- Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him, 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. Deuteronomy 22:18-19 – The situation spoken about in our passage is one where a man married a woman yet at some point in the marriage decided he doesn’t want her anymore. He chooses then to lie about her saying she was not a virgin on their wedding day. When the lie of the man was discovered, the above punishment was to be dealt. Yet see the life this women would have to live as a result of this man’s sin. She would live as a wife on a man who hated her and because of his lie about her he would be forever shamed in his community. I can’t imagine this was a good situation for her life, but such is the repercussions of our sin. Our choice to sin often has immediate consequences, but there also can be lifelong damages connected to our sin, and those damages may even extend to others around us. For we may find reconciliation with God through Jesus, and we may even do all we can to make things right with those we hurt, but there may still be forever damage. Maybe our actions permanently wounded someone. Maybe our words led someone to a path they can’t return from. Maybe our choices shattered the family in ways that can’t be mended. Knowing that such realities could come about as a result of sin, choose not to sin. Whatever momentary pleasure you get from sin is not worth the lifetime of pain that can come from the consequences of sin. Choose the path of holiness that offers blessings to your future and not the curse that sin brings. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3460
- 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. Deuteronomy 22:3 – We are called to watch out for our brother. How could we step away from a passage like this and remain thinking God is good with us solely thinking only of our own good and forsaking the good of our brothers and sisters? Be on the look out then for when your brother loses something. Sure, maybe it’s a donkey, might not be too common of a thing today, but not impossible. What about though him losing his confidence in God? Or his hope? What about his faith? Things we may not find on the side of the road, but things we shouldn’t ignore when our brother loses them. If we’re called to take care of our brother’s lost garment until we can get it back to him, how much more important should it be for us to help out if our brother loses faith in God? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1317
- Deuteronomy 22 – Pastor Mac Daily DEVO 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. Deuteronomy 22:6-7 – These two verses are an example of the sort of laws given in this chapter. Some make total sense why God gave them like if your brother is struggling to lift his donkey that is fallen you are to help him, or if a woman is attacked out in the open field with no one to help her she shouldn’t be punished for that. Then there are laws here given about tassels, protective barriers on your roof, and bird’s nests. What I hope we keep in mind not only with this chapter, but all these laws we are reading about in Deuteronomy, is that the land of Canaan, the Promise Land, the land they were about take over, the people in that land did the opposite of all these things God was saying. They were a tremendously sinful people and God wanted His people to be different than that. Hence so many of the laws that are given. God wanted them to stand out as followers of His and to handle all things as God would. As we navigate scripture and as we see all the things God is calling us to do and be, and we see how drastically different a life following such directions would be from the lives of those in this world, we see now that’s been God’s desire all along. That His people would be different than the world around them. In this world sharing His love with the world, but not of this world and not behaving like the world. Let’s make it known to all around us that we are followers of Jesus by actually following Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2447
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