Re: Biblical Law I've Never Heard of
Posted: Sun May 11, 2014 10:15 am
The command is also found in Deut. 22:11. An important thing to note about the law in both places is the principle it is trying to illustrate, namely, the call to integrity. The Israelites were not to mix in with the Canaanites. They were not to mix their faiths together. As such, God gave them several laws that visibly demonstrated keeping separate things separate. Moreover, remember that the definition of "holy" is "to be separate from," so by not mixing fabrics, the Israelites were illustrating holiness, and by refusing to mix fabrics, they were illustrating the importance of not mixing their faith in Yahweh with faith in others gods.
The context in Deuteronomy is even more interesting. You may not know this, but Deut. 5-26 is arranged as an exposition of the Ten Commandments, and this law as found in 22:11 is an exposition or illustration of the seventh commandment (don't commit adultery). Once again, we see the emphasis on integrity, which is to say, purity, by forbidding the mixture of two unlike things. Since a pure marriage symbolizes a pure relationship with God, so pure fabric makes a good illustration of a pure marriage. To commit adultery is to defile a marriage, which is to defile one's relationship with God. And, again, we see the connection to idolatry, since idolatry is the highest form of adultery. Once again, then, we see that this law is a visible representation of the call to holiness, of separateness to God. If you want to see more on the structure of Deuteronomy, I strongly recommend reading Tom Constable's commentary, which can be found online for free here: http://soniclight.com/constable/notes/p ... ronomy.pdf. I have literally read it cover to cover, which isn't too hard. It's only 143 pages and very easy to follow. As a young apologist, given that so many questions people ask about God revolve around the Law, I would recommend you take some time and read through this. Have Deuteronomy open on your lap and let Constable guide you through the book (he has one you can do on Leviticus as well. You can find it here: http://soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/leviticus.pdf; you can find all his commentaries here: http://soniclight.com/constable/notes.htm).
God bless!
The context in Deuteronomy is even more interesting. You may not know this, but Deut. 5-26 is arranged as an exposition of the Ten Commandments, and this law as found in 22:11 is an exposition or illustration of the seventh commandment (don't commit adultery). Once again, we see the emphasis on integrity, which is to say, purity, by forbidding the mixture of two unlike things. Since a pure marriage symbolizes a pure relationship with God, so pure fabric makes a good illustration of a pure marriage. To commit adultery is to defile a marriage, which is to defile one's relationship with God. And, again, we see the connection to idolatry, since idolatry is the highest form of adultery. Once again, then, we see that this law is a visible representation of the call to holiness, of separateness to God. If you want to see more on the structure of Deuteronomy, I strongly recommend reading Tom Constable's commentary, which can be found online for free here: http://soniclight.com/constable/notes/p ... ronomy.pdf. I have literally read it cover to cover, which isn't too hard. It's only 143 pages and very easy to follow. As a young apologist, given that so many questions people ask about God revolve around the Law, I would recommend you take some time and read through this. Have Deuteronomy open on your lap and let Constable guide you through the book (he has one you can do on Leviticus as well. You can find it here: http://soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/leviticus.pdf; you can find all his commentaries here: http://soniclight.com/constable/notes.htm).
God bless!