This is a response I wrote about a year ago for my Old Testament class. It was an online course, so we wrote responses to the readings every week. What the reading was is not hugely important to understand this particular response; just know it was from Deuteronomy.
The readings this week from Deuteronomy made me think about rules. Rules are in place usually with reason, to protect us in work and play. We are given rules are laid down by our parents, our teachers, our religion, our government from the moment we are born until we die. Some have very clear motivations, and are almost always applicable. The “no diving in shallow water” rule has an obvious reason with an obvious consequence. Some rules have convoluted motivations with frustrating consequences. A friend of mine is having trouble financially and the situation is made worse by the rule that she cannot claim her father as a dependent until she is 24. At 22 she is supporting herself and father who suffered a stroke last year and cannot work. However she cannot claim him as a dependent on her taxes because he is her father. This rule is probably in place because someone took advantage of the system at one point. Because of those consequences, my friend now suffers. No matter the authority that puts down the rules, these rules serve some purpose at some point. Some become archaic and are thrown out and some endure in usefulness. As a person grows up, the rules for them change in their house and the relationship between parents and child change. The same is true for the government, at least the one in which Americans live. As a person grows up, the laws applying to them change and a citizen has more power to influence the laws.
The rhetoric form of Deuteronomy is a speech given by Moses, the parent/teacher/religion/government figure of the Israelites. One of the things that Moses primarily does is speak for God. Moses begins by recounting the story of how the Israelites got to the place they are now. The primary theme is that God took care of them and provided for them. This reminds me of many a disciplinary lecture. A parent sits their teenager down and says “I feed you and clothe you and put a roof over your head so you will follow my rules!” A police officer says “it is my job to take care of this city so I am going to write you this speeding ticket.” Moses says that God takes care of them, so as long as they live under his roof they will follow his rules.
The new rules that God sets down are, like many rules, sometimes have obvious motivations with obvious consequences and some seem more convoluted. God tells them not to intermarry with the locals so they are not tempted to turn away from their faith (Dt. 7:3-4). This sounds very similar to a parent warning their child or giving advice on who to choose as friends and who to date and marry. Different parents will say different things, but hopefully that advice runs more like, “choose someone who will encourage you to be who you are and not turn you away from your values.” The laws concerning food seem a little more arbitrary to a modern audience (Dt. 14:3-21). Some of these at the time would have been considered a health issue. Shellfish, for example, were often ill-prepared and were a very big risk to eat (Dt. 14:10). Some were more of a ritual issue, like eating nothing that “dies of itself” or a “kid in its mother’s milk” (Dt. 14:21, note 14:21 Harper Collins Study Bible). While the shellfish rule is fairly obvious in motivation, the dying animal rule is not so clear.
What is termed the greatest commandment here is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Dt. 6:5). This rule was to be recited to oneself throughout the day to keep it fresh and important. It contains great meaning to the Jewish people today no matter if they keep kosher laws or not. For us as Christians, we see the Old Testament as part of our salvation history. This rule is recited by Jesus, whose life we might compare in this extended metaphor to how the rules change when you move out of your parents house or how the laws change for you at 18, 21, or 24. Jesus adds to it, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and the rule is changed again (Mt 22:36-40; Mk 12:28-34; Lk 10:25-28). Our metaphorical son or daughter now has the keys to the car and votes. As God’s people develop and grow, so does how God treats them and gives the rules associated with them.
