Deuteronomy 21:10-14: a reflection

This law, set in the harsh world of ancient warfare, shows God's concern to protect the dignity of a vulnerable captive with no power of her own. Where the custom of the nations treated captured women as spoils to be used and discarded, this law required that a captive woman taken as a wife be given a month to mourn her father and mother, be treated as a wife and not a slave, and, if not kept as a wife, be set free rather than sold or used. She shall not be sold for money, nor treated as a slave, the law insists, because she has been humbled. In a brutal setting, God's law restrained cruelty and insisted on the dignity of one who had no power to protect herself. This shows God's concern to protect the dignity of the vulnerable, even the powerless captive. God's law protects the dignity of the vulnerable and powerless. God cares for those who have no power to protect themselves. Even in a harsh world, God insists on dignity for the vulnerable. Guard the dignity of those who cannot protect themselves.

Notice what this law does in its harsh setting. In the world of ancient warfare, captured women had no rights and no protection; they were spoils, to be used, discarded, or sold at will. Against this cruel background, God's law steps in to restrain and protect. It insists that a captive woman taken as a wife be given time, a full month, to mourn her father and mother; that she be treated as a wife and not a slave; and that, if she is not kept as a wife, she be set free to go where she wishes, not sold for money or treated as a slave, for she has been humbled. In a brutal setting where she had no power to protect herself, God's law guarded her dignity. This reveals something about God's heart. God cares about the dignity of the vulnerable, of those who have no power to protect themselves, no rights the world will honor. Even in the harsh, imperfect setting of ancient warfare, God's law restrained cruelty and insisted that the powerless captive be treated with dignity, not as a thing to be used and discarded. And this reveals a God who cares for the vulnerable and powerless, who guards the dignity of those the world would trample. We do well to share this concern: to guard the dignity of the vulnerable and powerless, of those who have no strength to protect themselves, as God does. Guard the dignity of the vulnerable and powerless, as God's law does. God cares for those who cannot protect themselves. Even the powerless captive has a dignity God insists on. Share God's concern for the dignity of the vulnerable.

That is worth taking to heart, for God cares about the dignity of the vulnerable and powerless, and his law, even in a harsh setting, guarded the dignity of the captive who had no power to protect herself. In a world where captured women were used and discarded, God's law insisted that the captive be treated with dignity, not as a slave or a thing to be sold. God guards the vulnerable. Share God's concern for the dignity of the vulnerable and powerless; guard the dignity of those who have no strength to protect themselves, as God does. Share God's concern for the dignity of the vulnerable and powerless, guarding the dignity of those who have no strength to protect themselves, as this law, set in the harsh world of ancient warfare, shows God's concern to protect the dignity of a vulnerable captive with no power of her own, requiring that a captive woman taken as a wife be given a month to mourn her father and mother, be treated as a wife and not a slave, and if not kept as a wife be set free rather than sold or used, insisting that she not be sold for money nor treated as a slave because she had been humbled; for in the world of ancient warfare captured women had no rights and no protection, treated as spoils to be used, discarded, or sold at will, and against this cruel background God's law steps in to restrain and protect, guarding the dignity of one who had no power to protect herself, which reveals something about God's heart, that he cares about the dignity of the vulnerable and powerless who have no rights the world will honor, and even in the harsh, imperfect setting of ancient warfare his law restrained cruelty and insisted that the powerless captive be treated with dignity, revealing a God who cares for the vulnerable and guards the dignity of those the world would trample, so that we do well to share this concern and guard the dignity of the vulnerable and powerless as God does.