRAGADAYJAH 564

The Law Concerning Warfare

The Lord commanded and said, When you go out to battle, against your enemies, and see horses, and chariots, and a people more numerous than you, be not afraid of them; for the Lord thy God who brought you up out of the land of Egypt is with thee.  And it shall be when you draw near unto the battle that the priests shall appear and speak unto the people and shall say to them, Hear O Israel, you approach this day unto battle against your enemies. Let not your hearts faint nor fear; do not tremble nor be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you to fight with you against your enemies to save you. And the officers shall speak to the people saying, what man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house lest he dies in battle, and another man dedicates it. And what man is he that planted a vineyard and has not yet eaten of it. Let him return to his house lest he dies in battle and another man eats of it. And what man is there who has betrothed  a wife and not yet taken her?  Let him return to his house lest he dies and another man takes her.  And the officer shall speak further unto the people and say, what man is there among you who is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren’s heart fail as well as his.”

www.chaberbooks.com