Deuteronomy 22:9-11 – You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together. You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.
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This section of commands in Deuteronomy is something very easy to pass over. These regulations for Israel seem trivial to us today, and so when we read them, we either find ourselves confused as to why God would give such a command, or we just breeze past them to get to the next “interesting” thing.
I have a theory as to why God would have given these commands, but I want to preface before giving it. It is a mistake to believe that we must understand the reason why God gave us any of his commands. We have no right to demand that a holy God tell us the reasoning behind his commands. He is the Lord, and we are his creation. We are to obey him, regardless of whether or not we can figure out what motivated him to command what he commands.
With that said, I find it interesting to see this short passage in the scriptures. God tells his people not to plant two kinds of seed in the same field, plow with two different kinds of animals, or wear clothing of two kinds of materials. It is my understanding that the people of the land of Canaan commonly did these things. The life of the Canaanite was very chaotic and disorderly. But the life of a child of God is to look different. Could it be that God wanted it to be clearly visible to anyone who walked past an Israelite or his home that these people were different? Could it be that God wanted the lives of the Israelites to display order in the face of the Canaanites’ chaotic messes? Could it be that God wanted to teach holiness, the separation of the sacred and the common, by telling his followers not to mix their seeds, their animals, or their garment materials? Could it be that the tassels on the garments were to let people know, from a mile away, that they were about to meet a person who is one of God’s chosen people?
If my little theory is correct—a theory that did not originate with me I assure you—, then there is a principle by which we ought to live to be found here. While I do not believe that God forbids Christians from wearing a 50/50 cotton and polyester blend, I do believe that there are two things that must be present in the life of a believer: order and separation. Our lives should be ordered, disciplined, and organized. Such order flies directly in the face of the chaos of the world around us. Our homes, our desks, our cars ought to look different than those of the world, and not simply because we slap a little fishy sticker somewhere. Our lives should demonstrate that order that points to the glory of our God and his delight in order over chaos.
Our lives also ought to demonstrate separation. What I mean by this is that our lives ought not mirror the world. We should not let ourselves be drawn in by something like the world’s sense of fashion. The world, by its very nature, teaches us to go against the standards of righteousness and holiness. Our world tells women, in their style of dress, to do whatever they can do to draw attention to their bodies. God would have his followers be modest, drawing attention to his glory instead of their shape. The world tells us that many things which God calls abominable are actually good sources of comedy. God calls sin exactly what it is, and sent his Son to die to pay the price for it. God wants his children’s lives, in every aspect, to seem different than those of the lost world.
So, how does your life look? Can someone look at you and see that you are a child of God? Do the things you say sound like a child of God? Does the way you dress show modesty, humility, and God-honoring taste? Does the way that you drive demonstrate the values of the world or of the Savior? Does your home display order or Chaos?
Perhaps this section in Deuteronomy 22 is a little obscure, but it has value for us today. Take time to pray, asking God how you can make your life better reflect that you are his follower.
Pastor Travis Peterson 