Cultural Distance and Difference

Readings for today: Deuteronomy 21-23, Psalms 60

It’s hard to read the chapters assigned for today. They typically elicit confusion, frustration, and even anger at the way women and rebellious children are treated not to mention the laws governing sexuality. This is where the cultural distance between us and the ancient Israelites becomes most obvious. We don’t have the same frame of understanding as they did in their day and so struggle to understand why God would allow such laws to exist. Furthermore, we have significant issues with some of these laws, considering them unjust to the core. So why does God command Israel to follow them? What’s He after here?

The dominant cultural paradigm in the ancient near east - as well as the modern Middle East - is honor/shame. What this means is that the primary purpose of the law is not to determine innocence or guilt but to protect the honor of the family/clan/community/nation. This is why there is a premium placed on ritual purity because the greatest honor for a nation would be for their god to come and dwell with them. This is why we read the phrase, “you must purge the evil/guilt from your midst” over and over again. God wants to dwell with His people. God wants to walk with them as He once did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God wants an unbroken relationship with them which means they must pay particular attention to maintaining standards of cleanliness. “For the Lord your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything indecent among you or he will turn away from you.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭23‬:‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Why would God turn away? He turns away from the shame of our sin. The shame of our indecency. The shame of our behavior. All the laws listed in these chapters have to do in some way with honor and shame with the hope that Israel will hear and obey and thereby create an environment where God Himself can be present. By the way, the honor/shame dynamic is still very much a reality to this day in Israel and throughout the Middle East.

So what can we learn from these chapters? What’s our takeaway? Especially since we live in a culture far removed and far different? The dominant cultural paradigm in the United States is innocence/guilt. The primary purpose of our laws is to determine who is guilty and who goes free. We are far more concerned with right or wrong than we are with ritual purity. And we seemingly have no desire to “purge the evil from our midst” as long as it doesn’t “hurt anyone.” Our goal is not to have God walk with us or dwell with us, we’re doing just fine on our own. We actually prefer Him to keep His distance if we’re honest. Despite our sin, God still pursues us. He wants to have a relationship with us. And that’s why He sent His only begotten Son to “hang on a tree” and become the “curse” for us. “If anyone is found guilty of an offense deserving the death penalty and is executed, and you hang his body on a tree, you are not to leave his corpse on the tree overnight but are to bury him that day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭21‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭CSB‬‬) On the cross, Jesus took our shame and gave us His honor. He took on our guilt and declared us innocent. He became sin - who knew no sin - that we might become the righteousness of God.

Readings for tomorrow: Deuteronomy 24-27, Psalms 61

Cultural Insulation

Readings for today: Job 25-28

Eight years ago, we built a home. We got to see it take shape from the ground up. We walked through it at every stage. We spent time going over all the details with the general contractor. Among the more significant was the insulation. How much? Where would it go? What was the rating? Insulation provides a protective barrier around the home. Keeps the utility bills low. Saves energy. Keeps the home comfortable.  

As a Christian living in 21st century America, I am deeply aware of how much I am “insulated” from so much that goes on in the world. My government is relatively stable and has a history of peaceful transfers of power. My community is protected by faithful men and women who serve on the police force and in fire departments. I have access to the best medical care in the world. My household income places me in the top 5% of the world’s wealthiest people. As such, I can buy what I need when I need it. I live in a warm home in the winter, a cool home in the summer. My children have access to great education. College is not just a pipe dream but an expectation for them. Because of the color of my skin, I have never had to face racism either on a personal or systemic level. I have never been held back or paid less because of my gender. My sexual orientation places me at little to no risk. All these advantages create “layers of insulation” that have afforded me an almost idyllic life. 

However, these layers also create “cultural distance” between myself and those who have had a much different experience in life. This includes many of my African-American, Hispanic, and Asian brothers and sisters. It includes many of my female colleagues in ministry. It includes many of my LGBTQ friends. It includes my global brothers and sisters living in Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda. And it most certainly includes a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz during the time of the patriarchs of the Bible. One of the more difficult challenges when it comes to Biblical interpretation is recognizing the “cultural distance” between us and the men and women of Scripture. Job lived at a time when there was no democracy. No rule of law. No peaceful transitions of power. Job lived in an age where pain and suffering was common. There were no police, no firefighters, no first responders. Healthcare was non-existent. Disease, famine, pestilence, drought happened all too often. Job lived at a time where families and clans and tribes lived in an almost constant state of conflict. Women and children were routinely raped and murdered. The wealthiest were often the most envied and most targeted. And there were no guarantees beyond what you could guard and protect through your own strength. As such, when we read about the Sabeans raiding all of Job’s oxen and donkeys or the firestorm from heaven that kills all Job’s sheep or the Chaldeans raiding his camels or hurricane force winds collapsing a home on Job’s children, we cannot imagine what that must feel like because we are largely insulated from such tragedies. But Job is not. His friends are not. They live in a world where these things happen with some degree of regularity. 

The craziest part of this whole book is that Job believes. He holds fast to his faith. The language he uses to describe God in chapter 26 is some of the most beautiful and stirring in all of Scripture. “Hell is ripped open before God, graveyards dug up and exposed. He spreads the skies over unformed space, hangs the earth out in empty space. He pours water into cumulus cloud-bags and the bags don’t burst. He makes the moon wax and wane, putting it through its phases. He draws the horizon out over the ocean, sets a boundary between light and darkness. Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies. Listen! It’s God raising his voice! By his power he stills sea storms, by his wisdom he tames sea monsters. With one breath he clears the sky, with one finger he crushes the sea serpent. And this is only the beginning, a mere whisper of his rule. Whatever would we do if he really raised his voice!” (Job‬ ‭26:6-14 MSG) And I love how he describes his search for wisdom in chapter 28. “But where, oh where, will they find Wisdom? Where does Insight hide? Mortals don’t have a clue, haven’t the slightest idea where to look. Earth’s depths say, ‘It’s not here’; ocean deeps echo, ‘Never heard of it.’ It can’t be bought with the finest gold; no amount of silver can get it. Even famous Ophir gold can’t buy it, not even diamonds and sapphires. Neither gold nor emeralds are comparable; extravagant jewelry can’t touch it. Pearl necklaces and ruby bracelets—why bother? None of this is even a down payment on Wisdom! Pile gold and African diamonds as high as you will, they can’t hold a candle to Wisdom. “So where does Wisdom come from? And where does Insight live? It can’t be found by looking, no matter how deep you dig, no matter how high you fly. If you search through the graveyard and question the dead, they say, ‘We’ve only heard rumors of it.’”(Job 28:12-22 MSG)

In the face of all Job has suffered, he still trusts in God. One of the great truths I have discovered as I travel and teach the world over is that “insulation” is a faith-killer. The more layers, the more we struggle to believe. The more we have, the harder it is for us to trust in God. The more safe and comfortable we are, the less resilient our faith. The book of Job describes in vivid detail what happens when all the layers are peeled back. Everything we have is stripped away. All we hold dear is lost. In that moment, will we cling to faith? Will we walk the path of wisdom that God lays out for us? “God alone knows the way to Wisdom, He knows the exact place to find it…Fear-of-the-Lord - that’s Wisdom, and Insight means shunning evil.” (Job 28:23, 28)

Readings for tomorrow: Job 29-32