There is No Bias in His Love
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 21:10-17 (NASB)
10 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take them away captive, 11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and have a desire for her and would take her as a wife for yourself, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall also remove the clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house, and mourn her father and mother a full month; and after that you may go in to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. 14 It shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; but you shall certainly not sell her for money, you shall not mistreat her, because you have humbled her.
15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the firstborn before the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn. 17 But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn.
SUMMARY
Moses lays out the rules when it comes to an Israelite man taking a captive woman as a wife. He tells the man to bring her into his home, and she is to shave her head and trim her nails as well as remove her clothes from her captivity, and mourn in the house for a full month. If the man is not pleased with her, he is to let go of the woman wherever she wishes, not selling for money nor mistreating her as he has humbled her. When it comes to a man having two wives, the firstborn son from a wife—whether she is loved or unloved—is to have double portion and be recognized as the firstborn.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
The captive women who were taken to become wives had to go through this process of shedding away their old ways in order to become part of the community. They were not to be treated as slaves but as beloved citizens of God's community. As a woman myself, it was hard to see if this process was necessary. As I meditated on this however, I realized that this was all done in the safety of the man's house and not done to shame her. It was necessary to sever ties with the enemies of God. And even if the man was displeased with her, he was not to mistreat her or sell her for money, but to let her go wherever she wished. That same love and honor extended to the man's firstborn son of his unloved wife when it came to having two wives. Although in the eyes of the man, the son of his unloved wife may be less favorable than the first son of his loved wife, in the eyes of God, he is still valued and deserving of honor. Ultimately, God has no biases. He sees all humans worthy of love and honor. Even when we are blinded by our biases, God protects those who are unwanted by others.
APPLICATION
Like the women from the enemies of Israel, who had to shave their head to let go of their past idols and past lifestyle, it was hard for me to cut off things that didn't reflect my walk with God. I felt unloved and unfavored by the people around me and spent a good amount of my early 20s living recklessly and partying with friends. Then when I started rebuilding my relationship with God, I shed the things from my past lifestyle to reflect Him more. It was a tough process and God still continues to refine me through sanctification. But I know that God loves and cares for me in whatever season I am in. Likewise, I need to also have that heart to love and value others even when they are unwanted by the world.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are a God of mercy and love. You look upon us with such compassion. You have no biases and always stays constant. I repent of the times I judged others and had biases towards those who were unfavorable in my eyes. Lord, you value even those who are hard to love. Help me see what you see. Shape my heart to align with yours. Help me remember the times you were with me in my shame. Help me extend that same love to others who are going through the same thing. I pray for a tender heart that accepts others for who they are. I thank you and pray all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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