Bible Discussion Thread

 
  • Cheryl jones on Deuteronomy 23 - 2 years ago
    Please clarify deutoronomy chapter 23 verse 1
  • S Spencer - In Reply on Deuteronomy 23 - 2 years ago
    Hi Cheryl.

    Here in the last few chapters in Deuteronomy we are seeing regulations for domestic and personal relations.

    This passage of scripture speaks against asceticism. "asceticism, (from Greek aske: "to exercise," or "to train"), the practice of the denial of physical or psychological desires in order to attain a spiritual ideal or goal.

    Application for this in our day in the middle ages there were groups saw the corruption in the world, and they separated themselves and went to the extreme and retired to monasteries and some became eunuchs.

    It's a form of legalism taken to the extreme.
  • Gigi - In Reply - 2 years ago
    Cheryl

    This verse is referring to men who have become eunuchs by choice or accident. A eunuch is a man who is unable to father children due to the removal of testes, crushing of them, (as this verse states) or any other mutilation of testes. Doing such things emasculates a man, as this verse states. In today's world, vasectomy would be included in this verse's instruction, as it sterilizes a man from having children. So, to go on, this verse is saying that an emasculated man (as I have explained) is not allowed into the assembly (when people gathered to worship). In pagan societies, servants and slaves were often made eunuchs so that they would not be able to propagate children from within the household of their owners and some made men eunuchs as part of pagan worship.

    I think that this verse emphasizes that it is important to God that His people maintain their bodies in the way He created them to function. So emasculation does not allow a man to procreate, which deviates from God's design for our bodies. In the epistles, Paul tells us to honor God with our body, since it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. So, to me, I think that God wishes for us to keep our bodies in the natural state of function that He designed it to be. We are not to despise or negate a function that God determines is good. Procreation is one of those functions. But in the same vein, we would not cut off our hand or gouge out our eyes, or unnecessarily remove body parts, alter them, or cause them to cease to function as God intended just because we don't like the outcome of the designed function.

    I also think that we are not to imitate what those who do not follow God in their practices concerning ow they use their bodies or damage their bodies, emasculation being one of them. Pagans at this time would cut their bodies, tattoo their bodies, and emasculate their bodies as part of pagan worship and service to their idols. So, this is also a big part of this verses teaching.



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