Deuteronomy 21:10 When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, 11 if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife.
Sometimes we don’t recognize grace in action. I hear it from people who talk with me about their adult children who get arrested and sent to jail because of bad decisions they have made. The initial shock and shame of the arrest and charges against their child often sends them reeling in shame.
But then over time, some of these stories have a grace ending. These wayward children turn their lives around in jail. What was never accomplished with all the correction and pleading of parents is accomplished in the confines of a cell. That is grace.
As we look at these circumstances we often think, what a waste of time a resources. If only they had listened to their parents and avoided the bad behavior in the first place. All the tears and resources could have been saved.
But it wasn’t to be. People have the ability to make choices, even bad choices. That is the way things are in this broken world.
Our text is often heard in a certain way that paints the Scriptures in a negative light. All the war and slaughter, all the men killed. All that wasted resources. Where is the compassion?
Well our text shows us some of that compassion. Imagine the conquering army killing all the fighting men, a common practice in that day and age. Eliminate the threat of retaliation after the battle ends. Think Hamas hidden in civilian populations. They are still a threat because their beliefs and goals haven’t changed. They must be eliminated or the snake will bite again.
But what about the women who now have no protection, no provision, no safety net in that ancient culture. Where is their provision? Who will be on their side?
The provision comes from an unlikely place, the killers of your men! Yikes! But the other eventuality is even worse. Left without protection, provision or safety is much worse.
She can become your wife, not your sex slave, not your second-class person, but your wife. She goes from being a captive to being a full member of your family. She is given a fresh start, time to grieve her parent’s death, a new identity and status.
Now in an ideal world, not at all like the one in which we live, there would be no war, no need for these women to find a new place in society. But even back then, terrible realities existed. Innocents suffered. Those not participating in war paid a great price.
But even these things can be redeemed. Grace can come in unexpected packages. Captive women can become loved and accepted.
The Arnold Journey 