Detractors of Christianity often point to the rules given to the
Israelites in the Old Testament as evidence of backwards and outdated
thinking. While indeed some of these rules can seem convoluted or just
plain bizarre (see Deut 25: 5-10), there is a grand design at work that
you decontextualize at your own risk.
One of the most important keys to unlocking the Mosaic law is to
understand the way it relates to Jesus' life and ministry. That is, in a
post-resurrection world, we are to interpret the Law in light of Jesus
instead of in isolation from him. Thus we can read Matthew
5:17 or Matthew 22: 36-40 and see that Jesus simultaneously embodies the
predictions of the Old Testament while revealing the Pharisees'
hypocritical perversion thereof.
So how do we respond to seemingly contradictory passages
like Deuteronomy 25: 1-3 and 1 Corinthians 6: 1-8 (which are not as
incompatible as they look)? My advice would be to read them not as
isolated instructions separated by time and culture, but instead to see
points on a continuum that ultimately points to the revealed and risen
Lord.
An example of this would be God's instruction to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful and increase in number" (Genesis 1:28). In the Old Testament this was a straightforward command to have children and populate the world. In the New Testament, however, we read Genesis 1:28 and the Great Commission to "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28: 19-20) and understand that in light of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection it is no longer of principal importance that we have physical children (though there's certainly no injunction against that) but that we are now to spread the Gospel and propagate SPIRITUAL descendants.
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