Wednesday, March 2, 2016

In today's reading, there is a provision for the Israelite men to marry foreign women. At first this sounds like a contradiction. Earlier God had warned them against marrying the inhabitants of the land saying that the foreigners would lure them away from Him. This provision is for marrying a captive woman. This woman would be considered "spoils of war"." The captive woman has no ties, no surviving family, or anyone to support her in drawing the man away from God.

At the heart of the marriage relationship is the idea of faithfulness to the vows of commitment. Faithfulness is important both in marriage and in the people's relationship with God. Their unfaithfulness to God is considered spiritual adultery."
-quote from the Chronological Bible comments

Spiritual adultery happens when believers in Jesus break their vows of commitment and follow after other gods.

In Leviticus 18 homosexual practices are forbidden. 
Leviticus 18:22
You shall not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination to God. 

This was confirmed by Paul in his letter to the Romans.
Romans 1:27
Likewise, their men have given up natural sexual relations with women and burn with lust for each other. Men commit indecent acts with men, so they experience among themselves the punishment they deserve for their perversion. 
There is no room here for interpretation. It says what it says and means what it says!  Homosexuality is wrong!  It is an abomination to God.

Deuteronomy 22:5 forbids women to wear men's clothing and men to wear women's clothing.  Many people use this verse to say that women shouldn't wear pants. But what kind of clothing did men wear at the time this was written?  They didn't wear pants like men do today.  They wore tunics or robes.

According to the law, the penalty for adultery is the death of both parties involved.
(Deuteronomy 22:22, Leviticus 20:10)

There is a New Testament connection.  When the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery, notice they didn’t bring in the man with her. (John 8:3-11) Could it be that some of those men who were standing around the woman were guilty themselves? Is that what Jesus wrote on the ground…their names or their sins?  Was Jesus accusing them one at a time of having committed adultery with her by writing their names on the ground?  Is that why they dropped their stones and left? Just a thought...

All the woman's accusers left, one by one. Jesus told the woman that He didn't condemn her. But He also declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

The sin is condemned, but not the repentant sinner. Praise God for that!

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