Deuteronomy 22:13 – 21 “Suppose a man marries a woman, has relations with her, and comes to hate her, and then accuses her of shameful conduct and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman and had relations with her, but I discovered she was not a virgin.”
Then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring the proof of her virginity to the city elders at the gate and say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he has come to hate her. And now he has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.’ But here is the proof of her virginity.” And they shall spread out the cloth before the city elders. Then the elders of that city shall take the man and punish him. They are also to fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given a virgin of Israel a bad name. And she shall remain his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
If, however, this accusation is true, and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.”
These verses are difficult ones because there are several assumptions being made.
1. The working assumption here is that virgins will always bleed from the rupture of the hymen the first time they have sex. A corollary to that assumption is the idea that the family of the virgin bride will somehow get possession of the bloodstained sheet so that they can keep it as evidence. The problem with both these assumptions is that only 43% of virgins bleed from the hymen during their first act of sexual intercourse. A virgin might have a stretched or torn hymen without any bleeding at all. (https://flo.health/menstrual-cycle/teens/your-body/14-questions-hymen-virginity,
If this statistic is true, then potentially there might have been several young women who were wrongly stoned to death. And what if the husband is already a wicked man and hides the blood – stained sheet, unless the family has the right to collect the sheet?
2. The next assumption is the idea that if a man brings a false accusation against his virgin bride, is proved wrong and is fined, that the girl will be safe as his wife. True, the man might not divorce the woman, but what kind of existence is that woman likely to have? The husband has already demonstrated that he hates the girl; why else would he bring a false accusation against her? Now the husband has been forced to pay a heavy fine and to take the girl back. Will all of their future sex acts constitute marital rape? Will this poor girl live under a torrent of verbal abuse for the rest of her life? Will the man take a second wife and favor that woman so that she lords it over the first wife?
The plain fact is that a high price was placed on virginity. Potential husband paying dowries paid large prices for virgin brides. Thus a man who was trying to get money might potentially bring a false charge against his bride in hopes of getting a refund. But the price for the poor bride might be her life!
Doesn’t God care about innocent young girls? Of course He does! These commands were placed there to protect the innocent, not to give opportunity for them to be killed. In addition, this society was a very closed one. The town gossips would know which girls were really virgins and which were not.
These commands relate directly to the Christmas story. Once Mary had told Joseph about the Angel Gabriel’s message, Joseph was really worried. Matthew 1:18-25 tells it this way:
“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with Child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus,d because He will save His people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us” ).
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus. “
Joseph is the forgotten man in the Christmas story, and yet he is critically important. According to Scripture, Joseph could have publicly divorced Mary, shaming her and possibly opening her to a death by stoning. Instead, Joseph believed the angel and cared for Mary tenderly, raising Jesus as his son.
There are many miracles associated with the Christmas story, but Joseph’s patience and obedience to God are two of the biggest miracles. Without Joseph, Mary would not have given birth in Bethlehem, the town of prophecy. Without Joseph, Mary would have had nobody to help her deliver Jesus.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for the obedience and patience and faith of Joseph. Help us to follow his example and to trust You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment