DOING GOOD TO OTHERS AND MORAL PURITY

Deuteronomy 22:1-30 / Keywords 22:7b

but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.

 

22:1 If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

4 If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet.

5 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.

6 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. 7 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.

8 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.

9 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.[a]

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

11 Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.

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

Marriage Violations

13 If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her, dislikes her 14 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,” 15 then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate proof that she was a virgin. 16 Her father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. 17 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, 18 and the elders shall take the man and punish him. 19 They shall fine him a hundred shekels[b] of silver and give them to the young woman’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.

20 If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, 21 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 an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.

22 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.

23 If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, 24 you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman 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.

25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a young woman pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. 26 Do nothing to the woman; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbor, 27 for the man found the young woman out in the country, and though the betrothed woman screamed, there was no one to rescue her.

28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay her father fifty shekels[c] of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

30 A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not dishonor his father’s bed.[d]

Footnotes

a. Deuteronomy 22:9 Or be forfeited to the sanctuary

b. Deuteronomy 22:19 That is, about 2 1/2 pounds or about 1.2 kilograms

c. Deuteronomy 22:29 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams

d. Deuteronomy 22:30 In Hebrew texts this verse (22:30) is numbered 23:1.

1. Jesus said that doing to others what we would have them do to us sums up the Law and the Prophets (Mt 7:12). God details how in Deuteronomy. If a fellow Israelite’s animal is lost or fallen, a person must help the owner by caring for and helping the animal. An Israelite who builds a house must also put up a parapet to avoid accidental bloodshed. Eggs or young birds can be taken, but the mother must be freed lest the population of birds be reduced and other Israelites suffer. Doing good to others comes with a promise – God blesses them, and they enjoy a long life (7b).

2. God then teaches the people to seek purity with various laws about planting different seeds, yoking different animals, and how to dress. Later, Jesus would rebuke the Pharisees for keeping the laws about their tassels but missing the point (Mt 23:5). God desires his people to be pure in lifestyle and heart. This is seen most clearly in the laws regarding marriage. A man who slanders his new bride is punished. A promiscuous woman is also punished. Adultery and rape could be both punishable by death. Marriage, which reflects God’s relationship with his people and provides the foundations of families and nations, must be honored and free of sexual immorality (Heb 13:5).

Prayer Lord, help us to do good to others and give us a pure heart. Please restore your view of marriage and sexual purity in our land.

One Word Do good with a pure heart