Deuteronomy 22:5

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 22:5, “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” God does not make mistakes. Every new life is one of God’s creation. Every person born into the world is either male or female according to God’s choice. If God gave you a female body, He wants you to learn to be a proper female: dressing, living, and conducting yourself the way a woman should under God’s direction. If God made you a man, He wants you to look like a man and act like a man and dress like a man. Of course, this principle is dependent upon local customs. This commandment is not an instruction about wearing pants or a dress; or wearing jeans and boats. This is an instruction concerning attitude and learning to accept yourself as God has made you. God does not make mistakes. Do not try to change what God has made. To back this up, the Bible says in First Corinthians 6:9, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.”

The next two verses are an emphasis on man’s responsibility to nature. Under God man is responsible to help take care of earth and the animals on it. It says in Deuteronomy 22:6-7, “If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:[7] But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.” The basic rule is the same as our hunting rules: do not take the female. That is so that the female will produce more young and the species will continue.

It says in Deuteronomy 22:8, “When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.” This verse speaks to the responsibility that people have to take care of their own property so that it is safe when other people come around. We have the same type of laws in our modern customs: if you do something that is dangerous to others, then you are liable.

The next several verses have a spiritual lesson that they are teaching and not really a practical lesson. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 22:9-11, “Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.[10] Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.[11] Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.” In each of these three verses the Israelites were told to not mix certain things. Some things should be separate. Some things should be united, but other things should be separate. In order to serve Jesus faithfully in this world, you must know where you should be united and where you should be separate. Christians should be united with other Christians. Citizens of a country should be united with other citizens in their country. But good should be separate from evil. Believers should be separate from unbelievers. If you are single and looking for a mate, and if you love Jesus, you should limit your choice to only those of the opposite sex who also love Jesus. It says in Second Corinthians 6:14-18, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?[15] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?[16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.[17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,[18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

It says in Deuteronomy 22:12, “Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.” This verse would be difficult to understand if not for Numbers 15:38-40 that says, “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:[39] And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:[40] That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.” The tassels or “fringes” that the Israelites were told to sew on the hem of their clothing were put there to remind them of God’s commandments. It shows how important it is to know and remember the Word of God. The Israelites were told to design their clothing in such a way to be a reminder to them. What have you done in your life to help you remember the Word of God? If you do not remember the Word of God, then you will go your own way and that will lead to an unfruitful Christian life.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 22:13-19, “If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,[14] And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:[15] Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:[16] And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;[17] And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.[18] And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;[19] And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.” The issue in this passage is what we would call libel and slander. In this case if a husband was to lie in order to ruin the reputation of his wife, that man would be required to pay a considerable fine. The word that is translated “amerce” in normally translated “punish” and means to “fine” in this context. Once again this is very consistent with laws that we have today and how such a matter is handled. We can also sue people for libel and slander in our judicial system. People should be made to pay a price for lies of this nature. Justice demands it.

But in the days of ancient Israel under the law of Moses, what if the husband was not lying, and he found out after getting married that his new wife was not a virgin? It says in Deuteronomy 22:20-21, “But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:[21] Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.” Once again we see the death penalty given out in the Old Testament. Very harsh and very severe were the punishments of the Old Testament. “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Is it not wonderful what Jesus has done for us who believe in Him? The New Testament tells us happily: “Ye are not under law, but under grace.” There is one ethical implication of these verses in Deuteronomy. The way life should be lived is that everyone is a virgin until they are married. God means for a man and a woman to be united in love in marriage: to be united in every way to the exclusion of all others. That is God’s pattern. God wants everyone to increase their happiness and their enjoyment of life. Do not rob yourself. Do not fall for the lies of this world. God invented physical love between a husband and a wife. God designed sex, and He set the boundaries. Do not cross His boundaries or you can pay a heart-breaking price. Yes, our Lord is forgiving and He will forgive. But remember what Paul said to the young man Timothy, “Keep thyself pure.”

The following verses are several different situations involving sex between a man and a woman, and what should be done about it when it happened in the Old Testament times. It is all based upon the fact that sex should only occur in marriage according to God’s will. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 22:22-30, “If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.[23] If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;[24] Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.[25] But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die:[26] But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:[27] For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.[28] If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;[29] Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.[30] A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt.” In verse 22 we are shown very clearly that in the Old Testament under the law of Moses when two people committed adultery, they were both put to death. Adultery resulted in the death penalty. Jesus changed that. When they brought a woman taken in adultery to Jesus, Jesus said, “Let him that is without sin cast the first stone.” And then Jesus said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.”

In verses 25, 26, and 27 we are told very clearly that rape was treated the same as murder. A man who committed rape was given the death penalty. One thing is for sure: our punishments for rape are often not severe enough. So much is stolen from a person when they are a victim of rape: sometimes a life-long blow to their self-image and self-worth. Rape is more than a violent sex act: it is a horrendous attack against the life of an innocent person. By the grace of God a person can survive rape and eventually get on with life, but in many cases they will never be the same. We can understand why the death penalty was given for this crime.

Verses 28 and 29 tell the Israelites what to do when two people who were not married and both were consenting to the act that they performed with each other: they were told to get married. We call this a shotgun marriage. When you have sex with someone outside of marriage, you are not only sinning against God, and you are not only harming the person with whom you joined yourself physically, but you are also harming his or her family. The parents of that person spent a lot of years trying to prepare him or her for the best possible life. Now you are degrading them and leading them on a path of immorality. You have helped to ruin their reputation. You have taken their honor. You owe their parents something too. The man who committed immorality was told “give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver.”

Verse 30 prohibits incest. Any sexual act outside of marriage is condemned in the Bible. The Bible has the highest standard of purity. One reason for this is that God wants the best life and the happiest life for everyone. Doing things God’s way always works out for the best. We may not have the punishments of the Old Testament for sexual failures and sins, but there will still be punishments. Just think of a few of the terrible consequences of sexual relations outside of marriage: unwanted pregnancies and abortions, ruined marriages and divorces, guilt, shame, anger, revenge, ruined reputations, and rampant venereal disease including incurable diseases such a HIV and herpes. O yes, it is best to do things God’s way. And thankfully, Jesus will forgive any and all of these sins. If you do not know Jesus as Savior, today you can bow before Him and accept Him as your Savior.

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