People naturally want life to be fair. We not only want other people to treat us fairly, but we also expect God to be fair. In today’s Scripture reading, we will see that God’s rules for Israel were not always fair. Likewise, God’s choices and rules in the church age are not always fair either.
The 22nd chapter of Deuteronomy is part of a long discourse which Moses delivered to the Israelites when they were on the east bank of the Jordan River, poised to finally enter the Promised Land. In chapter 22, Moses listed a series of commands which Israel was expected to live by once they took possession of their new land.
Deut. 22:22 ¶ “If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.
Notice the words “purge” and “evil”. There was supposed to be zero tolerance for adultery.
When Paul confronted the Corinthians about sexual immorality in their midst, he told them to remove the wicked man from among themselves (see 1 Corinthians 5:13). Christians should also have zero tolerance for adultery.
Deut. 22:23 ¶ “If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her,
Deut. 22:24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them, and they will die; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.
Once again we see the command to purge evil.
Deut. 22:25 ¶ “But if in the field the man finds the girl who is engaged, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lies with her shall die.
Deut. 22:26 But you shall do nothing to the girl; there is no sin in the girl worthy of death, for just as a man rises against his neighbor and murders him, so is this case.
Deut. 22:27 When he found her in the field, the engaged girl cried out, but there was no one to save her.
Deut. 22:28 ¶ “If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are found,
Deut. 22:29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.
Take note of the phrase “he cannot divorce her all his days”. When men followed the right procedures for getting married, divorce was a possibility, even though it was not good. On the other hand, if a man did not follow the correct procedures for getting married, then divorce was permanently not possible.
Deut. 22:30 ¶ “A man shall not take his father’s wife so that he will not uncover his father’s skirt.
This is the sin that prompted Paul to confront the Corinthians about the sexual immorality among them. What was particularly bad in the case of the Corinthians was that not even the Greeks practiced this (see 1 Corinthians 5:1).
Deut. 23:1 ¶ “No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of Yahweh.
Deut. 23:2 No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation, none of his seed shall enter the assembly of Yahweh.
This seems unfair. An illegitimate child was barred from the assembly of Yahweh due to choices made by his parents. The child had no say in what happened. It was not the child’s fault that he was illegitimate.
This simply illustrates that life is not fair.
We see this in the New Testament. When Jesus predicted how Peter would die, Peter asked what would happen to John. Jesus said, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” (John 21:22). In other words, Peter had to do what Jesus called him to do, even if it was unfair.
We also see this in life today. Some Christians have constant health issues while others coast through life. There are Christians who constantly struggle financially while others are awash in wealth. Many Christians think it is unfair that women cannot serve as elders. Some claim it is unfair that a divorced person has to remain single and alone the rest of their life.
It is true that many of these things are not fair. However, God did not promise that life would be fair. Instead, God expects each of us to serve Him in whatever lot in life He has given us.
Deut. 23:3 No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation, none of their seed shall ever enter the assembly of Yahweh,
Take note of the words “tenth generation”.
Deut. 23:4 because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
There were long-term consequences as a result of hiring Balaam. The story of Balaam is found in Numbers 22-24.
Deut. 23:5 Nevertheless, Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because Yahweh your God loves you.
Deut. 23:6 You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.
Notice the word “never”. Israel was instructed to never seek peace with Ammon and Moab.
Deut. 23:7 ¶ “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a sojourner in his land.
Ponder the favorable treatment given to the Egyptians. The Egyptians enslaved Israel and mistreated them; however, the long-term consequences of that were less than the long-term consequences for Moab for hiring Balaam. That seems unfair. It is unfair. However, Yahweh is sovereign and can do anything He wants to do.
Deut. 23:8 The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of Yahweh.
Deut. 23:9 ¶ “When you go out as an army against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
People want life to be fair. However, we saw in today’s Scripture reading that Yahweh’s rules are not always fair. We also see this in the New Testament. God’s rules and choices are not always fair.
As we go through life, we will always be able to point out something about our lives that puts us at a disadvantage. Instead of feeling and acting like victims, we should look at it as an opportunity to demonstrate our love for God.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”