Deuteronomy 21 Journey Through the Bible Deuteronomy 23
King James Version
The Book of Deuteronomy
Chapter 22
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Commentary
Deuteronomy 22
Many years ago, Cain asked God, "Am I my brothers keeper?" God did not say yes and He did not say no, directly, but He did require of Cain the blood of his brother, Abel, in that God put a punishment upon Cain that he be cursed. In Deuteronomy 22, God does make it clear that our kinsmen are our responsibility. In verses 1 through 4, we see that we are not to ignore the lost things of our brother, but that we must do something that will help preserve the thing that our brother had lost. We have to take care of it as though it were our own, until we can restore it to the rightful owner, either by seeking out the owner, of taking care of it well until the owner comes looking for it.
In today's evil hearted men, it may be somewhat of a risk to honor this law, because people today steal from kinsmen as soon or sooner than they would a stranger from afar. Should you find that which belongs to someone else, and take it home to preserve it for the owner, it is likely today that the owner would believe you to have stolen the thing. Your intentions were as pure as gold, but you are accused. You must go to court to be tried for theft. All in all, it don't seem worth it to help out someone that has lost something, and that is only the one law. No matter how wicked the heart of man becomes, we must not refrain from doing that which we know to be right and just. Any personal sacrifice on our part will be honored and rewarded on God's part, even if we don't see it right away. Later, when we forget the blessedness of God, try to relate your blessing with it's cause so that you do not continue to doubt God. He is not slack concerning His promises.
There is no clearly defined reward for honoring the law written in the first 4 verses, but it is certain that there is a clearly defined punishment for deliberately breaking it.
It is noteworthy that this law be found in the same chapter with sexual sin and crime. All of the rest of the chapter is laws about marriage, virgins, rape, etc. while this one law is written in the same chapter, seemingly completely unrelated to the other descriptions law. Verse 26 and 27 compares this law with the law that pertains to the slaying of ones neighbor, to be handled in like manner... because there was none to save her. The matter is not clear as to the relation between this law and the law of slaying, but it seems to me that if I were a maid and had experienced rape, my life would be very different; altered in a way that cannot be restored to whole again. The life to that innocent maid is forever tainted and many of the freedoms she once had are gone. There are laws that pertain to the virgin, and there are laws pertaining to other women who have been humbled, or had sexual relations and is no longer a virgin. All laws must be held and honored. We will learn more about this as we journey through the Bible.
Monday, January 25, 2010 12:44pm
