Neighborly kindness & sexual purity

Deuteronomy Chapter 22

If you see your ox or sheep wandering away, don't pretend not to see it, said Moses to the Israelites. Take it back to the owner or if the owner is not known, keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Do the same for your neighbor's livestock, clothing or anything your neighbor loses and if you see his livestock lying on the road, help it get to its feet.

A woman must not wear man's clothing and a man must not wear woman's clothing. The Lord detests people who do this.

If you find a bird's nest on the ground or in a tree, you may take the young, but let the mother go, so you will prosper and enjoy a long life.

Every new house must have a barrier around the edge of its flat roof, so you will not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your household if someone falls from the roof.

Do not plant another crop between the rows of your vineyard. If you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes or the produce of the other crop. Do not plow with an ox and donkey harnessed together. Do not wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together. Put tassels on the four corners of your cloaks.

Suppose, said Moses, a man marries a woman and after sleeping with her, he changes his mind and falsely accuses her of sleeping with another man. He might claim she was not a virgin. The woman's parents must bring proof of her virginity to the leaders of the town. Her father must bring as proof the bedding cloth before the judges. The judges must punish the man and fine him one hundred pieces of silver for the false accusation. The woman may remain the man's wife, and he may never divorce her.

But suppose his accusations are true and her virginity cannot be proved. Then the judges must take the girl to the door of her father's house and the men of the town will stone her to death.

If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the other man's wife must be killed so evil is cleansed from Israel.

Suppose a man meets a young virgin who is engaged to be married and has sex with her. Take both of them to the gates of the town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man's wife.
But if the man meets the virgin out in the country and rapes her, then only the man should die. Since he raped her in the country, it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to rescue her.

If a man is caught in the act of raping a woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father, then he must marry her because he violated her and he is never allowed to divorce her.

A man must never have intercourse with his father's wife, for this would violate his father.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW that sexual instruction during the trek though the wilderness for 3 million people would have been vital. But equally important as they entered the Promised Land and settled down as a nation. Sins involving sex are not the forbidden pleasures they are portrayed, but are destroyers of relationships.They confuse and tear down the climate of respect, trust and credibility that is essential for solid marriages and secure children.

How does this chapter relate to us today? The Lord tried to set rules involving sexual purity. Unfortunately, in our times, sex has become a tool for the media and blasts into our homes on a daily basis. Ask anybody who watched soap operas years ago and compare them with the semi-nude scenes of today's soaps. Our society has become lax and is losing all attempts to curb these destroyers of relationships. Casual sex has become rampant in our society. Hooking-up has become the norm with our young people. How can we turn things back so that our society can climb back up to a respectable plateau of trust and credibility? Could we not make it so easy to get a divorce? Could we make parents take parenting classes? Could we take control of our young people by introducing God back into their lives? How? At home. At home where they learn their basic beliefs. Limit the amount of television and type of movies they watch. At church where their beliefs are confirmed by other Christians. At church where they are taught to feel comfortable in their faith. We desperately need a grass-roots solution to these problems and it begins at home and with our Lord. Pray with your kids. Show them by doing, not just saying. Ask our Lord and Savior to help us get back to teaching our young the right path to take! Pray for this right now!

Yours in Christ,
Mary