Deuteronomy 22:1-30
Q.1. Why were animals to be treated with proper care? What others laws were established, to maintain purity and regard for God’s created order? – (Dt.22:1-12 c.f. Gen.1:21-27)
From the beginning, God set out His plans for all creation – 24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. 25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth (Gen.1:24-26). God gave humans the responsibility for ruling over and caring for all the animals, plus tending to the trees and plants in the Garden of Eden (Gen.2:15). What God made was good and was to be perpetuated as He had made it. For man to change the created order would be arrogance, and an act of pride. In this section, Moses passed on God’s laws that would make His people distinct and different from all the other nations … all the way from their keeping to their genders, to keeping animals and crops pure. In the same vein, animals were to be treated with care, even if they belonged to a neighbour (Dt.22:1-4). These laws applied to Israel because they had a special calling and were to be a witness to the surrounding nations (Rom.11:28-29).
Q.2. How was the family unit established in order to protect the reputation of a woman? Why were the laws governing the relationship between a man and a woman so severe? – (Dt.22:13-30)
Today many individuals reject the authority structures established by God for our protection. Israel was to place great importance on the authority structures of the family and the elders of the city. That was true for the women, both single and widowed. Special laws expected Israelites to look after the widowed, fatherless, and the elderly. All were connected to their family until they were placed under the protection of the husband’s family. These laws gave the parents the right to bear testimony to a woman’s virginity. This enabled the elders to make a just ruling regarding the claims of a man or woman (Dt.22:13-21, 28-29). Guidelines were also given by Moses to help establish if sexual misconduct was rape, adultery, or fornication. The consequences were so serious that justice needed to prevail (Dt.22:22-27,30). Since sexual misconduct posed such a serious threat to the fabric of the family, and hence the society, it had to be eliminated. This helped to ensure that Israel was indeed a uniquely different nation.