Take Him out and Stone Him
By Kurt Bomar
Avery County
Deut. 21:18 “If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.”
There are a lot of difficult passages in the OT that are thrown in the Christian’s face as being inconsistent with a loving God. This is one of them. I hope to shed light on this passage as well as others later this year because 2 Tim. 3:16 tells us:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”
And, 1 Pet. 3:15 says:
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”
So why was this drastic action taken over a rebellious son, and why did all the men of the community (many of whom may have liked the young man) have to have his blood on their hands too? I think for several reasons.
First, for proper motivation. The pain that would have followed such a drastic action would certainly make the men resolved, as they walked back to their tents, to do whatever it took to make sure their own sons didn’t follow the same path of rebellion and receive the same fate.
Second, evaluation. If I were one of those men, I’m sure I would think back on what I knew of the young man and wonder “Could I have done something in his life to turn him around when I had the chance?”
And third, Proclamation. The stoning proclaimed that rebellion was neither a “stage” nor an inevitable part of growing up. It was simply not to be tolerated.
If it still seems too harsh, remember that when God starts a new work it is vitally important that people realize that he is “deadly” serious about what His standards are. Here a new nation was being birthed and they would be the standard for the whole world to follow. Therefore, they must start pure. Remember when another new work was started, the Church, Ananias and Sapphira, who lied to the Holy Spirit were also supernaturally killed on the spot. (Acts 5).
So, what is different today? Paul tells us that the punishment for rebellion is always death (Rom. 3:23)
But, because another son, the perfect son, became sin and took my place on the cross—I am forgiven completely. The standard for sin hasn’t changed, but Christ has paid the price and for that, we should be eternally grateful.
Asst. Pastor Kurt Bomar, Walnut Grove Church
walnutgrovechurchnc.org
Come join us on Sundays at 11:00
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Kurt Bomar is the Assistant Pastor of Walnut Grove Church located in Avery County. You are welcome to join them on Sundays at 11:00 AM for worship! (When we are allowed to meet in the building again). You can read more Christian news from Kurt Bomar HERE.
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