AN EVER PRESENT HELP

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 guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. Do the same if you find your brother's donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.

If you see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet.

A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.

If you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.

When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.

Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.

Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.

Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23, 22:1-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

From the last two verses in Deuteronomy, Chapter 21, through the first twelve verses of Chapter 22, we read of a collection of other laws the Israelites were to follow. Although not grouped this way, they can be broken down into a few distinct categories:

1. Desecration.

“If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.”

Hanging was one of the most humiliating forms of death because it amounted to public execution. A person who “guilty of a capital offense” fell under God’s judgment or under “God’s curse”. The requirement was clear. Once the person was hung, they weren’t to remain there but were to be buried the same day. To allow the person to continue to hang would desecrate the land by allowing the memory of the crime the man committed to linger. Justice had been done and no lingering reminder was needed.

2. Distinction.

“A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.”

“Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.”

“Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.”

“Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.”

God created everything to be unique and special in its own right. He expected Israel to respect this uniqueness. Thus, there was no need for a woman or man to wear the other’s clothing. God wanted them to be who he created them to be. Plants were to be planted and harvested separate from one another. Animals were not to be mixed on the plow…and additionally, an ox and donkey aren’t exactly a good match anyways because of the difference in pulling power. Finally, different types of thread were not to be woven together in a garment.

3. Preservation

“If you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.”

Israel was to respect and preserve creation’s ability to reproduce. If the mother was taken, no other young would be produced. Note that this command was the only one that added “so that it may go well with you and you may have long life”.

4. Safety.

“When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.”

We have already seen God’s word as it applied to the shedding of innocent blood. Accidental death was to be avoided and safety measures were to be taken…like making a parapet (railing) around the roof to catch someone who might fall.

5. Remembrance.

“Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.”

We have seen prior guidance on this in the Book of Numbers:

“The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.' " Numbers 15:37-41

The tassels on the cloak were to remind the wearer that they were to “remember all the commands of the Lord” and “obey them” so not to “prostitute (themselves) by going after the lusts of (their) own hearts and eyes”. Note that this was to be passed onto the generations and indeed today we still see tassels on clothing but I’m afraid we have lost their intended meaning.

6. Helping others.

“If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him. If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. Do the same if you find your brother's donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.”

“If you see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet.”

God’s word makes it pretty clear that when we see someone in need, we should get involved and assist. If one saw their brother’s ox or sheep straying, they weren’t supposed to just ignore it and pretend that they didn’t see anything. No…they were required to take it back to its rightful owner. And if they didn’t know who that owner was, then they were supposed to take the animal into custody and keep it until the rightful owner came looking for it. Note that the same applied for anything that was lost. Items of value to someone else were to be looked after by the finder.

A second example is given regarding a fallen animal. Often times, these animals were heavy and too much for one person to lift. If a person saw someone trying to get their animal on its feet again, they were to help them…not just ignore the matter. Scripture makes it clear. People are to look after one another and their items of value.

Question: How well do we as a society look after one another today? How well do we look after each other’s things of value? If you see something lost, do you just go on about your business as if it’s not your problem? If you see another person in need of assistance, do you stop to help or just carry on with what you need to do?

I have a concern about our society…the society that God created and watches over. My concern is that we have become too self-centered. It seems more and more that everyone is just out for themselves and either too busy or too unwilling to assist someone in need.

This certainly isn’t what God expects from us. We see this from today’s scripture. No…God expects us to help others because He helps us. We only know how to help because we were first helped by the Father…a Father who “is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”. (Psalm 46:1)

Today, let us recommit ourselves to help others like God helps us. Let us be an ever present help in times of trouble. The world will be a better place if we do. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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