Moses continues drawing from his mixed bag of laws. He says that if a person sees livestock wandering loose, they must return it to the owner or care for it until they claim it. The important thing is, they must not ignore it. We all know that doing the wrong thing is a sin, but it's easy to forget that so is not doing the right thing. If we know something has to be done, we must do it. Feigning ignorance won't wash. Moses also instructs the people to put parapets around their roofs so that they may not be guilty of bloodshed if anyone falls off. I guess it's common sense really, and a little common sense can go a long way. But now things get really random, as Moses forbids cross-dressing, taking a bird with young (although taking the young is fine), planting two kinds of seed in the same field, ploughing with both an ox and a donkey, and wearing clothes of wool and linen woven together. Say what now? Answers on a postcard.
Now we move on to marriage violations. If a man becomes dissatisfied with his wife and tries to get rid of her by saying she was not a virgin when they married, and she can prove that she was, then he must pay a fine to her father and he will not be allowed to divorce her "as long as he lives". But if she was not a virgin, then she must be stoned. This all seems distinctly unfair. Firstly, it is the woman who is slandered, yet it is her father who receives compensation. Secondly, the punishment includes not being allowed to get a divorce. That doesn't really say much for the law's attitude to the poor woman if being stuck married to her constitutes a punishment, and it also condemns her to a lifelong unhappy marriage. Thirdly, Moses has previously said that if anyone bears false witness, they must suffer the punishment that the accused would have faced, and yet that isn't followed through here. The woman would be stoned if found guilty of promiscuity, so why isn't the man stoned for lying?
Moses also says that if a man meets a betrothed woman in a town and sleeps with her, they must both be put to death, but if a man rapes a woman in the country where no one can hear her scream, only he must die because she is guilty of no sin. This law isn't exactly foolproof - it seems to work on the assumption that it's only rape if it happens in the country, which clearly isn't true - but at least there seems to be a recognition that when a woman is raped, she is innocent. Many people are quick to blame the woman - rape victims have been killed to protect their families' honour, and a depressing number of people think that if a woman was drunk or wearing a short skirt she was "asking for it" - so this is really important. Rape is a crime and any woman (or man) who is raped is a victim of that crime. They should not be made to feel guilty or ashamed on top of everything else they have been through.
These last two points reveal some of the contradictions and discrepancies in the way the Old Testament law treats women. It seems to give with one hand and take away with the other, protecting and oppressing, empowering and imprisoning. The same could be said of the culture we still live in. But we don't have to accept that. I said in my first post that God created men and women equal, and I stand by that. The dominance of men was a consequence of the fall, but it was never God's plan, and it's not how things should be now. We need to set things right and redress the imbalance.
But back to marriage violations. Moses says that if a man sleeps with a young woman who is not pledged to be married, he must pay her father and marry her. The Law may not say "no sex before marriage" in quite those terms, but that is what this really means. If you want to have sex, you've got to get married. But why is that? Well, it's difficult to talk about this without sounding overly sentimental, but sex is more than just a physical act. It is the ultimate expression of love and intimacy, and we degrade it if we take it lightly.
Now we have some rules about exclusion from the assembly. The emasculated are banned for life, the illegitimate and the Ammonites and Moabites to the tenth generation, and the Edomites and Egyptians to the third generation. These sorts of exclusions no longer apply, and we must careful that me do not attempt to keep people away from God, either by putting up barriers or by putting people off.
Moses now tells the people that when they are encamped against their enemies, they must keep away from anything that is unclean, and any man who has been made unclean by an emission must stay outside of the camp during the day. The men must also designate a place outside the camp where they can relieve themselves, and whenever they go they must dig a hole for and cover up their excrement. This is about physical cleanliness as much as spiritual cleanliness - God is as interested in our health and wellbeing as He is in our spiritual lives. It's also interesting to note that the purity laws still stood even when the men left the community and went to war. If we choose to live God's way, that applies wherever we are.
Next come some more miscellaneous laws. The people must protect runaway slaves seeking refuge. They must not work as shrine-prostitutes or use the profits of prostitution to pay a vow to God. They must not charge interest on loans to fellow Israelites, although they may charge interest on loans to foreigners. If they make a vow to God, they must be quick to pay it, but they will not be condemned for not making a vow. They may eat grapes from a neighbour's vineyard, but they may not collect them in a basket; and they may pick ears of corn with their hands, but not use a sickle. To put it colloquially, they must not take the mick.
If a man divorces his wife (because apparently men could dispose of their wives like unwanted property, but women did not have the same rights) he may not remarry her later. If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or given any other duty. He must be allowed one year to stay at home and make his wife happy. Kidnapping is punishable by death. In cases of leprosy, the people must follow the orders of the priests. If a person makes a loan, they must not take a pair of millstones as security as they must not deprive a man of his livelihood. Neither must they keep a poor man's cloak overnight, or enter a man's house to take whatever he is offering as a pledge. In short, they must be honourable and considerate in their lending.
The people must not take advantage of poor hired workers, whether they are Israelites or aliens, but they must pay them every day. Fathers must not be put to death for their children or vice versa - everyone must take responsibility for their own actions. They must not deprive anyone of justice. They must leave any crops not harvested first time round for the alien, the widow and the orphan, so that the vulnerable will not be destitute. When men have a dispute, they must take it to court and let those elected to judge to decide the case. Again we see fairness and justice, but we also see compassion.
If two brothers are living together and one dies without a son, his brother must marry his widow so that his brother may have an heir to continue his name. If the brother refuses, he must be shamed before the community. As the Mitchells would say, family's important. If two men are fighting, and the wife of one of them seizes the other by the "private parts", her hand must be cut off. I don't know why God would feel the need to legislate for such an event, but there you have it. The next one sounds pretty weird too - no one should carry two different weights in their bag or have two different measures at home - but I think it's explained by the following verse, which calls for accurate and honest weights. I think what this really means is that people should only use one set of weights and measures so that everyone knows where they stands.
Finally, we come back to firstfruits and tithes. Moses tells the people that when they enter the promised land, they must take some of the firstfruits of all that they produce and present them before God, acknowledging and thanking Him for all that He has done for them. And when they have gathered their tithe in the third year, that tithe is to be given to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans and the widows, so that they may eat and be satisfied. Then they must say to God that they have taken their sacred portion and given it as required, and that they have followed all of His commands and not forgotten any of them, although presumably they could only say that if it was true. We shouldn't give thoughtlessly or simply out of habit, we need to remember why we're giving and give with a good heart.
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