The laws in Deuteronomy from Deuteronomy 19 onwards are difficult for us to comprehend because they apply to an ancient context that is alien to us. For a deeper explanation of these laws, I highly recommend that you listen to the Thrive Deeper podcast. Here I will make a general point: not every law in Deuteronomy expresses God’s ultimate will. Many of the laws you will read here are temporary provisions for an already bad situation. The Scriptures are clear about what God ultimately desires. What we find in these parts of Scripture is God temporarily condoning things that are not ultimately in accordance with his will. We should never set up God’s provisional commands as though they were an expression of his ultimate will. But neither should we force God’s ultimate will upon situations where some provision needs to be made for an already bad situation. If our country was invaded and you were called up to defend it, then, for that particular situation, you might need to suspend God’s prohibition against killing. If a man deserts his wife for another woman, the abandoned woman must not be condemned to singleness for the sake of being faithful to the broken marriage. I recently met a polygamous man in Kenya who became a Christian. He was wisely advised by his pastor fulfil his responsibility to all his wives and children and not abandon them.. The law of Moses shows us that God is willing to make the best out of bad situations. But he alone may determine what ‘best’ means. Don’t make this an excuse for capitulation to the ‘spirit of the age’. We must aim high with humility.
Ask God to continue to grant you wisdom as you apply his word to your life and the situations that you face.
Read Deuteronomy 19-21
