How is the stubborn and rebellious son described in Deuteronomy 21?
Deuteronomy 21 describes him as a son who will not obey his father's or mother's voice and refuses to hearken even when chastened. He is called a glutton and a drunkard. His parents bring him to the city elders at the gate, and the men of his city stone him to death.
Les teaches from Deuteronomy 21:18-21 that this son is stubborn and rebellious, refusing to obey the voice of his father or mother. Even after they chasten him, he will not hearken to them. The text further calls him a glutton and a drunkard. His father and mother are to lay hold on him and bring him out to the elders of the city, unto the gate of his place. All the men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die, putting away evil from among them. Les compares this to the kind of tough love advocated in a book titled Tough Love, which he thinks was by Dobson, where steps must be taken and one cannot just keep feeding, paying, and helping such a person out of tight places. Israel did this, but far worse than Dobson would have suggested.
And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.