5/3/12 Deut 21:18-21. What About This Harsh Punishment?
5/3/12 Deut 21:18-21. What About This Harsh Punishment?
Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
The ancient Israelites had some very serious rules in regard to a son’s rebellion, in the 1400 BC. Deuteronomy 21: 18-21 reads, “18 If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.”
In these ancient times, a rebellious son was to be stoned before the community. This is very harsh. But the times were very harsh. These ancient Israelites were at war. They were also in a spiritual battle against idolatry. They needed to keep their identity as a people belonging to Jehovah and they needed to keep their faith. In the midst of such an environment there was no time and no room for a son’s selfish rebellion. It just could not happen. No way!
Nowadays we are not at war. The environment is not that intense and dangerous. We are also on the New Testament era…the age of grace. We need to give our kids space in order to not believe and work things out. We need to be patient and prayerful.
But this is how this seriousness should be applied. We need to have an attitude in our hearts that rebellion and stubbornness should not be tolerated, but if it happens we must not ignore it. We need to know how serious sin is and we need to deal with it with grace, truth, prayer and gentle instruction. That is the difference that Jesus and the Gospel makes. There is grace and a place to not believe. We must also make a distinction…are our kids rebelling against the truth of God and the Gospel or are they rebelling against our human rules and the man-made rules of our family religion or sect or family philosophy? Maybe the kids’ rebellion is not really rebellion at all. Maybe we need to reassess the rules we are trying to enforce and the structures we are keeping. But if they are rebelling against the Gospel itself, instead punishing them, we must take this seriously and respond with prayer, faith, gentle instruction and tolerance. God will do his work in their hearts in his way and in his time.
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