The laws of purity, ploughing, human interaction, worship, rape and consequences are all part of our reading. Praise God that Jesus is the One who cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Be blessed in your reading and praying.
Deuteronomy 22: Various Laws
1 "You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother.
2 And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him.
3 And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it.
4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.
5 "A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.
6 "If you come across a bird's nest 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 let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.
8 "When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.
9 "You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard.
10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
11 You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.
12 "You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.
Laws Concerning Sexual Immorality
13 "If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her
14 and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, 'I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,'
15 then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate.
16 And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her;
17 and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, "I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity." And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.' And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city.
18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him,
19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days.
20 But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman,
21 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 an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
22 "If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.
23 "If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her,
24 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 for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbour's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
25 "But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.
26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbour,
27 because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.
28 "If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found,
29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.
30 "A man shall not take his father's wife, so that he does not uncover his father's nakedness.
Deuteronomy 23: Those Excluded from the Assembly
1 "No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the LORD.
2 "No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD.
3 "No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever,
4 because they did not meet you with bread and with 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.
5 But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you.
6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
7 "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land.
8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the LORD.
Uncleanness in the Camp
9 "When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10 "If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp,
11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.
12 "You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it.
13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement.
14 Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 "You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.
16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.
17 "None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute.
18 You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of the LORD your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.
19 "You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest.
20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
21 "If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin.
23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.
24 "If you go into your neighbour's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag.
25 If you go into your neighbour's standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbour's standing grain.
Things to think about…
What do you think of the laws in Dt 22:1-10. They are laws surrounding basic care for your neighbour and your environment. A protective guard rail (parapet) was to be placed around the top of the house, Dt 22:8 – maintaining safety is the Lord’s will. If we cared for each other and God’s creation in this way we would be honouring many of our obligations in this life. Unequal yoking, a donkey and an ox, vs 9 was not allowed. The same with personal relationships as Paul reaffirms in the NT, 2Cor 6:14. The non-mixing of seed in a field or blended materials within a garment has spiritual significance in the fact that we are called to be separated in our beliefs, thoughts and actions as contrasted against the world. Even in our day with blended seeds and genetic modification we are noticing all sorts of reactions and allergies. Research is profitable, but God’s laws and principles are never bettered.
Women were exalted to an honoured estate among Israel Dt 22:13-30. They were to be protected from injustice and if they were accused of immorality and it was a false charge they were to be honoured and cared for in the status of a wife all their days and were not to be divorced – a lifetime of care was required. The man who falsely accused his wife was also required to pay 100 shekels of silver – 5 times the price of a slave. This was a debilitating cost for most and therefore a strong deterrent to not bring such a charge against his wife. You may think remaining married for the woman was a life sentence for her to be kept with a doubting husband. But ancient near east customs were such that the wife was a respected part of society. The shame would rest upon the doubting husband. Husbands love your wives! May the Lord bless us by enabling us to honour women. This is a time-honoured principle. A godly heritage comes from a godly home.
There are some interesting laws in Dt 23:1-8. The Lord values the image of a man – I.E. His penis and his testicles. Men, be men. We are to enter into the Lord’s presence with our whole identity. In many modern churches men are neutered from their calling and their role. Step up fellas. We need your strength, leadership and wisdom. All the images, idols and influences from the surrounding nations were not to be allowed into the presence of the Lord. In a similar way our worship is to honour the truth of Christ and not be tainted with the desires and attitudes of the world. Including dressing like the opposite sex. We see this today, blurred lines and compromise or flat out evil. Let’s pray for spiritual fellowship and teaching and turn away from any worldly influence.
Bodily emissions from human faeces while natural, were considered unclean before the Lord, Dt 22:9-14. We are called to be holy in everything. Basic hygiene is something we should never take for granted. If someone is not carrying this out (I.E they smell) or they are not clothing themselves in a way that honours the Lord – our requirement is to graciously speak to them and hold them accountable. The gospel affects our standards of dress and hygiene. Remember the man who was delivered from “legion” in the NT by Jesus, Mk 5, Lk 8. It says he was “clothed and in his right mind”, Mark 5:15. Christ affects both our mind and our bodies. These are reflected through our self-worth and outward presentation.
Look at Dt 22:15, 16. Slaves were not to be mistreated. If they were mistreated and they ran away, they were not to be handed back. They were to find protection in the place where they found protection. We have run from our previous slave owner Satan and have fled to Christ. Let’s see others protected from the world as they seek spiritual shelter in Jesus. This also speaks into situations where there is abuse within a home. An abused woman for example should never be encouraged to return back into an abusive situation. Help, protect and secure a future for her where she is honoured as a co-heir with Christ.
If you make a vow, you were to keep it, Dt 22:21-23. In the NT we are encouraged to let our ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and our ‘no’ ‘no’, Mt 5:37, Jm 5:12. We are also called to be willing to give to others, vss 24, 25. What do you have that you can share with someone else in the church that may be a blessing for them?
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups are encouraged to do alpha at church on Wednesday night 6:30pm at church. Be encouraged and join us.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for the appointment of Ric Benson as Church Health and Community Pastor to CBC. Ric will be preaching for 2 weeks on the 20th Aug and 27th Aug, prior top the church vote on the 27th Aug.
2. Pray for the Kids Klub advertising through Chaplain and RI this week. Pray this ministry builds in our community.
3. Pray for alpha course session Wed 6:30pm at Church. Invite non-Christians.
4. Pray about Sunday’s message that it would change lives.
5. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
6. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you saved.
7. Pray for Rosie and Kids@church, pray for more teachers.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise the Lord for some good responses to Sunday’s message.
2. We had a good discussion with the young adults at the Beatty’s on how to engage the next generation with the gospel.
3. Great second session at alpha course last night. Had about 20 there.
4. Give thanks for Sally who has consistently been able to come to church with Richard.
5. Some encouraging signs of those wanting to consider who Jesus was. People asking about baptism.
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Information session 27th Aug after the morning service.
2. Alpha Course 3rd session on Wed 2nd Aug – 6:30pm – invite non Christians to this course.
