Sermonette: Protecting the Vulnerable

Deuteronomy 21:10-14
#1419s

Given 17-Feb-18; 15 minutes

listen:

download:

description: (hide)

Deuteronomy 21:10-14 gives instructions for the treatment of female prisoners-of-war. Far from being a blatant example of sexual exploitation (as some 'progressives' have characterized it), this passage demonstrates God's protection of the most vulnerable among us. In the event an Israelite soldier became infatuated with a female prisoner-of-war, God protected the woman from a "one-night fling" in an effort to prepare her for an honorable marriage. She was to shave her head, removing any temptation from the young man, and enabling the woman to mourn for her family for thirty days. During this time of transition, she is given lodging as a guest in her captor's home, given new clothes and initiated into the laws, customs and practices of her new people. At the culmination of this time, the soldier makes the calculated choice of marrying her or setting her free. This thirty-day transitional period severs her from her pagan past and prepares her to enter as a full partner in the marriage relationship. Like the female prisoner-of-war, God's called-out one represent the lowly, rescued from the bondage of sin, experiencing a transition period of sanctification, during which time he is cleansed from his sins, as he awaits a future marriage to the One who has conquered, redeemed, and sanctified him.




Loading recommendations...