Deuteronomy 23:9-14

Deuteronomy 23:9-14

[9] When the host  goeth forth  against thine enemies,  then keep  thee from every wicked  thing.  [10] If there be among you any man,  that is not clean  by reason of uncleanness that chanceth  him by night,  then shall he go  abroad  out of the camp,  he shall not come  within  the camp:  [11] But it shall be, when evening  cometh on,  he shall wash  himself with water:  and when the sun  is down,  into  the camp  [12] Thou shalt have a place also  without  the camp,  whither thou shalt go forth  abroad:  [13] And thou shalt have a paddle  upon thy weapon;  and it shall be, when thou wilt ease  thyself abroad,  thou shalt dig  therewith, and shalt turn back  and cover  that which cometh  from thee: [14] For the LORD  thy God  walketh  in the midst  of thy camp,  to deliver  thee, and to give up  thine enemies  before  thee; therefore shall thy camp  be holy:  that he see  no unclean  thing  in thee, and turn away  from thee. 

What does Deuteronomy 23:9-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Various practices, most of which we have discussed previously, rendered the Israelite encampment ceremonially unclean. The laws in these verses applied to Israel after she entered the land and, specifically, while her armies engaged in battle. The connection with the seventh commandment is that which is unseemly, especially in the area of sexual associations.
The Israelites were evidently to regard human waste products as unnatural and therefore unclean. The Mosaic Law considered unclean everything that proceeded out of the human body. Perhaps this taught the Israelites that there is nothing good in man (total depravity).
"There was nothing shameful in the excrement itself [1]; but the want of reverence, which the people would display through not removing it, would offend the Lord and drive Him out of the camp of Israel." [2]
The Israelites were to acknowledge God"s presence among them by keeping their camp free of human refuse. This would hallow His name as He walked among them.
". . . much of the information found in the [3] Egyptian medical texts was medically hazardous. For example donkey feces were used for the treatment of splinters, which probably increased the incidence of tetanus because of tetanus spores present in feces. Crocodile feces were used for birth control. In contrast Moses wrote that God instructed the Israelites to cover their excrement because it was "unclean" ( Deuteronomy 23:12-13). At no time did Moses resort to adding the popular medical techniques of his day, though he was "educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" ( Acts 7:22), which certainly included their medical wisdom." [4]
God"s people should conduct themselves in view of God"s presence among them (cf. Ephesians 5:3-4).