Tag: outrageous

51.v. Wilderness – 16.a. “Laws Concerning Sexual Immorality”

 

 

Deu 22:13-30  “If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her 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,’ 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. 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;  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. Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him, and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days.  But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, 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. “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.  “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 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. “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.  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, because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her. “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, 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.  “A man shall not take his father’s wife, so that he does not uncover his father’s nakedness.

All this simply reinforces the principle that virginity was valued, highly valued, in Israel. Today, far too many people – men and women – sell themselves cheaply by easily giving away their virginity.

Adultery was not to be condemned with a double standard; if it was wrong for the woman, it was wrong for the man, and vice-versa. Though the death penalty for adultery was carried out rarely, it still had value. It communicated loudly and clearly an ideal that Israel was to live up to, and it made people regard their sin much more seriously. Today, we have done away with this ideal, and people don’t care much about adultery – and society suffers greatly as a result. (Guzik)

These and the like regulations might be needful then, and yet it is not necessary that we should curiously examine respecting them. The laws relate to the seventh commandment, laying a restraint upon fleshly lusts which war against the soul. (Henry)

The laws in this section have the design of fostering purity and fidelity in the relation of the sexes, and also of protecting the female against the malice of sated lust and the violence of brutal lust. (Unknown)

In considering these plain-spoken laws it is just to remember that with all their imperfections they represent an advance in social ethics; an upward stage in the struggle against debasing practices and the sinful passions and lusts of humans. (Cambridge)

38.e. “Because he had defiled their sister Dinah”

 

 

Genesis 34:1 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her………..Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came. And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. The sons of Jacob had come in from the field as soon as they heard of it, and the men were indignant and very angry, because he had done an outrageous thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing must not be done……….The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully, because he had defiled their sister Dinah……..On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their flocks and their herds, their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field. All their wealth, all their little ones and their wives, all that was in the houses, they captured and plundered.

We remember that Jacob brought his family to a region in the Promised Land that God didn’t really want them to be in. It seems God directed him to return to Bethel (Genesis 31:13), and his time spent in the city of Shechem did much harm to his family. The Canaanite’s proposal to marry the daughter of Jacob after she was raped was a dangerous challenge to the covenant family. Irresponsible intermarriage with the Canaanites could prove especially harmful for this family with such an important destiny in God’s redemptive plan. Worse yet was the retribution of Simeon and Levi using deceit to carry out their plan of killing all of the men, taking captive the women and children, and plundering their livestock and homes. Their outrage is understood but their sense of what is just is not. 

When we are led in a specific direction by God, we do well to follow that lead. Though we may feel safe and secure in our decision we can never know the full impact of that decision and the harm it will bring in the future. It is common for us to rely on ourselves for plans that seem right and for our good. Would it not be better to seek the counsel of God and rely on His leading, protection, wisdom, and leading us in doing what is best for His honor and glory?  Nothing good comes from rejecting God’s leading or neglecting seeking His leading.

29.v. “And her husband Joseph, being a just man”

 

Matthew 1:18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

 Deuteronomy 22:21-24    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.  “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.  “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her,  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.

 Psalms 112:4-5    Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.  It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.

“Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly”. I can’t imagine what was going through the mind of Joseph when he learned that his wife was pregnant and that it was not by him. Rage, anger, hate, confusion, worry, embarrassment, etc…. would all seem both normal and appropriate.  However, Joseph chose not to go down these paths.  He chose to discard these thoughts and actions.  He chose to be just in a time where it certainly would have been very easy not to be. He did not allow his hurt to overshadow and block doing what would honor and glorify God.  That is not something that just happens.  It is from living and choosing that way. We always have a choice.  There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end, it leads to death. We have free will to choose to live to honor and glorify God or not. When we allow what seems right to overshadow that which is right God is not honored and glorified. Living to honor and glorify God is not a singular event or two during our life. It is a way of life where the presence of God is so real in our hearts, mind, and souls that every thought, every word, and every act is done in the light of His presence.  I heard someone say you don’t want to have God catch you doing something wrong.  The fact is God already knows. He knows our thoughts and actions before they even occur.  Let our thoughts and actions, therefore, be in this light with our deepest desire to always think, speak, and do that which honors Him alone.