Day 170: Deuteronomy 22

Protection

READ: Deuteronomy 22

BACKGROUND:
On my first reading of this chapter, it seemed to be a collection of random commands. But when I went back through making notes I saw a common theme of protection.

• PROTECT property. If you see something someone else has lost, be considerate and do what you can to return it to its owner. Don't just ignore it and go on your way. Protect each other's property.
  
• PROTECT your identity as a man or a woman. God designed male and female to be distinctly different. There may have been pagan practices that God was telling the Israelites to avoid. Or God may simply be protecting the unique identities of His creation.
• PROTECT the mother animal if you are taking the mother or the babies, leave the mother. She will produce more offspring. If they took the mother and left the young, they would be helpless and would die a cruel death. God never allows cruelty -- to humans or animals.
• PROTECT anyone who walks on your roof. They built houses with flat roofs and used the roofs as part of the living space. So God commanded the Israelites to be sure to build a wall or something similar to keep people from falling off the roof.
• PROTECTION FROM CORRUPTION -- These next three things might be examples of what happens when you try to mix godliness with the corruption of the world. It doesn't work. Mixing seeds defiles the crop. Mixing animals of different strengths and strides frustrates the work. And mixing fabric types affects the usefulness and wearability of the fabric. (The fabric example is unclear and may be because there was a pagan practice of mixing wool and linen to create a "magic" fabric.)
• PROTECTING WOMEN against false accusations of promiscuity and against rape. Men who did these things were to be severely punished. Women who were promiscuous would be punished, but men were also responsible for their actions. This was very different from the world around them where women had no rights, were used for religious prostitution, and were often considered as objects to be used and discarded as men pleased.

REFLECTION:
Mothers are often quite protective of their own children. I know I am. But when it comes to protecting other people, especially people we don't know, our society has a tendency to turn the other way. We don't want to get involved. To love your neighbor is to protect his interests, his property, his reputation, his safety.

APPLICATION:
The opposite of love isn't always hate. It could just as well be indifference. Am I indifferent to the needs and rights of others? Or am I careful to watch out for the other guy? We need to keep our homes safe for others, protect the innocent from slander, and return what is lost to its rightful owner.

PRAYER:
Lord, help me to be sensitive to the rights and needs of those around me. Let me help others rather than be indifferent toward them. Just like you show your love for me by acting on my behalf, let me show your love to others by acting on their behalf. Amen.