WHEN LIFE ISN’T PERFECT—Deuteronomy 21-25 (read 24:1-15)
(1st church—Susan: can’t stay in marriage—5 kids, limited education, no job, no house)
Sometimes life isn’t perfect!
Maybe not that bad—
maybe were blessed with stable family growing upàemotionally, relationally healthy,
are blessed with faithful, loving husband or wife—kids doing great
healthy and capable, financially secure, good life
(or maybe it’s mostly that you’re able to keep up appearances)
But many people in our society aren’t
(one reason they avoid church: for nice people and nice families)
(when they come to church, reminded that their lives aren’t so perfect
Sometimes life isn’t perfect—that’s why we need to study Old Testament
World of Old Testament was far from perfect
Most obvious for women: often treated like property
Polygamy common (rivalry)
Double standard: women could be stoned for adultery, but men…
Men held all the cards: threat of divorce or disinheriting children…
Economically: if divorce or widowhoodàeither cult prostitution or total poverty
Most men didn’t have it that great either
Many were “servants” (really slaves)
Those who weren’t: often one bad year away from being sold to pay debts
Crime or even accidentà”eye for an eye” or much worse (Taliban)
Life simple—but disease common (life expectancy perhaps 40)
Sanitation and personal hygiene pretty primitive (much of Leviticus…)
In many ways, we can’t relate—but we can relate to one thing: Life isn’t always perfect
Old Testament is very realistic book, for people whose lives aren’t perfect—
Helps us to deal with real world—gets us looking for something better
If here last week, to interpret O.T.: What do we learn about God and God’s way of life?
(God and human nature and things like right and good way of life don’t change)
{{{3 points}}}
I. God is restrains evil in world that is less than perfect
(Charles and Diana—storybook wedding—affairs, bulimia, tension and deception)
(many live in beautiful homes: hurting people, unhealthy patterns of behavior…
(for millions: “normal life” of marriage, steady work, stable home life seems out of reach)
Sometimes life is not perfect—and God sees and knows
· God steps in to restrain evil
-most clearly, he protects vulnerable women
not play musical wives—not divorce her for no reason—
if accuse her of not being a virgin as she claimed, and that was a lie, pay a fine
in case of adultery: both man and woman liable to same penalty (unlike Afghanistan today)
rape (he said, she said): some provision for her protection
even captive from war: must have month to mourn—status of wife—not treat her as slave
-debtors—not take advantage of person in bad situation (equivalent today: bankruptcy laws)
loan at no interest (today, not beyond “price of money”)
for collateral—don’t take his millstone (future livelihood)
if he is poor, and gives you his cloak as collateral—let him sleep on it at night!
if he becomes slave to someone else and shows up at your door—give him place to sleep
God is involved in this
Deut. 24:14-15 Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
· Evil restrained—but not overcome evil
Jesus: Matthew 19:8 "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not
this way from the beginning.
Laws can restrain evil (and we’re thankful)—but don’t really overcome evil
Jesus: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good
Jesus talks with his disciples about how to overcome evil—“You have heard…
…murder—but don’t put people down
…commit adultery (protects women especially)—but keep lust for spouse
…eye for an eye (great advance in O.T. times)—Be generous to those in need
Only person who experiences grace of God can really overcome evil: changed heart
God is realistic about life: not perfect—sometimes far from perfect
II. God cares about people whose lives aren’t perfect (all people)
Unattractive person who is hard to talk to?
AIDS victim? Mental patient? ADHD boy?
Unfortunate person who never had family chance?
Wanderer who coasts into parking lot off interstate (headed somewhere)?
Desperate illegal worker who doesn’t want to make waves?
· God demands that people respect the dignity of all people
Man hung for his crime—not left hanging overnight
Man who is giving you collateral for loan: not enter his house to take it; let him bring it out
Alien must have same access to justice as citizen—as must one without husband or father
Justice must go beyond “equal protection under the law”:
Don’t ever take the cloak of a widow as collateral
Make sure the poor hired man doesn’t have to wait a single day for his paycheck
Build a railing around your roof, so no one will fall off
· Is that enough? (Don’t you ask that? Welfare, entitlements, safety net—enough?)
O.T. points to Jesus: dishonest tax collectors and prostitutes and snobs like Paul…
Leper (AIDS victim of his day)àhealed
Man born blindàIt’s not your sin…but stop sinning!
(It’s not your fault that your family was way it was…but stop sinning!)
woman caught in act of adultery (where was the man?—Dt. says…)
He sets her free—“leave your life of sin”
Proud NicodemusàYou must be born again
Nobody’s perfect—and God loves them and cares for them anyway
III. God offers a better life to his people
(“The Real World”)—not always perfect!—Should that world be our world?
Ephes. 4: you must no longer live as the (unbelievers) do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
God wants his people to have a better life than the people around them:
Better health (carry a shovel)—better marriages—better care for people—BETTER LIFE—HOW?
· Old Testament way: establish separate society
(idea of separation:
Deut. 22:9-11 Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled. Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together Pretty superficial—but point is…)
Some of it maybe worked for them
Deut. 22:5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.
Does that fix confusion people have about fashion and gender…?
At least worship ought to be pure—but how accomplish that?
No one castrated…born of forbidden marriage…Ammonite or Moabite…may enter assembly of the Lord
Does that really do it? Don’t those people need to come to God?
Isaiah 56:3-12 Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry tree." For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant--to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him…these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."
If only it were so easy as excluding certain people!
Isaiah goes on: Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge…"Come," each one cries, "let me get wine! Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better."
Deut. 21:18-21 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is immoral and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
God takes holy living seriously—but now you’ve lost a son (Was it ever done?)
· Sometimes Old Testament points to the issues (being healthy, not being like world,
not allowing evil to take over among God’s people)—but answers come up short
What will it take to “fix” the problem: to truly give God’s people a better life?
1 Peter 1: you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers… with the precious blood of Christ
It took the blood of Jesus Christ: dying in a world that wasn’t quite perfect (far from it)
To redeem us from an empty and evil way of life
Because problem is not out there—it goes to core of who we are
Solution has to go to core: our separation from God, and our rebellion against his way
And that’s what Jesus came to do:
Titus 3:3-5 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, sins forgiven, right relationship restored, Holy Spirit renewing life
It all sounds so good—but does it make any difference?
Is God satisfied to know that we are forgiven and going to heaven?
(Remember: same God now as in Old Testament—He sees, cares, wants better)
God demands change:
Ephes. 4: you must no longer live as the (unbelievers) do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. No excuses! (“my life is so hard…”)
God demands that we “separate ourselves” from evil—especially evil in us!
Col. 3:5-10 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry…You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Not just evil in us—not hooked up with people that will drag us down
2 Cor. 6:14-7:1 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers…"Therefore come out from them and be separate,… let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Why? God loves us too much to allow us to mess up our lives
And God loves other people enough to want us to treat them with dignity and love
That’s the kind of God we have!
Do you know that God?
Not sanitized god of “nice people” (plays along with keeping up appearances)
Not wimpy, tolerant god who doesn’t care about injustice and wrong
Not over-medicating god who “doesn’t want people to feel bad”
Not ugly caricature of wrathful God, who enjoys hurting people
NO—God who loves people too much to accept evil as natural—
And loves them enough to make their lives better
Do you know that God?
