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DEUTERONOMY 12–14; PSALM 50

Week 10, Day 3

For a time like ours, when the key words are pluralism and broad-mindedness, chapters 12 and 13 may seem harsh and narrow-minded. But we need to hear the message. There is a point at which breadth means not only shallowness but also an absence of content and character. Israel lived among practices that were abominable in the way they debased both ethics and morality; to cooperate with such practices would eventually bring disaster. We should seek to understand other points of view and even to see what we can learn from them, but we should also hold fast to the integrity of our beliefs.

The problem is particularly complicated when it arises within the family (13:6-11), because there is a clash of loyalties. Jesus dealt with a comparable issue in his call for full discipleship (Matthew 10:34-39). The physical severity of Deuteronomy is not there, of course, but the issue is the same. It is a hard word, and we shouldn’t be too quick in brushing it aside or in taming it to fit our thinking.

The laws regarding clean and unclean foods were meant to protect the health of the people, which was surely important. They were also to underline the fact that the Israelites were separate from the nations around them. Consider how hard it was for Simon Peter to leave these dietary regulations when a vision used them as a sign that Gentiles were to be welcomed into the church (Acts 10:9-16).

PRAYER: Help me, I pray, to have a breadth of mind toward those who are now different from me, and a singleness of commitment to you. Amen.

How do we maintain integrity of faith in a pluralistic culture?