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- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Hey, Shelby and Paul, Here we are working our way through the book of Deuteronomy, and today we're talking about chapters 19 through 21. What's going on in these chapters, Paul?
- [00:17]
B
Yeah, so we're getting some really specific instructions for some really specific scenarios, and a lot of them have to do with death or other kind of thorny or challenging situations.
- [00:29]
A
Yeah. And reading through these might feel pretty removed from modern life. I know you mentioned some, like, difficult or thorny, but one that was less thorny was a law on not moving your neighbor's boundary lines. And I've never been tempted to move my neighbor's fence over for them, you know, but what can we take away from these laws?
- [00:52]
B
Yeah. So, you know, even though these laws are not binding for us as Christians, you know, these aren't necessarily things that we feel, you know, we have to follow because of Jesus. You know, there's still a lot that they can teach us about God and ourselves. And I think whenever I get to sort of weird passages in the Bible, I just have to get back to some simple questions, which are, what does this say about God? And what does this say about us? And so even though they're kind of peculiar laws and might even seem a little unjust to us by our modern consciences, there's still a lot that it can tell us. And so when I ask myself, okay, what does these laws say about God? To me, they show that God values human dignity. Right. We see that, you know, he wants people to innocent people that have accidentally killed someone, to have safety, to not be taken advantage of or killed for an action that was an accident. You know, he wants people to pay attention to unsolved murders rather than being apprehensible, pathetic about them. And, you know, he wants foreign wives to be treated as humans instead of property, to be bought or sold or as slaves. And so God values human life, and he wants Israel to do the same. And so then when I think about what does this say about us, it shows us the reality of sin. So all of these laws are having to do with situations that really are not ideal. Right. It's, you know, when someone dies unexpectedly or, you know, things like that, and all of that is a reality because of human sin. That death exists at all is because of human sin. And so, you know, because of that reality, God doesn't just stand idly and leave us to our devices. He gives us instructions for how to manage those situations or at least gives the Israelites instructions. And so, you know, we don't live in Eden anymore. And so, you know, we have to, you know, acknowledge that there needs to be reasonable ways to deal with these difficult situations.
- [02:48]
A
Yeah, thank you for explaining that and walking us through that. I think that's such a helpful way to break down what could be really confusing. Just reading through. How do we apply these. Like, what's our takeaway from these chapters?
- [03:01]
B
Yeah, well, I think it's. It's just that for. For us as well is that we are to value human dignity and we are to acknowledge the reality of our sin. And I think the best example we have for this is Jesus, right? He paid attention especially to those that were most in need and the marginalized. He welcomed children very openly even while his disciples were rebuking him for being near the children. And obviously, most directly, he gave his life to get rid of the punishment of death forever. He acknowledged the fact that humanity was deeply sinful and came straight to us to die on our behalf. And so, you know, we can reflect Jesus in that same way when we are radical about valuing human life and we are radical about acknowledging our sin and then pointing to the solution to our sin and Jesus.
- [03:53]
A
Yeah, I think that's a great takeaway and my personal takeaway. It can be overwhelming sometimes to see the amount of injustice in the world. And sometimes I feel like, as Christians, we lean on this idea that one day God is going to right all wrongs. And that's a very good place to lean. But I think what I see in these chapters is that God is also very present on the earth in that moment of injustice, working through his people to enact justice. And so, one, that's an encouragement to me, and two, that's a challenge to me. Am I taking a part of that? Am I valuing human life the way you just said? So, big, weighty takeaway for today, and we'll be back to talk about more of Deuteronomy tomorrow. It.