Three Strange Laws that Point to our Hope in Christ
Deuteronomy 21 ends with three obscure laws that have zero meaning to us if not for the Cross of Christ and His work to make us God's people.
The first is the law of the firstborn son. Basically, if a man has two wives and prefers one (obviously the second wife as no one would prefer the first wife or the second would not exist!), he is NOT to show preferential treatment to the son of his preferred wife. The firstborn inheritance goes to the firstborn regardless of his emotional state. This law looks strange as it seems to allow polygamy. Of course, this is not promoting polygamy but drawing constraints around it so that Israel would not do as they wished in less-than-godly situations.
The point to be drawn from here is that God understands how often we let our emotions do the talking. We get irrational and unfair in these moments. Think for instance of the unloved woman's son. He would have to bear the consequence of something between his father and mother. God will not have that. The law will be firm: the firstborn, no matter of which wife, gets the inheritance.
The second law in the list is about a rebellious son. He will not listen to his parent. So the protocol goes:
Deuteronomy 21:19–21 (ESV) then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, 20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Deuteronomy 21:22–23 (ESV) “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
This law seems self-explanatory. But its placement here with the other laws is demanding deeper attention for the New Testament Christian.
In Christ, these laws are fulfilled for us. Jesus is sent by the Father to the world because God "SO" loved the world. That sounds like an emotional decision but it is not. The word, "so" is pointing to the quantitative aspect of God's love, not the emotional quotient of God's love. In other words, God sent Jesus to die for us in order to demonstrate HOW He loves, not HOW MUCH He loves us. We were not worth loving but we are loved because God is love. It is not emotional and that is a good thing. Because it is not emotional, it is not whimsical. It is firm, it is set in history as fact. God LOVES sinners because of who HE is, not because of how we make Him feel. Trust me on this, you WANT God's love to be fixed in historical fact not emotional appeal. One day we may "feel" like we deserve it, the next we may feel the opposite. His love does NOT change.
The second law is fulfilled in Christ who becomes the rebellious son FOR US. Even the accusation listed here should remind us of the accusations aimed at Christ as a "glutton and a drunkard". What is interesting is that Jesus used these specific words when responding to their critiques against Him! Even THERE (Luke 7:34) He was trying to show them His work of redemption. His becoming sin for us unto death was the work necessary to purge the evil from our community.
Finally, the third law had to do with the burial of a hanged person. What an interesting prophetic portion that is fulfilled in Christ coming down from the tree on the same day they put Him up. He did not stay on that tree, He took our sins into the grave and buried them forever. Then He rose from that grave to secure our redemption.
It's passages like these that help me remember what a rich, wonderful, unchangeable inheritance we have in Christ. Glory be to God!
Amen.
The first is the law of the firstborn son. Basically, if a man has two wives and prefers one (obviously the second wife as no one would prefer the first wife or the second would not exist!), he is NOT to show preferential treatment to the son of his preferred wife. The firstborn inheritance goes to the firstborn regardless of his emotional state. This law looks strange as it seems to allow polygamy. Of course, this is not promoting polygamy but drawing constraints around it so that Israel would not do as they wished in less-than-godly situations.
The point to be drawn from here is that God understands how often we let our emotions do the talking. We get irrational and unfair in these moments. Think for instance of the unloved woman's son. He would have to bear the consequence of something between his father and mother. God will not have that. The law will be firm: the firstborn, no matter of which wife, gets the inheritance.
The second law in the list is about a rebellious son. He will not listen to his parent. So the protocol goes:
Deuteronomy 21:19–21 (ESV) then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, 20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
This sounds severe to us. But think of this in an ancient world context. Rebellious sons would have been horrible as the parents were powerless against his evil. NOT in Israel. God's people were to give communal support to parental authority. Surely no parent would have WANTED to stone their child (really), but the option on the table here established clear household rules and gave the parents the necessary support required to hold their children accountable. Public execution alone would purge the evil from the community.
The final law has to do with death on a tree:
Deuteronomy 21:22–23 (ESV) “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
This law seems self-explanatory. But its placement here with the other laws is demanding deeper attention for the New Testament Christian.
In Christ, these laws are fulfilled for us. Jesus is sent by the Father to the world because God "SO" loved the world. That sounds like an emotional decision but it is not. The word, "so" is pointing to the quantitative aspect of God's love, not the emotional quotient of God's love. In other words, God sent Jesus to die for us in order to demonstrate HOW He loves, not HOW MUCH He loves us. We were not worth loving but we are loved because God is love. It is not emotional and that is a good thing. Because it is not emotional, it is not whimsical. It is firm, it is set in history as fact. God LOVES sinners because of who HE is, not because of how we make Him feel. Trust me on this, you WANT God's love to be fixed in historical fact not emotional appeal. One day we may "feel" like we deserve it, the next we may feel the opposite. His love does NOT change.
The second law is fulfilled in Christ who becomes the rebellious son FOR US. Even the accusation listed here should remind us of the accusations aimed at Christ as a "glutton and a drunkard". What is interesting is that Jesus used these specific words when responding to their critiques against Him! Even THERE (Luke 7:34) He was trying to show them His work of redemption. His becoming sin for us unto death was the work necessary to purge the evil from our community.
Finally, the third law had to do with the burial of a hanged person. What an interesting prophetic portion that is fulfilled in Christ coming down from the tree on the same day they put Him up. He did not stay on that tree, He took our sins into the grave and buried them forever. Then He rose from that grave to secure our redemption.
It's passages like these that help me remember what a rich, wonderful, unchangeable inheritance we have in Christ. Glory be to God!
Amen.
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