THE LAW AND GRACE (DEUTERONOMY 22:1-23:8) This section provides us with a broad range of regulations that helped to establish a foundation for social justice. We also see here regulations on sexual relationships. Sexuality in pagan cultures was extremely different than the standards God gave us in scripture. Pagan cultures had very few boundaries on who you could have sex with. The punishment of death for adultery seems very cruel to us today and it was also in a time and place where sexual boundaries were rare. But the intent was to break a pattern of behavior that was deeply ingrained in most societies, a pattern of behavior that had a destructive impact upon this new nation. It is important, therefore, to approach our understanding of these issues in light of Israel's history. Its history began with God calling Israel out from a pagan society to be an example to the world of what a nation built upon faith in God and His will could be. Also keep in mind that the "black and white" nature of the law was to ultimately provide two things. First, a clear picture of judgment against violating what is right. Secondly, it was given to provide a backdrop for the amazing glory of God's grace. This was graphically portrayed by Jesus when a woman caught in the act of adultery was thrown at His feet. Jesus was then reminded by those who had caught her that the law commanded that she be stoned. In response Jesus told her accusers that any among them who were sinless should be the first to throw a stone at her. No one threw a stone. He then turned to the girl telling her that He did not condemn her and sent her away telling her to sin no more (John 8:3-11). The law serves fallen humanity best when it leads us to the grace of our redeemer Jesus Christ. In this we see that the law had genuinely become a backdrop for the grace of God revealed in Christ. Grace should therefore never be separated from the dark backdrop of judgment. If it is, then grace will soon become meaningless, simply a license for sin. Deuteronomy 22:1-23:8 4 "You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again. 5 "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God. 6 "If a bird's nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days. 8 "When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from it. 9 "You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled. 10 "You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 "You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together. 12 "You shall make tassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2011 (TOP)
NKJV BIBLE TEXT
| v. 2 if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him – The Law showed no leeway in regard to lost property. Whether neighbor or a stranger, the Israelites were expected to preserve the property until the owner was found. v. 5 a woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man – This law was meant to prevent societal perversions, such as transvestism, and prevent blurring of gender distinctions. Clothes were a way to define a person in ancient times, much as they are today. v. 6 you shall not take the mother with the young – Not only was God concerned with the treatment of His people toward one another, but He also expected them to be good stewards of the environment around them. | v. 8 parapet – The roofs of Eastern houses were flat and often used as living space. A parapet was an outer wall built to protect guests from falling over the edge of the roof. They were used in the same manner as a railing is used today. Those who did not take this measure to protect themselves and their guests were liable for any accidents. v. 9 you shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed – This may have been because some mixtures were reserved for sacred use, such as the use of wool and linen in the tabernacle and priestly garments. v. 11 a garment of different sorts – This was possibly a response to Zabian priests who mixed their garments in the hope of receiving blessings that were related to the movement of the planets. Israel was called to be separate from all the nations around them. v. 12 tassels – The men of Israel were commanded to sew these tassels into the corners of their garments to serve as a reminder of God's commandments (Num. 15:37-41). |
Laws of Sexual Morality 13 "If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and detests her, 14 and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin,' 15 then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman's virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 And the young woman's father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he detests her. 17 Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, "I found your daughter was not a virgin," and yet these are the evidences of my daughter's virginity.' And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him; 19 and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days. 20 "But if the thing is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house. So you shall put away the evil from among you. 22 "If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel. 23 "If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor's wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you. 25 "But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. 27 For he found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her. 28 "If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days. 30 "A man shall not take his father's wife, nor uncover his father's bed.
| Laws of Sexual Morality v. 17 they shall spread the cloth before the elders – The proof of virginity was often evidenced by bloodstained sheets. These sheets served as evidence of a woman's virginity if her husband or anyone else brought a false accusation against her. v. 19 One hundred shekels of silver – This fine of 100 shekels of silver was about the equivalent of 10 years of wages. v. 23 betrothed to a husband – This is similar to the engagement of a man and woman in today's society. However, this pledge involved the payment of a set price for the bride along with a dowry. Once a woman was betrothed to her husband, the laws of adultery were in full effect even through the actual marriage ceremony had not yet taken place. | v. 29 she shall be his wife because he has humbled her – This provision was actually put in place to protect the woman, not the man. If a man raped a woman and took her virginity in ancient times, she would have had supreme difficulty in marrying anyone from that point on. An unmarried woman could hardly survive in ancient times. Thus, the family had the option of forcing the offender to marry the woman and provide for all her needs because of what he had done to her. |
DEUTERONOMY 23 Those Excluded from the Congregation 1 "He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the LORD. 2 "One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD. 3 "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road 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 Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you. 6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever. 7 "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land. 8 The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.
| Chapter 23 Those Excluded from the Congregation v. 2 one of illegitimate birth – This probably refers to a child born as the result of incest and not to an illegitimate child. | v. 4 Balaam son of Beor – Balak, the king of Moab, hired Balaam, a diviner, to curse Israel as they were passing through his land en route to the Promised Land (Num. 22-24). |
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