Purity - Deuteronomy 22:9-12
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Introduction
Introduction
[READING - Deuteronomy 22:9-12]
9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled. 10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 “You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together. 12 “You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.
[PRAYER]
I believe that we are suppose to see this section of Deuteronomy through the lens of the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder.” This is a command that not only prohibits murder but encourages life.
As we saw last Sunday night, actively caring about your neighbor encourages life and therefore obeys the sixth commandment.
Living according to the gender that God gave you at birth encourages life.
Managing resources for the future encourages life.
And taking proactive steps to protect your neighbors encourages life.
All of this in obedience to the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder.”
I believe the verses that are our focus tonight likewise fall under the sixth commandment, but how?
The answer is purity.
We must remember that God is perfectly pure and His people are to be perfectly pure.
If anyone or anything impure comes in touch with God who is perfectly pure, it ends in death.
If God’s people were going to live in the Promised Land, they would have to be pure and that meant they would have to live differently from everyone else.
So Deuteronomy 22:9-12 gives us four LESSONS on purity that will make a clear distinction between God’s people and everyone else.
But before we get into those lessons, let me highlight what you’ve already noticed: these lessons are tied to tangible things like vineyards and seed, oxen and donkeys, wool and linen, and tassels and garments.
These are items that can be seen and touched but the lessons are deeper than what can be seen and touched.
In a sense, these lessons to be about physical things on a physical level, but the reality is that they teach God’s people how to pursue spiritual purity in an impure world.
Let’s looks at the first lesson in v. 9…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
Pursue purity by separating from former impurity (Deut. 22:9, 11).
Pursue purity by separating from former impurity (Deut. 22:9, 11).
9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled.
11 “You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and linen together.
[EXP] We’ve already seen this law in Leviticus 19:19, which says…
19 ‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together.
But beyond the surface of the tangible, what do these verses really speak to? What are they really about?
One idea: These prohibitions are rooted in creation. What God has separated must not be joined.
Another idea: These prohibitions pertain to idolatrous practices in the Promised Land, which Israel was to avoid even the appearance of.
A third idea: These prohibitions related to idolatrous practices back in Egypt that Israel was to come away from.
This is the idea that intrigues me the most.
For example…
Peter Craigie on v. 9
The Book of Deuteronomy (e) Prohibition of Certain Mixtures (vv. 9–11)
It is possible that the Hebrew law reflects a certain antipathy toward Egyptian practice. There are a number of Egyptian paintings, from Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty tombs, showing gardens and orchards in which various types of fruit-bearing trees are growing side by side.
Peter Craigie on v. 11
A Study Commentary on Deuteronomy Sundry Laws for Daily Life (Deuteronomy 22:1–12)
the term for ‘mixed cloth’ is an Egyptian loan-word that reflects a common Egyptian practice of mixing various materials in clothing. In addition, such clothing made of mixed fabrics was often worn by pagan cultic prostitutes, and Israel is to have nothing to do with such practices.63
[ILLUS] Imagine you were part of Israel back when Israel was enslaved in Egypt.
Tired of being taken advantage of.
Tired of having nothing.
But imagining that one day you’ll be the one in power.
Imagining that one day you’ll be the ones with the wealth.
Imagining that one day you’ll get to do like the Egyptians do.
But God told His people that they must do differently from the Egyptians.
That difference will be worked primarily in spiritual ways, but God gives His people spiritual reminders.
Perhaps they could have said, “We plant different because, although we have the power and we have the wealth, we are not like the Egyptians.
“We worship YHWH alone.
“We dress different because, although we have the power and we have the wealth, we are not like the Egyptians.
“We have been rescued from the life in Egypt. We have come out of it.
“We worship YHWH alone.”
[APP] We didn’t all used to be slaves in Egypt, but we all used to be slaves to sin.
Just as Israel was to separate from certain practices once they came to the Promised Land, we are to separate from all sinful practices once we come to faith in Jesus Christ.
Maybe we should make physical reminders so that we remember our separation unto to Jesus.
But even we don’t, we must not miss the spiritual lesson—we pursue purity by separating from our former impurity.
[TS] …
Pursue purity by not being unequally yoked (Deut. 22:10).
Pursue purity by not being unequally yoked (Deut. 22:10).
10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
[EXP] Some have thought that this prohibition was based on the incompatibility of the animal.
These animals have different strengths, gaits, and temperaments, but that is not why God gave this prohibition.
The real issue is that one of these animals (the ox) was considered clean (i.e., edible) while the other (the donkey) was considered unclean (i.e., non-edible).
The point is that the clean and the unclean must not be yoked or tied together in any way.
The spiritual lesson for the people of God was this: The worship of God must not be joined with the worship of idols.
[ILLUS] Many moons ago now a couple came to me asking if I would perform their wedding ceremony.
The woman seemed to be a Christian. She knew all the right answers at least, but the man was lost.
He knew nothing about Jesus.
He said that he didn’t know why I kept saying he had to believe in Jesus to be saved.
I explained the Gospel multiple times but he never believed.
I told the woman, an apparent sister in Christ, “I’m sorry, but he’s not a Christian, and I can’t do your wedding.”
But imagine if I had said that and added, “…because ‘You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.’”
She might have been confused but the Apostle Paul helps us to understand in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17…
14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 17 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you.
[APP] The big theological word for joining the worship of God with the worship of idols is syncretism.
It takes place in ecumenical worship services when so-called Christians are calling on Jesus while pagans are calling on all their idols.
It takes place most of all, however, in marriages when a Christian marries and unbeliever—when what has been made clean by the blood of Jesus is yoked together with remains unclean outside of Jesus.
This should never happen.
Whether in a worship service or in a relationship, an ox and a donkey should not plow together.
[TS] …
Pursue purity by living in obedience to God’s Word (Deut. 22:12).
Pursue purity by living in obedience to God’s Word (Deut. 22:12).
12 “You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.
[EXP] These tassels were twisted threads with blue in them that were to be attached to the corners of the cloak, the garment that was worn during the daytime and used as a cover at night.
The point of attaching the tassels to the cloak was so that they would be seen at all times. When an Israelite woke, he saw these tassels. When he went to sleep, he saw these tassels.
He lived in these tassels during the day.
He was covered with these tassels during the night.
Numbers 15:37-41 helps us understand these tassels better…
37 The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. 39 “It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, 40 so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. 41 “I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.”
Not mixing seeds in planting and fabrics in wearing reminded the Israelites that were to separate from the impurity they saw in Egypt.
Not yoking together the clean ox with the unclean donkey reminded the Israelites that were to not marry the worship of YHWH with the pagan idolatry of the Promised Land.
And the tassels reminded the Israelites that were to keep themselves pure by living day and night according to God’s commands.
Not according to way of Egypt in the past.
Not according to the way of the pagans in the Promised Land.
Not according to their sinfulness of their own hearts.
They were to pursue purity by living according to God’s Law.
[APP] The problem with this is that you cannot be made pure by God’s law because you cannot keep God’s law perfectly.
So then, how are we to be made pure?
We must reach for the tassels of Jesus.
Look with me at Matthew 9:18-22…
18 While He was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples. 20 And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; 21 for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.” 22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well.
Also look at Matthew 14:35-36 with me…
35 And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto him all that were diseased; 36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.
Even if make ourselves physical reminders to obey the law of God… even if we try really hard to walk by it during the day and cover up with at night… we won’t keep the law perfectly—and with God’s law it’s perfection or nothing.
This is why we need Jesus.
How was the woman with the issue of blood healed? How was she made clean?
By touching the fringe of His garment—I think by touching the tassels, which represented His perfect obedience to the law of God.
How were all the sick healed in Matthew 14?
By touching the fringe of His garment—I think by touching the tassels, which represented Jesus’s perfect obedience to God’s law.
It’s the perfection of Jesus that saves us. It’s the perfection of Jesus that heals us. It’s the perfection of Jesus that makes us pure.
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
[PRAYER]