Today we look into a rather heavy topic, with very severe consequences. But it is in these verses that we get a better understanding of how seriously Yahweh takes this idea of ‘sexual immorality.’ At first glance, many will only see these as a set of rules, and will either obey them only because He says so, or disobey them because they don’t care to look more deeply into the ‘why’ behind these rules. As we have found out through these last few weeks of Deuteronomy, God does not just make rules or act out in vain...and I am very confident that these verses serve a much greater purpose than what we get “at first glance,” especially as a New Testament believer.

And for whomever needs to here this: yes, where there is Law, there is judgement...but where there is Jesus, there is redemptive mercy.

[Deuteronomy 22.13-23.14]

Laws Concerning Sexual Immorality

22.13 “If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her 14 and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ 15 then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 16 And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; 17 and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him, 19 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. 20 But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

22 “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

23 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

25 “But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, 27 because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.

28 “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.

30 “A man shall not take his father's wife, so that he does not uncover his father's nakedness.

Those Excluded from the Assembly

23.1 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.

2 “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.

3 “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Uncleanness in the Camp

9 “When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

10 “If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.

12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ Why is there such intense language in these circumstances?

+ Read I Corinthians 6.9-20, with emphasis on vv. 18-20. Does Yahweh just shift gears in the New Testament and not care about holiness or purity?

+ Why does Yahweh hold such a high standard when it comes to defiling the bed and our bodies?

+ Why do we often find that He protects the vulnerable and so intensely punishes the defiler?

+ What does immorality do to a family, relationship, life? What about sexual immorality? What is the difference? Do you think this plays a part in why God speaks this way?

+ Try reading these verses with a lens of the Bride and the Bridegroom, the Church and Jesus. Imagine seeing your bride/groom on the day of your wedding knowing she is giving all that they are to someone or something else…saying one thing, but going out and doing something completely against you…

+ What do these verses reveal about God and His view of purity and holiness?

+ Re-read v. 23.14--does this help catalyze the answer into the ‘why’ of these rules?

+ If I am a victim or perpetrator in anything read today, what is the New Testament grace revealed in this? How does this change a person for eternity?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Building off of v. 23.14, do I believe this same Lord God Almighty is walking within my camp, delivering me and giving up my enemies before me? Does this then change the way I think about my “camp”?

+ Going back to I Corinthians 6.9-20, what does it mean that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? How ought this change the way I conduct myself, feed myself, train myself, etc.? What kind of freedom can be found through this?

+ Why do holiness, purity, and faithfulness matter not just as a human, but as a follower/disciple of Jesus?

+ As a naturally sinful being, what would it be like to step into the presence of a Holy and Pure God without the covering of the blood of the Lamb? Do I think of this often, of how purifying and sanctifying that blood is?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

+ Is anyone that I know living in one of these circumstances and needs to meet the redeeming love and blood of Christ Jesus?