A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, so says the poet. There is more truth to this than meets the eye, especially in the realm of religion. During the earthly ministry of the Lord, He was challenged by those who were supposed to be custodians of the Law. The Lord was confronted on every front to prove Who He really was. The same happened to John the Baptist too.
The religious authorities were there to approve who they might consider to be their Messiah based on what they had learned from the Old Testament Scriptures. So they consistently opposed the Lord with their preconceived knowledge of the Holy Bible. Unfortunately, divine knowledge and discernment do not come from human understanding or seminary learning. For John the Baptist, it was so easy for him to point out the Messiah to Israel.
John 1:29: The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 1:30: This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
While those sitting in Moses’ seat failed, John the Baptist got it right.
Proverb 14:6: A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
During one such confrontation, the religious liberals tried to corner the Lord with their own human understanding of the Scriptures. They took a Jewish custom to an extreme hypothetical case to prove a point that there was no resurrection in the afterlife thinking they could win their case and dispel the Lord’s teachings and His massive popularity with the common people.
Matthew 22:23: The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
Matthew 22:24: Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Matthew 22:25: Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
Matthew 22:26: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
Matthew 22:27: And last of all the woman died also.
Matthew 22:28: Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
This seems to be a perfect case for these religious liberals to put forward their doctrine on such an inconvenient requirement of the Law of Moses where not every man fancies taking the sister-in-law to become his wife, what more to raise a child that eventually belongs to the deceased brother. But this is a Jewish custom enacted into law for the brother of the decease to perform the duty of a husband to the widow.
Deuteronomy 25:5: If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.
Deuteronomy And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
Deuteronomy 25:7: And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.
Deuteronomy 25:8: Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;
Deuteronomy 25:9: Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.
Deuteronomy 25:10: And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
Obviously these liberals knew their Bible well. Unfortunately, knowing the Bible and believing the Bible are not the same thing. Marrying the widow of a deceased brother is actually an act of charity. There are consequences and repercussions in so doing because this can complicate matters in the family. The case of Ruth is a case in point. Continue reading One Wife For Seven Brothers in the Resurrection