READING FOR DECEMBER 3, 2024: DEUTERONOMY 22, JUDE, PSALM 119:121-128 DEUTERONOMY 22 This chapter has a variety of laws that on the surface (and we might struggle to get deeper) have little connection. As we evaluate these laws, let’s go back to theologian Jay Sklar’s interpretative chart to determine how these laws impact us today. 

The first four verses deal with seeing someone else’s strayed/distressed animals or lost garments. The text states we should help out in these cases. Is this repeated in the New Testament? Philippians 2:4: “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”  This is just one of several references but clearly this makes this principle applicable to us today. Thus, it is a category 1 law for Christians today to obey.

Verse five addresses cross-dressing. The text calls this practice an abomination to the Lord.  

Practices called abominations to God in Lev. 18 include offering children as sacrifices to other gods and having sex with animals. God found these abominable for any country to do, not just Israel. The most relevant New Testament passage is 1 Cor. 11:14-16: “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering. But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.”  

Also, Jesus’s comment about sexual differences in Matthew 19:4 has some application: “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female.”  Given all these factors, it would be best to avoid this practice. Note the UMC male minister pictured above. 

Verses 6-7 speak to a particular case encountering a nest of birds. The principle of kindness to animals may be involved, but there is nothing in the New Testament that suggests this specific law applies today. The obligation to place a parapet on a roof (vs. 8) speaks to making one’s house safe for visitors but parapets are not relevant today. The laws about mixing thread, seed, tassels and animals seem meant to set Israel apart from neighboring countries who may have placed magical powers in these mixtures. They are not applicable today. A variety of penalties related to sexual ethics are not applicable today in their details. We don’t live in a 

READING FOR DECEMBER 3, 2024 CONTINUED: DEUTERONOMY 22, JUDE, PSALM 119:21-28   theocracy and certainly can no longer administer this kind of punishment. There is also complete forgiveness for sins now possible through Jesus. The underlying value of entering into sexual activity only within the context of lifelong marriage, though, is not only repeated but strengthened by the teachings of Jesus, Peter, Paul, and the writer to the Hebrews. 

JUDE The writer is almost certainly the half-brother of Jesus. He humbly identifies himself, though, as James’s brother and bondservant of Jesus. His purpose is clear. Christians need to contend for the faith that was handed down “once for all.” Notice he says this faith came down from God through His revelation and is not going to change. Even back then, folks wanted to change it. This is more of a danger today than when Jude wrote the letter. A big problem then, and more pronounced today, is that people abused the concept of grace to mean they could live a sinful lifestyle. In doing so, they rejected Jesus as their Lord and became subject to eternal condemnation.

Jude gives prior examples of what happened due to this bad approach: the death of a generation in the wilderness, the casting out of the rebellious angels in heaven, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. According to Jude they are “undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.” Jude says Jesus warned us about this happening in the last days. But he also says Jesus can keep us from stumbling and make us stand in the day of judgement. If, as Jude says, we are in the battle involving the faith, make sure we are on the side of the “faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” --not one we or others have constructed. 

PSALM 119:121-128 The Psalmist is being harassed in some way by those he identifies as breakers of God’s laws. He is appealing to God for deliverance based upon his own commitment to God and obedience to His word. If we also follow the Psalmist’s faithfulness, this is a prayer we can also pray against those who oppress us because of our faith. It is not so much that they are oppressing us, but they are opposed to the cause of Christ. Even though the Psalmist is a writer of scripture and has experienced persecution for his faith, he still asks the Lord to teach him through His word.  We must never stand still in learning more about and growing closer to God—no matter our spiritual attainment or advanced age.  Many of those most knowledgeable about God’s word are those who value it most. Do we value the Bible more than money?  Do we live that way by making Bible reading a priority over earning extra money. Notice the Psalmist doesn’t pick and choose parts of the Bible to obey and other parts to ignore: “I esteem right all Your precepts concerning everything, I hate every false way.”