Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
“Suppose a man has two wives…” (Deut 21:15 NLT)
Observation
Okay, I admit it. For me, today’s passage did not lead to Holy Ghost doodads running up and down my spine, or even warm fuzzies in the cockles of my heart. We’re reading rules and regulations for a society hundreds of years removed from our own and a culture drastically different than our own.
(I do have a favorite verse from this section. I posted it on my home answering machine the first year Debbie and I were married. Deuteronomy 24:5 says, “A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married.” It was a great way to legitimize ignoring people’s calls!)
The “take-away” for me, today, has to do with seeking the best wisdom even in imperfect situations. For example…
“Suppose you go out to war against your enemies…” (Deut 21:10 NLT)
“Suppose a man has two wives…” (Deut 21:15 NLT)
“Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son…” (Deut 21:18 NLT)
None of those situations reflect God’s perfect will. Indeed, each of those situations reflects the impact of a sin-cursed world—situations in which there are no perfect answers. How does a perfect God supply answers in an imperfect world?
My observation is that—even in imperfect situations—God’s wisdom primarily seeks to honor every individual as “created in the image of God, valued by Jesus at the cost of his life, and worthy of love and service” (a little blurb from Jefferson Assembly’s core values, in case you didn’t recognize it)—while balancing that priority against the health of the whole community. When someone has lost loved ones in an act of war, time and space is made for mourning. When relationships are not what they should be in the home, a less-favored son is not to suffer as a result. Even in the case of a son so consistently and blatantly rebellious as to call for criminal execution, no such action is to be taken apart from the collective agreement of the elders of the community. We read of such a course of action and are shocked—but can you imagine how dire a situation must have become before a parent would bring their son to the elders with such charges? The health and vitality of the whole community must have been at significant risk!
If today’s reading troubles you, I encourage you to read it again with the above perspective in view. Sometimes we create such broken scenarios that there are no especially palatable answers. How would God speak life into such brokenness? I believe with a heart for the individual and an eye on the health of the whole.
1 comment:
Pastor, I kinda am at odds with you here. There is a verse that says, Be careful about taking your brother(or son) to court, lest he Hale ye to the Judge, and the Judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison... All those Supposes might have Validity. God spends alot of time warning us only to have it forgotten. My daddy always used to say, Suppose you stuck your hand in fire, What do you think might happen?
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