Keeping Things Separate and Holy
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 22:1-12 (NASB)
1 If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.
4 If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet.
5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.
6 If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. 7 You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.
8 When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.
9 Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.
10 Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.
11 Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.
12 Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.
SUMMARY
Moses lays down the laws regarding various things, such as taking care of a countryman's donkey or ox that has been lost, taking eggs from a nest, building a home, and what animals go under a yoke to plow together. There is a variety of activities he goes over, but the common theme in all of them is that there is a proper way to handle everything through these laws and balance of giving and taking.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
As I read through this passage, I saw a lot of boundaries that are given around giving back to others or taking. For example, in verse 6, it says" you shall not take the mother with the young". when taking eggs, and when a contryman loses his belongings that you should "bring them back to your countryman". In following God's rules, there is a process to follow that leads to restoration of a mother back to nature and belongings with the rightful owner. Although it seems like the rules are miscellaneous and randomly listed in this passage, the common theme I see that it is good to keep things in their proper place and that is when restoration happens.
APPLICATION
In verse 9 it says "you shall not sow your vineyard with two different kinds of seed". I think Moses tells us this to emphasize that it is important to be pure and kept as one, instead of divided into different parts. As I read this passage, I realized that I often not only mix my activities, but also merge my thoughts throughout the day and become consumed with anxious thoughts. For example, today after work, my sister and I went out to get dinner and she was talking to me, but I was busy on my phone texting someone back. She was sad because I did not pay attention to a story she was telling me. It is so easy to be distracted with social media, work, and our personal lives. It is hard nowadays not to do so many things at once, especially because we have the technology that makes it easy to multi-task. I try to do everything quickly and cram it all into one time slot for efficiency. However, in the end result, I neglect important things, like my sister's feelings in this example. Other times, at work, I try to do too much at once and end up being overwhelmed and get little work done. It is better to focus on one thing at a time. Even in my thoughts, I'll think of one thing and immediately link it to my next activity that I have to do, or the step that must be done. However, in the verse with the eggs and the mother, the eggs and mother were related, but Moses said to take the eggs, but leave the mother alone. That also reminded me that sometimes, things can be related, but I need to keep boundaries and separation between my thought process so it doesn't jump immediately to the next step This week, I will focus on doing one thing at a time in the present moment, instead of mixing everything together all at once.
PRAYER
Dear God, I pray you give me patience and wisdom as I plan and take action. I pray that I will give myself enough time to finish my work and my responsibilities and to focus on the task at hand, instead of jumping to the next step in my mind. Help me to be able to pace myself and give my best effort in all I do, instead of just being another task to check off. Also, help me to set good boundaries for myself this week regarding my schedule and that in learning to do things well and one at a time, that it will bring restoration, peace and order into my life.
In Jesus name, amen!
Please share your personal meditations on this Scripture passage with the HolyWave community in the comments section below. (We reserve the right to moderate comments.)