These are various detailed laws to set up order for the children of Israel. We don’t have to go by the civil law set for them including the dietary and sacrificial ones. These were for Israel and served as a type to show that Jesus fulfilled the law. The law is beneficial to us because we see God’s viewpoint. What is wrong in the Old Testament is still wrong in the New. This chapter deals with several things including sexual crimes and ones against individuals, neighbors and community.
God gives instruction on how to build a house. Their houses followed a particular design because of the land and its climate, but they were at liberty to have some variations. There are a lot of things we all need. God gave instructions on how to build a house that would withstand not only the weather but the adversary.
The shape of society today is due to a breakdown of the home. Man has perverted what constitutes a home. There is now a lot of disorder and absolute chaos. Children kill parents and parents kill children. Kids are bombarded with knowledge from a young age. The devil wants them oriented to all sorts of things. Even small children are talked to about gender orientation. Homes for children are running over because of the breakdown of the home. Our nation is only as strong as the home. Only a home built on THE ROCK of Jesus will stand.
Deuteronomy 22: 8 When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.
It’s good to have guidance. You can get all sorts of input when you’re planning to buy a house. Budget still plays that key role. You buy what you can afford. The houses in Israel were flat roofed. No glass was in windows, just openings with shutters that could be open and closed against the weather. There was a room to eat and cook in with a fire and chimney. Parents had a bedroom and children had a loft. The roof had steps up to it and there was the recreation area. Some had canopies to protect them from the sun and rain. Many families prayed on their roofs. Every home should have a place for the Lord. God is to be in every room; without him there is no home. On that rooftop they could see the sun rise and set while looking at the canopy of God. We need God from the rooftop to the basement inside and out of our homes. It’s not that there is not enough of God to go around. He’s just not welcome in so many homes.
No home is safe. That’s why God told them to build a battlement. We have to protect the home and the investment we have in God. Don’t let your house be open to the devil. Keep Jesus in the house at all costs. There is so much disrespect for God brought on by sorry Christians who won’t live for the Lord. We need more than a Jesus sign in the yard. We need him in the house.
Kids are exposed to so much danger in the world. Allow God in the house so they can learn how to be protected. He will go with them into the world. Police are at schools. Workplaces need protection. The greatest danger is the home that is falling apart. People live in big mansions, drive humongous vehicles and park them in manicured yards but inside is like a ghost town. There is no real family. People leave God at church and outside the home. This brings trouble.
Every house in Israel has a battlement. The flat roof was also their place of protection. When a home was in danger there was an opening that allowed a ladder to be pulled down to get the family to the roof. There was a wall around it making it a place of refuge. They had weapons in place if needed. We need to train the family to use weapons against the devil. Train children in the ways of the Lord. Many are afraid but God told us not to fear that man who might be able to harm our body; we are to fear the One who can kill both soul and body in hell.
If not for the peace of God we’d all go crazy. There is such a challenge for parents and grandparents today. In God there is a battlement of protection. We each do our part to keep the family in order with a respect for God and living for the Lord. Let Jesus be head of the home. We always knew daddy was head of the table at home even after we all grew up and moved away. Dad’s seat was at the head of the table and mom’s at the other end. Jesus belongs at the head of our house. We can make it with God’s power and protection. He’s the only hope we have.
How’s your battlement? Can the enemy get in? It’s up to us.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 