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DEUTERONOMY
CHAPTER 22

1 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. 2 And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. 3 In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself. 4 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.

Suppose you were on your way to work, just barely on time, and you saw your neighbor's horse in the road? But the neighbor had already gone to work - what would you do?
Most folk would say, "Well, I'll tell the neighbor about it tonight."
But God says we should STOP and take time to put the horse in a safe place - Even if it means being late to work.
This is not a responsibility we necessarily owe to our neighbor; it is a responsibility we owe to GOD!

5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

It is natural for men and women to be different and to show that difference. For instance God says even nature tells us that men ought not to have long hair (1Corinthians 11:14).
Here God teaches us that men and women should DRESS differently too. Men should not appear to be effeminate. Women should not apear to be manly.
Dressing wrong not only confuses sexuality, but leads to immorality (see Romans 1:24-27).
Notice that God says to dress like the other sex is an abomination to Him!

6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: 7 But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

This seems like a small law about small things. But perhaps the importance of this law is shown in the statement in verse 7: "..that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days."
Sensitivity to abuse of nature is taught here. We can have dominion and partake of nature's substance, but we are not to abuse the privilege. If man abuses nature, he will certainly not see the promise stated above, because sources of food would be destroyed.

8 When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.

When building your own house, do all you can to protect your neighbor who visits from any harm. Hosts have responsibilities.

9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.

Separate the crops. One cannot rightly grow corn with peas. And this reminds us to be separate from the world so that we can grow properly in our relationship with God.

10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Well, that OUGHTA be obvious!! But - SOME FOLK!!
An ox is obviously much stronger than a mule, and one may be harmed by the other when "unequally yoked together." This reminds us that Christians should not be in partnership with unbelievers.

11 Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.

Mixing garments was an emblem of some idolatrous religions in those days. Some priests of false gods wore mixed garments and believed it provided special power.
Our Christian profession should not be mixed with other religious actions, but we should be of ONE KIND - holding a STEADY witness.

12 Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.

Also, as Christians, we should be marked as belonging to Christ. Could someone TELL if you are a Christian by the things you do and say?

13 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, 14 And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: 15 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: 16 And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; 17 And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; 19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. 20 But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: 21 Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

A man should never slander his wife, nor should he speak hatefully to her (Ephesians 5:25-29).
Now, if a man married a woman he THOUGHT was a virgin, then found out she WASN'T, this law provided recourse for him.
However, God knows the wickedness of mankind. And some might decide they wanted another wife. According to the law, they could give her a bill of divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1). But the man also had to put a dowry in her hand. If any man thought to escape paying the dowry, he might slander his wife, and then call it putting her away with JUST CAUSE.
But this law prohibited the man from doing such.
If people think virginity is not serious to God, just look at the penalties imposed here: verses 18, 19, 21.
In the beginning God never intended for their to be sex outside of marriage!
Yes. Maintaining virginity until marriage is SERIOUS!
22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

Adultery is also very serious. It ruins families. The penalty imposed here is death for both the man and the woman.
Men have taken advantage for centuries and arbitrarily imposed this law on women to their advantage while seeking to escape from it themselves.
In John 3:1-11, a woman was caught in the "very act" of adultery and brought before Jesus.
WHERE WAS THE MAN?! This law demanded the death penalty for BOTH! But they only brought the WOMAN!
People will use God's Word to their own advantage, and yet SKIP those portions that apply to THEM!

23 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24 Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

The "city" (back then) was obviously quite different from the city today. People have been beaten, robbed and even murdered in the sight of others in a modern day city, while NO ONE offered to help!
Not so back then. If a woman were attacked in the "city," she only needed to cry out for help, and someone would come.
Therefore, if she did NOT cry out for help, she consented to part of the crime. The punishment for her and the rapist was death.

25 But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: 26 But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: 27 For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.

In the "field" it is DIFFERENT. She might have cried out for help, and no one was near. And the law took the protection of her chastity. Only the rapist was guilty and put to death.
Note that in verse 26 the rapist is declared as guilty as a murderer!
28 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29 Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.

From this comes our law of "statutory rape." If the girl were a virgin, even though she may have consented, the man was guilty of defiling her.
His penalty was three-fold:
1) He must pay a fine to the girl's father;
2) He must MARRY her!;
3) He may NEVER divorce her!!

Let me conclude this section with two thoughts:
1) Sex outside of marriage is unlawful, it is sin;
2) People should be careful to maintain virginity.

30 A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt.

Now this lawy is a testament to the evil nature of man. The apostle Paul avowed that even Gentile believers didn't normally do this sort of thing (1Corinthians 5:1).
It is wrong for a man to marry his father's wife (even if she is the father's second wife and much younger).
It is also sin for any man to have sex with his father's wife.

Permit me to say "I think" one time right here.
I think God added this statement as an EXCLAMATION point to the foregoing discussion.
He does this to show how man can so horribly pervert that which is perfectly good and acceptable under the right circumstances.
Sex INSIDE marriage is good, honorable and a blessing from God.
Sex OUTSIDE marriage is sin!
Remember, God told man there was ONE tree in the Garden of Eden that they couldn't have. And THAT'S the tree they WANTED!
Now God tells man there is only ONE kind of sex people should have. And that is quite explicitly defined as sex WITHIN marriage and between a MAN and a WOMAN!
Any other form of sex is a perversion of mankind.

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