No Moabites? Really?


Deuteronomy 23:3–6 (ESV) “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

 The key theme in these verses is "the assembly of the Lord". Now this refers to the gathering of God's people in the Temple. The people of God were to bear witness to the other nations that only those who were pure could enter the Assembly. No one who may have mutilated their genitals in pagan ritual (Deuteronomy 23:1), nor anyone born of forbidden unions (Deuteronomy 23:2) - meaning born either out of wedlock, to an inter-religious marriage, incest or other. These boundaries around the assembly of the Lord spoke volumes. You don't just come into God's presence on your terms. 

 So what are we to make of these difficult rules? Are we to replicate them in the New Testament? Some Christians find such an idea reprehensible, "the Church should be for everyone!" they say. But is this really how it is supposed to be? Does God want everyone... really EVERYONE to be part of the Church? Let me suggest something that may shock you. There is NO WAY that could be true and you wouldn't want it to be true either!

 Do you want a Church filled with wolves in sheep's clothing? Because Jesus warned us about them and told us to beware of them! Do you want a church full of greedy people? How about adulterers? How about idol worshippers? Paul told us to avoid such people and in many cases, we are to expel them and hand them over to Satan (read 1 Corinthians 5 PLEASE)! Do we really want to believe the narrative the world loves to suggest the church adopt that we should accept and tolerate EVERYONE who wants to come in because that is what Jesus would do?

 I'm seriously tired of the ignorance of so many Christians on these matters. The Church is a precious institution open to everyone but it cannot and MUST NOT be for everyone! There are standards to be in God's house and called God's people. That is what God is making abundantly clear to Israel. Moab tried to curse you! People involved in sexual relations outside scripture's standards will taint you. This cannot and must not be tolerated in the Church that bears the Name above all names.

You want further proof that Jesus doesn't want the doors flung open to every kind of wicked person out there? Read Revelation. You don't have to read far. Just the first 3 chapters will do. Seven churches are addressed and a few of them are roundly rebuked about WHO is allowed in!

In Thyatira, for instance.




Revelation 2:20–23 (ESV) But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

He called out "those in the synagogue of Satan" in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:9).

 Famously, He said this to Laodicea:

Revelation 3:16 (ESV) because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

NO friend. The Church is not a catch-all for everyone all the time. There must be standards and respect for God's habitation. We are talking about the spiritual vitality of people whom God has called to Himself. This is a HOLY INSTITUTION and we are God's HOUSE. 

This is why I like moving verse by verse through the Bible. I struggled with this passage for a long time trying to apologize for what the Holy Spirit inspired here. Then I realized, I need to apologize for my own prejudice toward God's Word that sneaks to the surface many times! It's important to hear ALL God has to say, not just what you're comfortable with. 

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