Adultery & Stealing: Respect & Protect

Adultery & Stealing: Respect & Protect Deuteronomy 5.18-19 HEAR REMEMBER DO! 5.18 You shall not commit adultery. Read Deut 22.1-22 5.19 You shall not steal. Read Deut 23.15 and 23.19-23 Caution: Those of you with kids. Nothing explicit here, but we will be talking about human sexuality, so release your kids to Sunday School if you d prefer that. Prepare: You will want to have your Bibles open and ready, starting in Deuteronomy 22. We ve been telling you that each of the 10 commandments has a corresponding section in the later chapters of Deuteronomy which expands and explains in more detail that God is not just offering 10 do s & don ts, but rather that each Commandment is a communication of what God values, and that that value has deep implications for how we should think and live. For instance, we learned abou this when we explored the 4 th Commandment, where we are not given the option to take a Sabbath. We spent 2 Sundays discussing receiving the gift of Sabbath and challenging each other to do so. Have you been holding yourself and the rest of your church to this? This was not only rest for ourselves. Carmen also shared, when exploring the chapters which teach us about Sabbath (which are parts of chapters 14-16) that Sabbath was a justice issue. This was especially poignant to me this Thanksgiving, when so many retail stores expanded their hours into the community s time of rest and celebration, in order to make more money. Their actions are not just for the many employees who deserve rest and time with family, but would lose their job Page 1 of 14

if they refused to work. Sabbath is a gift to receive and a gift to give. So that s a bit of review and an example to remind us that Deuteronomy is a deep expansion of the behavioral covenant that God offers to the Israelites in ch5 s 10 Comandments. But, I must admit, I find the commentary section on the 7 th and 8 th Commandments prohibiting adultery and stealing which are found in ch22-24.7 to be much more difficult to understand. I struggled with this section, for various reasons. I hope what I bring you today is helpful, even if it is hard. PRAY HERE. To me, the connection between the commandments and commentary seem much looser here. There are some sections that relate, but overall it appears to be much more random, less focused, in helping us listen to what God wants us to understand about adultery and stealing. Perhaps that s fine. I think many of us have a good idea what adultery and stealing are, and for the most part society in general has upheld these as important boundaries for the good of society. And that is really the best way to summarize all the seemingly unrelated laws related to the 7 th and 8 th commandments. There are boundaries in life, and boundaries are about the right to respect and protection. God s call is to Respect and Protect these boundaries. If we demand respect and protection for ourselves and our belongings, then those same boundaries require we offer others the same respect and protection. To protect others and ourselves, to watch out for each other, is an obedient expression of love for creation, for ourselves, and for God. And this is the standard the 7 th and 8 th Commandments call us to. Page 2 of 14

For instance, the beginning of ch22 talks about someone else s livestock straying into your life. If that happens: bring it back! or take care of it! You can t ignore it and pretend its not your problem. No matter if it s an animal or an item of clothing, God calls us to care for it. What if it were ours? Wouldn t we want and hope for the same? Perhaps Moses is using something similar to what Jesus does when he teaches by using parables. Parables have been called back door teaching. The story draws you in, you can relate, it seems to be talking about others; when all of the sudden you realize the story speaks to you in an uncomfortable way. Moses is saying take care of other s livestock and property. But, perhaps God is preparing his people to hear about something even more serious. So Moses pushes us a little further. He takes a different direction; stating a series of laws about things that, for one reason or another, just don t go together. Here s what doesn t go together: Taking both the mother and the young for food. Pretty shortsighted. It doesn t repect and protect. 2 crops don t go together in the same vineyard, perhaps byprotect future crops by preventing hybrids which wouldn t go to seed. Oxen and donkeys don t go together when hitched to the same load. Their strength is not matched. They won t go straight; the donkey could be injured. Women in men s clothing and men in women s clothing. Let me talk more about that: Page 3 of 14

o This doesn t seem to be about costume parties. Rather o There is a history, especially in the cults of idol worship at the time, of tranvestism. This law is boldly stating that crossing this boundary, the boundary between male and female, is a clear rejection of how we honor God as Creator of men and women; distinct gender expressions of what it means to be humans created in the image of God. (Gen 1.27) o This law, from so long ago, should also make us aware that people have struggled with establishing their gender orientation for 1000s of years. God is saying gender distinction is a primary boundary not to be blurred or willfully crossed. Some of us may have friends who struggle with this, and thus know the pain and confusion this causes. Taking care of another s property and recognizing what doesn t go together. Seems to be common sense, but on a deeper level, God begins to make connections in our minds about boundaries in life that protect us and help us protect each other and creation. And, as we all know, common sense isn t as common as we d like. Especially when there is the potential to get something for nothing, or when our twisted sexuality obscures our vision about what we would otherwise see as right and wrong. I m suggesting to you that the connection to the prohibition of adultery and stealing we find in the 7 th and 8 th Commandments to chapters 22-24 is: boundaries in life and protecting each other. Respect and Protect, that is the theme for us to Listen, Remember, and Do. Page 4 of 14

Then Moses, in ch22 v12, makes a seemingly off-hand remark about tassles on the clothing of the Israelites. It appears unrelated, but it is deeply, deeply relevant. It s a reference to the book of Numbers, the book just before Deuteronomy. In Numbers 15, God tells them to wear those tassels, and why. He says: 39 You have the fringe so that, when you see it, you will remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own eyes. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and you shall be holy to your God.. Numbers 15:39-40, NRSV. Think about that: lots of seemingly unrelated laws which start us thinking about boundaries which keep us in healthy relationship with our neighbor; seemingly unrelated laws which get us thinking about protecting our neighbors belongings as we wish they would respect our own. And then, bam! The Isrealites would get this reference to tassles, and would be convicted about what it meant: You are my people! These commandments are not a suggestion. And you are not innocent of breaking these commandments if you just take them for the words themselves. They represent more! They represent me! You represent me! And when it comes to sexual boundaries, be especially vigilant, because God knows our hearts and eyes often lead us into sin. And so with that lead-in, Moses talks specifically about respecting and protecting the boundaries of marriage and sexual relationships. Respect and Protect. Starting at v13, the rest of ch22 has important changes for the Israelites to Listen and Remember and Do. Page 5 of 14

For starters, men can t just throw away women or their marriage. It is a covenant relationship, just as the Israelites are in a covenant relationship with God. The covenant with God is based on God s holiness and his desire for his people to be holy as well, to be faithful to him as he is faithful to them. Marriage is perhaps the most explicit parallel the closest example of what it means to honor God and to follow God s example and values. To be married is to live out, with another person, (even when it is hard) God s Commandments, and the values behind those Commandments. 1 And so men can t promise their life to a woman, have her leave her family to start a new family, and then just change his mind because it wasn t all he expected it to be. Even worse, slandering her in an effort to release himself from his obligation is an attempt to destroy her in order to follow his own selfish desires. The man is choosing to break the boundaries of marriage. The man is choosing to destroy, rather than protect, his wife. In response, he is told, not so fast. The community won t stand for it. Go home. Honor your wife and your marriage. Marriage is too sacred for you to throw away, and too important to end even though you ve done a horrible thing by slandering your own wife. God tells the community to respect and protect. But, what if its true? What if his slander is not slander, but a cry of disappointment that the covenant of marriage was broken before it began. She has acted outrageously, it says, breaking covenant not only with her husband, but also with 1 Talk about created male and female? ( 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27, NAS95.) and the first marriage? ( 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24, NAS95.) Page 6 of 14

God and the community. Then it is the woman who has broken the boundaries. We find in Deuteronomy the uncomfortable realization that a sexual relationship implies a crossing of a boundary that forever after cannot be uncrossed. 2 We find this is not just a matter between two people, which is the argument we often hear. A much wider context was assumed. The community was deeply affected by sexual relationships, either for good or for ill. Its never simply an individual matter. 3 We all deal with this kind of sin. Sexual sin. All of us. We have either used another person and cast them off, or we have used them in our hearts and minds, fantasizing without their permission and just as easily cast them off. Jesus, as with all sin, consistently takes an even harder line in regards to sexual sin, to not respecting and protecting the boundaries God has established so that we might honor one another. In Matthew 5, Jesus states clearly that he did not come to abolish what God had declared in his covenant Commandments. He came to fulfill them, by living a life that perfectly respected and protected all of them. Jesus fulfilled the law, and we are grateful, because it meant that his unblemished life would provide forgiveness for our sins. In Matthew 5, Jesus follows Moses example by saying that there is more to each commandment than the Commandment itself. He does his own commentary: In regards to adultery, in v27 and following, Jesus again holds the men to a standard because of their (and our) maledominated society they are not used to following. 2 Clements. p454. 3 Ibid. p456. Page 7 of 14

Jesus says, 27 You have heard that it was said, YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY ; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:27, 28, NAS95. Like I said, we all, especially men, deal with this sin. The prohibition of adultery, at its root, is deep respect marriage. The Commandment speaks loudly against sexual sin. It says sex is never casual, even if the people involved don t realize it. Sexual relationships have meaning, and God sees something in the union of 2 people we continually fail to recognize. It is a boundary of a most holy nature, and crossing the boundary has repercussions which can damage people and relationships. Friends, thanks be to God that we find tranformation in Jesus! I m going to guess we ve all made mistakes. Human sexuality is a gift from God, yet we are all twisted by sin, and our sexuality is where I think most of us are the most twisted, and thus we confuse boundaries of intimacy and identity. God s call is to respect and protect these boundaries. To protect each other as we would our child, as we would the spouse we love deeply, as we should ourselves and every person we know. I m thankful for God s forgiveness. Me. Me, and you. We. We likely all live with the consequences of sexual sin. But, we don t have to be defined by the past. Open your guides. Look at our values. Find the one called freedom. Read it with me: We believe Jesus died on a cross to set us free from the fear of death and the destruction of sin. When Jesus rose from the dead, his work was accomplished. We believe each person can accept this gift of freedom. Page 8 of 14

We will claim this freedom, which empowers us to imitate God. We will love without reservation, live without fear, and protect each person s right to the freedom Christ offers. Praise the Lord! The 7 th Commandment says do not commit adultery. Listen. Remember. Do. Look not only at the history of God s people in the Bible, which does not attempt to hide the destruction caused by sexual sin. Remember your own past. Listen. Call on the Holy Spirit for strength to respect and protect you and your loved ones from crossing boundaries that cannot be uncrossed. (pause) That s heavy, stuff. Heavy because it is very, very hard to honor God with our bodies. Heavy because we all have faced failure in some form or another, and we are often disappointed by our past actions or our continuing struggle today. Remember that value of Freedom. And let me encourage you again. In the Gospel of John, what did Jesus say to the woman, caught in the act of adultery and cruelly brought to him by the Pharisees to test whether or not Jesus knew much about God s Commandments? He said, 10b Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you? 11 She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more. John 8:10, 11, NAS95. Jesus says, from now on, sin no more, I find it compelling that this section dealing with the 7 th Commandment, dealing with adultery, ends in 23.1-14 by discussing purity. It again seems a random collection, but is it coincidence that Moses begins with boundaries, talks about respecting and protecting boundaries and therefore people, brings it into focus by talking Page 9 of 14

about adultery and sexual sin, and then concludes with a call to purity? (Pause) How are you doing? Okay? This stuff makes us uncomfortable. I hope I treated the text and you appropriately. Let s move on now to something a little lighter: theft! The 8 th Commandment, Do not steal, has very similar themes to the 7 th. Its also difficult to see the connections. The commentary on the 8 th Commandment is generally held to be in ch23.15-24.7. Keep in mind, though, that saying this or that chapter corresponds to this or that Commandment is a generalization. It does not necessarily mean each verse can be directly related to the Commandment under discussion. The connections can be oblique, but I have found it rewarding to struggle with it. Again, I hope what I share is helpful to you. I think the connections are there. Respect and Protect. This is why we have chosen to combine the 7 th and 8 th Commandments. We are again talking about boundaries and the importance of respecting them. We are again takling about protecting each other. For example, in 23.15, we are given a law regarding refugee slaves. Remember that the Israelites did have a form of slavery, but it s a little different than what we might expect. There is some transition happening as God is teaching them about what he values in the midst of surrounding cultures which reeked of what is known as chattel slavery. That s what we typically think of when we think of slavery in US history. One person was, literally, another person s property. This seems to still continue in a limited, regulated way in the case of people taken as war captives. Page 10 of 14

However, God is doing a new thing as he teaches them about the value of human life. Chapter 15 is helpful here. The understanding is that Israelites may willingly sell themselves to someone in their community. It occurred when a person was in financial trouble. They offered to work for another, for a limited time, in exchange for wages, food, and shelter. Carmen talked about this when she talked about the 4 th Commandment and Sabbath. The maximum time a person could be in this situation was 6 years. The 7 th year was a time of release of debt, and the release of those who were working as servants. They were sent off with all they needed to get a fresh start, and hopefully they never needed to become servants again. Thus, in 23.15, we see God continuing to change how the Israelites lived, making them unique among the many peoples and cultures of the time. Normal expectations at that time meant a refugee slave was either extradited back to their homeland, or killed in punishment for escaping. Israel is called to a different standard. Extraditing them would make them complicit in the injustice committed by the foreign country. Killing them was obviously not an option (point to 6 th Commandment). But neither was Israel to see this as an opportunity to get something for nothing. Would it not be stealing life and liberty to take this slave, who did not belong to you, as your own? Were not you, the Israelite, once a slave in a foreign land? Did not God deliver you from that bondage? Respect and Protect. In the case of loaning money without interest (23.19-20), it is again a matter of respecting and protecting people and Page 11 of 14

boundaries. A person in need is not an opportunity to steal. The person is in need! Help them! Don t take what they already don t have. That s not helping, that s stealing. (The foreignor is regarded differently, and the assumption is that this would be a business or tradesperson, not a farmer like most Israelites. This would be a business transaction, not a transaction of compassion.) On the same note, in 24.6, when you are helping someone who needs money to survive, be very careful when you ask for security for the debt. Taking the millstones would be stealing that person s livelihood, making them your constant debtor and never giving them the chance to get a fresh start. One other example, from 23.21-23. No one has to make a vow. But if they do make a vow, they are to honor it. The Israelites are taught that making a vow is very serious. Now, from what we ve been talking about, can you imagine what the connection to stealing is in the context of respecting and protecting? (wait) A promise is an offering, a commitment. The people of God represent God, and thus should be people of integrity. Your promise, even though it is spoken or written words, is a tangible commodity. Your promise, especially as the people of God, is not made in secret. It is a community action in which God is witness. Promises are, at their heart, made to God. Not fulfilling your promise is stealing the promise away. Not fulfilling your promise steals away the witness of God s people. Again, in Matthew 5, Jesus ups the ante. The reality, he says, is that any oath you make is less an oath to a person or persons than an oath to God. It seems the religious leaders in Page 12 of 14

Jesus day were playing fast and loose in their oaths, observing the letter of the law by not swearing in God s name, and then not fulfilling them because if they weren t sworn in God s name they didn t count. O contrar! says Jesus! Anything you might swear by is God s anyway. There is no fast and loose. If you make a promise, it is a promise. Trying to make it legitimate by swearing on your mother s grave or something like that adds zero legitimacy. Rather, it compromises you, and it falls under the 3 rd Commandment, which says, Do not misuse God s name. So, what do we do with the 7 th and 8 th Commandments. I encourage you to remember the refrain: Respect and Protect. In life, there are boundaries. God sets these boundaries as our Creator. God has the right to do so, and God is not arbitrary with those boundaries. Boundaries respect and protect life, they respect and protect our relationship with God, our communities, and ourselves from the damage which occurs when we take what is not ours, when we do not protect what is our neighbors, when we seek to gain by the unfortunate circumstances of others. Whether it is a neighbor s spouse, or their tools, or their trust, we are called to respect and protect as God s ambassadors, as his messengers of reconciliation. At Bridge, the text which guides and defines us as a church plant is 2 Corinthians 5.14-19. It is a snapshot of the Gospel, and reminds us that we are to treat eveyone with love and honor. Listen: 14 For Christ s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves Page 13 of 14

but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, NIV. People of God, respect and protect your relationship with God. respect and protect yourselves. Respect and protect your neighbors and neighborhoods. I am proud to call this church my church. You are people who Listen, Remember, and Do. I see you. You respect and protect. Keep up the good work, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Page 14 of 14