← Back to sermon library

Deuteronomy chapter 22. We're 
going to try to get through the whole chapter this evening. It 
basically breaks down into two broad categories. Verses 1 to 
12 are miscellaneous laws for the covenant community. And verses 
13 to 30 are miscellaneous laws concerning the integrity of marriage 
and sexual relationships. So two broad categories. with six specifics in each of 
those categories. So I'll just read the chapter 
and then we'll start by looking at verses 1 to 4. Okay, chapter 22 beginning in verse 1. You shall not see your brother's 
ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them. 
You shall certainly bring them back to your brother. And if 
your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then 
you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with 
you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it 
to him. You shall do the same with his 
donkey, and so you shall do with his garment. With any lost thing 
of your brother's, which he has lost and you have found, you 
shall do likewise. You must not hide yourself. You 
shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fall down along 
the road, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely help him 
lift them up again. A woman shall not wear anything 
that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, 
for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God. If a bird's 
nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or 
on the ground with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting 
on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother 
with the young. You shall surely let the mother 
go and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you 
and that you may prolong your days. When you build a new house, 
then you shall make a parapet for your roof. that you may not 
bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from 
it. You shall not sow your vineyard 
with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which 
you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled. You 
shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. You shall 
not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen 
mixed together. You shall make tassels on the 
four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself. 
If any man takes a wife and goes into her and detests her and 
charges her with shameful conduct and brings a bad name on her 
and says, I took this woman and when I came to her I found she 
was not a virgin, then the father and mother of the young woman 
shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman's 
virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. And the young 
woman's father shall say to the elders, I gave my daughter to 
this man, his wife, and he detests her. Now he has charged her with 
shameful conduct, saying, I found your daughter was not a virgin, 
and yet these are the evidences of my daughter's virginity. And 
they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. Then 
the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him. 
And they shall fine him 100 shekels of silver and give them to the 
father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on 
a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He 
cannot divorce her all his days. But if the thing is true, and 
evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, then 
they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's 
house. And the men of her city shall 
stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful 
thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house. 
So you shall put away the evil from among you. If a man is found 
lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them 
shall die, the man that lay with the woman and the woman. So you 
shall put away the evil from Israel. If a young woman who 
is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city 
and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate 
of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones. The 
young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the 
man because he humbled his neighbor's wife. So you shall put away the 
evil from among you. But if a man finds a betrothed 
young woman in the countryside and the man forces her and lies 
with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you 
shall do nothing to the young woman. There is in the young 
woman no sin deserving of death. For just as when a man rises 
against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. 
For he found her in the countryside and the betrothed young woman 
cried out, but there was no one to save her. If a man finds a 
young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he 
seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, then 
the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father 
50 shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he 
has humbled her. He shall not be permitted to 
divorce her all his days. A man shall not take his father's 
wife, nor uncover his father's bed. Amen. Well, as I said, there 
are two broad categories. The first, miscellaneous laws 
for the covenant community in verses 1 to 12, and then miscellaneous 
laws concerning the integrity of marriage and sexual relationships 
in verses 13 to 30. Some of the verses here, some 
of the sections are a bit vague. So to say with absolute certainty 
this is what this means, isn't my forte this evening. I hope 
to just shed some light on these particular passages, at least 
suggest some trains of thought. Most of it is very clear. When 
we get to the laws concerning sexual morality, there are some 
interesting things that we need to try and pause and to consider 
as we get specifically toward the end of the chapter. Some 
have seen a bit of a contradiction in the way that one woman is 
treated versus the other. I'm convinced there is no contradiction. The text makes Perfect sense 
as it stands, but some of these laws concerning mixing things 
and the laws concerning the bird's nest I don't know that I have 
the absolute corner of truth with reference to the bird's 
nest But again just to try and give some thoughts some of the 
commentators that I called but the most of it is very straightforward 
very simple and very applicable to the current situation we find 
ourselves in. So let's look at verses 1 to 
12. The first is the concern for 
a brother's property. The concern for a brother's property 
in verses 1 to 4. You have to notice the emphasis 
in the instruction. The emphasis in verses 1 to 4 
is that you do not hide yourself. You do not hide yourself. That means you do not ignore 
the real and genuine needs of your brethren. You don't try 
to avoid those situations which may not be the most pleasant 
in your life. Rather, covenant community dictates 
or involves a loving, kind expression of brotherly affection and kind-heartedness 
toward those within the community. The parallel legislation in Exodus 
23, 4 and 5 deals with an enemy's property. We're supposed to have 
regard even for the animals belonging to our enemy? How much more our 
brother? And in verses 1 to 4 the brother 
isn't necessarily a blood brother because feasibly you may not 
even know this particular person according to verse 2. It is a 
brother within the covenant community. It is the family of God. The 
person is not to hide themselves from the brother's loss or distress. If you're coming around the corner 
and there you see your brother with a flat tire, the idea is 
do not turn around and go the other way. Do not hide yourself 
from his distress. Don't be like the priest and 
the Levite who, when they were walking down that Jericho Road, 
failed to render aid to that man who had fallen prey to thugs. The good Samaritan happened along 
and did what the covenant community should have done for that particular 
person. The idea is clear. You are not 
to neglect a difficult situation. You're not to ignore a difficult 
situation. You're not to turn away from 
a difficult situation, but rather you were to actively assist those 
in need. And the legislation, as I said, 
is quite clear. Verse 1, you return your brother's 
animal if it goes astray. You don't say tough luck on, 
you know, Ben over there. There went his ox or his donkey. You don't do that. That's not 
gracious. It's not kind. It's not brotherly 
affection. It is not bearing with one another 
in their distress or difficulty. Secondly, you are to care for 
the animal until your brother seeks it. He may live a long 
way off. He may be unknown to you. So 
what do you do? You don't just say, well, finders 
keepers, losers weepers. That's the price of doing business 
in the covenant community. No, you take the animal home 
and you sustain the animal and you care for it and you supply 
it with all the fodder and all the things necessary until such 
time as the rightful owner comes and then you restore his property 
to him. You don't try to get over on 
the people of God. You don't try to make profit 
off of the covenant community. You don't try to, you know, do 
things that pagans or heathen do. You are to restore the animal 
to the brother when he comes. And as well, you are to realize 
that all of his property belongs to him. It's not just his animal, 
it's not just his donkey, it's not just his ox. Notice in verse 
3, You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you 
do with his garment. With any lost thing of your brothers 
which he has lost, and you have found, you shall do likewise. 
You must not hide yourself. You don't just ignore things. You just don't hope they go away. You don't just say, man, I'll 
say a prayer that that ox will find its way home. No, get out 
there and grab the ox and help it home to its rightful owner. That's the price of doing business 
in God's covenant community. Paul maintains that we are to 
do good to all men. especially to those who are of 
the household of faith. We ought never to be misers or 
scrooges or hard-hearted toward the needs of our brothers and 
sisters. We may not be dealing with oxen, 
we may not be dealing with donkeys, we may not be dealing with garments, 
but I think the principle is valid for our covenant community, 
which is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are to not 
only help him in the aforementioned ways, but we are to render assistance 
in the case of emergency on the road. Again, here it is. You 
shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fall down along 
the road and hide yourself from that. You shall surely help him 
lift them up again. I'm smiling because it's so like 
us to drive by and wave at somebody. I hope that AAA shows up. I hope somebody comes along to 
give you aid or render you assistance. Have you ever seen people whose 
car has stalled out and they're pushing it in the middle of the 
street? It's okay to get out and help them. That's legit, 
even if they're not in the covenant community, but especially to 
those who are of the household of faith. You shall not hide 
yourself from a brother in distress. If you are able and you have 
the strength, go over there and help him pick his donkey up. 
Help him get his ox back on track. Help your brother express concern, 
express love, express genuine tender heartedness to the covenant 
community when it comes to their property. Secondly, general law, 
the prohibition against transvestism. The prohibition against transvestism. Now this text is not speaking 
or forbidding women to wear trousers. Notice in verse 5, a woman shall 
not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put 
on a woman's garment. If a woman can't wear trousers 
because it pertains to a man, then she shouldn't wear socks 
because they pertain to a man. She shouldn't wear a shirt, because 
that pertains to a man. The prohibition is against transvestism. That means dressing like a woman 
if you're a man, or it means dressing like a man if you're 
a woman, to do so in a very specific way. Not just because you're 
going to wear trousers as a woman, but because you want to look 
like a man. because you're not content with the gender that 
God has made you and you are a transvestite. You are dressing 
in such a way that is rebellious against the living and true God. 
Again, not because you're wearing trousers or shirts or socks, 
but rather because you're trying to look like the opposite sex 
than what God has constituted you as. Craigie says transvestism 
tends to be associated with certain forms of homosexuality. Secondly, 
in the ancient world, it is probable that transvestite practices were 
associated with the cults of certain deities. Christopher 
Wright says, almost certainly, it is about the perverted crossing 
of genders, either in orgiastic rites involving transvestism, 
in some form of pagan worship, or both. The final phrase of 
the law shows that some form of serious immorality or idolatry 
was involved. Notice, verse 5, very end. For all who do so are an abomination 
to the Lord your God. That does not mean that if you're 
a woman in the 21st century wearing trousers, you're an abomination 
in the sight of God. It means that if you're a woman 
trying to be a man, or a man trying to be a woman, you are 
an abomination before God. It's dealing with that. To take 
this text out of its context and to make some blanket statement 
that it's always wrong for a woman to wear this or a man to wear 
a kilt. How could a man get away with 
a kilt? Why don't we attack them? Aren't skirts those things that 
pertain to a woman? I don't hear this text being 
preached in Scotland against men wearing kilts. Why does it 
only run... I don't know, maybe it is. Maybe 
there is a group of people out there that are condemning kilt-wearing 
men. Why is it? It seems to be a fundamentalist 
doctrine. It seems to be an imposition 
upon the text fueled by some other concerns that we don't 
want women to wear trousers. Well, if we don't want women 
to wear trousers, we certainly won't want men to wear kilts 
unless we understand the thrust of the passage and its transvestite 
nature in connection with homosexuality or with idolatry. That's what 
God abominates. To say that it's other than that 
is to go far beyond the sane exegesis. Notice thirdly, the 
rule concerning a bird's nest. The only reason I'm kind of chuckling 
is because a couple of the commentators said some things here that were 
just kind of funny. Here's the scenario. Let's just 
read it. Verse 6. If a bird's nest happens 
to be before you along the way in any tree or on the ground 
with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young 
or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. 
You shall surely let the mother go and take the young for yourself, 
that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your 
days. Now, obviously, what is in view here is food, right? If you're not taking the young 
ones or the eggs, to have pets. You're not bringing them home 
to your birdcage. You're not bringing them home 
to your hatchery. You are not doing those things. 
You're going to consume them. And the specific instruction 
highlights the reality that you let the mother go. Now, commentators 
suggest there's one of two things going on here. Some suggest it's 
humanitarian in nature. humanitarian in nature. Here 
you are, you're hungry, and you could eat the mother and her 
young, but you decide to spare the mother. I don't think that's 
humanitarian to gobble up the young, especially if you're the 
mother bird. I don't think she's thinking 
it's humanitarian at all. I don't think that's what's in 
view here. I think it's more economic in nature. Notice back 
in chapter 20, there is a prohibition against cutting down trees that 
bear fruit. The idea is resist the temptation 
to satisfy your immediate desires. Take the young or take the eggs 
and enjoy them. Let the mother go so that you 
lay up something for the future, so that there's provision ahead. The text specifically highlights 
the reality that man should resist the temptation for short-term 
gain at the expense of long-term provision. Now, ideally, they 
would be in the land for a long time. They would need trees to 
bear fruit. They would need mother birds 
to lay more eggs. They would need that sort of 
sustenance to supply food for their life in the land. So it's 
probably not a humanitarian concern. unless you feel especially kind 
by simply eating young ones and letting the mother go. No, it's 
more ecological or environmental with a particular end in view, 
to provide food for God's children for the long haul. The fourth 
one is the demand for safety precautions. Now, if we do scratch 
the surface on what these actually mean, how they have this rhyme 
and reason, I don't know. I mean, everything happens... Again, I think there are those 
times where God gives through Moses miscellaneous laws. Is there a unifying thing? One 
man has seen the respect for life and all of its forms in 
verses 1 to 12. but the transvestism really doesn't 
fall prey into that category. It's hard to sort of categorize. 
That's why I've said miscellaneous laws for the covenant community. 
So the fourth is the demand for safety precautions. In Exodus 
21, 33 to 34, we see a law similar, not the same, but similar in 
terms of scope. Exodus 21, 33, and if a man opens 
a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an 
ox or a donkey falls in it, the owner of the pit shall make it 
good. He shall give money to the owner, or to their owner, 
but the dead animal shall be his. What we find here in Israel 
is this law for safety precautions. Specifically, you had flat roofs 
on the homes, and that flat roof was a place for living. You could 
sleep there, you would recreate there, or you would entertain 
your guests there. So if you happen to invite some 
family over, you were to have a parapet around the roof so 
that the kid wouldn't fall off, or that the adult wouldn't fall 
off. You were to protect life. You were to put that safety precaution 
in place to preserve life. It is a good thing. The law highlights 
the reality of personal liability for the house owner. Just because 
you own a house doesn't mean that it can be a safety hazard 
to others. Now, I'm not suggesting that 
all forms of local and provincial and federal licenses and permits 
are hereby justified on this particular verse. But I am suggesting 
that we need to be responsible citizens. We need to be responsible 
individuals. This text highlights the reality 
of personal liability for the homeowner. It as well demonstrates 
concern for the sixth word, you shall do no murder. Now, not 
that you're pushing that person off necessarily, but if you have 
set up an unsafe environment, you have a pit that you haven't 
covered, you have a swimming pool that little children can 
fall into, or you have a roof that people can fall off of and 
die, there is such a thing as criminal negligence. which thus 
does jeopardize the sixth word. You shall do no murder. If I 
am criminally negligent, I ought to be held responsible for a 
violation of the sixth word. As well, it is an expression 
of love to the brethren. When you're sitting there recreating 
or entertaining your fellow covenant members and they see that parapet, 
they know that you love them. You don't want their kid to walk 
off your roof and die, walk off your roof and fall into your 
open pit. I mean the double whammy. No, you're actually a responsible 
covenant member doing what he is supposed to do. This text 
has manifold applications in modern society. I mentioned the 
swimming pool. Put a fence around it. Your neighbor 
has a three-year-old, and he can get into your pool. You might 
want to rethink how you're operating and functioning. You know, there's 
all manner of criminal negligence that we need to take consideration 
to. Again, not justifying every permit 
and every money grab situation that the government may try to 
impose upon us, but it is not unjust, and it is not unlawful, 
and it is to abide by the dictates of the sixth word, to be a responsible 
individual, to make sure that your home is not a safety hazard, 
to make sure that people aren't going to break their neck when 
they come to visit you. That's the thrust of this particular 
verse. Notice fifth, the prohibition 
against certain mixtures. planting seeds, plowing with 
animals, and mixing textiles. Verses 9 to 11. You shall not 
sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield 
of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard 
be defiled. According to some of the commentators, this was 
common practice in Egypt. Maybe God is telling them, don't 
do like the Egyptians do. You shall not plow with an ox 
and a donkey together. the ox was a clean animal, the 
donkey is an unclean animal. Maybe it was because of that 
ceremonial aspect. Some have suggested that they 
just couldn't do it together. I don't know. I'm not sure how 
all that sort of thing works. And then, you shall not wear 
a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed 
together. Now again, people take verses 
like this and ask if it's wicked if we wear polyester. Is it evil 
that I'm probably wearing a polyester sweater at this particular point? 
I actually think verses 9 to 11 transcend what we might associate 
with these verses. And I think these instructions 
reinforced Israel's distinctiveness from the nations around her. 
And abiding by these principles, abiding by these particular laws 
and rules, reminded them of their distinctiveness from the nations 
around you. And then notice, or I'll just 
read Christopher Wright, he says, even at everyday levels, Israel 
was to be reminded of the importance of not mixing with paganism. And then the sixth, in terms 
of the miscellaneous laws for the covenant community, is this 
law concerning tassels. Tassels. Did anybody read this 
before they came tonight? Does anybody know why verse 12 
is there? I'll just try and answer. It 
is a reminder to remember God's law. That's what verse 12 is 
all about. And you say, how do you know 
that, Jim? Because of Numbers 15. Numbers 15. You may turn there, just so you 
can see. You might even want to write this in your margin 
next to Deuteronomy 22, 12. Somebody will say it. And it's 
quite common. Now, I don't know if you've had 
these discussions. When you start talking to people, 
especially unbelievers, but more and more even believers or professing 
believers, when you start saying that the law of God is good, 
they'll throw out things like, what, so we can't plant mixed 
seeds? We can't wear polyester? You 
mean I can't let an ox and a donkey plow together? It's a red herring. If you say I believe that adultery 
is wrong, homosexuality is wicked, these things are vile. Oh, so 
we can't mix seeds. It's to try and to divert attention. It's an attempt to side note 
the conversation and to just sort of throw it off into Neverland. Well, the tassel law will certainly 
come up. Somebody reads verse 12, they'll 
say, oh, so we have to have tassels on our garments today? If it 
helps you to remember the law of God, then more power to you. 
Notice in Numbers 15 at verse 37. Again the Lord spoke to Moses 
saying, speak to the children of Israel. Tell them to make 
tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations 
and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. And you 
shall have the tassel that you may look upon it and remember 
all the commandments of the Lord and do them. And that you may 
not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes 
are inclined. And that you may remember and 
do all my commandments and be holy for your God. I am the Lord 
your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your 
God. I am the Lord your God." With the specific clothing that 
is probably in view in 2212 and in Numbers 15 is the cloak, the 
outer garment, something that would serve as your jacket during 
the day and your blanket during the night. So what does that 
suggest? That the law of the Lord is always 
to be before your eyes. You're always to consider his 
law in order that you may do it. If you would like to put 
a tassel on your sleeve to help you remember the law of the Lord, 
by all means, go and do likewise. If you are able to remember the 
law of the Lord without the tassel, I don't believe that in the New 
Covenant we are mandated to wear these tassels on our particular 
clothes. But the point of the passage 
was not fashion. The point of the passage was 
not style. The point of the passage is God's 
law. Remind them of God's law in order 
that they may obey. Those tassels would remind you 
to resist parliamentary, to pursue holiness, and to remember God's 
redemptive power displayed at the Exodus. So the tassels on 
the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself 
was a crucial reminder that the law of the Lord is perfect, that 
it governs, that it rules, that it guards, that it is over us 
as the covenant community in Old Testament Israel. So those 
are some miscellaneous laws concerning the covenant community with reference 
to life in the land. Let's look at the miscellaneous 
laws concerning the integrity of marriage and sexual relationships 
in verses 13 to 30. The first is the allegation of 
premarital unchastity, verses 13 to 21. Now as I was going 
through this particular passage today, one thing struck me. There 
is nothing new under the sun. Oh, it's so horrible today. We 
have transvestites. So did they. It's so horrible 
today. We have fornication. So did they. It's so horrible today. We have 
adultery. So did they. It's so horrible 
today. There's cases of rape. So did 
they. You see, sin is the constant 
element that is unchanging in man's makeup. We were created 
upright, as the preacher says in Ecclesiastes 7, 29. But we have sought out many devices. It's not just our generation. 
It's all generations. It's all men everywhere have 
sinned against the living and the true God. So God, knowing 
the hearts of men, God, knowing the waywardness of men, legislates 
to try and restrain men and to protect the innocent parties 
involved. So the first is the allegation 
of premarital unchastity. Verse 13 is vague. I cannot give 
you an explanation as to what specifically is in view here. 
If any man takes a wife and goes into her and detests her. Simply didn't have the time today 
to do a major in-depth study of this detester. Chapter 24 
verse 1, when a man takes a wife and marries her and it happens 
that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some 
uncleanness in her. Something happens at the time 
of the consummation, in terms of their wedding, that causes 
the man some sort of moral revulsion. And then notice what he does. 
There is a particular procedure. Verse 14, he charges her with 
shameful conduct, specifically that she was not a virgin. That's 
what's in view. They've gotten married. They've 
consummated the marriage. He now detests her, and he charges 
her with shameful conduct. The specific content of his charge 
is, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found she was 
not a virgin. So she was both a fornicator 
and one guilty of fraud. You have to understand that's 
also a concern. The 7th commandment and the 8th 
commandment is violated in this particular section. Fraud is 
not right. To say that you're a virgin or 
have your parents affirm that you're a virgin and you are not 
is to defraud that particular man. It's not wrong for him to 
get upset. It's not ungodly for him to get 
upset. If he thought he was, just to 
use some commercial terminology, I am not reducing her to a piece 
of property, but if he thought he was buying a particular piece 
of goods and that was not what he got, that's fraud. So that's what's in view, sexual 
immorality and fraudulent conduct. Now notice, the father and the 
mother of the woman present evidence to the elders. Verse 15, more 
than likely the bed sheet from the night that the wedding or 
the marriage was consummated. Again, these are things that 
we probably don't always like to think about, but this is God's 
holy word. So the parents proffer up this 
particular evidence, and then the father presents his case 
in verses 16 and 17. The young woman's father shall 
say to the elders, I gave my daughter to this man as wife, 
and he detests her. Now he has charged her with shameful 
conduct, saying, I found your daughter was not a virgin, and 
yet these are the evidences of my daughter's virginity. Notice 
specifically the parental involvement in this marriage situation. They 
don't just run off and do whatever they want, irrespective of the 
family. The father's involved. The mother's 
involved in this particular situation. Craigie says, parents were responsible 
because they had given their daughter to the man in marriage. 
And by that act, they had indicated that the girl was qualified for 
marriage. Now notice, after this procedure 
is conducted, there is punishment for the guilty. And in the first 
instance, the man is punished if he is found to be a liar. 
Okay? Everybody with me? I think that 
you'll see some beautiful wisdom in these verses. The man is punished 
for his guilt. That's verses 18 to 19. Notice. then the elders of that city 
shall take that man and punish him. Why? Because the parents 
have offered up evidence that proves that this man is a liar. He has detested her without cause. He has charged her and accused 
her without cause. He has maintained that she is 
not a virgin, which is shameful conduct for her, without cause. So if he is found to be a fraudulent 
dealer, if he is found to be a liar, notice the penalty that 
is levied against him. Verse 18, then the elders of 
that city shall take that man and punish him. Now I take this 
to mean corporal punishment. Some sort of a whack. There's probably a better technical 
term for a whack than a whack, but I think you all get the gist 
of what I'm trying to communicate here. In Chapter 25, we will 
see the rules governing corporal punishment. By corporal punishment, 
I mean that. Taking a stick or some sort of 
an implement or some sort of an instrument and bringing it 
to bear on the backside of an offender. So if this man lies 
about his new bride, he is going to get corporal punishment. Secondly, 
they're going to impose a monetary fine on him that is double the 
normal price for when a man pursues a woman for marriage. Not 50 
shekels, but 100 shekels of silver. And then thirdly, he is going 
to be prohibited from ever divorcing her. Now, this penalty is steep, 
isn't it? Don't you think that it would 
prohibit or at least help inhibit a man from entering in willy-nilly 
to level up such a charge? If he knew that there was a chance 
that he was going to be found out as a fraud and he would be 
whipped or beaten, he would be financially put upon, and he 
would never be allowed to divorce this woman. He would think twice, 
hopefully. Now, there's always people out 
there. There's always those sorts of 
meatheads that don't respond favorably to those threats, and 
they'll go out and do those things anyway. But those three things 
hopefully would converge upon the new bridegroom and hopefully 
inhibit him from making a false charge. So it's not just that 
this guy says, you know, she just doesn't make me happy. She 
burnt my eggs. I find fault in her. She was 
not a virgin. She is filled with shameful conduct. 
Well, you just do whatever you want. No, no, no, no, no, no, 
no. You better think twice before you seek to prosecute this particular 
case. Now, it could be the case that 
the man is right. It could be the case that the 
parents were not able to present evidences to affirm her virginity. And in that case, verses 20 and 
21 specify death. for the offending woman. If the 
thing is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for 
the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to 
the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall 
stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful 
thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house." 
Probably not in her father's house, though that may have occurred. But as a subject, as one in her 
father's house, she has done this disgraceful thing. She has 
played the harlot in her father's house, so you shall put away 
the evil from among you. So that is the specifics with 
reference to this situation concerning premarital unchastity. Now, this penalty with reference 
to the man, just backing up for a moment, would help to prevent 
false allegations. But as well, that law would protect 
the woman. You say, why would she want to 
be married to this guy? There was no nanny state in those 
days. There was no cradle to grave 
coverage. There wasn't food stamps. There 
wasn't entitlements. There wasn't Obamacare. There 
wasn't MSP. If you were without a husband, 
it was a tough economic row for you to hoe in that situation. Wright says, the law takes the 
view that the security and provision of a household, even in the home 
of such a man, is preferable to the insecurity of a divorced 
woman that nobody else is likely to ever marry. I mean, she's 
left to fend for herself. So this threefold whammy on this 
particular fellow would hopefully inhibit a hasty recourse to this 
allegation. But as well, it would indeed 
protect the woman involved in this particular situation. That's 
the first, the allegation of premarital unchastity. Secondly, 
the case of adultery, verse 22. Very simple. We don't need to 
explain it. We can just read it. If a man 
is found lying with a woman, married to a husband, then both 
of them shall die. The man that lay with the woman 
and the woman. So you shall put away the evil 
from Israel. This really discredits the idea 
that women were property. in Old Covenant Israel. No, you 
don't punish property for the violation of the owner. Both 
the man and the woman were to be executed. That's why in John 
8, when they bring that woman caught in adultery in the very 
act of Jesus, they were not seeking to obey the law of Moses. If 
she was caught in the very act of adultery, there was a man 
there with her. They were not intent on upholding 
the law of Moses. John tells us conspicuously they 
were testing Jesus. But both parties in an adulterous 
situation are to be executed, so you shall put away the evil 
from Israel. So you see this idea that my 
private sins or what I do in my bedroom or what I do in the 
privacy of my own home doesn't affect anybody else. No, you 
put away the evil from Israel. It defiles the land. It pollutes 
the land. God does not look favorably upon 
a community where there is ungodliness and unrighteousness not being 
dealt with. The third miscellaneous law concerning 
the integrity of marriage is the seduction of a betrothed 
woman. A betrothal was a legal arrangement. In fact, if you notice, in this 
particular section, in verses 23 and 24, the woman is referred 
to as wife in verse 24. So a betrothed woman was the 
wife of the man she was betrothed to. Everybody with me? So here 
we have the seduction of a betrothed woman. Now, that's a tough word 
to try and get our mind. I don't mean seduction with candles 
and, you know, romantic music. Seduction means an enticement 
to do a particular act in this sense or in this situation, sexual 
relations. Notice in verse 23. If a young 
woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband and a man finds 
her in the city and lies with her. This is very important, 
the specification of in the city. Contrasted with what we find 
in verses 25 to 27 in the countryside. Let me just cut to the chase. 
If you're in the city and you cry for help, you will get help. 
If you're in the countryside and you cry for help, you're 
not going to get help. Right? There's nobody around. 
What God through Moses is showing us is intent. He's showing us 
consent. Verses 23 and 24 show us this 
virgin who is betrothed She consents to this activity. If a young woman who is a virgin 
is betrothed to a husband and a man finds her in the city and 
lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate 
of that city and you shall stone them to death with stones. The 
young woman, because she did not cry out in the city, she 
consented to the sexual act. If she was not consenting, if 
she did not want this to happen, all she would have to do is cry 
out and somebody would come and assist her. Somebody would come 
and help her. And the man, because he humbled 
his neighbor's wife, so you shall put away the evil from among 
you. So that's the seduction of a 
betrothed woman. The fourth is the rape of a betrothed 
woman. Again, these are unsavory ideas 
and concepts to consider on a Wednesday evening, but it's reality. This 
past Saturday I stood out on the corner again holding up abortion 
signs and people come and say, that's disgusting and that's 
horrible and you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Yeah, I 
know, it's disgusting. But we don't live in a world 
that is filled with sunshine and rose petals and bluebirds. We live in a world that has abortion. We live in a world that has rape. 
We live in a world that is brutal. If the heavens declare the glory 
and the righteousness of God, the streets declare the sinfulness 
of man. And God does not lie. God does 
not hide us from these unsavory truths, he tells us how his law 
protects the innocent and punishes the guilty. Notice in verse 25, 
if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, same 
scenario in terms of her legal status, she is betrothed to a 
man, so she is a wife. And the man, here's the key verb, 
forces her. When we get down to verse 28, 
we read the word seizes, it's a different verb. The NIV is 
wrong to suggest that verses 28 and 29 is additionally rape. The only rape in this section 
is verses 25 to 27. More on that in just a moment. 
But notice, if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, 
and the man forces her. This is crucial. That is what 
the definition of rape is. It is forced. He forces her, 
and he lies with her. Then only the man who lay with 
her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the 
young woman. Don't penalize her. Don't treat 
her like an unclean thing. Don't treat her like a leper. 
She was the victim of a violent assault. Love her, hug her, care 
for her, and tend to her. Don't treat her as the criminal. You shall do nothing to the young 
woman. There is in the young woman no 
sin deserving of death. For just as when a man rises 
against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. For he found her in the countryside, 
and the betrothed young woman cried out. She screamed, she 
begged, she implored, she desired help, but there was no one to 
save her because she's in the countryside. This was not a consensual 
act on her part. She was an unwilling victim of 
a violent and horrific crime that the Bible says is just as 
the crime of murder. You don't punish her, you don't 
treat her poorly, you don't treat her as a leper. Notice, fifthly, 
the seduction of a single woman. I'm using my words carefully. This is not the rape of a single 
woman, verses 28 and 29. The verb employed in verse 25 
demands violence. The verb employed in verse 28 
does not. He seizes her. Could be violent, 
could be unkind, but it's not necessarily implied. If a man 
finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, then he 
seizes her and lies with her. Notice, and they are found out. That's suggestive of her complicity 
in the situation. It doesn't say, and he is found 
out. No, it's they are found out. 
The parallel legislation is in Exodus 22, verses 16 and 17. where specifically we read, 2216, 
if a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, same scenario, 
and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride price for her to 
be his wife. If her father utterly refuses 
to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the bride 
price of virgins. What we have in verses 28 and 
29 is not the rape of a single woman, but because she's single 
or not betrothed, she doesn't get the same protection of the 
law. False. That is wrong. There is no inconsistency. There's no separate set of rules. There are separate sets of circumstances 
with the same law designed to punish the guilty and to protect 
the innocent. And in this particular scenario, 
if a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, 
then he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, 
then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's 
father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because 
he has humbled her, he shall not be permitted to divorce her 
all his days." And when we hear that language of bride price, 
it does suggest the idea of property. It wasn't like that. It wasn't 
like that. Christopher Wright says, it is 
wrong to translate it bride price. The custom of exchanges of money 
and other gifts between families in the context of marital arrangements 
is widespread in many cultures and is usually a part of the 
cementing relationships and investing in the stability and permanence 
of the new union. We do the same thing today. What parent in here who has seen 
their child get married hasn't given them lots of money? It's 
just part and parcel of the arrangement. It wasn't the situation where 
the man hands in 50 shekels and he goes to his cash register 
and takes his daughter off the shelf and hands her over. It's 
the way we read it. We impose certain mindsets that 
it was beneath us, that it was somehow below us, that it's just 
so far beneath our dignity. No. It was the fact that families 
were involved. There was a process. things in place, and in this 
particular scenario, if a man finds a young woman, he seizes 
her, he lies with her, and they are found out, and that rule 
applies that he has to pay, he has to marry her, and he can 
never ever divorce her. And then the sixth miscellaneous 
law is the prohibition against, it's probably affinity, not so 
much incest, though it would certainly be against incest. Verse 30, a man shall not take 
his father's wife nor uncover his father's bed. It's probably 
not his mother that's in view, it's probably his stepmother. Now again, the law would prohibit 
him from doing that with his mother to be sure, but a man 
shall not take his father's wife nor uncover his father's bed. In our London Baptist Confession 
it says marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity. That's a relationship by blood. 
You can't marry your brother. You can't marry your sister. 
You know, I think first cousin, beyond first cousin. So consanguinity, 
but then the confession goes on to say, or affinity. Affinity is a relationship by 
marriage. So if she is your father's wife, 
that is affinity. You are not to take her. You 
are not to uncover his bed. You are not supposed to violate 
that sacred bond. You are not supposed to violate 
that covenant arrangement. This is repeated later in Deuteronomy 
2720. It's repeated in Leviticus 18 and Leviticus 20. There's 
a New Testament example in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. What do you think 
Paul has in mind when he is charging the Corinthians with the horrific 
crime that is not even named among the Gentiles? A man has 
his father's wife. He's got this text. He's got 
Leviticus in his mind. And he is reproving the church 
in Corinth for violating this law concerning Affinity. A man shall not take his father's 
wife nor uncover his father's bed. So the sixth miscellaneous 
laws. One, the allegation of premarital 
unchastity. Two, the case of adultery. Three, 
the seduction of a betrothed woman. Four, the rape of a betrothed 
woman. Five, the seduction of a single 
woman. And six, the prohibition against 
affinity. As I've said on the way here, 
we have seen how this is applicable to the situation that we find 
ourselves in. It may not be the case that we 
find bird's nests and there's a particular theocratic law which 
dictates how we are to deal with the young, the eggs, or the mother, 
but certainly the principle holds true for us in this new covenant 
era. We ought to be concerned for 
our brother's property. We ought to be concerned for 
God-given gender distinctives. Men ought to be men, and women 
ought to be women, not vice versa. That is wrong. It is a violation 
of the created order. Birds don't try to swim, and 
fish don't try to fly. Neither should men try to be 
women, and women shouldn't try to be men. As far as the mixing 
laws and the tassels, we ought to consider our distinctiveness 
before God the Lord, and we ought to remember His law always. And 
with reference to these laws concerning sexual relationship, 
we ought to protect jealously the relationships that we are 
in, and we ought to guard our hearts with reference to these 
particular violations of God's holy law. Well, let us pray. Father, we thank you for your 
word and we thank you for its clarity and its application in 
our own lives. And our Father, we live in a 
world that is filled with sin and depravity and wickedness. 
We know that law cannot change the heartless, but it can certainly 
restrain men. And we pray that your church, 
that your people would understand your word, would be able to apply 
your word We pray that you and your mercy would restrain sinners 
from being as bad as they can be. We pray that the gospel would 
be proclaimed, that that power, that glorious truth that does 
change hearts under the blessing of your Holy Spirit. We ask God 
in heaven that you would be merciful, that your will would be done 
on earth as it is in heaven. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.