Life isn’t complicated as God designed it; we complicate it by taking detours from the narrow way.
Life can get very complicated, especially family life. God designed the nuclear family to be the basic self-governing building block of a healthy society. No wonder the devil has made it the prime target for his fiercest salvos. According to the U.S. Census, the number of children living only with their mother has doubled in the past 50 years. Today children may live with grandparents, two parents not married, a mother and various boyfriends, or even with homosexual “parents.” But as we read Deuteronomy 21:10-23, we can see that confusion in family life is not a new phenomenon. First, the Lord addresses the possibility of a man seeing an attractive woman during his military service. The Lord allowed the Israelite soldiers to bring such women home for marriage, as we see in the story of Rahab. This, no doubt, was to avoid the awful scourge of victorious armies raping the women of the defeated nation. God would not stand for that, and so permitted this more responsible alternative. Then the Lord confronts the issue of a man with two wives, where he loves the mother of his younger son more than the mother of his firstborn (vv 15-17). The man was not to favor the younger, a situation Jacob faced with his sons. Again, God never intended polygamy, but made allowances to protect from even greater harm. Then there is the matter of a rebel adult son (vv 18-23). Lest the spirit of family insurrection spread through the nation, such an unrepentant son was to be executed. I hasten to add, there is no record of this ever happening! So we continue through these difficult chapters. Why? Because sin complicates matters. Let’s learn the lesson that the path of holiness is the uncomplicated and happy way to live!