Bible Reading Blog
“Purge the Evil”
Categories: Congregational Bible ReadingBIBLE READING: Deuteronomy 22
“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.” (Deuteronomy 22.22)
3X in this chapter God draws a hard line in the sand concerning flippant sexual behavior. Infidelity, promiscuity and deception have no place in the relationships of God’s people. These activities are plainly labeled as ‘misconduct’ (22.17), ‘an outrageous thing’, ‘whoring’ (22.21), and ‘violations’ of the other person [and the law] (22.24, 29). God even compares the activity of unwelcome sexual pursuit to murder (22.26-27); hence why the consequence of these behaviors is often death. God takes sexual behavior in relationships seriously and so should his people. Spouses should be truthful and loyal to one another, and men especially, must control their passions towards women.
Improper sexual behavior is wholly unacceptable, especially among God’s people; and in Israel’s law there were severe consequences to impose this point so it would not continue. Sexual promiscuity is evil, and God wanted his people to purge it from their midst.
The principle holds true today. In fact, Paul invoked this section of scripture to rebuke the Corinthian church, who was doing the very thing the law condemned. “…a man has his father’s wife. Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5.1-2; cf. Deuteronomy 22.30). He does not advocate for stoning, but he does tell them to “purge the evil person from among you” (1 Corinthians 5.12). God’s people must be holy and allowing this vile practice to be acceptable in the church of God corrupts the whole body. The person must be removed, per the command of God.
The extremity of this response and call to action is instructive. God’s people don’t make excuses for uncontrolled sexual behavior. Marriage relationships are to be valued and prioritized, and sexual promiscuity must grind on our souls. We cannot allow the wickedness of the world to disorient us into apathetic acceptance. The fact is, our culture is numb to the notion of abstinence, and self-restraint. It is common for people to expect sexual behavior as a basic human need to be fulfilled at will. But we must understand that this attitude has not only led to the breakdown of the nuclear family, but to a continued degeneration of sexuality’s holy purpose. Furthermore, it has blurred the lines of what a good and healthy relationship ought to look like. We must be strong on this point and push back against the bold and godless narrative. Human sexuality is a gift that must be honored as a holy practice in the marriage relationship (Hebrews 13.4). It has immense spiritual value handled properly, according to God’s direction. But most importantly we must see that this is serious to God; it must be serious to us
