When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
Deuteronomy 23:9 stands among the special instructions and directions given in Deuteronomy 18-26, which set forth great principles by which questions are to be decided and repeat various laws for the government of Israel and the regulation of worship. When God's people go forth against their enemies they are commanded to keep themselves from every wicked thing. The command does not teach hatred of enemies but agrees with loving enemies. The hatred drawn from Deuteronomy 23 came from teachers twisting what was written, which is shown by the form Ye have heard that it hath been said rather than the form It is written. Loving enemies is not new but belongs to the twofold law of God.
The command applies to the present spiritual conflict with the powers of darkness, in which consecration is a condition of success. Achan's sin brought defeat to Israel's camp, showing that one person's wrongdoing can bring discomfiture to the whole community, so God's people must guard themselves from every wicked thing in spiritual warfare.
Deuteronomy 23:9 stands among the special instructions and directions given in Deuteronomy 18-26, which set forth great principles by which questions are to be decided and repeat various laws for the government of Israel and the regulation of worship. When God's people go forth against their enemies they are commanded to keep themselves from every wicked thing. The command does not teach hatred of enemies but agrees with loving enemies. The hatred drawn from Deuteronomy 23 came from teachers twisting what was written, which is shown by the form Ye have heard that it hath been said rather than the form It is written. Loving enemies is not new but belongs to the twofold law of God.
The command applies to the present spiritual conflict with the powers of darkness, in which consecration is a condition of success. Achan's sin brought defeat to Israel's camp, showing that one person's wrongdoing can bring discomfiture to the whole community, so God's people must guard themselves from every wicked thing in spiritual warfare.