Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, "I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity," then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. The girl's father will say to the elders, "I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said, 'I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.' But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity." Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the elders shall take the man and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you.
If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor, for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her.
If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.
A man is not to marry his father's wife; he must not dishonor his father's bed.
Deuteronomy 22:13-30
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The remainder of Deuteronomy, Chapter 23, deals with proper relationships before and after marriage with a special focus on sexual relations. There are three specific items covered:
1. Virginity.
If you didn’t know before this passage, you definitely know after reading it that maintaining virginity until marriage was a required standard in the Israelite culture. A woman’s first sexual relations were to be with her husband. Breaking this requirement led to fatal consequences for the offender (stoning) and proof was required in order to counter anyone who might question a woman’s virginity.
Today, people would most certainly ask, “So why was virginity such a big deal?” Because God intended sexual relations to be special. Sex was to be the ultimate consummation of a love between a man and a woman…something shared only between them and shared forever. Virginity is an afterthought today because we have taken something God intended to be special and cheapened it to the point where it has little value anymore. Today, people “hook up”, have sex and go their separate ways. Sex, in turn, is devalued and, in turn, so are relationships. You seldom find couples nowadays who marry with an assurance that their spouse has not had prior sexual relations. Virgins are mocked and treated as if they are abnormal. In a sin-filled world, I guess they are just that…abnormal. In a God-filled world, they are righteous and obedient. In my opinion, it’s time to get back to basics. I’m not saying we should start stoning virgins who can’t prove it, but we need to start placing a premium on restoring the sanctity of sex, bringing it back to the special, sacred status that God intended.
2. Infidelity.
"You shall not commit adultery.” Exodus 20:14
God made it very clear. One was not supposed to sleep with the spouse of another. Our scripture today spells out the penalty:
“If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die.”
“If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife.”
In both these instances, sex was engaged in out of marriage. Note that a pledge to marry was as binding as marriage itself so a virgin who engaged in consensual (meaning of she did not scream) sex with a man other than the man she was pledged to would result in death to both.
Infidelity is one of the most damaging acts that can happen in any marital relationship…a blatant violation of trust and honor and commitment. I know because I went through it. Like sex today, it has also been allowed to be way too typical. We can’t go through any one day without hearing about someone who has cheated on their spouse, causing an end to their marriage. I can’t help but think that God seethes in the way we have destroyed the very holy foundations of marriage through our inability to remain faithful. What part of “You shall not commit adultery” are we not understanding?
3. Rape.
We read in our passage that rape carried penalties for the offender:
“…if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death.”
“If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.”
Two passages with two different scenarios…each centered on the matter of being pledged.
If a virgin who was pledged to marry another was raped, then the offender was to be killed. The virgin was to be spared but the damage was done to her already. She would end up facing a difficult life as a woman not yet married and no longer a virgin.
If the virgin was not pledged to be married, than the man who raped her was required to pay 50 shekels to the woman’s father and then marry her. We read where he would never be allowed to divorce her for as long as he lives. Killing the man would leave the offended woman left alone fending for herself in a society who looked down on a woman who was not a virgin. This rule assured she would be taken care of.
4. Incest.
“A man is not to marry his father's wife; he must not dishonor his father's bed.”
Not only was this adulterous but incestual as well. Obviously, neither was acceptable to God.
And yet, this happened (refer back to Genesis and Reuben’s tryst with Bilhah…Genesis 35:22, 49:3-4) and thus had to be addressed.
As we read all of these verses, we gain a little insight into the predicament Mary found herself in after she conceived by the Holy Ghost…and Jesus began to grow within her.
You’ll remember that Mary was pledged to marry Joseph…and, of course, she was a virgin. Well, we know that Mary became pregnant after Gabriel’s visit and this came as quite a surprise to Joseph and the community because (1) Joseph knew he hadn’t slept with Mary and (2) everyone knew that Joseph and Mary were not yet married. So one of two things must have happened in the minds of the people. Either Joseph and Mary couldn’t wait until their wedding night to have sexual relations or Mary had sexual relations with another man while she was pledged to Joseph.
All and all, we know that everything worked out the way God intended but it wasn’t without its tense moments which included Joseph pondering whether he should divorce Mary quietly vice expose her to public disgrace (Matthew 1:19). Just as with Mary, Gabriel came with reassurance that everything would be fine…all because what was happening was from the will of God. The Lord was the Lord of their relationship and their relations…Jesus was the fruit born.
So what do we make of these verse today? Do we not feel an obligation to scream out against a world that has lost its sexual way? The time is now before it gets any worse. In fact, it may already be too late. God help us.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment