Deuteronomy 22:5 – 12 “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.
If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young. You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.
Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled —both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.
Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.
Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.
You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.”
At first this collection of verses seems to be some sort of catch – all. But the underlying themes are those of honor, protection, and need for purity.
The proscription against cross – dressing arose because many of the pagan religions involved ceremonies in which the priests and priestesses dressed as members of the opposite sex. God was issuing this command so that His worship services would be totally different than the pagan ones. In addition, this command was for the protection of women and children. The assumption was that men who dressed as women might be less likely to protect the vulnerable since physical protection was generally considered a man’s role. In that day and age, both men and women wore robes; however, a man’s robe had to be voluminous enough for the man to gird up his loins so that he would be able to fight. A woman’s robe might contain less material, making it impossible for the man to gird up his loins to fight effectively.
What about the injunction against taking both a mother bird and her chicks? If you take only the chicks, the mother bird can still lay more eggs and have more chicks. But if you take both mother and chicks, there will be no more birds of that kind. Here God is protecting the environment, since every kind of bird has its role to play. In modern times, we have seen many species of birds and animals become extinct because someone has relentlessly hunted every representative.
What about railings? In ancient times, rooftops were commonly used for all kinds of purposes, including sleeping during hot weather. A rooftop without a railing was an invitation to disaster. The New York City Department of Health instituted a program called “Children can’t fly.” This program worked in slum areas to make sure that there were guards on windows in upper stories of apartment buildings so that children could not easily fall to their deaths. This program brought about a 50% decrease in the deaths of children falling from windows, particularly in the Bronx.
We might find the commands regarding mixing different kinds of seed or mixing different kinds of yarn confusing. Here the spiritual lesson is one of purity, not compromising.
What about the injunction not to yoke an ox and a donkey together? One source states that donkeys have HORRIBLE halitosis! Consider a poor ox! And also consider relative sizes. Most donkeys would be far smaller than the average ox, making it impossible to yoke them together for any purpose. (Later on, when St. Paul is advising about believers not being unequally yoked to unbelievers, many of his audience might have remembered this commandment.)
What about the tassels? The tassels were to remind the Israelites that they were a nation of priests. Unfortunately, as time went on, the religious elite used this command to make their tassels ever bigger and more elaborate. Seeing some of these elaborate religions get – ups, Jesus criticized these men (Matthew 23:5) for using even their garments to demonstrate how spiritual they were!
APPLICATION: What do these laws have to do with us? The underlying themes are the need to protect the weak and vulnerable, to maintain purity, to respect God’s environment, and to be mindful of God. God is passionately interested in our daily lives, not just in our religious observances. God wanted Israel to be a nation of priests in which every action would glorify Him.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to glorify You in our thoughts, words, and deeds. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
December 23, 2021 at 5:20 pm
excellent sermon as always, thank you