This section of the Bible contains many commandments of differing nature. We might call it a section which includes miscellaneous statutes. We will attempt to discuss a few of these statutes.
The first subject that I would like to address has to do with male and female roles. That seems particularly significant today when there is “gender ambiguity” in our society. The Lord said,
“A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 22:5)
Obviously the style of clothing changes with each culture so what might be considered male clothing in one culture could be considered female clothing in another. The idea here appears to be that men should be men and women should be women. Their clothing should reflect this. “Gender ambiguity” and “cross-dressing” is to be avoided. You are what God designed you to be. To reject this is to reject God who designed you.
Another controversial statute included in this section concerns illegitimate birth.
“No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 23:2)
This statute appears to be particularly brutal since it applies to an individual who did nothing on his own to receive such harsh punishment. So we must ask the question, why would the Lord issue such a commandment? In order to understand the basis for this commandment, we must consider the impact of illegitimacy on a society. It seems obvious that the statute is aimed at maintaining the nuclear family consisting of a committed father and mother raising children. For mature, committed parents, nothing could be more devastating than to have your child ostracized by being excluded from the community. Therefore, in order to avoid such ostracism, mature God-fearing individuals would bring forth children only as a family unit.
These Torah commandments apply first and foremost to God’s people Israel. However, the truth inherent in the commandments applies to all. In light of this truth, it is a humbling exercise to consider contemporary American society where in some ethic groups ¾ of the children are illegitimate. As I understand it, close to half of the children born in the U.S. are illegitimate.
In the book of Romans, Paul wrote that the “wrath” of God is revealed in that He simply turns a rebellious individual or a society over to their own inclinations in order for them to be destroyed (See Romans 1:18-32). This applies specifically to an individual or a society which has received the revelation of God but chooses to ignore it. This is true of the United States of America. How long do you think that the U.S. can avoid ultimate destruction?
Finally, we will consider the issue of divorce. The Lord spoke through Moses,
“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house….” (Deuteronomy 24:1)
Messiah Jesus commented on this verse saying that Moses permitted divorce. Later, Paul expanded the discussion as recorded in his first letter to the Corinthians (I Corinthians 7:1-16). Basically, Paul declared that real believers (those living for the Kingdom of God) should not seek a divorce. If a believer were married to an unbeliever who wants a divorce, grant it and let the unbeliever go. The believer should not seek a divorce. Today there are many (perhaps most) Christians who are Christians by tradition rather than from a whole-hearted commitment to the Kingdom of God. The application of Scriptural principle for such “in name only” Christians would be the same as Moses permitted Israel, hence, divorce is permitted even though not recommended.
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