Bible reading for June 18. Deuteronomy 23. "You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him." (Deuteronomy 23:15-16) PURITY (vv 1-18). It seems that one key theme here is purity. Purity of congregational worship, of personal sanitation, and of sexuality (vv 1-18). Some groups were excluded from worship with Israel. God is not racist, since he created humanity, and all ethnicities will be gathered around his throne (Rev 5:9-10; 7:9). There really is only one race -- the human race. But the groups excluded from worship in Jerusalem were nearby nations who were hostile to Israel. By God's grace there were exceptions: Rahab (a Canaanite) and Ruth (a Moabite). Faith made the difference and brought them into fellowship with God's people. Nor is God against the disabled -- think of...