September 13, 2019

What Is God Like? 

Deuteronomy 22

Nathan Wagnon
Friday's Devo

September 13, 2019

Friday's Devo

September 13, 2019

Central Truth

God cares for and protects the vulnerable.

Key Verse | Deuteronomy 22:3b

"[Y]ou may not ignore it."

Deuteronomy 22

Various Laws

You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.

A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.

If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.

When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.

You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, 1 22:9 Hebrew become holy the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. 10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.

12 You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.

Laws Concerning Sexual Immorality

13 If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her 14 and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ 15 then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 16 And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; 17 and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip 2 22:18 Or discipline him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels 3 22:19 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin 4 22:19 Or girl of marriageable age of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days. 20 But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in 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 an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

22 If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

23 If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets 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 for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

25 But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes 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; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, 27 because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.

28 If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.

30  5 22:30 Ch 23:1 in Hebrew A man shall not take his father's wife, so that he does not uncover his father's nakedness. 6 22:30 Hebrew uncover his father's skirt

Footnotes

[1] 22:9 Hebrew become holy
[2] 22:18 Or discipline
[3] 22:19 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[4] 22:19 Or girl of marriageable age
[5] 22:30 Ch 23:1 in Hebrew
[6] 22:30 Hebrew uncover his father's skirt

Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 22

It's probably not a stretch to say that many are reading through this section of Deuteronomy thinking, "What in the world is going on?" Or, perhaps you're thinking, "I don't have an ox or donkey or plow or tassels on my shirt, and I haven't violated a marriage, so this passage doesn't apply to me." I can empathize with that and also help a little.

The trick to reading legal passages like this is to understand the laws stated (statutory laws) are not the law itself. They are expressions of what the law looks like in a certain context (think of them as case studies in application), but the actual law is the principle behind the expressions we find written to the ancient Israelite community, and the actual law does not change. What the law does is show us what God is like, what He cares about, and what our responsibility to Him and one another is.

In this section, we learn that God is intensely interested in vulnerable people (someone whose property has been lost or injured; house guests in danger because their wellbeing was ignored; discarded and abused women, etc.). He also cares a lot about holiness and purity (respecting the created order, setting apart daily practice, maintaining marital and sexual fidelity, etc.).

While these character traits expressed themselves in a very unique ancient culture, God's character has not changed. He still cares about the vulnerable. He's still interested in holiness. If we ignore people who are vulnerable or don't come around them when they are in need, we violate God's law. If our selfishness or carelessness endangers or exploits people around us, we violate God's law. If we do not fight for and provide for the abused, we violate God's law. If we discredit our witness by conforming to our culture instead of maintaining an appropriate separateness from it, we violate God's law. If we disregard what God has revealed, we violate God's law.

We cannot blithely gloss over this section as if it no longer applies. It is telling us what God is like. Do not ignore it.

Discussion Questions

1. How does this understanding of Deuteronomy 22 change the way you think about God?

2. How should knowing what God is like affect our daily lives?

3. What are some practical ways you should respond to the character and nature of God?