God abhors mixture Dt 22:9-11

"You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together." (Deuteronomy 22:9-11)

As I write this, I am wearing clothes that are made of a cotton blend and, even in light of this scripture, I feel no guilt or condemnation. This injunction of scripture has less to do with seeds, plowing, and clothing than it does with teaching us to live a life of purity. God was trying to teach His people that mixture in their lives would defile and diminish them. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of purity and those who live it should live pure lives of devotion and fidelity to God. God, in this scripture, identifies three areas in our lives where we should seek to live in purity.

Sowing: The scripture often depicts the Word of God as seed. "Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God." (Luke 8:11) "for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Peter 1:23) The seed is God's word and the soil is our heart. God warns us about sowing different kinds of seed into our heart; the seed of God, being His word, and the seed of the world, being the lies and deception of this present evil age. Christianity is not an eclectic religion, where we are free to pick and choose from various beliefs, philosophies, and faiths; building a religion that "fits" us. Rather, we are called to live by the Word of God; to build our lives upon His word and live as if we really believe it to be true. When we live our lives by His word, His truth sets us free. Everything else is a precipitous slope into slavery. "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." (Colossians 2:8)

Plowing: Sometimes we fall into the trap of trying to "help" God. We try to help God achieve His purpose by applying our own wisdom, strength, and ability. We often start out in the Spirit but end up in the flesh. Paul warns us against decreasing in our dependence on God and increasing in our reliance upon ourselves. "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3) The truth is that we cannot live in the Kingdom of God by our own strength. We can only live by the power and grace that God so richly supplies to us. Through Christ we can do all things, but through ourselves we only fail. There was an occasion where Peter exhibited this mixture of Spirit and flesh in his walk before God. Paul rebuked Peter to his face. "But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, 'If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified." (Galatians 2:9-11)

Clothing: In revelations, clothes are a figure of our behavior, specifically, our righteousness. "It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." (Revelation 19:8) During the captivity of Israel, the king of Assyria settles some of the captives of the nations into Samaria. These people worshiped their pagan Gods. Therefore God sent among them lions to judge them. "At the beginning of their living there, they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them which killed some of them." (2 Kings 17:25) So the people petitioned the king of Assyria and he sent them some of the priests that had been taken captive from Israel to live in Samaria and to teach them God's ways. However, while they served God, they continued to serve their idols. "They feared the Lord and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile." (2 Kings 17:33) Our worship of God cannot be halfhearted. We cannot serve God and the world at the same time. Jesus warned us of this when He said, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." (Matthew 6:24)

David Robison

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Roofs, railings, and personal liability Dt 22:8

"When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone falls from it." (Deuteronomy 22:8)

I am continually amazed at the level of detail for which God cares about our lives. Bloodguilt is not only the result of determined actions, such as murder, but is also imputed in cases of negligence, where injury is the result of the failure of someone to take reasonable precautions against harm and injury to others. Specifically, in this scripture God warns home owners that, if they are going to invite their guests up to their roof, they should install a railing to prevent them from carelessly falling off the roof. When considering good government, two conclusions can be drawn from this scripture.

1) It is reasonable to hold people liable for harm and injury to others when they have failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent injury.
2) It is reasonable for government to set minimal safety standards to prevent unintentioned injury to others.

David Robison

government, personal injury, liability, The Robe, David Robison, Book of Deuteronomy, Foundations of Governance

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Honey, I ate the kids Dt:22:6-7

"If you happen to come upon a bird's nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, in order that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days." (Deuteronomy 22:6-7)

This is one of the more peculiar scriptures in the Bible. There appears to be three different schools of thought as to what this scripture meant and means to us today. First are those who believe this to be a random law created by God to teach us obedience. Beyond our obedience to God's regulations, this scripture has little else to offer us in the way of spiritual insight, enlightenment, or guidance. However, this interpretation does not take into considerations Moses' warning and promise, "that you may prolong your days." Everywhere else this promise is made it is always referring back to an issue of the heart and to a life lived righteously. This promise was never adjoined to a specific law but rather to the fruits of righteous behavior.

The second interpretation is that this law is to teach us the need for compassion for all living creatures. It is assumed that a compassionate heart would be inclined to let the mother go instead of her witnessing the death of her young. However, it seems to me that true compassion would let both mother and young live. Some might even say that it would be more compassionate to take both the mother and the young lest she should grieve the loss of her offspring.

The third interpretation is that this law is to teach us to live an ecologically sustainable lifestyle. By sparing the mother she could produce more eggs and young to repopulate the bird population and to continue to provide food for us to eat. However, it seems to me that it would be better to only take some of the young. This way another generation can mature and also provide eggs and young even after the mother dies. This would provide a more sustainable food supply for mankind.

So what it the correct interpretation of this scripture? I have no idea. However, it does appear that God views the bond between a mother and her child as special and sacred. Consider these other scriptures.

"When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be accepted as a sacrifice of an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 "But, whether it is an ox or a sheep, you shall not kill both it and its young in one day." (Leviticus 22:27-28)

"You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk." (Exodus 34:26)

Notice the prohibitions enumerated here apply only to the mother and her young, not to the father. There is something very deep, fundamental, and even spiritual about the bonds between a mother and her young; a bond that is quite different from the bonds between father and his children.

David Robison

father, mother, children, Book of Deuteronomy, The Robe, David Robison

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Let men be men and women be women Dt 22.5

"A woman shall not wear man's clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 22:5)

The differences between men and women are more than an arbitrary and random result of nature and evolution. These differences are distinct and purposeful. "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:27) When God created man and woman, He created them to be different, He created them "male and female". As such, our choice of gender is not ours, it is His; He chose for us. In the end, we are who we are.

This scripture is about more than our dress. Certainly this scripture does not condemn the Scottish because they wear skirts (or kilts as they like to call them), nor does it necessarily condemn female impersonators simply because they might ware a dress. This scripture warns against men trying to act and behave like women and women like men. God created us as we are and we should not try to change that or live contrary to who God created us to be. God created the gender difference and He expects us to behave differently, each according to how they were created. This is why Paul reminds us, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) The judgement against the effeminate and homosexual is because they choose to live contrary to their nature; that nature to which God created them. Ours is not a choose, except to choose to obey and conform to God's will, purpose, and design for our life.

David Robison

gender, men, women, Book of Deuteronomy, The Robe, David Robison

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